If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Sorry, kids, there's homework. And for rising seniors, it's high-stakes homework. It's an assignment that will probably rattle plenty of nerves -- and might even ignite a squabble or two between parents and kids. It's the infamous Common Application essay.
It would allow students more TIME to pursue their academic passions, get a job, make an impact on their communities, write for their school newspapers, do high level research, and read for pleasure. The irony, of course, is these are exactly the attributes top colleges profess to want from their applicants.
I've found that the most effective way to defuse test anxiety and boost scores is to coach students in a way they find appealing: with pop culture and comedy. Here are three tips if you or someone whose cell phone bill you pay is taking the SAT this spring.
To me, the entire SAT/ACT system is somewhat convoluted; with the amount of money and time that goes into private tutors, it seems that people are paying for their scores.
I feel like I'm sliding down a torrential water slide. Senior year is here.
Over the last year, it's been her full-time job to participate in a process that many parents push on their teens, but never truly understand. And guess what? Times have changed. This isn't your 1979 SAT experience.
My secret advice to raising SAT scores is to read the New Yorker magazine weekly -- or another magazine that is a reach to read because it's written for adults, not teens.
If you're anything like me (teaching, parenting or working with college-bound students) my plea herein is for a reconsideration of this show.
Law school admissions officers should grade applications on a socioeconomic curve, and remember that wealth -- dishing out $1,200 - 9,000 for a prep class -- should not be a precondition of acceptance.
I'm not saying a senior should bail altogether. But keep in mind that your senior's acceptance matters almost as much to his or her high school as it does to you.
Test-taking strategies: If there's a consensus on anything, it's that your child doesn't want to spend valuable time reading the instructions for the first time on the day of the test. Before you pay for sample tests in a room at a prep center, or proctored by a tutor, consider a few free sample tests at home.
The College Board is both in the business of test administration and test prep. If this feels inherently unfair, it should -- it's like a doctor whacking your knee with a sledgehammer and then offering to patch you up.
