Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with scholarship

Ted Nelson and Vannevar Bush, please forgive me.

mecran01 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:02:42 -0800

I have a word document composed of multiple text files. I'd like to highlight the good parts, push a button, and have those quotes automatically excerpted and pasted into a new document. Bonus points if the title of each article were retained above the respective excerpt. Is there a slick and easy way to do this using mac or web-based applications? Bonus points if the title of each article were retained above the respective excerpt. I also have Textwrangler and Tex-edit, and I suppose it might be possible to cobble something together using "copy lines containing [x]

I also own DevonThink but haven't played with it much. I guess I'm really fishing around for a workflow for annotating and excerpting bits from electronic documents with a few short keystrokes.

Thanks for your patience with this rambling, ill-formed request!

Interacting with university presses at a huge conference to our mutual benefit

anonyme — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:24:04 -0800

I'm an author, and I have a great job helping my fellow faculty members publish their books with university presses. Through this job I visit presses one-on-one sometimes, but that is expensive and involves major travel. A huge conference is coming up with 20 of our target presses in attendance, each at a booth. What is the best way to contact them pre-conference to arrange intelligent, mutually meaningful interaction? Should I write to the directors themselves, or is there a more grassroots way to poll university press staffs to get a feel for who wants to meet and discuss their take on scholarly publishing? And what's in this for them, other than the fact that my university is reasonably high on the prestige scale? Any other benefit to them?

What would it take to set up a scholarship prize?

jonesor — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:33:25 -0800

What would it take to set up a scholarship prize fund for a particular school in a developing country? I was recently in Africa, where I visited a community school in Lesotho.

I learned that the cost of sending children on to high school there is prohibitively expensive for most kids' families (~US$60/yr). To me this is a small amount of money, so it got me wondering about the logistics of establishing a self-sustaining scholarship prize, or fund of some kind, to send, for example, the 5 brightest kids per year through school.

This is all just a vague idea at the moment, but what would be involved in setting up such a scheme?

I'd be interested in examples both from the developing world and from elsewhere.

It would all need to be self-sustaining and above-board legally-speaking, and run from the UK.

For those of us who didn't go to Harvard. . .

Ndwright — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:26:53 -0800

Are there any sites or blogs dedicated to pointing out great courses and lectures not to be missed on iTunes U? The Mefi post with this question's origin.

Appropriate way to thank professor/employer

ttyn — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:19:53 -0800

How to thank professor for recommendation letter that got me a scholarship? Slightly complicated. I got the scholarship letter today. I will be receiving the money in September.

I am currently working for the professor on campus, part-time. So, he's my boss.

I will be taking a class he is teaching next semester.

I want to do slightly better than an email/card, because getting the scholarship really means a lot to me. But I don't want him to think I am sucking up or trying too hard. Ideas?

Are expensive American undergraduate educations worth it for foreign students?

Mo Nickels — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:44:41 -0800

Is it worth it for a foreign parent to squeeze his budget to manage very expensive undergraduate educations for his children in elite American schools? A respected colleague in Asia writes with this query. It's not so much about how to get financial aid when you are a parent of foreign student seeking an undergraduate education in the United States so much as it is a question as to whether it is worth it at all, even if you can pay.

His words are below, posted with his permission. I have stripped out identifying information. The family is not in Singapore, for what that is worth.

«I have 2 children entering university at the same time this year.

My son has won a partial scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, but even then, the amount we'd have to come up with to send him there is rather forbidding.

My daughter has been accepted into New York University to do Liberal Arts -- but without any aid, which makes it virtually impossible for us to help her realise her dream.

What resources can I apply for in the US or elsewhere to help them? We've tried ones in our country but so far without success.

Would you recommend they take up the places offered them by the 2 schools, given the constraints? Are the schools really worth the astronomical expense? (Well, I know Eastman is about second to Juilliard, and NYU is reputable, although its Arts programme is 15th in the world.)

Would it really count so much that these would be for undergraduate study? Do people look more at one's postgrad pedigree? Would it be just as well that they did their first degree elsewhere (more affordable) and seek to go higher at Eastman and NYU afterwards? (In fact, my son has also obtained a full scholarship to theYong Siew Toh Coservatory of Music in Singapore. But then, what is YST compared to Eastman?)

I'm sorry if I sound inane but this issue of my children's further education has been keeping me from sleep for quite a while.»

One year of protection, hey thanks!

Precision — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:11:39 -0800

I applied for a scholarship in October, got my rejection in December. Now I get a letter telling me that my "name and social security number was inadvertently exposed to third parties." Can I sue? Here's the contents of the letter, with the organization's name x'd out:

We are writing to inform you that we recently discovered that you are among a group of individuals whose personally identifiable information, such as name and social security number, were inadvertently exposed to third parties. We regret this incident and have no reason to believe that your personal information has or will be shared with others; nonetheless, as a precaution, we are notifying you of this situation.

In this particular instance, your name and social security number were on a document that was inadvertently attached to an email transmitted to several non-commercial third-party recipients.

When this was discovered, the xxxxxxx Scholarship Program, LLC took immediate action to notify the recipients to destroy the document.

Recognizing the seriousness of this incident and the concern we share for the personal security of our applicants, we have made arrangements to provide you with *a free year of identity protection* (their emphasis) with TrustedID. TrustedID will help you proactively protect your identity by placing fraud flags on your credit reports, which will ensure that no new credit is opened in your name without your consent, and provide you with a copy of your free annual credit report. The TrustedID service is backed by a $1,000,000 limited service warranty, so in the unlikely even that anything may happen, you are covered.

Sincerely,

And yes, I do understand that "nothing is likely to happen" and such. And that only non-profit organizations received them. But, you know, actual people work at non-profits, too. People are far from perfect. Anyone who actually still has these names/numbers could easily call the organization asking about the leak (it lists a number to call with any questions, it's merely the organizations public phone number) and figure out "I just have to wait a year."

One year of protection is a nice gesture, but I don't believe it should be enough for them to waive liability after that. I've yet to sign up for it, so I haven't accepted their offer or any implicit agreement therein. I'm eighteen years old. I have a life to live, and they opened the identity theft crack just a little bit more.

I live in Arizona, the identity theft capital of the world, if that's relevant. Thanks!

please hope me.

leotrotsky — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:19:18 -0800

FAFSAfilter: Received merit-based scholarship for law school at 1X,000 dollars a year. yey!. I filled out FAFSA, and my EFC is the same dollar amount as the scholarship. Does this mean my actual required contribution will be zero? Or are those FAFSA folks already taking my scholarship into account, so that I'll need to contribute 1Xk above and beyond the scholarship? googled unsuccessfully for the answer to this.

What's the best scholarships website?

spacefire — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:37:17 -0800

Are there any good websites for external scholarships? I recently joined fastweb, and except for getting spammy emails and emails about weird scholarships I couldn't possibly qualify for, I didn't find anything for me. Background:
Late twenties white male, permanent resident but not US citizen, been in the workforce for four years after finishing school, has Bachelor and Masters in Engineering, going for PhD in Engineering or Applied Math starting next fall.

Can stellar MA grades outweigh poor undergrad marks on PhD scholarship applications?

damn yankee — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:41:09 -0800

Am I deluded to think I can land a crucial PhD scholarship with abysmal undergraduate grades? It's an Arts/Creative Media degree in Australia. I earned an MA with distinction and was #1 in my masters cohort (of 9, at a so-so-reputation UK university) last year; I've had 12 years of strong and occasionally award-winning professional experience in the field of journalism (so, related–but not an exact match); and it's been 15 bloody years since I tanked my BA studies at Syracuse.

I struggled with an all-too-common situation then: severe, undiagnosed clinical depression combined with a shockingly unsupportive family. I was so up, down and out of it I didn't even realize what was happening to my lfe. Result: extremely erratic and mostly poor academic performance, barely managing to hold onto the prestigious scholarship I walked in with. Final GPA: 2.73 (ug).

I got my act together when I was about 24, and I'm 33 now. Is it worth explaining the situation in my application, or is competition going to be too fierce to make it worth my while? (I'll be applying as an international student.)

Yankee Doodle, read this Book...

Chrischris — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:05:22 -0800

Please recommend books (not overly scholarly, but in-depth, if possible) dealing with the causes and issues surrounding the rise of the American Independence movement prior to July 4, 1776. Those dealing with the movement in a holistic manner ( eg: discussing the cultural, economic, and political undercurrents which fed and popularized the movement) would be most appreciated....

NC Free ride?

toastchee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:16:20 -0800

NC Scholarship? SC has the Life Scholarship, and GA has another with a similar arrangement: get As and Bs in high school, and get a sizeable scholarship to an in-state school. Does NC have something similar?

Help me pay for nursing school

serazin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:59:29 -0800

Scholarships for nursing students? I’m starting nursing school at a small community college. Their financial aid department bites – they have zero information about scholarships beyond the Pell Grant/Cal Grant and they won’t even talk to me about loans until August (when I’m starting school). I’ve been trying to research scholarships on my own and have found a couple, but not the dozens that I imagined when everyone told me that there was lots of help available for nursing students. I know the basics: fastweb, google, and I've looked through some askme scholarship threads, but with no help from my school financial aid department, I’m floundering a bit.

I know I’m late to apply for many awards (the program didn’t tell me I was accepted until May, a couple months after most scholarship deadlines passed) but I would love any suggestions for nursing related scholarships, grants, loan-forgiveness, etc. I’ve applied for this one: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/scholarship/ but haven’t found others.

If it helps, I’m also an “older” student and a single parent.

How do I locate small scholarships?

sugarfish — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:33:19 -0800

What is the best way of locating small scholarships? I am going back to college this fall, to finish my undergraduate degree. The first time around, I went to a relatively cheap state school with a hefty scholarship, and fleshed out the difference with student loans. Now I'm going to attend a private college and federal loans aren't even going to cover tuition.

I've been looking for small scholarships -- those $250 and $500 awards that I scoffed at when I was a stupid teenager. I've done some searching around on the various scholarship search engines like Fastweb but I'm often not qualified because I don't meet their criteria, because I'm not just graduating from high school, because I've been out of school for several years, or because the scholarship listing looks like spam and I don't want to give them my email address.

My local library does not keep a listing of local scholarships.

The school I'm going to does have a few awards for transfer students, but with my always impeccable sense of timing I decided to apply for admission literally a week after the final deadline for those scholarships.

I want to avoid taking out as much loan money as possible, and if I could avoid private loans I would be ecstatic. I expect to be in school for another two years or so. This first semester, I'm only going to go part-time but my plan is to go full-time after that.

Is there something I'm missing? Should I just apply for everything, even if I'm not qualified? Does anyone have any success stories about paying for college as an adult?

Help me persuade a small philosopher's 'circle' to use the Philosopher's Research Network to distribute papers given at our annual meeting.

anotherpanacea — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:14:06 -0800

Help me persuade a small philosopher's 'circle' to use the Philosopher's Research Network to distribute papers given at our annual meeting. Objections include:
1. Young scholars cannot risk the loss of reputation associated with a flawed article appearing publicly. (Possible answer: papers are vetted by older scholars at the acceptance phase, the circle as a whole during their reading, and anyway, need not be posted until they are judged ready by the author and the circle.)
2. Online publication of drafts will decrease the likelihood of publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
3. Online access promotes plagiarism.

Anyone who has used any part of the SSRN or other online draft repositories successfully, I'd appreciate your anecdotes and advice on swaying the group. I'm especially hoping for refutations of the above points, and anyone who can say that SSRN-like sites have helped their careers or scholarship.

How to pay for Grad school?

limon — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:59:32 -0800

Best book or online resource for funding Grad School? I keep hearing about how you can fund your studies through external sources, but all I see are scholarships that are either impossibly selective (for example, the Rhodes Scholarship) or fairly meager (under $1000). I don't mean to scoff at a thousand dollars, but I'd have to win twenty or thirty of these scholarships to pay for a year of school.

My situation: I got accepted into a doctoral program at a prestigious school. I haven't gotten an official acceptance letter yet, just a quick congratulatory note from the chair of the program. I therefore don't know what funding is going to look like, but said chair has mentioned the program is not in a position to fund their students throughout their students, and that the students are primarily externally supported. I can't afford to pay my own way. Before I give up, I'd like to know where I should look for funds.

In Line for a Scholarship. Your Help Needed!

imjustsaying — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:44:29 -0800

My high school senior son is a finalist for a very nice Humanities scholarship at his first choice of colleges where's he's been accepted. He'll be interviewed this coming Saturday. He's a personable kid, converses well with adults, and has a quick wit. His grades are flawless. However, he's always been very reluctant to discuss his own ability or achievements.

I've told him that while we know he won't brag about himself, he does need to step up and modestly acknowledge the good things he's done as a person and as a student.

I've also told him that if and when he's asked why he wants to attend this particular institution, as well as why he's deserving of this scholarship, he needs to have some good answers. Hopefully he's giving these some thought.

From my chats with college admissions officers in the past I've also gathered that they're looking for intellectual curiosity and motivation from their applicants.

What kinds of questions should he expect from the faculty and college student committee who'll be interviewing him?

Additionally, does anybody have any other good suggestions for him?

We won't give you a scholarship until you're good and traumatized.

InnocentBystander — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:59:12 -0800

Due to some bizarre circumstances, my college is forcing me to dig up some things from my past I'd thought I'd put behind me and would much, much sooner forget. How do I deal? This is IB's wife, in case anyone wondered. Probably not. Anyway, I'm going back to college after a long hiatus. I went to college the first time at a school that had weird "block" scheduling, so while I didn't finish the equivalent of a semester, I still had some credits.

I ended up having to leave college due to an abusive family situation. Being a minor at the time meant I had very little recourse when they decided to bring me back. Records were made by Child Protective Services at that time, but they didn't take me out of my home.

Last year, the director of admissions at the school I now attend told me I would qualify as a first-year student for scholarship purposes. I paid quite a bit out-of-pocket to come to "scholarship weekend" and ended up winning one of the best scholarships my school has to offer.

Then the director of admissions left, and the new guy has no idea why she'd have told me I was a first year, since "any credits earned while not in high school" disqualify me from that status according to him. I ended up breaking down crying in his office and recounting the story of being pulled out of college to him. He said that what he wanted to see was EXTENSIVE documentation of what occurred -- including CPS records, notarized statements from college officials, et cetera -- and that then, possibly, maybe, he could give me the scholarship.

Even thinking about that time in my life sends me into a quasi-panic attack. It was a terrible time that I hate dwelling on. Add to this the fact that I already hate having to navigate bureaucracy, and you get a great combination. I keep trying to pick up the phone to make these calls but then I freeze and can't get it done.

I was thinking of even letting the whole thing drop, but he just called here badgering me to get him the documentation. I feel like making these calls and sending in for this paperwork is making me relive a past I wanted very badly to put away, and the anxiety it's producing is really not okay.

What the hell should I do?

Not an easy task.

laughinglikemad — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:39:35 -0800

How do I help my brilliant - but broke - friend go to school? After her first day of kindergarten, her parents saw how excited she was about school, and knew they had to nip her future dreams in the bud. So they sat her down and said, "When you get older, you might hear about this thing called 'college.' You're not going." Her future has born that out.

She wants to go to school for psychology, and I'm looking for things like scholarships, programs, and paid internships that can help her get there. As is, she works as a cocktail waitress - which was a big step up from call centers before that - but she's lucky if she get enough sleep, let alone pay rent. Whenever anyone mentions school, she just gets depressed, because she sees it as totally unachievable. But she's also proud, which means that I can't chip in to a fund or anything from my meager savings.

She has a GED, having dropped out at the age of 16: she's taken a few community college courses back when she lived with her father, but she's on her own now. Her mother is mad - schizophrenic, and a horribly abusive person to boot - but has never been diagnosed. Her little brother is severely disabled, both mentally and physically - hunchback, bad heart, autistic - and my friend might one day have to care for him full-time (he's a minor, and living with his mad mother). She lives in Seattle, and has always lived in Washington.

I know that I can't solve her problems, but I still wanted to ask: a lot of opportunity comes from just knowing what's out there. Given those details, does she quality for any assistance - scholarships for children of crazy people, or family members of the disabled? Anyone out there who has overcome similar obstacles, to achieve similar goals?

I'd rather avoid those seasickness wristbands.

you're a kitty! — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:31:00 -0800

What should I give my mother for her upcoming trip around the world? My unbelievably cool mother will be attending the Scholar Ship program this spring, starting in Hong Kong in January and travelling west from there (itenerary here - how seriously cool is that?). I want to make her a care package or get her something wonderful as a send-off/Christmas gift, and since a lot of you are well-travelled I figured I'd come here for advice. She'll be living on the ship, so she shouldn't have too much trouble with weight; she'll also have a computer with (I assume) internet access. I'll obviously want to include some reminders of home and other personalized things you can't suggest, but what else would be useful, comforting, or especially cool to send off with her? What would you want to have with you if you were spending four months on a cruise ship, finishing your bachelor's while traversing the globe?

Incidentally - anything I should ask her to bring back for me?

Please help me honor a scientist

cadge — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:04:21 -0800

Please help me honor a scientist I once knew. I'm looking to (A) set up a small scholarship in her name and (B) figure out what to do with something that she bequeathed to me. I was a member of a local amateur science club when I was younger. One of the members, an older woman who was way ahead of her time with regards to women in science, passed away and bequeathed a special jacket of hers to me (it had neat commemorative patches). It's over 10 years later now, and I haven't been involved or in touch with the club for a long time. I found the jacket again recently in my wardrobe, and I'd like to properly honor this fantastic woman.

1. I'm interested in setting up a scholarship in her name for high school senior girls who plan to major in some branch of science. I'd like to start relatively small, like a few hundred dollars that can be used for books. Has anyone done this before? I don't know the details, like if I can just approach my local high school with this offer or if I need to do some kind of registration or non-profit paperwork first. It's the kind of thing where I can picture holding fundraising parties every year or so among my geeky friends to keep it going.

2. I would really like to do something honorable with the jacket itself. It feels disrespectful to have it just sitting in my closet. Any ideas?

How do I give small scholarships to at-risk kids

conch soup — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:22:49 -0800

How do I disburse scholarships for an after-school program to underprivileged youth, who have little or no parental support? I am involved with a youth sailing club on a tiny (13,000 people) Caribbean nation, and we have a modest scholarship fund. Here's alot of background before I flesh out the question- Sorry for all the detail:

Most of the US sailing institutions at which I've taught have had primarily wealthy cliente (surprise!) but at this club most of the kids would be considered at-risk youth and quite a few come from very poor families, with one or zero parents in their home. This has created it's own set of challenges, but it is also the reason I got involved in the first place. We try to teach sailing in a culturally relevant manner, emphasizing teamwork, confidence, and self-respect.

The club is non-profit, slightly government supported, and one of only a handful of recreational programs for kids to do on the island. Our enrollment fees are extremely low (around $40/ month), especially compared to similar US sailing programs. Even so, alot of families cannot afford to send their kids to the after school program, or the summer sailing camp. Furthermore, residents here are very unaccustomed to the idea of paying for, or even encouraging their kids to do extracurricular activities.

What really inspires me is that some kids will show up, week after week, to sailing classes with no parental encouragement or support. Sailing is the national sport here and has played a huge role in the history and culture of the nation (which was a fishing-based economy until only recently), so they are the most dedicated sailing kids I've ever taught.

So, disbursing the scholarships so far has been tricky. At first, we sent home notes, saying something like, your child has expressed interest in our Wednesday sailing class, the cost for this class is X, but we provide partial or full scholarships that you may request by calling 555-555.

That got zero responses. Forms, in all their incarnations are very foreign here, and not received well. Alternatively, there are some kids who we know could not come up with even a fraction of the money to join the program, so we comp'd them. I know with any educational program, getting the parents involved is key, and we've had some success with that. But contacting some of the parents can be quite difficult at times, as they may be "off-island" for indefinite periods of time, they may work irregular hours, or they just don't see any value in the program. Speaking with the kids about this can have it's own challenges, like explaining a scholarship to an 8-year old who has no noticeable parental role other than a 13 year old brother. It seems unfair to exclude kids because their parents aren't responsive to their interest in the sailing club, but we also can't just say if you don't pay, Ta-da! you have a scholarship. That is setting the fund up to be abused, and the program taken for granted, and we don't have a ton of funds.

Has anyone had similar scholarship programs where you had small scholarships to give out to kids in a youth recreation program? I've considered making the monthly price $5 instead of $40, and then stating to the involved parents that the suggested price is $40, which many are glad to pay. Or, we could say the scholarship will cover $30 of $40, and you can come work for a few Saturday mornings, and earn the $10. Any stories of similar programs and solutions would be very helpful. I don't assume that there will be an exact answer, but I'd like to hear if you've gone through a similar experience and what your solution is.

Miserable with a future, or on hold but with less misery?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:38:44 -0800

I have almost certainly won an eighteen thousand dollar award to do my Master's degree, but every day I find myself semi-wishing that I don't win it so that I don't have to do my Master's. Do I suck it up and advance my career, or turn down more money than I make in two years and end up working at the mall? I am a pretty smart cookie, I love school, and I love the fields that I majored in. For the past several years, though, I have been a research assistant for Dr. M, and when the time came for me to pick a supervisor, he seemed a natural fit. Smart, well-known, friendly, a good boss. Since then, though, we have had some conflict. I have had to change my topic from the area I am passionate about to the area he studies (I know, this is fairly typical) and he micromanages every step of the application process. As an example, he wrote my scholarship application for me and then seemed insulted when I made changes. He made all the decisions about who would be on my committee without consulting me. He has already decided the theoretical framework and methods for my study (as it happens to coincide with his). Anyway, bitching aside, the Cole's notes version is: I am unhappy with my supervisor, I am unhappy with my topic, I will very likely win a bunch of money to do this work.

Switching to another prof so that I can study what I want is not an option, as for various reasons I am tied to this one city (which only has this one school), and my department is quite small. There is no one here who specializes in my interest, and the department is so small that I really can't afford to step on anyone's toes, especially not Dr. M who has invested so much in training me these past years. I feel like I owe him.

If I do turn down the award, my degree is not such that I am qualified for any particular position. I would probably end up working at a call centre or something equally fulfilling. At this point, though, all I really want is to get away from the Uni. I have been there for so long that I have grown to hate it, hate research, and hate writing.

I can suck it up and do this degree, but I am sure it will not be a pleasant two years. Still, it will be two years, a short amount of time in the long run. I will have the award to put on my CV, plus some publications. All-in-all, good for my career. Do I do this, put my academic potential first and suffer through two years, or do I put my career on hold for a bit (turning down a large sum of money), and experience Life After School?

How can I prepare for tax fallout from my grant?

jeffmshaw — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 05:48:37 -0800

I am an American working overseas for a year on a grant. It is my primary source of income, and there is no tax withheld from the grant. I am looking for advice on the best way to prepare for the tax situation I will face. The grant is a Fulbright scholarship, if that matters. According to this publication, it is treated as scholarship/fellowship income. This means I can probably deduct "local transportation, lodging, and food expense[s]" as well as business expenses (it's a journalism grant). For a number of reasons, I'm sure I'll need professional help on this, but I'd appreciate assistance on any of the issues below.

1. I've been saving every receipt that might be useful. Is this the best approach, or is there another way to make it easier on myself or the tax preparer that will assist me?

2. People in my position are supposed to pay "Estimated Tax Payments," but the form [pdf] has a table that only assumes dollar income -- I am paid in Japanese yen so I have no idea what conversion metric to use that will satisfy the IRS.

3. As I said, I know I need to consult a pro. What is the best way to approach finding a qualified tax professional that will advise me about my actions during 2007? (I believe this would be worth it -- if you do not, feel free to advise me of that). I am in Japan now, and I do not know where in the U.S. I will live when I return, so I'm wondering where I should be looking.

Motivation, Leadership, Learning, Change

divabat — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 01:15:52 -0800

What other learning programs are out there that are similar to Sauve Scholars? The Sauve Scholars program describes itself as "an opportunity for highly-motivated people, under thirty, of demonstrated leadership potential, to come to Montreal for eight months to research, reflect, question and enlarge upon their understanding of the state of the world and their roles in effecting positive change." The program involves seminars with leaders in various fields, field trips, interaction with others from different countries, and working on a project related to social change.

What other programs out there are similar in structure and scope? Something that connects likeminded people, involves working on projects, and also involves different forms of learning such as seminars, trips, or hands-on learning, for people in their 20s? Something related to social development or creativity would be handy, but I'm open to all.

It doesn't have to be academic...the UN has yearly internships and fellowships that have a similar focus, for example. But it should be open to undergrads from anywhere in any field (in my case, I'm doing Creative Industries [writing and management], but any field is OK too, for research's sake).

Thank you!