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So you took the standardized tests, filled out the application, wrote the essay and secured the appropriate transcripts and letters of recommendation well in advance in order to apply to your first-choice school early. Nice work – it’s just too bad Mother Nature had other plans.

The late October storm that hit the Northeast knocked out electricity, Internet access and, for some students, hopes of getting their early decision and early action applications submitted on time. Thankfully, many institutions have extended these deadlines beyond the traditional November 1st cutoff and NACAC has posted those schools, administrative contacts and new early application dates on its website. Though most are in the Northeast, schools located as far west as California, Oregon and Arizona and as far south as Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky have joined the cause to ensure all interested students have time to apply.

NACAC does note that the list may not be comprehensive and is inviting colleges and universities to update their application dates if they have changed. Conversely, students should contact the schools they are interested in applying to for any admissions updates. Good luck, everyone!

As anyone who’s ever overindulged in Thanksgiving dinner can tell you, too much of a good thing does indeed exist. This mentality does not hold true when it comes to scholarships, though...especially this Scholarship of the Week from AXA Equitable!.

The AXA Achievement Scholarship awards $670,000 annually. Fifty-two students – one from each state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico – receive scholarships of $10,000. Of those 52 students, 10 students are chosen as national winners and receive an additional $15,000 scholarship award and an internship opportunity with AXA Equitable.

Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate ambition and drive, determination to set and reach goals and the ability to succeed in college. If that sounds like you, visit AXA’s website to apply before the December 1st deadline. As always, to learn more about this and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free Scholarships.com scholarship search today!

Students applying to college have a lot on their plates. There are applications and essays to complete, campus visits to schedule and FAFSAs to navigate of course but college hopefuls are taking an additional step to up their admissions chances by participating in serious social media scrub downs.

With admissions officers looking beyond traditional application materials to select their students – the latest survey from Kaplan Test Prep found that 24 percent had visited applicants’ Facebook pages while 20 percent used Google searches – college applicants are creating alternate identities to disguise less-than-savory photos or comments on a number of social media sites. "Ask any senior in high school what his or her Facebook name is and you will find that they have morphed their FB identity into something slightly peculiar and mysterious that only their ‘friends’ can figure out," says Naomi Steinberg, owner of Apply Yourself Educational Consulting. And though students’ original online identities often reappear after admissions decisions have been made, Steinberg says the trend of social media expurgation will continue into the next phase of students’ lives as well, like when they begin applying for jobs.

College applicants, do you plan to tweak your social media persona as soon as your applications go out? Current college students, do you think online editing played a role in your acceptance?

As regular admissions deadlines draw closer, high school students are putting the finishing touches on their college application packets and preparing to send their materials off to their schools of choice. As they sit down to write their admissions essays, however, they are increasingly surprised: Traditional essay questions like “Why this school?” and “What is your greatest achievement?” are disappearing in favor of quirkier prompts and quicker responses.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, both students and educators weighed in on the increased emphasis on brevity (we’re talking responses of 25 words or fewer) and creativity (schools like the University of Dayton, George Mason and Tufts now accept video essays). While some are definitely in favor – "It allows colleges to learn things they may not get from a transcript and a resume," said Katherine Cohen, a college consultant and founder of IvyWise.com – others, like Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, are less than pleased: "It just reinforces that there's some secret code that needs to be cracked to gain admission," he said. Here are just a few of the more interesting prompts seen on college applications during this admissions cycle:

• University of Maryland: My favorite thing about last Tuesday?
• Brandeis University: Imagine you have to wear a costume for a year of your life. What would you pick and why?
• Emory University: What is your favorite ride at the amusement park? How does this reflect your approach to life?
• Columbia University: The best movie of all time.
• UChicago: How do you feel about Wednesday?
• Yale: What would you do with a free afternoon tomorrow?

What do you think of this admissions shift? Would you rather write 250 words or 25? What has been the strangest essay prompt you’ve encountered on college application thus far?

Adjusting to life in college can take some time but once you’ve mastered the campus layout, course catalog and dining options, will you be ready for the world beyond those hallowed halls? Many students are not but the skills taught in a pair of programs at Smith College could change that.

The women’s college in Northampton, Mass., launched two programs – “Passport to Life at Smith” and “Passport to Life After Smith” – to address what students need to succeed on and off campus and since their debut in 2010, hundreds of students at various stages in their college careers have signed up. From being more assertive in class and emailing professors appropriately to acing job interviews and changing tires (and looking cool in the process), the courses offer tips every student would find helpful, not just Smith’s female student population. “These are skills that any college student would benefit from,” said Jessica Bacal, director of Smith’s Center for Work and Life and the creator of the workshop series. “Just cause you’re a guy it doesn’t mean you’re going to go into a meeting and feel really comfortable giving your opinion even though it’s different from someone else’s opinion.”

If there are any Smithies in the audience, we’d love to hear your firsthand experiences with these programs. To everyone else, what do you think of colleges teaching courses that go beyond traditional classroom offerings? Would you take one or do you feel real-life experience is preparation enough?

For any student thinking about transferring, there’s always the worry that the credits they’ve worked so hard to achieve will be worth nothing at their new school...any student except those transferring to DePaul University, that is.

According to Lois Bishop, DePaul’s director of community college partnerships, transfer students at DePaul have great grades and high graduation rates but many have failed to take prerequisite courses or accumulated credits at their previous institutions that won’t count toward their bachelor’s degrees. In order to make transferring as educationally- and cost-effective as it can be, the school created the DePaul Admissions Partnership Program to help transfer students earn their two-year credentials and bachelor’s degrees on time. Students in the program are guaranteed a spot at DePaul if they finish community college with a 2.0 GPA and receive $2,000 a year after transferring if they achieve a 3.0. They also lock in bachelor’s degree requirements if they enroll within three years of starting the program, have access to DePaul advisers while at the community college to ensure they take the right classes for their eventual majors and can earn reverse credits toward associate degrees. (Check out additional details from Inside Higher Ed here.)

Since the program’s launch last year, DePaul has partnered with Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harold Washington College, Truman College, Wright College, College of DuPage, Harper College, Moraine Valley Community College and Oakton Community College but hopes to expand the opportunity to more schools and students. What do you think of the DePaul Admissions Partnership Program? Would a program like this appeal to you if you were thinking about transferring?

March is one of my favorite months of the year: Not does it include the start of spring, my birthday and a seemingly endless amount of scholarship deadlines but it’s also chockfull of college basketball. With Selection Sunday right around the corner, pools are starting to form with all participants aiming for the same goal – the creation of a perfect bracket. What’s the likelihood you’ll be the one to achieve this feat? Pretty dang slim, says Jeff Bergen.

According to the DePaul University professor of mathematics, you technically could select the correct outcome of every single game but before you get too excited, the odds of picking that perfect bracket are less than one in 9.2 quintillion. “You basically have no chance,” he says as he calculates, but does note that if you have a solid knowledge of NCAA tournament history, your odds increase to 1 in 128 billion. Score!

So to those planning brackets, be sure to have your favorite rabbit’s foot, four-leaf clover or horseshoe handy...and just have fun! Remember, says Bergen, “When your bracket goes down the tubes, don’t worry: so is everybody else’s.” Will you be creating a NCAA tournament bracket this year? If so, how will you go about making your selections?

St. Patrick’s Day may only come once a year but going green is important every day! Whether it’s recycling cans, unplugging your computer when it’s not in use, opting for reusable water bottles or reading the online edition of your favorite newspaper, protecting the environment is something everyone should try to do in some way. Want to get started but don’t know how? You’re in luck: The Castle Ink Paperless Scholarship is giving you the opportunity to do just that and earn $1,000 for college at the same time.

The Castle Ink Paperless Scholarship is open to U.S. residents who are college bound (aka high school juniors and seniors who will begin attending college within the next two years) and any students currently enrolled at accredited institutions of higher education. To apply, simply fill out the entry form on Castle Ink’s website then post a YouTube video, tweet or create a Facebook wall post explaining how you reduce, reuse and recycle.

Applicants currently have a little over two weeks left to enter – the deadline has been extended to March 31st – so take this time share what you’re doing to make the environment a little (or a lot!) better. To learn more about this and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

Text messaging can come in handy when you are taking a short study break in a quiet library but when it happens behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, its convenience is replaced by danger. You’ve probably see people texting at traffic signals, on side streets and on the highway at 65 miles per hour but the action is dangerous and on its way to becoming illegal. Want to help bring about change regarding texting and driving? Slow down and take a look at our latest Scholarship of the Week, Project Yellow Light.

As a Project Yellow Light applicant, you have one clear mission in your video application: encourage other teens to develop and embrace safe driving habits – specifically, don’t text and drive. High school seniors who will complete graduation requirements by or before July 31st of this year must submit their 60-second videos via the Project Yellow Light website by March 31st. The first-place winner will receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,000, the second-place winner will receive $500 and the third-place winner will receive $200; in addition to a scholarship, the winning video will be turned into an Ad Council PSA and will be distributed nationally to 1,600 TV stations.

Interested in learning more about this scholarship opportunity? Visit Project Yellow Light’s official website and conduct a free scholarship search today!

Many students don’t have time to take on internships during the traditional academic year, making summer break the perfect time to gain experience in their fields of choice. Unfortunately, students looking to earn college credit for these often unpaid positions must still fork over the cash to cover the credit fees – sometimes thousands of dollars – despite not being enrolled in formal classes.

Is there a way to have a more affordable internship experience? Indeed, according to one of USA Today’s collegiate correspondents...and with 11 internships under her belt, she speaks from experience:

• Instead of paying for credits at your university, see if a local community college offers a cooperative education program that you can enroll in for the summer. You will still have to pay but the fees will likely be much lower than at a four-year public or private school.
• Alternative programs offering both internship placement and credit services are convenient options but keep an eye on the price tag: Dream Careers can cost more than $8,000 but the UCLA Extension Film and Television Internship Program is a bargain at $550.
• Letters of support – documents from college career counselors that state that you are a student in good academic standing and the internship experience is considered applicable to your degree program – can go a long way. You may not receive college credit but you may not have to pay, either.

Are you interning this summer? Let us know where in the comments!