Sometimes being a student can feel a little more like being an audience member in a show you’d probably rather get a refund for, except that you can’t because you’re mandated by law (and probably your parents) to be in class five days a week where you are expected to pay attention, complete assignments, and pass tests. It sure can feel like you don’t have a lot of freedom. But actually, you do.
Read MoreThe end of the school year is rapidly approaching, and exams are on the horizon. Final exams. AP exams. SAT and ACT exams. With so many impending tests, it is important to prepare yourself for success. Remember, your GPA is one of the most significant factors in college admissions, so take control in these last weeks of school. Here are some study strategies and techniques to ensure you can perform to the best of your ability.
Read MoreThe first passage on both the ACT and the SAT Reading tests is the fiction/literature passage. For some students, the fiction passage is the most interesting one on the test because it offers a change of pace from the others, which tend to be fact-based and straightforward. However, when teaching these passages, I often hear collective groans from my students because many of them fail to grasp what actually happens within these stories. To reduce confusion, here are some suggestions on how to approach fiction and literature passages on the ACT and SAT:
Read MoreAmidst all the buzz about the importance of SAT preparation, it’s easy to overlook the lesser-known SAT Subject Tests. But they’re important! Let’s look at some basic subject testing information…
Read MoreNow that spring is officially underway, it’s time to start thinking about and planning for the summer. While summer can offer a nice reprieve from school, it also offers boundless opportunities to bolster your college applications. Ideally, you want to use the summer months to pursue and deepen your passions and potential career interests. When it comes time to fill out your college applications, these experiences can demonstrate initiative, dedication, and responsibility. Here are some potential avenues to explore for the summer…
Read MoreAs communication technologies change, so too does digital etiquette. There are ever-evolving, unspoken rules, for instance, to the art of liking or commenting on a friend’s Instagram post. Periods, exclamation points, and no punctuation at all can communicate a wide range of emotions and inflections in a text message. Most teenagers seem to know these rules intuitively.Yet many teenagers are clueless when it comes to emailing professors and college admissions officers. If you’re a college-bound high school student, you need to master the intricacies of email etiquette—or risk offending the wrong people.
Read MoreAlthough you have considerable freedom regarding when to take the SAT, being strategic could help you achieve your best score, not to mention save you some money. The decision of “when” depends mostly on two things: your academic situation and your preparedness. Here are some considerations to help you optimize fitting the SAT into your high school timeline.
Read MoreWhat if things didn’t quite work out as you expected and instead of deciding between letters of admission, you find that you’ve been waitlisted at one or more schools?
Read MoreReading comprehension is a complex process that involves understanding both the explicit and implicit, or unstated, meanings of a text. Practicing your reading comprehension skills can go a long way toward improving your test performance as well as your long-term reading progress. Here's how to start...
Read MoreFor nearly as long as I can remember, I have heard media pundits, teachers, and peers mention the slippery slope by name—not as a logical fallacy, but as the basis for an argument. As it happens, the slippery slope is one of the best-known and least-understood logical fallacies. What follows is devoted to explaining what the fallacy is, how it is erroneously deployed, and why it all matters.
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