Congresswoman’s medical condition optimistic
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition in Tuscon after being shot through the head Saturday, but is showing signs of potential recovery, doctors said Sunday and Monday.
Physicians said that Giffords could respond to simple commands, but explained that the ability to perform simple actions such as squeeze her hand is far from the ability to perform the complicated communication skills necessary to perform as a congresswoman.
“This is about as good as it gets,” Peter Rhee, the trauma medical director at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, told the Washington Post. “When you get shot and the bullet goes through your brain, the chances of your living are very small.”
Gifford was shot at close range, allegedly by 22-year-old Jared Loughner. The bullet entered her brain from the back of the skull and exited through the front.
While the bullet traveled through a large part of Gifford’s brain, it did not pass through the center, Reed explained.
California university accidentally tells 500 students they’re out
Five hundred students at California State University mistakenly received letters saying they were disqualified from returning to university for the winter semester, reported the Associated Press.
University officials have since apologized for the error, explaining the students were all on academic probation but only 164 should have received the letters of disqualification.
The university’s registrar’s office sent the letters Dec. 27, telling the students their fall 2010 grade point average and overall GPA was too low for continued enrolment in the university. They were also told they could meet with an academic advisor and submit a petition to appeal the disqualification.
The mistake was caused by a coding error.
Family ties play big role in university admissions: study
A recent study examining admissions at over 30 selective colleges in the U.S. found that applicants with family connections to the university have an advantage over applicants who don’t, according to the New York Times.
The study, conducted by Michael Hurwitz, a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, found that applicants who applied to their parent’s alma mater were seven times more likely to be accepted than those who had no family ties to the university. Applicants who had a parent who attended graduate school there, or had another relative who attended the university, were only twice as likely to be accepted.
The study comprised of data from 133,236 applicants for 2007 college admission and the outcomes of 61,962 applicants who applied to more than one of the elite colleges.
“I was able to take into account all the applicant’s characteristics because they were the same at every school they applied to. About the only thing that would be different was their legacy status,” said Hurwitz.
Hurwitz’s study is part of a growing body of research reflecting the significance of family connections in college acceptance, but found a more significant impact than past research.
