So, the Office of Admission delivers, and the Internet floods with congratulations.

If you’re a current student, staff member, professor, parent, or alumnus, feel free to look up the students from your state or your hometown…or even your field of study. Then leave a message for individual students in the comments.

If you’re an admitted student, enjoy the love.

List of Admitted Students

Hit Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) to search for specific students and locations.

If you wish to have your name removed from this list, please email admission@centre.edu.

U.S. Cities Represented

International Cities Represented

That’s a pretty picture, isn’t it?

Especially if you’re applying to colleges with sticker prices breaking six figures for four or more years. But before you go through the hassle of prepping dozens of scholarship applications—and believe me, “hassle” is putting it lightly—you should ask yourself three questions to decide if it’s truly worth the effort

How will outside scholarships affect my need-based award?

Chances are, if you’re considering outside scholarship opportunities, it’s because you’re concerned about affording college altogether. And that means you’re probably applying for need-based aid.

While every college accounts for outside scholarship differently, the long and short of it is this: if you receive an outside scholarship, your level of need is no longer as high. So instead of a net gain, your outside scholarship could actually replace need-based aid for which you already qualified.

In general, outside scholarships are usually counted against unmet need first, then self-help items like loans and work study, and lastly grants.  Each college employs a different policy though, and it will be up to you to learn when you’ve reached the point of diminishing returns.

Are the odds good?

You may be a perfect candidate for a particular scholarship, but many outside scholarships have criteria broad enough for thousands of perfect candidates. As a rule of thumb, local scholarships from community organizations are likely safer bets than national offerings from big name companies.

Sure, high profile scholarship programs (like Best Buy’s, for instance) may offer 1,100 scholarships worth $1,000 each, but how many applicants are they vetting to put up numbers that big?

And we’re only talking $1,000, here; that’s just a drop in the bucket. You’ll likely be banking on multiple scholarship wins to reduce the cost of college by any significant amount. Which means you can’t treat this like a normal application process. You’ve got to approach it more like a sweepstakes: more entries, more chances. It’s a gamble of your time—a high school senior’s most precious resource.

Is it renewable?

Even if you have unmet need, even if you judge your odds favorable, most students completely forget to ask “is it renewable?” In other words, is this a one-off award, or can you plan on it being there each subsequent year you’re in college? Unfortunately, the vast majority of outside scholarships are not renewable.

So, let’s say you receive $5,000 in outside scholarship, and then let’s assume the school lets you add it all to your financial aid package without reducing any of its assistance.

Now, pretend that the $5,000 isn’t at your disposal. Can you still afford the college? Because that’s the position you could be in your sophomore year, and your junior, and your senior…and your fifth year if something goes amiss.

Outside scholarships can distort your perception of long-term college costs if you don’t account for them at the outset.

Conclusion

I generally council families against investing much time in outside scholarship applications. Their time is much better spent applying to special scholarship programs at their colleges of choice where money is used to incentivize enrollment. What’s more, these awards are typically renewable and package nicely with other financial aid from the school.

So, apply with caution; your time is valuable. Spend it wisely.

Let that sink in for a minute.

This refrain is nothing new. For years, higher education commentators have lamented this misbalanced appropriation of funds. But devil’s advocates are quick to point out that these top-tier athletic programs serve a vital role in the success of the university itself.

And there’s some truth to that. Just ask the average American to name ten universities. Odds are good he’ll rattle off ten Division I schools.

Who could blame him either? Those athletic programs are the faces of their respective universities, at least on ESPN.

Yet, the returns on visibility are modest. National airtime does appear to influence application numbers, but the correlation lasts only a couple of years and is typically associated with success on the football field  (winning championships to be more specific).

The quality of the applicant pool doesn’t seem to be affected.

But what about alumni? It’s widely believed that high profile athletic programs provide a financial benefit to the university through increased alumni donations. And that’s true. Athletic success does increase alumni giving…for the athletic programs. Little of that money is ever directed to the general fund.

To put all this in perspective, athletic spending generally comprises only 5 to 11 percent of school budgets; the rest is invested in academic expenses. But, as tuition increased and state funding decreased between 2005 and 2010, increases in athletic spending at Division I schools outpaced academic spending by almost twice as much.

So while the popular notion that big-time sports help support the university—be it through exposure or revenue generation—in many cases, the opposite is true. Unless a program is self-supporting, which is very rare indeed, the cost is passed on to the university.

In other words, it’s passed on to the state…and the students, who it seems get the short end of the stick.

1.) If I didn’t get a nice, fat scholarship, then I can’t afford that college.

If you’re deciding where to attend college based on an initial scholarship offer, you’re working with incomplete information. When concerned about cost, it’s imperative that you follow through with the financial aid process by filling out a FAFSA and a Centre Aid form…even if an “expert” has told you that you probably won’t qualify. Then refer to the financial aid award letter you receive in early April to make a more informed financial decision.

Just this week, I spoke with the father of an admitted student who had not received a scholarship from Centre. Clearly feeling a bit dejected, he said, “Well, this just makes the college decision easier for him,” implying that Centre would be well out of reach for his son due to cost.

The father made the assumption that without a scholarship, he would likely incur the full cost of Centre’s comprehensive fee, which he ascertained to be beyond his family’s means. What he didn’t account for, as I explained to him, was the need-based financial aid process that hadn’t been completed yet. Just last year, 67% of our admitted students received need-based assistance. The average net cost for those students: $14,050. Basing your college decision on a single piece of a larger puzzle isn’t only impetuous, it could be a poor financial decision in the long run. Be cautious, but also be patient. Colleges have a lot of financial aid to package.

2.) If I didn’t get a nice, fat scholarship, then the college doesn’t appreciate my accomplishments.

A study published earlier this year claimed that given the choice, bright, young college students place a higher value on self-esteem boosts than getting a paycheck, spending time with close friends, and other pleasurable activities. The conclusion was that today’s youth desire third-party affirmation above all else. In many respects, today’s society looks at scholarships as the defining critique on a student’s high school career. To receive a large scholarship is to receive a compliment: the bigger the award, the greater the commendation for the student’s achievements. And more than anything else, this generation needs to be recognized for its accomplishments.

Whether that’s true or just a sweeping generalization, receiving a scholarship (big or small) is a compliment to your success in and of itself. The ACT score midrange for students simply admitted to Centre under early action was 27-32; that range narrows and rises when you look at scholarship tiers. When applying to selective schools, students must temper their self-perception and expectations with the reality that while they may be among the best at their high school…there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of applicants—also among the best at their high school—vying for scholarships as well.

Just because you didn’t receive the scholarship you thought you would (or a scholarship at all) doesn’t mean that you aren’t wanted, that you aren’t qualified, and that you won’t receive the same amount of attention as your peers when you finally arrive on campus. If any of these things were true, you wouldn’t have been admitted in the first place. That’s the truth.

Now, to be fair, it’s easy to look at getting a big scholarship to a top college as the single reward for all your hard work in high school. Not getting one could leave you feeling as though it was all for naught. But here’s the thing, you go to college to fulfill your potential, not because your potential has already been fulfilled. Perhaps you didn’t get the scholarship for which you were longing, but there’s something to be said for surrounding yourself with peers who will continue to challenge you. Don’t let scholarship anxiety over not being the best prevent you from attending the place that will offer you the best opportunity for personal growth.

A deferral means the admission committee has put off making an admission decision for your application while they gauge a number of factors. These factors are generally related to the overall profile of incoming class and your place within it. Take heart: colleges issue plenty of flat denials to applicants. A deferral means that you indeed possess many qualities desirable to the college.

A deferral often speaks more to the uncertainty of the admission process on both ends- how you will fare as a student and how the class will fare as a whole. In some cases, the uncertainty may be in part about the applicant’s qualifications: Will the senior grades show progress?  Will the applicant improve their ACT score in December? Is the student’s interest sincere and strong?  And so forth.  But just as often, the uncertainty has to do with the rest of the applicant pool: How many students will apply regular decision?  What demographics are unbalanced in the regular pool?  Have the college’s goals for the class been modified?  The answers to those questions may be more decisive than anything the individual applicant does.

Keeping the above in mind, if you are deferred by your first-choice school, there are ways to demonstrate your continued interest and commitment. First, let the school know if they are your first choice. Colleges want the most qualified applicants, but they also want students who want to be there. Write an email or letter to your admission counselor (if you don’t know who this is already, you can find that information online).

Second, it is sometimes appropriate to update the information from your original application by submitting any new test scores or an additional teacher’s recommendation from a teacher in whose course you are excelling. Lastly, pursue excellence in the last half of your senior year. Colleges will receive your grade reports if you are deferred and will carefully consider improvement (or lack thereof) when reevaluating your application. Continue challenging yourself academically and through extracurricular activities and keep the admissions staff updated should you attain any pertinent achievements.

Most importantly, don’t misread a deferral as disinterest from the college. The very fact that you’ve been issued one speaks to the college’s continued interest in your development throughout your senior year. Don’t lose heart; stay in touch. Admission limbo isn’t permanent.

Because of the language barriers I inevitably face in different European countries and my lack of experience using public transportation, I have become an expert in planning train trips and other excursions down to the smallest detail, doing plenty of research and calculating exactly how to get from point A to point B. Yes, this is a handy skill when traveling in Europe, because its always a good idea to be prepared when traveling in a foreign country, but on my way back to Strasbourg from Switzerland I had a sudden thought–am I becoming too focused on the destination?

While I had a good time in Interlaken, I didn’t enjoy my time there to the fullest. I had a frozen feeling and it wasn’t because of the sometimes chilly mountain air. I focused on doing each activity by thinking of the most efficient way to get there and get it done. But what is the fun in that? Why didn’t I just laugh and admire the scenery when we ended our 2-plus hour hike down a Swiss mountain by a field in the middle of nowhere? Or when the group went wandering around to find a place to eat, why didn’t I enjoy the meandering?

I think this can be a pitfall of traveling, going from place to place without thinking of and maybe even reveling in the journey, the tiny moments of pure bliss, whether it is sitting on a train and watching the trees fly by you or pausing at the edge of a turquoise glacial lake to watch the clouds pass their shadows on the surrounding mountains.

Another lesson of studying abroad: enjoy the journey.

The U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings came out earlier this month and — knock me over with a feather! — Harvard and Princeton were tied for first.

Followed by Yale.

Followed by Columbia.

It’s not that these aren’t great universities. But c’mon. Can you really say with any precision that Princeton is “better” than Columbia? That the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 6) is better than the California Institute of Technology (No. 10)?  That Tufts (No. 28) is better than Brandeis (No. 33)?

Of course not. U.S. News likes to claim that it uses rigorous methodology, but, honestly, it’s just a list put together by magazine editors. The whole exercise is a little silly. Or rather, it would be if it weren’t so pernicious.

Magazines compile lists because people like to read them. With U.S. News having folded its print edition two years ago, its rankings — not just of colleges, but law schools, graduate schools and even high schools — are probably what keep the enterprise alive. People care enough about its rankings to pay $34.95 to seek out the details on the U.S. News Web site.

And they imbue these rankings with an authority that is largely unjustified. Universities that want to game the rankings can easily do so. U.S. News cares a lot about how much money a school raises and how much it spends: on faculty; on small classes; on facilities; and so on. It cares about how selective the admissions process is.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

One week from today, as I leave for Strasbourg, France  to participate in one of Centre’s semester abroad programs, I will embark on a series of “firsts.” First time on an international flight alone. First time living abroad. First time living in an apartment, not a dorm. First time fitting my whole life in a suitcase for three months.

I hope this is a common problem among study abroad students. Sure, I’ve stocked up on the basics, but the other day I belatedly realized I should probably take a few small items to remind me of home, of my friends, of my life back in the US. This is not an easy task. I usually don’t hesitate to take anything to school with me. I don’t live too far from Danville, so unwanted clothes, blankets, and decorations can easily make the trip back to Louisville if needed. But now I have one suitcase, a space of roughly three by two feet, in which to contain everything I need to be me for three months.

At the same time I’m deciding between this skirt and that shirt, I like the challenge studying abroad presents. I’m paring down my life to the essentials, keeping in mind that objects will not give me the great experiences I know await me in Strasbourg. It’s the people and the sites I will see that will change me. My time in Strasbourg will be me muddling through conversations with my miming skills and broken French, finding the best croissants in the city, and undoubtedly getting lost a time or two. I can deal with one suitcase.

That course made me come to terms with the significance of starting a new life in Danville. I had to examine myself as a member of this community and explore exactly what Centre meant to me.

Fast-forward a year and a semester later, and I found myself learning from Dr. Kirchner again, this time in Philosophy 140: Intro to Ethical Thinking. Near the end of the term, we began thinking about the impact that humans have on the future of the planet. While studying environmental ethicals with regards to human obligations, we discussed the newly coined term Solastalgia. That term describes a form of distress produced by environmental change when a person (or group of people) experiences substantial changes in their home environment. We began our discussion on solastalgia by examining the affects of coal mining, climate changes, and tree felling, but we soon turned our attention to how we can personally cope with changes in the world around us.

In that moment, I was reminded of the class theme that I liked so much just a year before: Being at home in the world.

To me, home is Centre. I wasn’t born in Danville, but I’ve gotten attached to everything about the place and there is a substantial change that I have to cope with once the school year ends. Centre has become a part of who I am. From morning runs on Main Street, chatting with College officials while working out, hearing the church bells mark the ending of each hour, reading on the lawn in front of the library, celebrating fellow Colonels both in and outside of the classroom, and taking on the ‘work hard, play hard’ culture, everything about Centre is special.

That’s why, once this school year reached its conclusion, I, along with hundreds of other Colonels, found summer to be bittersweet. I’ve done no scientific research on the topic, but a quick survey of various social media outlets will show Centre College students missing their friends, and their campus.

While we find our schoolwork to be hard and our extracurricular activities demanding, we also find joy in those late night Walmart or Speedway runs.

We lean back and enjoy those nights when we neglect our books and watch trains dance by. We chat with President and Mrs. Roush while waiting for Strawberry Milkshakes at the Everyday Cafe.

We let our short walks to the Campus Post Office turn our days from bad to good when we receive packages from loved ones back home.

We watch life pass us by as we sit on the steps of Old Centre around midnight, hoping to never forget what it is to be in the moment.

We whisper and laugh about friends that have Run the Flame.

We remember watching baseball in the Campus Center in September…and the subsequent consoling of Atlanta and Boston fans at 2am on a Friday morning. We laugh we thinking of the sleepless nights spent in the newspaper office or the Campus Center.

We revel in the excitement that is Centre Athletics. We smile when we think of President Roush leading the crowd in cheers as Centre Women’s Basketball participated in the NCAA Tournament.

Some will visit a restaurant that serves Mexican food and will long for a weekend trip to Guadalajara near campus, all for queso and the Danville Special. Many will pick up a backpack and wish that they were headed to study with friends in the Campus Center. Others will, as I did just yesterday, dig in a jacket pocket and find peppermint wrappers from Cowan Dining Commons, and will wonder what Ms.Sue–the mother-like figure that greets us as we enter in the dining commons each morning–is doing this summer.

All will long for home.

Love Centre.

this post is dedicated to one of those people. he is, according to the clock, twenty four minutes into graduating from centre, probably feeling a little overwarm in his suit and robes and hat and the lights glaring down during commencement. when i first met him i figured that we would not achieve any close connection — that we’d just be centre acquaintances, maybe facebook friends.

two years later, i am overwhelmingly honored to consider him my best friend.

it’s part of a tradition at centre for graduating seniors to give an honor coin (pictured above) to someone who has greatly affected their college career or their view of the world. yesterday, he gave me his honor coin, and said that i deserved it because i was “the person at centre most responsible for helping him to pull his head out of his ass.”

i guess what i’m trying to say is that you don’t know how much yr fellow students are going to matter to you. but then suddenly you won’t be able to imagine life without them, and how the person you are is directly tied to having them around, and how incredibly integral they have become to yr life and choices and values. and, uh, then it’s time for them to graduate.

so, dear friend, thank you.
dear readers, thank you.

you never know who’s watching, so be excellent to each other.