The Zinch Report

Recently, USA Today came out with their annual All-Academic team, showcasing 20 of the most talented and accomplished high school seniors in America. USA Today states that this "Academic Team honors seniors as representatives of all outstanding high school students in the country who not only excel academically but also extend their abilities beyond the classroom to benefit society."

Yup, these cats are for real--got game in and out of the classroom. 20 of the top.

Anyway, I was able to catch up with a bunch of them, interviewing them about their high school accomplishments, asking about their college admissions experiences, and begging them to share some of their nuggets of wisdom with y'all. Most of them were kind enough to take the time out of their busy schedules to sit and chat with me.

So during the next couple weeks, I will be putting up interviews that I had with them. It'll be called the "All-Star Series."

Here are some quick facts and figures about them.
• 11 girls, nine boys
• Average 3.98 unweighted grade-point average on maximum 4.0 scale
• Three from California (including two at Palos Verdes Peninsula High) and two each from Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania
• Average SAT of 2,346, with six earning the 2,400 maximum score; three scored 36 on the ACT
• 14 headed to Harvard
• Two at private schools; 18 public
• Six Presidential Scholars; three won state awards for placing the highest on the most AP tests.

Also just a reminder, we will also be introducing the scholarship winners on the 27th of this month and shortly thereafter doing stories on them as well. Peacers.

Mickey

Series Update:
Part 1: Meredith MacGregor
Part 2: Jason Vartikar-McCullough
Part 3: Felix Zhang
Part 4: Vidya Viswanathan