DePaul University becomes the largest private university to not require ACT or SAT scores. Starting for the freshman class of 2012, students will be able to answer essay questions instead of submitting test scores. The essay questions will be used to determine if the student has the "noncognitive" traits to make them successful in college. Those traits include leadership, commitment to service and the ability to meet long-term goals. University officials hope that this new initiative will help draw more diverse applicants and students who are more likely to graduate.

"Admissions officers have often said that you can't measure heart," said Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for enrollment management. "This, in some sense, is an attempt to measure that heart."

It will be interesting to see how this new policy helps or hurts them. Either way, this is a bold approach that opens the doors to a lot of high school students who didn't do well on their admissions tests. We will continue to follow this story and report back with any updates that DePaul releases. In the mean time, feel free to learn about the ACT and SAT tests in our Resource Center, or apply for our Scholarship giveaway.

Word came down this week that Harvard University will be inviting back ROTC to its campus for the first time in 40 years. What caused the sudden change? The armed forces can thank Congress for repealing its ban this week on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

This change will end a 40 year old stalemate between the military and one of the country’s best universities. Some quick history on this, the Vietnam War was the catalyst of the initial change and it continued over the last few decades due to student, faculty and Harvard administrators believing that it was unfair that the armed forces were discriminating against gays and lesbians. This has some profound implications on the military now that it will be able to recruit some of the brightest young minds in the country on campus.

University administrators will start up talks soon with high ranking military officials about the timetable for getting them back on campus. It seems as if the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy was the last hurdle they needed to overcome to get Reserve Officers’ Training Corps started up at Harvard again.

Here is what Drew Faust, the president of Harvard had to say; "I look forward to pursuing discussions with military officials and others to achieve Harvard’s full and formal recognition of ROTC," and, "I am very pleased that more students will now have the opportunity to serve their country." So it looks like school officials are definitely on board with this. One thing is for sure, the brain trust in the military is about to get that much smarter over the next decade or so.

Read the Full Story at the Boston Globe. You can search for your own ROTC opportunities on AnyCollege.

Think you have researched all of the college scholarships that are out there? Think again, I bet you haven't seen some of these unusual, crazy and odd scholarships. Shout out to our friends at Dualmasters.org for compiling this list.

1. Frederick and Mary F. Beckley “Left-Handed” Scholarship: Are you left handed? Are you going to Juniata College? Are you at least a sophomore? Then you can qualify for this left-handed student’s only scholarship. 
2. Michigan Llama Association Scholarship: If your folks are alumni of the Michigan Llama Association, you can send an application in this scholarship worth $500, the cool thing is that is it renewable up to 3 times. All you have to do is write an essay about your family’s involvement with llamas.
3. Zolp Scholarship: Here are the three criteria for this scholarship: Is your last name Zolp? Are you Roman Catholic? Do you attend Loyola? If you meet these three requisites then you can a full-tuition scholarship as Loyola.
4. Van Valckenburg Memorial Scholarship: If anyone can Van Valckenburg can. Win a scholarship that is if you have that last name. In fact it is good for up to $1,000 towards tuition at any college.
5. Tall Clubs International Scholarship: Are you really tall? If so, you can take advantage of this “higher ed” scholarship. As long as you are at least 6′2″ and male, or at least 5′10″ and you are a female, then you can enter in for a $1,000 college scholarship.
6. Little People of America Scholarships: If you are a little person, you can qualify for this scholarship. Preference given to those who have a medically diagnosed form of dwarfism.
7. Billy Barty Foundation Scholarship: You can also apply for the $1,000 if you are shorter than 4′10″ and diagnosed with dwarfism.
8. National Gay Pilots Association Scholarship: If you are gay, and planning to study aviation, this scholarship might be for you. You do have to be active in the LGBT community.
9. American Nudist Research Library Scholarship: If you are a young nudist, looking for a little financial aid help, you can apply for this scholarship.
10. Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship: Those attending Bucknell University, and who have lived in Mount Carmel for 10 years and graduated from the public high school, can get this scholarship. Oh, and you can’t be using narcotics, tobacco or intoxicating liquor.
11. NCTA Help Santa Find the Perfect Real Christmas Tree: If you are between the ages of six and 16, you can write an essay about finding a perfect Christmas tree, and get up to $10,000.
12. FBI Common Knowledge Scholarship: Do you happen to know a lot about the FBI? If so, you can enter this quiz contest and possibly win up to $250.
13. National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Scholarship: The New England chapter of this organization offers a scholarship to students who are overweight.
14. Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Scholarship: If you are willing to study bagpipes from a world-famous instructor, majoring in the pipes, you can get $7,000 a year — and a discount on your kilts.
15. Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest: High school seniors can compete for scholarships of $1,500, $500, $300 and $200 for best ability to call ducks.
16. Coven of the Sacred Waters Scholarships: Do you have a talent for witchcraft? If so, you can apply for a $500 scholarship from the Coven of the Sacred Waters. You can also apply for a community service award — even if you aren’t a witch.
17. National Make It Yourself with Wool Scholarship: The American Sheep Industry Association offers a scholarship for those who make garments out of at least 60% wool.
18. The Kor Memorial Scholarship: This is a scholarship offered by the Klingon Language Institute for those who have the talent of tongue. No, you don’t have to speak Klingon; but you do have to be studying language.
19. Starfleet Academy Scholarships: The International Star Trek Fan Association’s Starfleet offers a number of scholarships, based on different talents, including engineering, medical, performing arts, writing and business.
20. Excellence in Predicting the Future Award: If you are good at figuring out what the market will do, you can join in this contest to see whether you can win $400 by accurately predicting the market and increasing your account.

To see the even more crazy, weird and odd scholarships, see the full list at http://www.dualmasters.org/. To apply for our free college scholarship please follow this link: http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm 

With a record number of students heading to college in America, we thought it would be cool to take a look at what the average college student could expect. This is a great breakdown of information ranging from tuition prices, drinking and the importance of social networking. It's crazy that 85% of college students are on facebook, but I guess that's not surprising. Also pretty interesting was that 1 and 10 admissions counselors look at a perspective students facebook page before deciding their fate. So make sure your social profiles aren't too crazy while you are going through the admissions process. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it is accurate?

There is always a debate on what the best cities are for college students. Well the fine people at AIER came up with a pretty good map of where the best towns are. If you are a high school student and are still undecided on where you want to go to school, then this map should help you out. If you are a current college student, let us know what you think about these ranking by leaving a comment below.

Please click to enlarge

Please click to enlarge