Get Ready For Tomorrow’s ACT

A few thoughts if you’re scheduled to take the ACT tomorrow.

To minimize your stress in the morning, it’s a great idea to get organized ahead of time. The last thing you need on test day is a desperate scramble. These are some of the things you can do the night before to get your big day off to a great start:

First, check with your parents to make sure they know when and where you’re scheduled to take the test, and arrange how you’ll get to the test center. Next, gather and pack all the things you’ll need to take with you. Some of the things on this check list are “must-have” items, while others are optional.

REQUIRED: Don’t forget any of the following items or it will be a long ride home!

• An approved calculator
• Sharpened #2 pencils
• An acceptable form of photo ID
• Your admission or standby ticket
• Mask

SUGGESTED:

• Water
• Snack
• Sweater
• Back-up calculator
• Extra batteries for your calculator
• Watch (to keep track of time)

Finally, given how COVID-19 has disrupted the testing process, we suggest that you confirm the status of your test registration and stay current on any changes by visiting ACT Testing Amid COVID-19.

Set your alarm, get a good night’s sleep and have a healthy, satisfying breakfast.

Have A Great Summer

We’ll be taking a break from posting this summer but we’ll be busy getting ready for the upcoming college admissions season and the release of The College Bound Planner. Make good use of all the great information and tips available on our site to help you successfully navigate your college search and application process.

Enjoy the summer!!

Registration Reminder

Today is the late registration deadline for the July 17th ACT exam. Please note there are no test centers scheduled in New York for the July test date.

College Planning This Summer

Whether you plan to work, volunteer, study or play, take time over the summer break to focus on your college application process.

Rising seniors, get a head start on your applications. Work on your essay(s) this summer without the pressures of keeping up with schoolwork. Come fall, you’ll be able to focus on school visits, finalizing your list of schools and completing your applications.

Here’s how to get started on your essay(s):

• Begin by opening your Common App account, if you don’t already have one. Then read the essay prompts so you can begin thinking about what you’d like to write about.
• Some schools require their own supplemental essays in addition to the Common App essays. Look through the websites for schools you’re considering to confirm their essay requirements.
•  You want to give admissions reps a reason to remember who you are and an incentive to advocate for your candidacy so, write an essay that reveals a side of yourself that isn’t evident in your transcript or test scores.
• A topic that’s ordinary and everyday can help tell your own particular unique story if you do it in a thoughtful way. It’s not the topic, but how you relate that topic to your life circumstances that’s important.
• Your essay should be well written and convey your own voice. It’s okay to seek out help from a proof reader, but make sure your essay is in your own words. Admissions officers want to hear what you have to say, not your parent or teacher or mentor.

In addition to your essays, continue to study if you’ll be taking any standardized tests and update your list of extracurriculars.

Rising juniors, summer’s a great time for you to begin your college process. Research schools, think about a test schedule and begin preparing, and start a comprehensive list of your activities and achievements to be used on the Common App.

Registration Reminder

Today is the registration deadline for the July 17th ACT exam. Please note there are no test centers scheduled in New York for the July test date.

Get Ready For Tomorrow’s ACT

A few thoughts if you’re scheduled to take the ACT tomorrow.

To minimize your stress in the morning, it’s a great idea to get organized ahead of time. The last thing you need on test day is a desperate scramble. These are some of the things you can do the night before to get your big day off to a great start:

First, check with your parents to make sure they know when and where you’re scheduled to take the test, and arrange how you’ll get to the test center. Next, gather and pack all the things you’ll need to take with you. Some of the things on this check list are “must-have” items, while others are optional.

REQUIRED: Don’t forget any of the following items or it will be a long ride home!

• An approved calculator
• Sharpened #2 pencils
• An acceptable form of photo ID
• Your admission or standby ticket
• Mask

SUGGESTED:

• Water
• Snack
• Sweater
• Back-up calculator
• Extra batteries for your calculator
• Watch (to keep track of time)

Finally, given how COVID-19 has disrupted the testing process, we suggest that you confirm the status of your test registration and stay current on any changes by visiting ACT Testing Amid COVID-19.

Set your alarm, get a good night’s sleep and have a healthy, satisfying breakfast.

Plan Your Summer

The sun is out and the temperature is rising! Feels like summer is here! If you haven’t already made plans for your break from school, it’s not too late. Summer is a good time for a bit of self discovery.  This is an opportunity to see where your interests for the future lie. Look into finding a job, an internship or volunteer. You may also consider taking a class either at a local school or online.

Regardless of what you decide to do, consider the following when making your plans:

• Look to build new skills or deepen ones you already have.
• Be productive and get things done that have been on your “to do” or “try this” list.
• Challenge yourself to learn something new.
• Explore— discover what you do and don’t like.

Get Ready For Tomorrow’s SAT

A few thoughts if you’re scheduled to take tomorrow’s SAT.

To minimize your stress tomorrow morning, it’s a great idea to get organized ahead of time. The last thing you need on test morning is a desperate scramble. These are some of the things you can do tonight to get your big day off to a great start:

First, check with your parents to make sure they know when and where you’re scheduled to take the test, and arrange how you’ll get to the test center. Next, gather and pack all the things you’ll need to take with you. Some of the things on this check list are “must-have” items, while others are optional.

REQUIRED: Don’t forget any of the following items or it will be a long ride home!

• An approved calculator
• Sharpened #2 pencils
• An acceptable form of photo ID
• Your admission or standby ticket

SUGGESTED:

• Water
• Snack
• Sweater
• Back-up calculator
• Extra batteries for your calculator
• Watch (to keep track of time)

Finally, given how COVID-19 has disrupted the testing process, we suggest that you confirm the status of your test registration and stay current on any changes by visiting Coronavirus Updates for Students Taking the SAT.

Commencement Speeches To Read

Graduation 2021 is especially meaningful and is truly cause for celebration. Whether graduating from high school or college, graduates this year have shown their resilience and determination to succeed. Below are excerpts from college commencement speeches featured in The New York Times in Amelia Nierenberg’s May 29, 2021 article.

Alexic Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, spoke at the University of Virginia.

“There is going to be an amazing time, over the next 10, 15, 20 years, as we see what happens, with this new technology, with the power of community, to hopefully create a lot more good. And I don’t see any other path forward. We have to figure it out. We have to make it better — for my daughter, for her entire generation, for all of us to be able to not just survive, but thrive together, as a community, accepting the fact that we are all deeply flawed but working to bring about the very best in each and every one of us.”

Laurene Powell Jobs, a businesswoman and philanthropist, spoke to students at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Change in ourselves and change in the world happens similarly: It comes slowly, slowly, and then all at once. What matters is your readiness for the moment of revelation, of challenge, of opportunity. We have to be prepared to walk through the door when it opens, or, by our own power and purpose, to open it ourselves. And sometimes we need to tear down walls, the ones within and the ones without.”

Bina Venkataraman, editorial page editor of The Boston Globe, spoke at the University of Southern California.

“Look for heroes not on the silver screen or the pedestal or even at this podium — but at eye level and within reach: the people in your life who have been afraid but done the right thing anyway, who have shown you by example how to be bold.

Prize bravery over bravado. Prize all moments of bravery, even the small and unrecognized ones. You can be heroic whenever you choose, whoever you are, without being perfect or celebrated or superbly talented.”

Registration Reminder

Remember, today is the late registration deadline for the June 5th SAT.