One of the great things about a cosmopolitan city like New York is that you can get the same foods you find at home, sometimes when they are out of season. So it was that I purchased a box of luscious tamarinds and some juicy pomegranates on a stop in an Asian market last evening. The place simply rocked with tropical fruits and foodstuffs from all parts of the globe. I spotted some hot tamarind balls, Jamaican mackerel in tomato sauce, scrumptious peppered shrimps and even some West Indian newspapers.

Usually I am able to pick tamarinds from the tree that droops over my wall and when that is laden I can get my fill from the fruits that turn the ground into a brown carpet. But the neighbour cut his tree so my supply has diminished somewhat yet that has not in any way affected my desire for this fruit which can range from an extremely sour to an unusually sweet taste.

My google analytics reports that visitors come to this blog from all over the world, mostly to read my views on issues in the sphere of education. Since the time of good cheer, happiness and gift giving is upon us concurrent with considerations of economic restraint I'm alerting my readers to a site that allows you to compare prices of thousands of gifts which can be shipped anywhere in the world.

I am a sucker for a girly fragrance with staying power. Whenever I get the chance I browse the perfume counters looking for that perfect scent, then I check the price. Now I can go home with my pocket book smelling nice (with all those testers) and quite possibly not too much lighter since I can price compare online. Sometimes I hear about or smell a fabulous perfume on someone and want to add it to my list of gift ideas but I just cannot find it in my usual stores. Again online shopping at Save Buckets can come to the rescue.

My son is quite amused at my ignorance about the ipod and my claims of youthfulness. Yes I don't have one yet, so as a gift to myself I will be checking out the cheapest, sleekest one I can find to keep me humming on the move. He'll smile but it will be mine.

Well I'm here in Florida enjoying the beach, an American tradition and a welcome holiday. Turkey is in the oven, mum is in the kitchen, son is in bed, the macy's parade is on and life is good. It is a fine concept, this idea of taking time to give thanks as we engage in fellowship with family and friends. While not a part of the culture in which I grew up the Thanksgiving tradition is easy to embrace and appreciate.

Of course after we read the novel we have been meaning to complete for weeks, watch a slew a movies and show gratitude for all the wonderful people and experiences we have known , some of us will try to take advantage of Black Friday. At least we hope that we will be able to keep our our economy's status in the black, whether it is by scouting for deals of just enjoying the view. If you'd like some help in doing the former, check out the Black Friday Strategy guide for great tips on how to find the best loacations, deals and prices. You will receive a bonus, the top Cyber-Monday products based on value and overall discount. The best thing is it is free. So go download it, print it and take it with you tomorrow.

Over the last few weeks there have been several reports of the negative effects of the economic crisis on the financial health of US colleges and universities. The picture is not a rosy one. From Harvard, the prince king of endowments, to Florida Community College resources have taken flight. Endowment fund managers like most investors participate in the stock market and with the topsy turvy nature of the market nowadays, educational institutions are in a state of flux. Here are some examples:

1. Oberlin College endowment of nearly $750 million shrunk by about 15% in the past four months.
2. Dartmouth College's endowment lost $220 million.
3. Harvard's President indicated that they should expect a 30 % reduction in endowments this fiscal year.
4. University of Northern Florida's endowment decreased from $96.8 million in June to $81 million by the end of September.

Of course prospective and continuing students are concerned because there are indications that in order to survive schools are going to take steps to reduce spending and increase earnings. They will therefore exercise options like hiring freezes, layoffs, tuition increases and financial aid decreases. The last option is one that students are especially worried about. The New York Times alerts us to this possibility at Tufts University which previously enjoyed the status of being "need blind". Tufts' president Lawrence Bacow lamented “.. with what’s happening in the larger economy, we expect that the incoming class is going to be needier. That’s the real uncertainty.”

This is not a problem which affects private institutions only as the government is also concerned with slashing expenses, thus state universities may also be seeking to increase fees, but in general these tuition costs will still be comparatively lower.

All is not doom and gloom however. Vassar will remain need blind and is said to be looking at increasing financial aid - $1 million more to be exact - for the upcoming year. Boston University will be granting scholarships to Boston public schools graduates. Harvard will continue to grant financial assistance on the basis of need charging nothing to those whose income amounts to less than US$60,000.00. On the government side the LATimes quoted the Secretary of Education who said,

"I want to reassure students and their families that federal student aid -- both grants and loans -- remains available to eligible students."

Nevertheless everyone must be prepared to bite the bullet and explore alternatives to financing their education.

• Remember some colleges also offer merit based aid. There is the well known Jefferson Scholarship available at the University of Virginia, the Robertson Scholarship at Duke University and the Honor and University Scholarships at the University of Chicago but check out some more which may not be so well known along with government grants at Scholarships.com

• There are federal loans available such as the Stafford loans and Perkins loans but there have been a diminution in the number of financial institutions in the student loan business and the remaining ones have tightened their standards.

• Some colleges also encourage students to participate in campus employment to supplement their income and to contribute to their tuition. At Swarthmore for example with a student population of approximately 1500, there are 1,100 students working part-time on campus.

No doubt everyone will be required to tighten his belt but hopefully this will not be at the expense of young people whose desire to maximize their potential and contribute to society in a positive way includes getting a college education.

My friend was complaining to me recently about the problems her daughter was having with math. She doesn't understand how she has gone from an A student up to 5th grade and now suddenly she has lost interest and accuses her teacher of giving tedious mental math exercises. It reminded me of my earlier post Math is Fun Too - if taught in a way that kids find interesting and even exciting. The key I think is to bring math home to the child in a way that he can relate to in his own life.

My son however told me about this E-book called Fun with Figures which a friend shared with him. He said it was cool, addictive and so much easier than the traditional methods, he didn't understand why they didn't use those methods in school. Now can you imagine being addicted to math? The idea behind it is to show plain, simple, logical techniques to quickly figure out problems.

Whether you're in 5th grade or in your 50's math will a necessary part of your lfie but Fun with Figures makes it so easy you don't need to reach for the calculator. We know for those aptitude tests like the SSAT and the SAT 1 you aren't allowed to use a calculator anyway so under timed conditions mental agility is key and practising with Fun With Figures will take you there.

My husband who has hardly a clue about the ins and outs of the US college application process recently asked me about the significance of need blind colleges, since this is a real factor that was taken into consideration by my son in deciding which schools to select.

Need blind merely means that the college does not take into consideration the financial circumstances of the applicant when they are assessing his application and determining whether to accept or reject same. When you hear such a definition then the assumption is, well if these colleges aren’t turned off by considerations of financial standing then they must be sufficiently well endowed to facilitate the attendance of students who are in need. There are in fact a fair amount of need blind colleges in the United States, some of these are:

Amherst College	Middlebury College	Boston College
Brown University	Northwestern University	Rice University
Claremont McKenna College	Pomona College	Columbia University
University of Chicago	Princeton University	University of Notre Dame
Dartmouth College	Swarthmore College	University of Rochester
Davidson College	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University
University of Rochester	Emory University	Vanderbilt University
Georgetown University	Wake Forest University	Grinnell College
Harvard University	Haverford College	Wesleyan University
Mass. Institute of Technology	Williams College	Yale University

Among these though, only those highlighted in red are need blind in relation to international students. A few of them, namely Amherst and Dartmouth only came on board a year or so ago. When my son went to a college fair last year, he said that the Dartmouth rep was very enthusiastic about selling this new financial aid initiative adopted by the college. The colleges which do this view the extension of this support as a means to enhance diversity at their college and to enrich the school's academic, social and cultural environment. It is almost trite to make the point that this is a costly endeavour. The high cost of college tuition is so well known; just take a look at some of these '08-'09 figures:

• Yale - $35,300.00 ,
• MIT - $36,140.00
• Dartmouth - $36,915.00
• Princeton - $$35,440.00 .

Oh if you could Go to College Almost for Free!

It is important to note that this does not cover room and board which can climb up to $11,000.00. Consequently international students who hope to take advantage of the opportunity offered by these schools should prepare themselves in terms of their academics, extra curricular activities and reputation in high school. They will need to convince admission officials they are worth it. Remember the common application form does in fact contain a section for the applicant to state whether they will be applying for need-based financial aid, so admission officials do have that information at hand. So although school policy states, sometimes emphatically, that financial need is not a factor affecting admission one cannot know for sure whether in the final analysis the subconscious is at work, especially under current harsh financial conditions, and puts its ghostly hand of rejection on your application.

Despite the “blind” perspective taken by these colleges it would be absurd to think that they’d be willing to assist an international student who is in need but who does not demonstrate the ability to manage the course load and college lifestyle and give something beneficial back to the school. The need blind colleges are few so competition is fierce. Make yourself standout so that the officials will “see” you in more than financial terms or at least as a huge return on their investment.

Another point of note is that colleges which are not need blind to foreign applicants - the appropriate phrase is "need aware" - such as Columbia and Stanford, will offer need based aid once they accept the applicant. Columbia's website states:

"if you are admitted then we will meet 100% of your demonstrated financial need."

That "once you are admitted" is the clincher though. So financial need is considered in determining whether to admit; but once they admit, your financial needs are addressed. It's clear therefore that at need aware schools, you have got to be an outstanding applicant to surmount the hurdle of being needy.

Barack Obama joins a respectable list of American leaders who have been products of the Ivy League. In recent years we have seen George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush all of whom attended Yale. For those who didn’t know, George W. Bush also attended Harvard Business School. Now there are those of you who may be quick to smirk or retort that some products of these schools – you can guess who - could hardly be considered worthy recommendation. Indeed this scathing article touches on some of the arguments often employed but even in science there is sometimes the need for certain assumptions to be re-defined.

Nevertheless if one were to examine the alumni of the eight (8) Ivy League schools it would be difficult to dispute the fact that the Ivy League consortium has produced an extraordinary group of persons who have gone on to rule not just America but the world.

Apart from the above mentioned, let us take a quick look at some notable graduate leaders:

Brown: No presidents or vice presidents although Charles Evans Hughes former Governor of New York, US Secy. of State and Chief Justice lost as Republican candidate in 1916 election to Woodrow Wilson.
Columbia: Theodore Roosevelt (US Pres. 1901-09), Dwight Eisenhower (US Pres. 1953-61), Barack Obama (US President Elect 2008)
Cornell: Mario Garcia Menocal (Pres of Cuba 1913-21), Jamshid Amuzegar (PM of Iran 1977-78), Lee Teng-hui (Pres of Republic of China (Taiwan) 1988-2000)
Dartmouth: Nelson Rockefeller (US. VP 1974 –77)
Harvard: John Adams (US. Pres 1797-1801), John Quicy Adams (US. Pres 1825-29), Felipe de Jesus Calderon (Pres. of Mexico 2006-present), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45), Edward Seaga (PM of Jamaica 1980-1989), JFKennedy (US Pres. 1960-63)
Princeton: Aaron Burr (US VP 1801-5) James Madison (US. Pres. 1809-17), Syngman Rhee (Pres. Rep. of Korea), Woodrow Wilson (US. Pres. 1913-21)
University of Pennsylvania: William H. Harrison (US Pres. 1841), Cesar Virata (PM of the Phillippines 1981-86), Nnamdi Azikiwe (Pres. of Nigeria 1963-66) Ernesto P. Balladares (1994-99), Kwame Nkrumah (Pres of Ghana 1957-60)
Yale: William Howard Taft (US. Pres. 1909-13), Gerald Ford (US. Pres. 1974-77), Karl Carstens (Pres. Of Germany (1979-84), Ernest Zedillo (Pres. of Mexico 1994-2000) and Dick Cheney (US. VP 2000-2008)

When one observes this distinguished output it may be justifiable to speculate whether the purpose behind the formation of this group of colleges was to create a slew of chiefs whose main objective was to take the reigns of leadership in whichever organization they found themselves. Let me remind you however that the Ivy League came out of an athletic conference. It was an association of schools which came together with a common objective to “[reaffirm] their intention of continuing intercollegiate football in such a way as to maintain the values of the game”, not to rule the world. Yet the high level of intellectual vigor, social conscience and passion for scholarship required to gain entry to these schools coupled with the reported strength and vitality of their academic programs leave little room for questioning why they’ve generated and will no doubt continue to generate graduates who aspire towards positions of leadership.

Some people think that leaders are born not made. Who knows? Perhaps there are methods, programs or models employed as part of the official or unofficial curriculum or perhaps it is ingrained in the philosophy that permeates the traditions followed over the years, or still perhaps the students who make it in are already so disposed to focusing on getting high results that it is a natural progression.

Whatever the reasons and despite the scorn that is sometimes cast on the role played by legacy, affirmative action and athletic scholarships in paving the path for entry to these schools the fact that Obama like many of the word’s leaders has attended these schools is nothing to scoff at and gives support to the view that the Ivy League grooms leaders. This will likely further drive the number of applications to and rejections from these schools.

One of the many stories we've heard in the US Presidential campaign is of the hunting skills of the Republican candidate for VP, Sarah Palin. We've seen the pictures of her posing with the caribou and with her rifle and heard of her shooting exploits from a helicopter. In a hilarious prank yesterday we even heard a comedian engage her as he pretended to share in her pastime. The comedian did not sound like a tough guy so if he were to carry this prank further he would perhaps need to get some high precision optics like the binoculars available at Nikon Pro Gear.

If any of you are hunters or you'd like to get in on the hunting craze you can get some pretty cool and professional hunting equipment and even some Free ATB Pro Gear. ATB refers to All Terrain Binocular and their line of products are pretty wide ranging from the rugged to the light. If you purchase an eligible Nikon ATB up to December 31, 2008 Binocular you'll get a $50 gift card and if you purchase a Trailblazer ATB, an Action Extreme ATB, or a ProStaff binocular you'll get a $25 gift card. Check out more details here. Someone's life may depend on it.

Phew! If you hate preparing tax returns, balancing cheque books, examining financial records or merely filling out forms you will truly despise the process of applying for financial aid to support your kids in their bid to go to college. Nevertheless we are all grateful for the schools which do give financial support to students especially in the case of international students.

At schools which offer need based awards to international students ie. those students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States, the student and parents are required to complete the International Student Financial Aid Application(ISFAA). This form can be purchased on the college board website or it can be downloaded for free from the website of colleges that offer need based aid to International Students. For example at Amherst's financial aid office you can find the form in pdf format here. Interestingly, Amherst only just started including international students in its need blind admissions policy.

The form comprises seven sections.Section A deals wtih the student's personal information such as name, address, citizenship, visa type, marital status and names of colleges. Section B addresses the parents' personal information, including name of their employer and educational nformation family members currently in college . Section C is where it starts getting into the financial fineprint and this goes right through to Section G. One important piece of information that is required is the exchange rate of your currency to the US dollar. You need to state this and declare the dollar values required in US dollar terms.

The financial information required is detailed. You must submit documentation such as tax forms, employer statement or bank statement to support your declaration regarding your income. You are examined as to all sources of household income including from other members of the household and you are encouraged to speculate as to your expectations of a decrease/increase in next year's income. I would love to meet someone who is expecting an increase next year.

You are probed about your assets. So get the details of your family home to hand. The year of purchase, purchase price, amount owing, present market value of the family home and the value of other real estate is required along with investments, savings, students' assets, money owed to family and even artwork is enquired about. The assets include those owned outside of your home country. So make an inventory. it is important to note that the family business is considered here. If the parents do in fact own a famly business then the school will request that they also complete a business/farm statement which like the (ISFAA) can be found on the relevant school's website.

They are quite thorough about expenses too. Rent, utilities, food, clothing, medical espenses, insurance payments, car maintenance, vacation and even servants are among the items listed. Your debt situation is considered too. So get out those receipt, bank account and credit card statements. Your memory will not be enough and you will be required to do some mental jujitsu or even anticipate proof of developing some fundraising talents as Section F demands you list the expected support from the student, family, friends, government, private sponsor and the ubiquitous other, for educational expenses over the four year period your child will be in college.

The final section moves away from - for many - the terrifying numbers to the more comfortable prose. This means you are allowed to express yourselves as to any unuusual expenses or special circumstances which you'd like the college to consider.

Finally the student and the parents get to sign. It is important that students and parents note the deadline for filing these forms. For early action, you should be shipping them out if you haven't already. This makes it a bit tougher as if you file tax returns in your country you probably will have to get th information together a bit earlier than normal or do some speculation. For the regular decision applicants however most schools have a February deadline to submit this financial aid application. So get ready there is lots of counting ahead and remember to read the school's website to determine their policy as to aid, how financial aid packages are calculated and what you might be expected to contribute. Inform yourselves.