Spotlight on stellar students

The conference room at Doubletree Inn in downtown Spokane was packed Sunday night. Representatives from five of the nation's most distinguished universities were there on a recruitment mission which included group and individual question-and-answer sessions.

Even if your student isn't intent on enrolling someday at Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Georgetown or Duke, here are two extremely valuable tips that will help them compete for admission and/or scholarships elsewhere.

First, take tough classes. The folks representing these esteemed institutions spoke glowingly of the IB and AP programs, encouraging students to take those courses even if it meant a lower grade point average. Students demonstrating rigorous academic pursuit is what all the best institutions seek, they said, and IB and AP are both strong college preparatory programs.

The other tip involved work outside the classroom. As the representative from Georgetown told students, imagine you left your school tomorrow. Who would miss you, and why? Because nationally, so many students complete high school with a grade point average of 4.0 or better, the stellar colleges and universities look well beyond the three-headed acronyms GPA, SAT and ACT. Students, who are you, what are you passionate about and how do you unleash that passion to improve your community?

Funny thing is, a handful of the best universities in America aren't the only ones seeking these qualities in students. So is your hometown newspaper.

Parents, teachers, counselors, we'd like to hear from you about the students you know who would be sorely missed if they didn't show up in classrooms any more. These may be spectacular academic achievers; they might be students who are up to their elbows in civic engagement, bringing their grade point average down a notch but building up everyone they come into contact with; or they may even be both.

We're going to feature these best and brightest on the front page on Mondays starting soon. One of the first will be a Lake City High School alum who's used "Mudgy and Millie" to teach English to students in Turkey. He was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and is back in Turkey now.

Who do you know from public, private or home schools in Kootenai County whose story might inspire others? Call education writer Maureen Dolan at 664-8176 ext. 2005 or email her at [email protected].