USA Today - 2007 All-USA College Academic Team

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Each February, USA TODAY honors 20 undergraduate academic all-stars as its All-USA College Academic Team. The students named to the All-USA College Academic First Team have their photos published and accomplishments spotlighted in USA TODAY’s Life section as representatives of all outstanding undergraduates. They each receive a trophy and a $2,500 cash award. Forty more students named to the Second and Third Teams receive certificates and have their names announced in the newspaper.

The All-USA Academic Team honors full-time undergraduates who not only excel in scholarship but also extend their intellectual abilities beyond the classroom to benefit society.

Criteria include grades, academic rigor, leadership, activities and most important, the student’s essay describing his or her most outstanding intellectual endeavor done while in college. Unlike a scholarship or grant aimed at helping make education possible, the All-USA Academic Team is an award honoring students for what they have accomplished as undergraduates.

The program is open to full-time undergraduates of at least junior standing at a four-year institution in the United States or its territories. Students must be nominated by their schools and be willing to be held up in a national newspaper as a representative of all outstanding students. Schools may nominate as many students as they consider appropriate for this award.

Selection criteria were developed in consultation with USA TODAY’s co-sponsors: The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the American Council on Education (ACE).

Eligibility:

  • Nominees must be undergraduates of at least junior standing at a four-year institution of higher education in the USA or its territories.
  • The nominee must be a full time student as defined by his or her institution, typically carrying at least 12 credits toward a baccalaureate degree, when nominated. Students taking the 2006-07 school year off are not eligible.
  • U.S. citizenship is not required.
  • Nominees may not have received a baccalaureate degree prior to December 2006. Students in five-year or other combined undergraduate/graduate programs who have not yet received a bachelor’s degree are eligible. Those who have one bachelor’s degree and are seeking another are not.
  • Former members of the All-USA High School Academic First Team and All-USA Community College Academic First Team are eligible, but those previously named to the All-USA College Academic First Team may not be nominated again. (Second and Third Team members may be renominated.) Students will not be considered for more than one All-USA Academic Team (high school, community college, four-year college) in the same calendar year, even if they are eligible for more than one.
  • Nominees must be of upstanding character and willing to be held up publicly as outstanding students in the nation’s No. 1 newspaper. They must be aware that the contents of their nomination form may be released to the public should they win.

Nomination Deadline:

Nominations for the 2007 All-USA College Academic Team must be postmarked by Thursday, November 30, 2006. Send completed nomination packets to: Carol Skalski, USA TODAY, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108-9995 (Please use nine-digit ZIP code). For more information, advice to nominators and nominees, coverage and biographies of previous winners, frequently asked questions and additional nomination forms, go to http://allstars.usatoday.com. If you have any questions, please call Carol Skalski at (703) 854-5890 or email allstars@usatoday.com.

Advice for Nominees:

USA TODAY is seeking 20 students who can be held up as representatives of all outstanding undergraduates in the country. Judges consider not only grades, honors and leadership, but also how nominees apply their intellectual skills outside the classroom and how that may benefit society. The essay describing the nominee’s most outstanding intellectual endeavor carries the most weight in the judging process. The endeavor can be in scholarly research, in the arts, in literature, in community services, or in public affairs. The endeavor must have been undertaken during the student’s college academic career and achieved some tangible result, public recognition or benefit to society.

The nomination should give judges a succinct picture of the student’s academic talent, leadership, activities and intellectual endeavors. Judges strongly consider a nominee’s ability to follow instructions. They are unimpressed, for example, by one who gives lengthy explanations where brief descriptions are called for, or by one who submits a prepackaged vita instead of answers to Parts 2-5 of the application form.

Parts 2-5 give students a chance to show the breadth and depth of their activities. Nominees should not list a single endeavor more than once in Parts 2-5. An internship resulting in a published work that won an award, for example, will be credited only once. Answers should be complete but brief. Excessively long responses in Parts 2-5, or a 1,000-word essay in Part 7, can work against a nominee. Nominations without transcripts will not be considered.

The nomination form should be completed in type no smaller than 10-point. The form can be reproduced on a computer, but the back page must be signed by the nominee, nominating professor and dean. The nominee’s essay should be double-spaced.

The nominating professor is asked to address the merits of the intellectual endeavor described by the nominee. If the student has written about a group project, the professor should be specific about the student’s role in the project and its success. This is NOT counted as one of the two letters off recommendation. If the nominator is not in a position to write knowledgeably about the endeavor described in the student essay, he or she may write a more general letter of reference, provided one of the letters of recommendation comes from someone who addresses the merits of the student’s endeavor in detail. Nominees should ask for letters of recommendation from two people other than the nominator. They also should know the nominee well and be in the position to explain why the student’s achievements are significant. Letters of recommendation should be signed; e-mailed recommendations are not permitted.

For more information, check allstars.usatoday.com. If you have any questions, call Carol Skalski at (703) 854-5890 or e-mail allstars@usatoday.com. Send completed nominations to: All-USA Academic Team, c/o Carol Skalski, USA TODAY, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA, 22108-9995 (please use 9-digit ZIP code). Nominations must be postmarked by Thursday, November 30, 2006.