The SAT II Subject Tests are an important, but often neglected part of the college application process. Indeed, the exams are challenging both in the breadth of material for which students are responsible and in terms of the scale used to produce final scores -- SAT II Subject Tests attract...

On September 28, 2011, the New York Times broke an unprecedented story about the private school world. The tutoring firm, Brattle Street Coaching, had gained access to the parent directory of the prestigious New York City private school, Riverdale Country, and sent promotional letters by mail to junior...

Academic tutoring and standardized test preparation rates in major metropolitan areas frequently run from $200 to $700 per hour. However, more stunning than the hourly rate is the healthy market of parents willing to pay it. In fact, companies like Advantage Testing and Inspirica -- the Louis Vuitton and Chanel...

I often receive phone calls from frustrated New York City private school parents who are concerned that even when their children are studious and diligent, there is not enough time in the day to handle standardized test preparation as well as a demanding course load, sports activities, and community service...

Last week The New York Times published a piece entitled, "The Best School $75 Million Can Buy," detailing Avenues, a new nursery through 12th grade independent school, opening in the fall of 2012. The article questions Avenues' future success as a for-profit business, pointing out that it will...

The ISEE (Independent Schools Entrance Exam) is a standardized test for admission to independent schools, developed and administered by the ERB (Educational Records Bureau). It is the test of choice for the majority of independent day schools and, consequently, is of continual concern to admission-crazed families. For the uninitiated, there...

Many students' biggest hindrance to academic success is their under-developed work ethic. This, of course, is a revelation few parents will find earth shattering, but the reason for this situation may come as a bit of a surprise. The most common explanation for a lack of effort and achievement is...

Every so often I receive a phone call from wary parents who have been wrestling with the consequences of private tutoring. Their concern is that tutoring is, at best, a band-aid and, at worst, a crutch that encourages dependence and academic atrophy. In one extreme instance, the mother of a...

Junior spring and senior fall can easily become unmanageable for students who are not only trying to maintain a blemish-free transcript of advanced coursework but also preparing for the ACT or SAT, AP exams, SAT subject tests, performing community service, and filling out college applications. But does it have to...

When students and parents think of standardized entrance exams, the SAT and ACT immediately come to mind. Like it or not, they are a major factor in determining the undergraduate future of college-bound students -- the prestige of the colleges to which they are accepted, the amount of financial aid...

Several weeks ago in "SAT vs. ACT: Choose Wisely," I discussed the ACT's growing prominence as a premier college entrance exam. Until two years ago, one of the supposed advantages for students taking the ACT was the test's score reporting policy. Unlike the SAT, students had the option of sending...

In April, 2005, a Newsweek article entitled, "'Tutoring' Rich Kids Cost Me My Dreams," the author -- a disillusioned former tutor -- begins: "For three years, I was an academic prostitute. I ruined the curve for the honest and ensured that the wealthiest, and often stupidest, students earned...

In November 2007 The New York Times published "SAT vs. ACT," an article whose title aptly suggested the new competitive status of the American College Test in relation to the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Comparisons of the two standardized college-entrance exams reflected the recently elevated rank on the East...

Ed. Note: The previous version of this story stated that top-rated liberal arts colleges only rarely give course credit for advanced placement test scores. However, it was later ascertained that many top universities (including Williams, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia) do accept a range of AP scores for course credit. The...

According to Steven Cruz, president of Omega Educational Consulting in New York City, the SAT or ACT score has considerable weight in a college application and is, in fact, approximately equal in importance to the high school transcript. Although the ratio is an estimate and varies from applicant to applicant,...

AIDS Wolf have been leaders of Montreal's noise scene for several years. Perhaps a result of its magnetically fearsome female front woman, Chloe Lum, and outrageously raucous live performances, the band had gained a considerable hype before dropping its first full length, The Lovvers LP. Despite my proclivity for the...

With the exception of Capitalist Casualties and a few other standouts, meaningful, emotive, exciting, yet "traditional" sounding punk records have been few and far between over the past fifteen years. Punk's spirit, however, formed out of frustration, speed and anger rooted in anarcho-capitalist/primitivist intellectualism has remained strong, rearing its head...

Musician, Matt Mehlan, released full lengths Git and Lucas in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The former was released under the name Skeletons & The Girl Faced Boys while the latter was produced by the Skeletons & Kings of All Cities. Mehlan incorporated a...