A recent article in The Chicago Tribune reported that the Educational Testing Service (ETS) will soon offer a "supplemental assessment of graduate school applicants on those personal characteristics that could help students tackle advanced studies."

The test is called the "Personal Potential Index" and allows GRE test-takers to submit names and emails of professors for evaluation. ETS will then send these professors online evaluation forms as well as the opportunity to provide written comments. The new program is scheduled to be offered starting next month.

The test has been developed as an attempt to resolve the issue of low doctorate program graduation rates. According to the article, nearly half of all students who start doctorate programs don't finish them.

ETS Research Official Patrick Kyllonen is quoted in the article explaining why the GRE is not sufficient enough for predicting graduation. He states, "Every faculty member can tell you about students with very high GRE scores who never finish their degree and some who get barely admitted based on their scores and go on to become academic stars. We are hoping this will go a long way to capture some of those qualities."

The next edition of the Insider Edge will be emailed to subscribers on Wednesday, June 17.

This edition of our free, monthly newsletter will include these items:

• Look Beyond Numbers in Gauging Your Admissions Chances
• Maximize Your GRE Potential
• Preparing for the 2009-2010 VMCAS Application Season

The Insider Edge is a free monthly newsletter that we email to subscribers once a month. Signing up is easy – just click on the 'Newsletter' link at the very top of this webpage.

For those of you who are applying to veterinary school there are a few things you must keep in mind as you look to begin the process.

Before you can expect your school to meet your educational needs, you must be admitted, and to gain admittance, you need to have a plan. If you are not sure where to start, try making a list of all the items pertaining to your application. To help keep you on track, here's a checklist from senior veterinary school consultant Barbara Coats to help you get started with the application process.

In a recent press release, Harvard's Graduate School of Design Executive Education announced a new lineup of summer programs for "architects, urban planners, and those interested in the built environment." Some of the topics being covered this summer include sustainability, universal design, airport design, master planning and daylighting buildings.

The variety of the summer programs begin in late June and end in early August. According to the release Harvard's Graduate School of Design's Executive Education programs "explore timely design and planning issues and trends while enabling participants to gain new skills and exchange ideas and experiences with faculty and peers."

US News & World Report has released the best education program rankings that will appear in their 2010 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." Listed below are the top fifteen schools for education programs.

1. Vanderbilt University (Peabody)
2. Stanford University
3. Teachers College, Columbia University
4. University of Oregon
5. University of California--Los Angeles
6. Harvard University
7. Johns Hopkins University
7. Northwestern University
7. University of California--Berkeley
7. University of Texas--Austin
7. University of Wisconsin--Madison
12. University of Washington
13. University of Pennsylvania
14. New York University (Steinhardt)
14. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor