Get Smarter Prep

How 60 Minutes completely missed the point on the "SAT cheater"

2012-01-16T11:34:00.003-06:00

Some weeks ago now, there was a big hubbub about an "SAT cheater" who was interviewed on 60 Minutes.

If this story did anything, it highlighted the tremendous amount of pressure put on these kids to do well on these tests. From almost every other aspect it was a journalistic and practical failure.

The big expose was the colossal "security failure" at schools. Let me get this straight: the big "expose" is that schools aren't shaking down kids for driver's licenses, social security cards, and/or passports? Or that schools need to get more "security-proof" IDs? College Board's response was predictable and deeply informative about what they are interested in: money. They don't care about the effects their meaningless exam has on students' lives, much less if some of those students do break the rules and take tests for others. Students cheating is not the real issue here.

Why didn't 60 Minutes turn around and ask the real question: "How did we ever let ourselves get to this place, where some silly 3.5 hour Saturday morning exam has such disproportionate weight in the college admissions process?" Why didn't they interview schools like Wake Forest, who have been brave enough to leave the programmed matrix of test-based admissions? Why didn't they hold colleges like Harvard, Stanford, etc. to account? The reason is simple and unfortunate: 60 Minutes has bought into the scam too. It's so taken for granted that these tests are supposed to exist that there isn't even the open-mindedness to question the whole raison d'etre for them.

Score? 0 for 60 Minutes, 1 for College Board (mostly for deflecting this rather unimportant criticism in the long run). Cheating isn't the issue. These tests are the issue. They do not do what they say they do: provide a uniform and objective additional measure of the ability to succeed in college (read here, here, and here). It is unfortunate that most of us are far too asleep to care. We'll just let the students pay the price.

GSP interviewing for new tutors for 2012

2011-12-06T11:01:00.001-06:00

We are about to finish our best fiscal year ever here at GetSmarter Prep and we are expanding. We are doubling our square footage andadding more classrooms and as a result, need more teachers apart from the 12 wealready have who make anywhere between $40-$80/hour.

We do SAT and ACT prep. You already know that. But weare also adding classes for 7-10th graders for study skills, as well as addingcareer exploration clinics to our college counseling product. We needsmart, funny people to help us grow! We offer both classroom and private, one-on-one, instructiondepending upon the student's needs. For every class you take on, you'll beworking 2 hrs/wk teaching. This means that your schedule varies depending onthe volume of clients we have. Typically, we are busy all the time as studentstend to flood in according to the official ACT/SAT testing schedules.Those tests are given 7 times a year, so we are busy a lot :-)

The pay is $8/hour for training, which will be anywhere from 20-30hours over a 5-week period. Then, once you are hired you will teach your firsttwo full courses for $10/hour. During that time you will be evaluated onyour classroom performance to see if you match our standards. After that,classroom hours are $25/hour and private tutoring starts at $40/hour, with payincrease opportunities depending upon performance.

The interview process starts with auditions running from now untilJanuary 5th. If you are invited back after auditioning, training will be heldfor 5 consecutive weekends starting January 15th. Detailed schedules will begiven out at auditions. At the auditions we ask that you prepare a 5 minutelesson on any topic in which you think you are an expert. We've been taughteverything from how to make balloon animals to what to do if you encounter abear in the wild to how to identify a true Wisconsin Cheese Head. Be creativeand be yourself! We are looking to see how well you do presenting informationin front of others. Note: this exercise is not in any way intended to be takentoo seriously. Please bring enough supplies for 3 students if applicable.If all of this sounds like something you'd be interested in, pleaseemail rae at getsmarterprep dot com with your resume and she will give you thedetails on when and where we'll be holding auditions.

It's a great long-term part-time position. We are not lookingfor seasonal or short-timers. The money is good, but the opportunity tosignificantly affect your students' college choices will be a reward you simplycan't get at other jobs.

Not taking our colleges for granted

2011-11-21T15:32:00.001-06:00

This is the last week that I will be working with a Chinese student who graduated from high school last year, and while taking a gap year here in the United States, wanted to push her SAT scores up and put together the best applications possible to colleges. Helping you improve your test scores and helping you apply to college is, of course, exactly what we do here at Get Smarter Prep.

We've been working together since June now, and tomorrow will be the last day I get to see her. The legendary Chinese work ethic has definitely been on full display for me during these 5 months together, but this last weekend, as we finalized 5 different school applications, the strain definitely was showing.

As is the case with most Chinese students, especially among the upwardly mobile, she is the only child via a government policy (in rural China the insane policy is roundly ignored). Her parents thus look at everything she does and plans for the future with the utmost care and attention. Her parents are also fair-minded, not caring that she is a girl and not a boy, and have given her an untold number of opportunities. And yet, with all of those opportunities, she so desperately wanted to attend a top American school.

In China, unlike America, they actually do have a test that largely determines your future. It is called the GaoKao and is the focus and bane of Chinese students' experience. This test, even less helpful and meaningful than the SAT or ACT, is premised off massive amounts of rote memorization. Your score on this test determines what kind of job you'll have, and in a country where success and happiness is very much tied to your income, the scores, in a way, determine your future.

For all the sway that the ACT/SAT have in this country, we have over 800 schools (www.fairtest.org) that don't use those tests in admissions, and many schools that are willing to look at the tests in a sliding scale with GPA (meaning, a higher GPA means a lower test score is tolerable, and vice versa). Additionally, there are so many economic opportunities that don't require degrees from elite universities in our country that there isn't "one moment" that makes or breaks our future.

For my student, though I shared all of this with her, the value definitely lay in the elite degree. Here is where we applied to:

Harvard
Princeton
Yale
Stanford
MIT
Brown
USC
UCLA
UC Berkeley
NYU
Columbia

and the school we applied early decision to:

UPenn

The vast majority of these schools are on the Common App, which made our lives easier (MIT and the UC schools were the individual app schools). The Common App allows you to really let your focus be on the main 500-word essay and then take each supplement as it comes. We started so early that the main essay was never an issue for us, but it really took a lot to master the "why is (fill in school here) a good match for you?" Now, she had only visited half of these schools, and at those schools we had no trouble incorporating parts of the campus tour and interesting stories from the city and/or the visit. The other half? She read through brochures, books, and took virtual tours. As she wrote the essays and I helped revise and refine them it became very clear that you can't fake the experience of visiting a school, but that a passion for a field of study that the school excels in can go a long way.

She had excellent grades, an excellent (and improved!) SAT score, and a resume that was focused and clear. She also had the "diversity card" to play because she's from China and schools continue to look to diversity as a selling point for the globally-conscious next generation. As I saw how hard she worked - not just on these applications and testing - but in trying to think about what kind of school she wanted to go to and what kind of person she was and wanted to be, it reminded me that those of us who grew up here (I moved to America when I was 9) who take it for granted that if we want to, we can apply to these colleges (elite and otherwise). If we can't remember how great our schools are, be they our local options (Truman State, the KU and MU Honors programs, the UMKC 6-year med program, Rockhurst, Jewell, and K-State's architecture/engineering programs) or the elite options mentioned above, I hope that the reminder that people are crossing oceans to come to our schools makes us not take for granted what remains, despite many flaws, an excellent college system nationwide.

Should you get your MBA?

2011-05-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

This article was originally published in some local AMLI newsletters here and here in May 2011.

Two years ago I wrote an article for KC Small Business about choosing an MBA program. The article was bright and optimistic, and given that I had just started my MBA program, I hadn’t yet begun to deal with effects – both positive and negative – that doing this would have on my life. I graduate this month, and I am much more sober about this degree and feel I am now in a better position to write about it.

Let’s start with the most important question first: Why? 1) You may want to advance in a company you are already in (and they are willing to pay!); 2) You may be a small business owner who never got a degree in business and are looking to become more strategic and “book-smart” about how you run your business; 3) You may be un/underemployed or bored at your current job and see this as a way to network and build a better future.

If you fall into 1) or 2), you comprise the vast majority of MBA students today, and it is you who are going to make the greatest sacrifices (Don’t worry 3s, I’ll get to you), so I will direct my next several points to you.

Since you’ve decided to get an MBA, the next question is “which one?” Adult education is booming like no other industry you can imagine. In 1970 6.9 million people were in undergrad programs, and in 2007 that number was 15 million. We’ve seen a proportional increase in graduate enrollments, and the Great Recession has only made them rise even more. As a result you are bombarded with every sort of ad from dozens of schools who want you to get an MBA with them. You can divide all of these schools into two categories: practical and prestige. The practical MBA can be with a local or regional school. If you plan to stay in the city in which you are getting your MBA, this will only further deepen your roots and networking connections. The prestige MBA will be at schools like Penn, USC, Stanford, Cornell, Harvard. You attend these schools because you want to help run the world or make banker-bailout type money. The networking connections here are deeply powerful and worldwide. What’s the practical difference? Cost and experience. A practical MBA is going to cost you anywhere between $15,000-$40,000 when the dust settles, whereas a prestige MBA is going to cost at least $100,000. The experience will also be vastly different. A practical MBA program is going to be dependent on how inspired and driven the students are. If, for example, the school you are contemplating has a “5^th-year program,” you are going to find your experience polluted by 22-year old undergrads who have no long-term job experience and who are bored by classes they find to be essentially the same as their undergrad ones. If, however, you are with driven and articulate students, you are going to find yourself pulled up and along with their enthusiasm, despite how tired you might be (and how might you figure out what kind of experience the school you are looking at will deliver? Ask for permission to attend a class. The number of students texting or on facebook all throughout class is in direct correlation to how (un)fruitful your experience will be in that class).

And yes, you will be tired. I have the luxury of being single and child-less. Most of my colleagues do not. Most of my classmates are on the 2-year program, which means they are taking 2 or 3 3-unit classes a semester. One of my classmates, married with two kids, said it best: “Stephen, if I took one more class a semester, she’d divorce me.” There is a tremendous toll this will take on your personal life. For those of us who worked during our undergrad programs, we remember this burden. You will lose your weekday evenings to class or to homework preparing for class. If you are in a relationship, this will cut down on your personal time with your significant other: for years. If you are single, you will watch potential relationships struggle and crash on the rocks of that most critical thing a new relationship needs: time together. If you have nieces and nephews you want to see, you will see them less. And you will not do this for a short amount of time. The fastest MBA programs are one-year commitments, and they are full-time programs whose time commitments are such that you are not usually permitted to have a job when enrolled.

Do I regret doing my MBA? Not at all. I will be very proud and happy when I cross the stage in a few weeks to graduate from St. Louis University. But, I had no idea what I was getting into. I’ve been asked to do more reading, research, and group work than I ever did as an undergrad. I’ve had my worldview challenged and my business assumptions questioned. I’ve made some lifelong friends. I’ve also lost two years with my friends, family, and personal pursuits that I will never reclaim. As I look forward to the delicious idea of even one single weeknight with *no commitments* I get as excited as a contestant who’s just been told to “Come on Down” on the Price is Right. I know that the personal price I paid for this degree will pay off financially in the future. It has already paid off practically in training me ever more in time management, business strategy, and personal interaction.

I didn’t forget about you, my “3s,” those of you who were un/underemployed or bored. I just want to encourage you to stay home, not only because you are typically the types that contribute the least to the class and in groups, but because this is a bad move for you. Don’t spend money because you’re bored or don’t have options. This will be an expensive (and unwise) decision for you and a waste of time for your classmates. Here are three better ideas: 1) look at a certificate or special program that will make you desired within a certain niche. It will be less expensive, shorter in time, and more valuable to you; 2) Read Timothy Ferriss’ Four-Hour Workweek and ask yourself what you want to do with your life, really; 3) Pick up a hobby.

To all of you, I wish you the best in your future endeavors. As I write this, the world’s politics, monetary systems, and even society seem in crisis in various ways. Remember how deeply valuable your time is before you make any decision like this.

Stephen Heiner is the Founder of Get Smarter Prep, a Kansas City-based ACT/SAT test preparation firm. He has run it for 6 years and is looking forward to getting his evenings back this May, thank you very much.

Article in the Star about Bright Flight

2008-11-09T13:34:00.000-06:00

Here's the original link, as long as it stays up.

Outside-the-box options are plentiful for the college-bound
Sunday, November 9th, 2008. Kansas City Star

Options. That’s what high school seniors and their parents should be considering this time of year.

They peruse college applications, each of which costs money, and then start reaching for calculators to see how the costs will add up. With all that paperwork and decision-making ahead of them, students and parents sometimes can forget that they have options. One of those options is Missouri’s Bright Flight program.

What is Bright Flight?

It is a scholarship program that gives an $8,000, four-year ($2,000/year) scholarship to any Missouri resident who meets certain requirements and wants to attend a Missouri college. The hope is that these talented students will further their education in-state, simultaneously encouraging them to stay to build their lives and careers.

The current requirement is a 31 ACT composite score. A student can qualify using SAT scores, but the requirements of a reading score of 780 and a math score of 790 are far steeper than the 31.

The program is automated and does not have an application process. As long as a student meets the score published by the Missouri Department of Higher Education in his/her senior year, is a Missouri resident and will attend a Missouri college, the student will automatically get the scholarship. (Kansas does not offer a similar program.)

Some universities have also stepped up their financial aid packages to draw students away from out-of-state schools. For example, Missouri State University in Springfield offers in-state tuition to any student who meets at least one of these requirements: top 20 percent of class rank, 3.70 GPA or a 24 ACT composite.

A resource that many neglect to investigate or do not know about is www.fairtest.org. For many years, this organization has been scrutinizing and deconstructing the uselessness of the ACT and SAT in predicting college success.

Not satisfied with simply being a bullhorn for change, it has managed to compile a list of nearly 800 schools that do not use the ACT or the SAT as a part of their admissions process. The list already included the Art Institute of Chicago, Bowdoin College and Holy Cross before it added Wake Forest University earlier this year.

Now, the schools that don’t require these tests are not necessarily cakewalks as far as admissions. It just means that your student is going to get a chance to showcase other strengths besides the ability to do well on an arbitrary and meaningless test.

Knowing that these and other options are out there should spark further conversations about outside-the-box possibilities and make those stacks of college applications come into focus as opportunities. At the very least, it’s an opportunity to be moneywise — an excellent lesson for the soon-to-be freshman.

Stephen Heiner is the founder of Get Smarter Prep, a Kansas City area test-preparation company.

Our Alumni talk about their first year in college...

2008-10-29T05:35:00.000-05:00

Here are links to articles written by students of mine who are in their first two years of college. They are interesting and come from every perspective and persuasion.

Claire Bukovac: Georgetown University, International Relations and Finance

Paul Koppel: Emory University, Business

Stephen Nelson: Chapman University, Film

Amanda Correia: Emerson College, Visual Media Arts

Philip Huffman: University of California, Davis, International Relations (he is currently studying abroad)

Maggie Fairchild: Boston University, History and Communications

Claire Reintjes: Wake Forest University

Sida Niu: University of Kansas, Engineering and PreMed

President's Perspective: The Testing Roadmap

2008-10-28T18:01:00.000-05:00

One of the most frequently asked questions I face is: "When should we start test prep?" The problem is that my answer to this opens up a whole group of possibilities.

So let's start at the beginning.

1. 7th and 8th grade. The Duke TIP program. I try to explain to parents that this program, a brilliant branding program for Duke, is a lot like the "Who's Who Among American High School Students." It's nice. But it's just a recognition of what you already know: that your kid is getting good grades. That's how Duke selects people to be candidates for this program.

What your child scores on the practice ACT or SAT he or she takes is no indicator of their innate intellectual ability. Remember, as I've said before, these tests have nothing to do with academic ability. If you do well on them, great. If not, don't worry, you're only 12! You'll still get to go to college. I promise.

On a related note, the biggest advantage to this program is the summer programs that you become eligible for. It allows you to meet like-minded students from around the country and helps build a resume. Unfortunately, most parents never use this resource.

2. 9th grade. Nada. Pick difficult, challenging courses. Make sure you are on track with meaningful activities. Don't just join every club in school that you have a vague interest in.

3. 10th grade. You do have the PSAT this year, but it really has no consequences for you. If you wanted to do 4-5 hours of light prep for it, it would be worthwhile, but either way, after you get your scores back in December or January, you will know what you will have to work on. Those students who are looking at first-tier schools (ACT 30 and above, SAT 2000 and above) or those who are being heavily recruited for sports should probably look at prepping the summer after their sophomore year and taking the October test in their Junior year.

4. 11th grade. Okay, here's where it happens all at once.

A. The PSAT will be the NMSQT for you this year - yes, National Merit is a big deal - but again, it's the top 1/2 of 1% in the country, so really only put serious effort into this if you are looking at a first-tier school. Otherwise, it's yet another consequence and cost-free practice for the SAT.

B. If you are serious about college, you should have an official ACT or SAT score under your belt before the end of your academic year. You can take a practice test for free (and with no consequences) from a company like ours and then find out which one you should take.

While high school counselors and even college admissions counselors may advise you to take both, they mean that you should try both and see which one makes more sense for you to prep for. The overwhelming majority of students score equivalent on both tests, but every now and then there is a big difference. And that's no surprise, given that the tests are very different. The ACT doesn't have vocabulary or a guessing penalty. The SAT has both, but no science section, like the ACT does. And on and on...

C. SAT Subject Tests: I'll catch some disagreement here, but I'm prepared to vigorously defend my position. These tests should only be taken in May.

Why? Firstly, these tests are only required for the most elite and competitive schools. Therefore, the students who have to take these tests are usually in AP or IB classes. Those classes typically terminate in May.

These students have been prepping all year for a mostly essay exam, with some multiple choice questions. These exams occur in the first two weeks of May. If you are taking your AP US History exam in the first two weeks of May, and you've been studying hard on your own and with your teacher, why would you not take the 60-minute, 90 question, multiple-choice only exam known as the SAT US History exam during that same week? It's a freebie! A test you don't have to study for! There are lots of other SAT Subject Tests. If you have more questions about this, call me at the office sometime (913.322.3400).

Taking these tests at any other time of the year, like June, for example, and you risk loss of retention of material (these are actual tests of what you know and have studied, unlike the ACT or SAT) as well as indifference (who wants to study for a test when they have been out of school for two weeks? Honestly?).

Oh, by the way, I don't care if Prom or Finals or some out of town sports tournament is on the May date (this academic year it is May 2, 2009). If you are a first-tier school, SAT Subject Tests trump anything else that day.

If you are not applying to a first-tier school, you generally do not have to worry about these at all.

5. 12th grade. Well...

If you are testing during your Senior Year, you should be doing so for two reasons:

1. Scholarship/Recruiting requirements. You want to get a spot on a sports team or you want to get a scholarship and they have told you that you need a certain score and it's only a little higher than your last score. It's worth the extra effort. But I do mean a little higher - like 26 to a 27 higher. If you have a 22 and they want a 27, or if you have a 1590 and they want a 1760, it's too late. Sorry to be the bad cop, but I don't get paid to not be real with you.

2. You, for some strange reason, didn't test junior year and are testing for the first time. It's too late now for me to scold you. If you haven't already looked at the fairtest.or g list of schools that don't use the ACT or SAT in admissions, it's time to buckle down. And good luck doing that Senior year, when it's a struggle just to show up for school because of that disease known as Senioritis.

I hope this helps. If you ever have any specific questions, you can always call us here anytime: 913.322.3400.

Stephen Heiner is the President of Get Smarter Prep, Kansas City's leading provider of ACT and SAT prep.

Counselor's Corner: Anne Ingersoll on what Juniors should do in the Fall for college admissions...

2008-10-28T17:11:00.000-05:00

Hopefully by now seniors are almost done completing applications, making second campus visits, and revising those last essays. Although deadlines may not be until February for some schools, I encourage seniors to set a goal to complete all college applications by no later than Winter break. After 8 years of college counseling, I have seen time and time again the “senior slide” start in January. It is hard to fill out applications when the motivation isn’t there and procrastination takes over. I wouldn’t say it is too late for seniors but I would say to hustle up, the clock is ticking!

For juniors (and many sophomores), now is the time! The PSAT is behind you and that’s when planning for college gets more interesting! I am a big advocate for planning ahead. Juniors should be narrowing their list of colleges and should be planning their first campus visits. I hear all the time “I don’t know what kind of college I want to attend so how do I know where to visit.” The best way to find out is to visit college campuses early. Make a broad list of colleges that offer majors you are interested in studying (Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to major in. However, at least have an idea of things that you might be interested in studying or things that you simply enjoy.) No one knows yourself better than YOU! Think about how far from home you want to be, weather you enjoy, sports you might want to play or watch, activities you might want to do (dance, play an instrument, sing in a choir, intramurals, etc.) There are many search engines on the Internet that provide helpful information. Some websites to check out are www.collegeboard.com, www.collegedata.com, or www.cappex.com

Some may think it is a waste of time (and money) to visit a college and find out you don’t like it. To me, that’s great! That means that you have decided on some criteria that you don’t like. Look at your broad list of colleges and remove the other schools that might have similar characteristics as the campus you visited. I encourage families to look at all different kinds of colleges – small town, urban setting, college town, liberal arts, large state schools. Please, please don’t rule out a school just because you have never heard of it before. We have over 3,000 colleges in this country and there are some great colleges that many of us have never heard of but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good schools. If you look at where the professors at elite schools like Harvard and Yale went to undergraduate school, you will find that many received degrees from schools you have never heard of before and now they are professors at Ivy League schools!

So, look ahead! Your junior year will go by fast. (It is almost November!) The time is NOW to plan and prepare! Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.

Anne Ingersoll is the owner of College Bound Associates, and offices at Get Smarter Prep in Overland Park.

Claire Bukovac on Georgetown University

2008-10-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

I am currently attending Georgetown University and I am in the McDonough School of Business. I have dreamed of going to Georgetown since I was in the third grade and it has been a wonderful experience so far. The admissions process was harder for Georgetown then it was for the other school I applied to. There are several essays to write and with Georgetown, more then other schools, you are very much competing with an international student body. Your SAT scores (which Stephen/Get Smarter helped with :-) need to be very competitive and your essay must stand out against the girl from the Republic of Congo (she lives on my floor) and the boy from Pakistan.

Although the transition from high school to college is a roller coaster unlike any other, I could not be happier then to be experiencing it at Georgetown University. One of the reasons I choose to go to Georgetown was because I plan on majoring in International Business and Finance. Georgetown is very internationally focused, not only in its student body, but also in its curriculum. This semester I’m taking International Business, Accounting 101, Calculus, and Introduction to Philosophy. Although you are immediately exposed to classes in your school, you have a wide array of classes to choose from. Next semester I plan on taking Accounting 102, Comparative Law Enforcement (sociology course), Problem of God (theology), Shakespeare, and Elements of Political Theory (government). One of the best aspects about the classes at Georgetown is that you don’t necessarily need to take the introduction class for every subject. You have the option to choose more specific course that interest you.

Apart from the academics, Georgetown is located in a wonderful neighborhood. The weather is honestly almost identical to Kansas City except it can be a little windy since we are on the “hill top.” There are a ton of activities to do on the weekends and during the week. Parties are not hard to come by in Georgetown, just walk down O Street right in front of the front gates and someone will have their door open (there are no cover charges or parties outside of walking distance). During the week there are plenty of things to do also. I walked to the monuments last week and attended a sneak preview of the movie Milk with a Q&A session with Emile Hirsch. Also, I have joined club rugby, which has introduced me to a lot of great girls. I would definitely suggest joining a club sport or a club with some sort of commitment, it is a wonderful way to meet people and enrich your time.

Freshman year of college is unlike any experience you will every have in your entire life. There are moments when you have more fun then you have ever had before, but there are also moments where you miss your friends, family and home terribly. One thing I wish I had known before I left for college was that it was not going to be easy. Like so many things, it takes time to find your true friends, your niche and to fall out of a high school mentality. There are no “cool” people in college, no one talks about you if you have to eat lunch alone, and you are not the only one that feels lonely some times. However there is an upside, when you do finally fall into place, make new, amazing friends and feel like this is where you belong it is the greatest feeling and you’ll never want to leave. I have become a Hoya and I would not want to be anything else. Hoya Saxa!!!!

Claire Bukovac is a Get Smarter Prep alumna and is part of the Georgetown class of 2012

Sida Niu on the University of Kansas

2008-10-26T13:10:00.000-05:00

The University of Kansas has always been one of my top college choices. The proximity to home, reasonable in-state tuition, and superlative degree programs really attracted my attention. I witnessed the lack of campus life on a visit to Washington University in St. Louis, my other top college choice, and instantly decided that I wanted to attend the University of Kansas.

The admissions process at the University is as easy or strenuous as you want to make it. The admissions application can be completed in less than 15 minutes. However, if you wanted to apply for scholarships, fellowships, honors program, honors dorms, or scholarship halls, the process can take much longer. I personally applied for and succeeded in attaining academic scholarships, an engineering leadership fellowship, placement in the Honors program, and a spot in scholarship halls (which I later declined). All required different essays, letters of recommendation, brief personal statements, school involvement/extracurricular activities, and standardized test scores, in which Get Smarter Prep helped me tremendously. I strongly encourage incoming students to apply for scholarships, even if they don’t think they will receive one, because in some instances they will give you a small sum of money (like a thousand dollars) for simply applying for admissions and scholarships before a specific deadline. I applied to KU very early so that I can be accepted by the University, and furthermore, the engineering school early as well. This gave me more time to apply for other scholarships and fellowships for my specific school within the university.

I choose to major in Chemical Engineering with a Premed concentration at KU because chemical engineering has one of the most rigorous courses offered at the university therefore it will prepare me better for med school. The engineering school also has an abundance of scholarships to offer at KU, and the SELF Engineering Leadership Fellowship that I am in is one of the most prestigious fellowships available on campus. So far, most of my classes have been general education classes and the only course I am currently taking in the realms of my major is Introduction to Chemical and Petroleum.

The campus life at KU is great. With an Orange Bowl victory and a National Championship title under its belt from last year, KU has one of the most exciting and involved student bodies in America. There is a club for every interest on campus, and you can always find something to do in Lawrence. Even a simple stroll down Mass Street can be the highlight of your night! I am involved in Greek life, which is a very popular involvement at KU, I am also a member of the Engineering Student Council, KU Dance Marathon Committee. In addition, there are also many opportunities for community service, including Meals on Wheels, volunteering at the local hospital, Habitat for Humanity, and more.

If I could change one thing to better prepare myself for college, I would have studied more for AP tests and enrolled in more dual-credit classes. With my major and concentration, I will have to enroll in a heavy course load each semester and take summer classes if I want to graduate in four years. Had I taken more AP tests and done well on them or enrolled in more College Now classes, I would not have to stress myself with as much work as I have now.

Sida Niu is a Get Smarter Prep alumnus and is part of the KU Class of 2012

Amanda Correia on Emerson College

2008-10-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

The admissions process was just as dreadful as everyone makes it out to be. Everyone who has ever applied to college can tell you that. But I can honestly say that with Stephen’s help, a professional’s help, a majority of the stress was relieved. I would have not been able to survive without him, considering the stress I felt from applying to ten schools, trying to score a ridiculously high score on my SATs (which Stephen also helped with :-), and surviving my Senior year.

Now that the process is over, I am incredibly glad, as I currently have the privilege of attending Emerson College as a Visual Media Arts Major, a school of high personal choice. The admissions process was not remarkably different from that of other schools, as I had to submit a portfolio, an essay, and a series of personal questions. It was easier than I had expected, seeing as most of Emerson’s application is that of the Common Application that is used for numerous other colleges. I had actually applied to Emerson on a whim – I did not expect to go so far, as it is in Boston and I am originally from California, and it was not a school that I particularly wished to attend, as I really knew nothing about it other than it was a Liberal Arts college. But when I got my acceptance letter in early January, I was excited to know that I was at least going to college. I visited Emerson at the end of my Senior year, after I had received all of my acceptance and rejection letters, and I was exponentially more pleased with the school than I thought I would be. It became my number one choice, and a perfect fit for my educational desires.

The VMA program at Emerson is the largest and most competitive department at Emerson. I am proud to say that I made it in, seeing as the department is absolutely filled with professionals and extremely passionate students. Even as a Freshman, there is a decent exposure to the VMA department, which is fairly uncommon among film schools. Right now, I am taking one media history course, and am scheduled to take a production course next semester. Also, there are numerous film shoots of upperclassmen that are open for participation, even if you are not a VMA major, every week. Not only that, but there are so many opportunities to get involved in the other majors, such as open auditions for a musical or participation in the major marketing club. The opportunities truly are endless at Emerson, as your major does not really limit your boundaries.

It is really different living on the East Coast, as I have lived my entire life in the same house in Southern California. Everyone asks me: why did you leave for this? I left because it is something different, something I have never experienced before. I am in the middle of Boston, a big city filled with artists and businesspeople. I have seasons for the first time in my life. I am surrounded with theatre-addicts, like myself. And Emerson College itself embodies the meaning of a true Liberal Arts school, as every student is dedicated to at least one form of art and its application to the modern world. I love it here and am undoubtedly glad with my decision to attend this college.

If I could have done one thing better, I suppose I would have taken more time to research this college more before I applied. I am sure that if I had done more research, I would have known sooner that this was the place for me. In my Senior year, I just kind of assumed that everything would fall into place, and didn’t really take the time to make it all happen. I am very lucky that everything DID fall into place, but that was truly by chance. I have been overjoyed with my college experience thus far, and I know that my happiness with Emerson College will continue to exist.

Amanda Correia is a Get Smarter Prep alumna and is part of the Emerson Class of 2012

Maggie Fairchild on Boston College

2008-10-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

So here I sit at Boston College, a very happy and hard working freshman. I am so glad to say that I am a Boston College Eagle; however, the road to get here was definitely not the smoothest. BC was by far my first choice. I wanted to go to BC from the second that the admissions representative opened his mouth. When I visited, something inside of me was confirmed, and I knew that I had to attend this school.

In early October, I began my early action process to BC. I sent in all of the recommendations, the essays, the scores, and made sure it was all just right. Even though the deadline was not until November 1st, I wanted to be ahead of the game and show BC how much I really wanted to go there. So after a month and a half of waiting, the middle of December came around and I began checking my mailbox like crazy. Day after day went by and no word from BC, I began getting really nervous. Another girl at my school had already heard, but I had not yet. On Christmas Eve I was really panicking because it had been about two weeks and still nothing, so I went to the mailbox and sitting there was a small letter, my deferral letter from Boston College. My heart sank and I was so upset, but I had applications to about eight other schools sent out already and there was still a chance.

After more months of waiting, early April came around and the letters came pouring in, some good, some bad, but the one I really wanted, of course took forever to show up. My friends who had also applied started to find out, most of them were waitlisted, and I was sure I was not getting in. One day, I went to that fateful mailbox, and sitting in it was another small letter. I instantly began to cry because my dream had been shattered. I opened the letter, and a sense of relief came over me when I read the word, “waitlisted,” within the letter. I was OK with being waitlisted, at least I still had a shot, it was a long one, but I still had it.

Over the next few weeks I looked at other schools, while still corresponding with the admissions office at Boston College. I sent them letters and emails describing the activities I was currently involved with and my second semester grades. When May 1st rolled around, I put in a deposit at the University of Missouri – Columbia’s Honors College, and was ready to take Columbia by storm. But that was not my final destination. About a week and a half later, I was sitting at a baseball game, ironically wearing a BC shirt, when I received a phone call from the admissions rep at Boston College. He informed me that they were dipping into their waitlist, and that I had been accepted and if I was still interested, they would love to have me. I began to cry because my dream had finally come true. I was going to be a Boston College student, and I could not have asked for more.

Many people ask me if all of the waiting was worth it… my response is, definitely. I have never been happier in my life than I am right now. Boston College is one of the greatest places I have ever been. The people are so nice and the athletics are so much fun to go to. Besides all of the fun things to do on campus, BC is only a twenty minute “T” ride from the city of Boston, where the fun opportunities are endless.

My original major when I arrived here was political science, but the more and more time I spend here, the more I find myself leaning towards a history and communications double major. The good thing about BC is that you do not have to declare your major until Winter of Sophomore year, so you have plenty of time to decide where your heart really lies. I love both the history and communications programs here. Already I have had some of the best teachers I have ever had, and that says a lot coming from Pembroke Hill where the teachers are amazing.

It is fair enough to say that I had a very bumpy road up getting here to Boston, but now that I am here, it is clear that this is where I belong and I could not see myself anywhere else in the world. Boston College was definitely worth the wait.

Maggie Fairchild is a Get Smarter Prep alumna and is part of the Boston College class of 2012

Stephen Nelson on Chapman University

2008-10-24T18:22:00.000-05:00

My name is Stephen Nelson; I am currently in my second year at Chapman University which is located in Orange, California. I am majoring in Television and Broadcast Journalism at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Television. I am also thinking about adding a minor in PR & Advertising. My ultimate career aspirations are to be involved in the Sports-Television industry as I am a sports fanatic!

My journey to Chapman was a long one that started in my sophomore year at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. The college application process is tedious, strenuous, and tiring; but at the same time, it is fun. When I first started looking at colleges, I thought about whether or not I could play golf there, as I had played for a number of years and had dreams of playing at the collegiate level. By my junior year though, my attention and focus when it came to prospective colleges turned to the academic side. I knew that I wanted to major in something that gave me a chance to work with sports. I also knew that I wanted to stay somewhat close to home. So I had a list of around ten schools that I thought of applying to that fit those criteria. Interestingly enough, Chapman was not on my list until the last minute, when Stephen recommended it to me.

A few years later, I’m here in Orange as a Chapman Panther. And I’m happy to say that I can’t see myself anywhere else. I absolutely love the school. It’s a small, private campus with an undergraduate population of about 3,900; so the class sizes are small, which allows you to create bonds and relationships with each of your professors; the campus is beautiful - it’s close to home (about 25 minutes from Huntington Beach) right in the middle of Orange County, which means great weather year round; and it has Division III athletics which has allowed to me to continue playing golf.

Chapman has been a perfect fit for me in every sense. The Dodge College is among the Top 3 film schools in the nation along with USC and NYU. What separates us from a school like USC though is the fact that here at Chapman, they give you a camera your first week in class, whereas at Southern California, you can’t touch equipment until your junior year! For me personally, I’m a sophomore, and I’m already working on television shoots and have made contacts with professors who also work “in the business.” I have also gotten involved in Chapman Radio, where I am currently the Sports Director and liason to the Sports Information Department. I host a weekly radio show and also broadcast Chapman Athletics.

Chapman’s General Education catalog was also changed in 2007 to benefit students and keep them interested in the classes they were taking; the school has their curriculum tailor made for the students to get involved in subjects they like and they have every resource to pursue their passions.

The one thing I recommend to high-schoolers who are starting to look at colleges is to go see the campuses. Take weekend trips to go visit and tour schools that you think you may be interested in. Because for me, there were a number of schools I thought I would love until I actually walked around the campus. This allows you to narrow the list down (saves your parents some application money). My list of ten or twelve schools was ultimately narrowed down to five. So make sure that you gather all the information you can in order to find the best fit for you because this is your life and your future.

For me, I am happy. I am LOVING Chapman and can’t wait to go to class everyday. This is all because Stephen gave me the best tutoring and advice, and because my family supported me and helped me find the best fit. And I’m thankful to say that I made the right choice. GO PANTHERS!

Stephen Nelson is a Get Smarter Prep alumnus and is part of the Chapman University Class of 2010

Philip Huffman on the University of California, Davis

2008-10-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

My name is Phillip Huffman and I am a junior at University California, Davis. The admissions process was fairly simply for me as a California resident. You can apply to all of the UC schools by completing one form and just checking off which schools you want to send your application to. My first choice was Stanford for both educational and athletic reasons. Unfortunately it did not work out, but I am enjoying Davis more than I ever thought I would. I do not think I could imagine myself enjoying school any more than I am right now. I play on the Mens' Golf team at Davis and have been very busy traveling and playing tournaments around the country the last two years as well as working on my major which is International Relations. As an International Relations major at Davis you are required to take a diverse set of courses, most of which are not titled as “International Relations.” Political Science, Economics, Sociology, History, Cultural Studies, Language, and even others depending on the “Track” and “Focus” you choose are the general classes you will take as an International Relations major.

Currently, I am studying abroad in Rome, Italy and have been overwhelmed by the entire experience thus far, even though I am only halfway through. I find myself torn as to whether or not I want to return or stay. Although I know that the obligations of home will certainly bring me back to America, I plan on returning to Europe and hopefully Italy to continue my studies.

I arrived in Rome on August 20th and was welcomed by humidity and tourists for the first three weeks. As the last two months have passed the weather has been nothing short of immaculate and the tourists have gradually regressed to lower numbers.

I currently live a stones throw away from the Vatican Museums, which I have been to twice now, in the Prati neighborhood. Lets just say that there is something for everyone here in Rome. I am not an art student by any means, but I have grown to appreciate art more than ever before just by being entirely surrounded by the open-air museum that is called Rome. I am always trying to talk to as many Italians as possible in my attempt to become fluent in a second language and am also teaching an English class at La Sapienza University in Rome. On top of that I am taking a total of 25 units for the semester, so suffice to say I am busy all of the time and still traveling amongst it all. Overall I highly recommend studying abroad to every kind of student. I have met neuroscience, biology, and physics majors here in Rome who are taking a “break” from their respective majors and are finally having a little fun as well.

If there was one mistake I made before going into college that would have really been beneficial to me I would say that I needed to read and discuss higher levels of books with other students and extend my vocabulary and conversational skills. Since college I have progressively read more and more material of various topics and extended my, lets call it, “mental capacity.”

Philip is a Get Smarter Prep alumnus and is part of the UC Davis Class of 2010

Paul Koppel on Emory University

2008-10-22T17:31:00.000-05:00

Picking colleges can be a pretty overwhelming time. At the outset of my college process I sat down and came up with some assets I wanted my school to have: great business school, a college campus feel, warm weather, and a school that wasn’t too big. It did not take me long to realize that Emory University was the school of my dreams. Business Week ranks Emory’s Goizueta School of Business fourth in the entire country. Also, every morning when I wake up to go to class the quad is filled with kids hanging out, studying, or talking with a professor. With just six thousand kids, Emory is able to provide a phenomenal college atmosphere. Applying to Emory was a stressful time, but the process in itself was very doable. My friends around campus come from all over the world, and achieved SAT/ACT scores all over the spectrum. The Emory admissions department looks at grades, but more importantly they look at what each applicant really pursued passionately in high school. If an applicant is clearly a positive addition their school in many aspects, they maintain decent grades, and they score well on the SAT or ACT then admission to Emory is very obtainable.

I love Emory University. Emory does not have the cutthroat feel like many of the top schools in the country. I am receiving a phenomenal education from teachers that are incredibly passionate about what they teach. Currently, I am a Pre-BBA student. After my sophomore year I will have the ability to apply to the business school. Nearly seventy percent of Emory College students who apply to the Goizueta School of Business are accepted. One admissions director says, “If you maintain a 3.5, participate in a few activities on campus, and want to get into the business school, then you can sleep well at night.” Outside of the educational aspects, I am really enjoying the social facets of Emory. While I work very hard during the school week, I am able to have a great time on the weekends. The mentality at Emory is to work very hard, and play very hard.

Students take pride in spending countless hours in the library during the school week, but when the weekend comes Emory is a party school. Greek life is big part of Emory social life. There are thirty-three active Greek Societies associated with the school. Nearly forty percent of students join the Greek scene at Emory, but it is not essential to have fun. There are no rival sororities and fraternities at Emory. Anyone is welcome anywhere. Outside of campus, the city of Atlanta also provides a plethora of social activities. Emory is unique in that it feels very much like a close knit college town, but if you would like, a ten minute taxi ride sets you in a fantastic city with a phenomenal night life. If you are looking for a phenomenal school academically, like to have fun on weekends, and enjoy warm weather, then Emory is an outstanding option.

Paul is a Get Smarter Prep Alumnus and part of the Emory class of 2012

Stephen appears on KCTV to talk about the ACT and SAT

2008-10-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

Claire Reintjes on Wake Forest University

2008-10-10T15:21:00.000-05:00

So far college life is all what it is cracked up to be. From the first day of orientation, I felt right at home. I never felt that I didn’t belong here. The transition from the strict schedule of high school to the typical college life is refreshing and exciting. Although the classes are harder and the work is longer, the freedom in college outweighs the stress and work load. Looking back on the past year and how my life has changed is incredible. One year ago I was stressed out and having frequent breakdowns about filling out applications and figuring where I wanted to apply to college. The multiple essays and tedious paperwork could only equate to pressure and misery. When I see the tours of prospective students walk around campus, I get the same feeling of anxiety that I had last year when applying to college. One word of hope to all of those who may be feeling how I was last year, don’t worry there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In a year it won’t matter what you got on SAT or ACT, or the topic of your college essay, in a year you will be enjoying the same freedom that I’m experiencing right now. In a year the admission process will hopefully be an afterthought.

With that said, I have a few words of advice on how I would have changed my application process. One of the biggest things that you could do to enhance your application would be to get to know the admission counselor who reads your application. As redundant as this sounds, there is no way to distinguish you from the other 4.0, over-qualified applicants. Making a personal connection with your admission counselor could be a deciding factor when choosing to admit you or not. Secondly, I would not worry so much about creating an essay you think people want to hear, but writing an essay in which the admission counselors can get to know you through the voice in your paper. If you take this advice I can guarantee you that you will only enhance your application.

Lastly, although some people may not agree with my previous statement by saying “what if I don’t get into my first choice school, then I won’t be happy like you are.” Well, in reality, I did not get into my first choice school but could not be happier with the school I’m attending now. Actually, now that I’m at Wake Forest, I could not even imagine going to school anywhere else, let alone my first choice school from last year. Part of this has to do with my school pride. I am so proud to be a Demon Deacon that my school pride has even gotten me into a few arguments with friends and family members who attend other schools in the ACC. You learn to love the school you attend by partaking in all that it has to offer. All these actions make you come to love your new home. So for all of you, who were like me last year, don’t worry about the college process, you will end up at a great place next year and at a place in which you were meant to attend. Also, in just a few months the application days will be done and the admission process will be over. Just stick with it and you too, will find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Claire Reintjes is a Get Smarter Prep alumna and is part of the Wake class of 2012

Stephen appears on Walt Bodeen

2008-10-07T00:16:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to the podcast for my radio appearance on Walt Bodeen's NPR show (89.3 KCUR) on September 29th, 2008.

8 Myths about the SAT and ACT

2008-07-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

Periodically I hear myths circulating around the Kansas City area, some related to me by parents, others related to me by my students. I've collected a few of them here - some to roast, some to verify as truth, but mostly to inform about disinformation. I hope it is helpful.

1. Isn't the SAT for East and West Coast schools only?

Ah, one of the most popular and longest-lasting myths. Absolutely not.

One of the first items of research for my team when we first moved to Kansas City was actual verification of the fact that not one of the schools in the top 100 of US News and World Report had a preference for a particular test. My staff has personally called every single one of their admissions offices and the answer remains the same: We have no preference. The irony is that there are quite a few schools that don't accept the SAT at all for admissions, but there are none that don't take the ACT. It's part of the difference of being run by marketing people in NJ (SAT), close to the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal, and being run by educators in Iowa (ACT).

2. I heard someone say that the ACT was better for girls and the SAT was better for boys.

Um, no. In fact, data supports that in general, men score higher on both tests than women. Now, what the statistic means is subject to all sorts of other problems, but here is the evidence for your further perusal:

ACT 2007 Score Charts

SAT 2007 Score Charts

This data, tracked by the perspicacious and tireless people at FairTest.org, an organization dedicated to fair testing (meaning tests other than the SAT and ACT), is widely available and not often publicized. The most notorious statistic is the unbending correlation of SAT score to family income.

I have already discussed my disagreement with a Michelle Slatalla article in the NY Times here, but I will repeat it again: there is no predictor for which test you will do better in. Either take a practice ACT and SAT with a company like mine (free, no consequences) or a real one (not free, more stressful) and then compare the scores. Only then will you know.

3. Oh, I heard they give out extended time really easily.

No, not exactly. For the SAT, yes, they do. The ACT (again, run by educators, not marketing gurus) is a little less forgiving.

What is extended time? It is a recognition that processing skills vary for some students and that if given extended time, they can perform on the same level as others. Now, I'm not here to discuss the merits of this argument or the importance of it in testing in general. My job is to help my students score the highest score they can achieve.

One of my students in one of my classes earlier this year paid attention, did her homework, and seemed to be understanding everything that was going on in class. Her practice midterm and final exams with us did not show that. As I cross-checked her homework against her tests, I realized she was consistently running out of time. I told her mom that we needed extended time. Skeptical at first, but trusting in my advice, she got my student to the necessary appointments, got the forms filled out, and voila, we did get it. She had never previously needed extended time.

Difference in scores? She got a 17 after our class without extended time. One month later, she took it again and got a 24. I'll let you be the judge of whether or not it was effective for her.

Information on extended time for the SAT is available here and for the ACT here.

4. Don't they take my best scores from various tests and create a "best score" for me?

Depends on the test and depends on the school.

ACT first. Schools tend to look at ACT composite only, unless there is some startling deviation from your other scores (ex. 31 in everything except reading, where you got a 21 - there might be some questions about your reading ability posited). ACT has also always had score choice, which means you don't have to send scores if you don't want to. I've always told my students and parents to NEVER send scores until you're done testing, then send only the best one.

SAT - well, they've recently reintroduced Score Choice for March 2009. This is good and bad, and also very related to what school you are applying to. Here are two examples:

University of Southern California - takes your best per section on the SAT. So, for example, if I got a 610 Writing, 660 Reading, and 540 Math on one test, and a 550 Writing, 660 Reading, and 700 Math on another, USC would pick your 610 Writing, 660 Reading, and 700 Math to give you a score of 1970. A mythical score based on two different tests, but hey, we'll take it!

University of California, Los Angeles - only takes your best composite. So, here score choice works well because you can send them your best score after you're done testing for the last time.

5. Shouldn't I just take the test over and over and keep trying to do better? I've got nothing to lose.

Sure, except your time and money.

These tests are torture. I take them every year. I hate them and I can't begin to imagine the stress of taking them 2-3-4-5 times in the hopes of getting higher scores. Our philosophy is and remains, prep using us or some other prep program, take it once, maybe one more if you want AND need a higher score. Maybe a third time if we are one point away from a scholarship or an athletic spot. Beyond that, for the majority of people, it is not helpful.

It's not like students have a bunch of time to study for these tests over and over, or a surfeit of Saturday mornings to spend in a classroom for 3.5 hours testing. Three or fewer. That's our general rule.

6. Should I take the SAT at Center HS because my test and my essay will be better than the rest of the inner city kids testing there?

I'd hesitate to repeat this, but it was told to me by several of my students, who were in turn told by a tutor in town who will remain unnamed by me, solely to save her the embarrassment of passing on such a bogus fact.

The essays are scanned as PDFs and then distributed by the Web for grading from all points of the globe. Graders don't even know your name or gender, much less where you took the test and who you took it with. There is no "easier" version of the test given at Center High School. Please take note.

7. Well, but aren't some test days easier than others?

Absolutely. This June ACT was a recent excellent example of this, featuring significantly harder reading and science sections than we saw on the April ACT. It's really the luck of the draw as far as what test you will be given on a certain day.

However, when you're talking about micropoints (10 or 20 on the SAT, .25 or .5 on the ACT) we are talking about the curve for the test, and since you're graded against everyone you took the test with that day, the least competitive dates will always be December/January (desperate seniors, overachieving juniors). October and March/April are always notoriously packed.

If some conflict prevents you from testing on a non-competitive day, again, no worries, it's not that big of a difference.

8. Shouldn't I just take this at the end of my junior year so I don't stress about it? Junior year is supposed to be the most important year academically, and I don't want to get distracted.

Right motivation, wrong strategy. Absolutely junior year is the year. It's the toughest, most grueling, most relevant for college admissions. Oh, and yes, you have to take an ACT or SAT.

The answer to this question is not cookie cutter. I can rephrase it to read: "When should we take the test for the first time?"

I would answer that by asking: "When are you most available to prep?"

Some people play sports year round and so summer is a great time for them to prep leading into a September or October test date.

Others prefer to prep in Fall or Spring. My point is that there is no answer for all. The answer depends on your child's time resources to dedicate to prep. And, if you're like some of my students, there is never any extra time, so the sooner we start, the better.

As far as prep goes, my only recommendation is to prep towards a given test date. It makes sense to go to summer clinics for sports because you might be competiting in tournaments throughout the summer or because you want to keep your skills up for when the season restarts. But to do a test prep class and then not take the real test for months? What can be retained for all those months without constant practice? My worry? Not much. That's why we never have classes at Get Smarter Prep without a test date that we are working towards.

I hope these "mythbusters" have been helpful for you. Remember, if you ever have any questions about anything regarding standardized testing, feel free to use us for free advice. Remember, test prep isn't part of a suite of services we offer, it's our raison d'etre. It's our full-time passion and we are always happy to help. Jason and I are always available at 913.322.3400 or 816-268-4529.

Wake Forest dumps the SAT and ACT

2008-07-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

I have said for years that the most prestigious universities lacked the courage to start dumping these tests and I have to admit, with surprise and pleasure, that Wake proved me wrong.

In a guest column that he wrote for the Washington Post, Nathan Hatch, President of Wake Forest University, made the point that they made the change at Wake because of a "close look at the state of higher education and some long, hard thinking about the kind of university we want Wake Forest to be."

Bravo. Thinking, instead of meaningless admissions tests, for a change. It's refreshing and startling at the same time. Refreshing, because this is an admission of guilt on Wake's part. Startling, because of how vaguely and imprecisely Wake thought about a replacement.

Those who know me know my mind about these tests, and although our entire company is premised on the notion of these tests existing, I have said on countless occasions that if all schools were to do away with these biased, meaningless, non-academic tests tomorrow, we would pivot as a company to continue to advise and help students with whatever the new demands would be for admissions.

See, the ACT and SAT, as meaningless as they are, represent a metric that allows schools to wade through and winnow thousands upon thousands of applicants for limited freshman spots. Even here locally we witnessed Mizzou running out of room this year. And as the BA/BS becomes this generation's high school diploma in terms of work, opportunities, and income, we can expect applicant numbers to continue to rise.

If that metric is removed - a metric that requires no resources of the University other than looking at a score that another company generates - something must take its place, because grades and resumes don't quantitatively eliminate enough applicants. What can take its place?

1. Interviews - as nuanced and gamelike as this is in the workplace, so too it is in admissions. And just like the ACT and SAT are consistently coached to higher scores by competent and skilled coaches, so too can the right paces be run through for college interviews. How will colleges deal with this? Will they hire a bunch of temps for a giant weekend and give them a several-hour orientation on the ethos of the University and tell them to ask 2 or 3 particular questions? Will they, instead of that, make all the faculty take a weekend off to do this? Maybe alumni?

2. Essay/Presentation/Video/Art - any creative work is something that non-creatives will struggle with. (I don't need to remind the reader that this world needs all kinds, creatives and non-creatives.) And how will they decide whether a self-directed music video is better than an art collage or a collection of photos from a portfolio or an essay about wombats in Africa? Can you compare a collection of photos to an essay?

This is the most worrisome part of the otherwise excellent article by the aforementioned Mr. Hatch. What now?

Certainly Wake has already reaped the benefits of increased media coverage, and no doubt their number s applicants in the upcoming year will skyrocket. Part of being in the vanguard is sometimes having to reap the whirlwind. It will be years before other schools follow in Wake's canary-in-a-coal-mine footsteps. They will want to see how Wake handles the challenge of new metrics as I've outlined above.

It is telling that Mr. Hatch spends ten paragraphs telling us why Wake dumped standardized testing and only one vague paragraph telling us what he intends to put in its place. For all its thinking about why to dump standardized tests (all right-headed), Wake didn't do enough thinking about what to put in its place. It will be fascinating and instructive to watch their admissions process this year.

For the vast majority of students, preparation for the ACT or the SAT remains the only assurances of either 1) a shot (not a guarantee, a shot) at admissions to an elite school, in concert with grades and an outstanding resume, or 2) lots of scholarship money which increases in the tens of thousands by simple increases in scores.

While I am glad for Wake's intentions, we will continue to be here for our students' aspirations, should those lie outside of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Guest Column: Summertime and admissions

2008-07-04T12:27:00.000-05:00

It's summertime! Summer is a time for sunbathing, swimming, and vacationing but it can (and should) also include planning for college. Whether you have a child who is an incoming freshman or senior, they should be doing something over the summer to help prepare them for college. College is becoming more and more competitive and in order for your child to be among the competition, it is important to prepare early to alleviate stress later on.

Students can volunteer, work on independent research projects, or even work a part time job. I encourage all of my students to get involved in their community. There are many organizations that need volunteers especially in the summer. This volunteer work should be something that the student is passionate about, and not just something to pass the time. If students choose something they care about, they are more likely to stick with it and enjoy it! One website that I find beneficial is www.volunteermatch.org If your child is passionate about the environment, encourage them to create a recycling program (or other environmental ideas such as worm farming, composting, rain water collecting) in your office, neighborhood, church, or right in your own home! It can be fun yet challenging for the whole family. (These "projects" can turn into great college essays!)

In addition to volunteer work, students can start researching colleges early (freshman and sophomore year.) The earlier they start researching, the less stressed everyone will be when the time comes to start visiting colleges because you'll already have a list of schools ready to go. There are tons of websites to research colleges, the most common include www.collegeboard.com, www.act.org, and www.collegedata.com Remember for them to be realistic about their college choices. For example, if they learn better in smaller environments and need personalized attention, larger schools probably won't be the best fit for them. By researching colleges early, you can also discover what kind of requirements your child will need for certain schools such as 4 years of laboratory science or an art portfolio for architecture majors. It is never too early to start visiting colleges. The number one way to find what "fits" your child best is by visiting the campus. Campus visits can easily work into vacation schedules. They really can be fun for the whole family!

If your child is undecided about what they want to be when they grow up, I highly encourage job shadows. Many companies are willing to have your child shadow one of their employees for an hour or a day. This is one of the best ways to get students exposed to the various occupations that exist today. All you need to do is call and ask. It is also helpful to talk to your friends and family members that might be able to act as a resource for your child to ask questions about a particular career field.

The last point I want to make about summertime (and planning for college) is "Enjoy!" Yes, it is important to plan ahead for college but it doesn't mean overkill from the beginning. Planning for college should be fun and by planning ahead, everyone will enjoy the process much more.

Anne Ingersoll
Independent College Counselor
College Bound Associates
www.collegeboundkc.com

Blogging

2008-06-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

While we have been blogging at our own website for some time, because of some upgrades to the website, we are back at our old home on Blogger for a while. Bear with us during reconstruction! :-)

NY Times Article on Admissions

2008-01-07T09:38:00.000-06:00

My only comment to the piece below is: Do we really need to reinvent titles that we have come to know and understand (reach, good fit, safety) so that schools don’t feel bad? Grow up! Otherwise there is some great information in here.

July 29, 2007

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR; The New Safeties

By MICHELLE SLATALLA

THERE was a time, not so long ago, when everybody -- well, everybody but me -- knew which safety schools to apply to. Tufts was a fallback for Ivy League applicants. Washington University in St. Louis was a security blanket for Midwesterners like my brother, who wanted to go to Northwestern. And Grinnell, in Iowa, was a sure bet for my husband, a B student from a New England prep school.

As for me? I wasted an application fee applying to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ''just in case'' Indiana University Bloomington said no. Little did I know both Big 10 schools would have been equally happy to have me. A college counselor could have set me straight, of course, but I didn't know college counselors existed, either.

Life has changed. Now there's a counselor on every street corner, and they're all happy to inform you that colleges have become pickier. Three-quarters of Grinnell's freshmen now come from the top 10 percent of their class. The SAT scores of first-year students at Tufts rival those of Cornell freshmen. Wash U's acceptance rate is now lower than Northwestern's.

With more students applying each year, many colleges that were traditionally considered safeties have shed that label, sending applicants scrambling to find replacements.

''The top colleges used to be a little clubby group,'' says Willard Dix, college counselor at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. ''Twenty years ago, Tufts was in the shadow of the Ivies and people would joke, that's where kids go who don't get into the Ivies. Now Tufts is just as competitive.'' So are Vassar, Middlebury and, oh, by the way, have you heard how hard it is to get into Boston College? So much for colleges that earlier generations of Ivy hopefuls considered safeties. Luckily, there are new safeties, and ways to find them.

DON'T CALL THEM SAFETIES

When it comes to deciding where to apply to college, the old rule of thumb still holds. Make sure your list includes a couple of reaches, a couple of matches and two colleges that would be thrilled to have you.

College counselors are loath to label those last two as safeties because they don't want to offend either admissions officers (who hate to think of their institutions as campuses of last resort) or applicants (who certainly don't want to attend a college of last resort).

Vanna Cairns, an upper school dean at Harvard-Westlake, a private school in Los Angeles, explains the pecking order. ''When we come up with the list, we call the schools on it 'realistic challenge,' '50-50,' 'likelies' and 'most likelies.' ''

HOW LIKELY IS YOUR 'MOST LIKELY'?

Start with your numbers -- grade point average, test scores, class rank -- and see how you compare with students recently admitted to colleges you're considering. (Statistics are usually on their Web sites.)

Sometimes, numbers tell the whole story. At the University of Oregon, for instance, a high school senior with a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 3.25 who has completed 16 college prep units is guaranteed admission.

But it's getting harder to choose a safety because more institutions are taking a holistic approach to evaluating applicants. ''There are colleges like the University of Washington that used to have a straight index you could look at and say yep or nope,'' says Alice Kleeman, a college information specialist at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, Calif. ''Now they look at more than just numbers.''

That's where recommendations, extracurricular activities and interviews come in.

''For a school to be a safety, your numbers certainly need to be in their top 25 percent,'' says Ann Wallace, director of guidance at Rye Neck High School in Mamaroneck, N.Y. ''But that's just the start. It's also what you can bring to the school. Maybe it's a particular talent the school is looking for, or you're a full-pay student. Or even that you're not seeking housing. At some schools, that might tip the scale.''

APPLY WITH THE SAME OOMPH

If a college admits you but you choose to go elsewhere, its yield -- the percentage of admitted students who enroll -- may drop, along with its perceived popularity. So admissions officials might reject you if they suspect you don't really want to go there.

''Schools that used to be considered safeties got a complex about it, and now they don't want to accept kids who are obviously using them as a backup,'' says Michele A. Hernandez, president of Hernandez College Consulting and co-author of ''Don't Worry, You'll Get In: 100 Winning Tips for Stress-Free College Admissions.'' ''Sometimes a school will take a kid with slightly lower statistics who has a demonstrated interest in actually attending the school over someone with higher numbers who did a poor job on the application.''

Ideally, visit the campus. Send e-mail messages to the Russian professor if you're interested in Russian. Write a note thanking the admissions officer for the interview. ''Admissions people are not going to penalize students who couldn't afford to fly out to the college,'' says Ms. Cairns. ''But they would like a student to go on the Web site, learn about the college, be at the meeting when the college rep goes to your high school, follow up.

PICK A College YOU CAN LIVE WITH

One size no longer fits all. Your safeties should mirror the qualities of your first choice. If you like Brown for its flexible curriculum, Hampshire College might be your safety. If you want an intellectually rigorous, urban campus, the University of Chicago may be a fallback for the University of Pennsylvania. If you fell in love with Columbia for its international studies program, consider Georgetown as a safety. And so on down the list -- if Georgetown is your top choice, then consider George Washington as a backup -- until you find the right fit.

''We're saying to students, think of everybody on your list as your first choice,'' says Charlene Aguilar, director of college counseling at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, Calif. ''You don't want to put a school on your list that you're not excited about, because you are going to need to show in your application that you are really interested.'' And you might end up there.

Eddie Buonopane, who graduated with a 4.6 weighted G.P.A. from a Florida prep school, wanted a safety business program as attractive as his top choice, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. ''That's how I fell upon the University of Michigan,'' he says. ''I went to Philadelphia to check out the campus, and I also went to Ann Arbor, and I remember, at that point, I had this defining vision that this was in my mind what college should be. I wanted to be in a small town with a big school.'' By the time Wharton rejected him, ''I was sort of indifferent.'' He graduated last year and took a job at a company that trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

''If I hadn't gone to my safety, I'd never have the job I have now,'' he says. ''Sometimes life just works out right.''

Safety First

Counselors offer suggestions on new fallback campuses.

Emory (37 percent acceptance rate)

Atlanta's most prestigious private institution was once harder to get into than Washington University in St. Louis, but now the situation is reversed. To maintain a 19 percent acceptance rate, Wash U has been known to wait-list top students it suspects are using it as a safety, says Will Dix, a college counselor at the Lab Schools of the University of Chicago. ''They're part of a weird phenomenon of schools who know they're a lot of kids' second choice but don't want to be,'' he says. ''They have mastered the art of manipulating numbers and of aggressive marketing.''

University of Chicago (40 percent)

Forget Northwestern, which ''is on everybody's radar,'' says Michele Hernandez, a private consultant. ''Chicago is much easier to get into than Harvard but is one of the top-rated schools in the world.'' Caveat: Mr. Dix credits the high admittance rate to applicant self-selection. ''They have crazy essays you have to write, and that turns away some applicants,'' he says.

Hamilton (36 percent) and UNION COLLEGE (47 percent)

The only problem with these colleges, Mr. Dix says, is their location, in upstate New York. ''I tease the kids and say, 'If they were in Massachusetts, you'd be all over them.' ''

Dickinson College (49 percent)

Ms. Hernandez recommends Dickinson in Carlisle, Pa., for someone who is a match for an Ivy or a top liberal arts college like Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore. ''They tend to take any good kid even if they know it's not the kid's first choice,'' she says. On the other hand, she says, Hamilton, Lehigh, Lafayette and Bates seem to weigh whether an applicant sees them as a secondary choice. For those who didn't get into their early-decision schools, she says, Dickinson's early-decision round-two program (deadline: Jan. 15) ''has a pretty high acceptance rate'' -- 54 percent.

Lawrence University (68 percent)

''Undervalued in a lot of ways,'' says Mr. Dix of this Appleton, Wis., liberal arts college. ''They have a music conservatory, which really adds value.'' His ''city kids'' list it as a safety for Oberlin.

NY Times on ACT vs. SAT

2008-01-06T09:17:00.000-06:00

Great article as usual from Michelle Slatalla. My comments are in italics.

November 4, 2007
Guidance Counselor

ACT vs. SAT

By MICHELLE SLATALLA

FROM the moment I gave birth, I began to gird myself for the difficult questions that tiny, nosy people might one day ask. I prepared answers worthy of a White House press secretary to address such subjects as teenage sex (“never heard of it”) and drug use (“mild decongestants only”).

So I was ready when my daughter, a junior, cornered me in the kitchen the other day.

“Mom, can I ask you a question?” she asked.

“Sure, anything,” I lied.

She had heard from her teachers that some students score higher on the ACT and others on the SAT, and so she was wondering how I had decided which test to take, and did I think she should follow the same strategy.

I considered possible answers. The last time I was exposed to the horror of standardized testing was in 1979, when I vaguely remember rolling out of bed early one Saturday to frantically root around for two No. 2 pencils to take to a test center, where I nodded off during a particularly boring passage in the reading section.

“Wouldn’t you rather hear about my underage drinking?” I asked.

A generation ago, taking a standardized test was a no-brainer: it was mainly a matter of geography. In the Midwest, students took the ACT. If you lived on the coasts — or were applying to a highly selective college or university there — you took the SAT.

Now, with some Ivy League schools rejecting nine of 10 qualified candidates, applicants are looking for any edge to improve their chances. Many, particularly those in traditional SAT territory, are taking both tests and submitting the higher score or both scores. In the last five years, the number of ACT takers on the East Coast has risen 66 percent, and on the West Coast 46 percent, according to ACT Inc.

But not everybody has the time or money to prepare for both tests. And the truth is, most probably don’t need to. While the tests have distinct personalities — the ACT is curriculum-based, while the SAT is aimed more at general reasoning and problem-solving skills — spokesmen for both say their formats favor only one type of student: the one with a good grasp of material taught in rigorous high school courses.

Similarly, colleges swear they don’t prefer one over the other. “Since it’s a choice you can make, it has the feeling of being a significant choice, fraught with implication, but I don’t think it does matter,” says Marlyn McGrath-Lewis, director of admissions at Harvard College. “Either is fine with us, and we don’t have a feeling that either favors students with any particular profile.”

I couldn’t possibly agree more with everything said up to this point. I’ve been saying this stuff for years!

Still, some college counselors believe otherwise. In the absence of quantitative studies, they suggest asking yourself a few questions.

1. Which format feels right?

You can take predictive tests (the PSAT and PLAN) sophomore year and extrapolate scores you’re likely to get on the SAT and ACT. The practice tests cover much the same material as their respective cousins, which they imitate in style and content.

Experts recommend that if your school gives both, take both. If not, test prep companies offer free full-length practice tests for the ACT and SAT online (at Princetonreview.com, Petersons .com and Ivybound.net).

We offer the live version of this every month as a free service – it’s more realistic than a computer simulation and our score reports are more detailed and come with an explanatory scoresback session with a teacher.

“Take each test in as realistic conditions as possible, with no distractions, timing yourself,” says Scott Johns, a Peterson’s product manager. “Your score is a benchmark, but also think about how you felt about taking each test. Did you understand the format? Did one experience cause more stress than the other?”

2. How long can you sit without fidgeting?

If you have a short attention span and difficulty maintaining focus, the ACT may be for you, says Marybeth Kravets, a college counselor in suburban Chicago and the “K” in the K & W college guides for students with special needs. The ACT lasts two hours, 55 minutes (plus 30 minutes with the optional writing test). The SAT lasts three hours, 45 minutes.

The ACT Writing is becoming less “optional” as more and more schools warm up to it.

Similarly, counselors say that students with learning disabilities that make it difficult to process information may do better on the ACT. “That’s because the ACT questions are more knowledge-based and straightforward,” says Scott White, director of guidance at Montclair High School in New Jersey. “The SAT is more nuanced, puzzlelike, trickier.”

Both cover English and math, but there are notable variations in content. For instance, in measuring verbal skills, the SAT focuses on vocabulary whereas the ACT concentrates on grammar, punctuation and syntax. And if you want to avoid science and trigonometry, stick with the SAT, which has neither.

3. Overachiever or underachiever?

College counselors say they see two groups of students, with distinctly different approaches to learning, who may score markedly higher on one test or the other.

“The bright underachievers who are bored and get through school using one quarter of their brains will do better on the SAT, because you just need good reasoning skills for that,” says Mr. White. “And the overachievers, I don’t want to call them grinds, but they’re the ones who get the highest grades in the toughest classes because they work really hard, will do better on the ACT.”

Here’s the point of divergence for me. I know case after case after case of actual students I have worked with where this is just not true. I’m worried that in trying to write an article that will catch attention, counselors may be making a distinction without a difference.

Mr. White’s theory was echoed by several counselors who responded to a comment he posted in August on the Web site of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling. Cigus Vanni, a school counselor at Cherry Hill High School West in New Jersey, was one who agreed. In a phone interview, he elaborated on the “grinds”: “There’s a cluster in the middle — the kids who would be average to above-average types of kids, the subgroup who don’t have the intellectual flash of the really tippy-top kids but who work really hard in school, and these are the kids who do better on the ACT. They are compliant with school, willing to go the extra mile, ask the extra question, do their homework. And for them, the ACT is much more like just another school-based test than the SAT is.”

In his experience, he says, differences in scores are not consequential for students at either end of the test-taking spectrum. “The great test takers are great test takers, no matter what instrument they’re playing. And the kids at the other end, who consistently get 350s on the SATs or 11s on the ACTs, they’re not going to do better no matter which test they take.”

4. Girl or boy?

The observation has been made that boys surpass girls on standardized tests. But the ACT gender gap has narrowed. Boys from the class of 2007 scored 21.2 on average, with girls just behind at 21 (the equivalent of 1500 on the SAT, according to the Princeton Review formula).

But boys as a group do better on the SAT, according to data published by both testing companies: 1037 for the class of 2007, compared with 1001 for girls.

That doesn’t mean that every boy should take the SAT and every girl the ACT. But, says John Katzman, chief executive of the Princeton Review, “Girls tend to fit pretty well into the group of high achievers, who get good grades and do well in school, who also do well on the ACT.”

He adds: “I sometimes give the advice that if you were to flip a coin, just go with the SAT if you’re a boy and the ACT if you’re a girl, in part for that reason.”

I don’t know why John Katzman doesn’t mention this, because I know the Princeton Review textbooks mention it, but both tests are consistently biased against women and minorities. Studies have shown this and I would argue that if anything, young women are just prepping more vigorously for these tests. At any given time over the last 5 years in this business, my female/male ratio has been as low as 60/40 and as high as 80/20, but almost never 50/50.

The test makers’ statistics also indicate that members of minority groups score better across the board on the SAT than on the ACT. But that can be explained, Mr. Katzman says: Top students in all ethnic groups tend to take the SAT, while some Midwestern states require all juniors to take the ACT, thus lowering the mean.

5. Which do you think you’ll do better on?

You’ll probably live up to those expectations — especially if you are a girl or a member of a minority group. The reason is a phenomenon called “stereotype threat,” identified more than a decade ago by Claude M. Steele and Joshua Aronson after they discovered that individual test scores changed with the test taker’s sense of confidence.

“Women and minorities feel stereotypes in our society — that they don’t have the same innate academic abilities as men and Caucasians,” says Professor Steele, director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. “So if they are taking a test that they have been told is difficult and then they experience frustration in the middle of it, that makes the stereotype relevant to them and they perform dramatically worse.” But, he says, if you believe you will do well on a particular test, your performance is less likely to be impaired by difficult problems.

I told my own daughter, a good test taker who possesses what appears to me to be a magically endless supply of freshly sharpened pencils, that I would recommend either test for her, so long as she follows my final bit of parental advice.

“The real trick,” I said, “is to stay awake.”

At the end of the day, if in doubt, take both in practice format, and see which one you do better on, and go from there. If you score about the same, take the one you like better. Simple.

My October 2007 SAT Essay

2008-01-04T10:45:00.000-06:00

This was the essay I wrote when I took the test (as I do every year, unfortunately :-( ) last October. It received a 12 out of 12 and illustrates again that this is not about writing a good essay, but about writing an essay that "looks good". Here is the essay I wrote in 2006.

ESSAY PROMPT
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment:

A person does not simply "receive" his or her identity. Identity is much more than the name or features one is born with. True identity is something people must create for themselves by making choices that are significant and that require a courageous commitment in the face of challenges. Identity means having ideas and values that one lives by. Adapted from Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action

ASSIGNMENT:
Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something people create for themselves? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

While identity may start as something inherent, without an individual's own interplay with, and participation in his or her own environment, a true and full identity cannot be obtained. Identity is more than one's personality, clothing, or changing moods - indeed it is how we are remembered, both in this life and after we die. In the examples of Abraham Lincoln, James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as Young Man, and Paris Hilton, I will show this to be true.

Abraham Lincoln will forever be remembered as one of America's greatest Presidents. however, he came from very humble beginnings. He was poor, walked to school, and taught himself through reading books. What Lincoln did, ostensibly, was to use these aspects of his life as strengths. Being poor perhaps helped him empathize with the plight of the slaves, and while he resisted Emancipation for some time, when he did do it he probably knew in at least in small part what that must have felt like. Finally, we would perhaps never have the gift that is the Gettysburg Address had Lincoln not read great oratory in those times he taught himself.

James Joyce's famous semi-autobiographical Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man traces the life of a young Irish boy from his earliest beginnings in grammar school to his first years as a writer. It is clear to any reader of the book that the main character, Stephen Dedalus, starts the novel by living a "certain way" because of how he was raised. But, as the novel progresses, for better or for worse, Stephen decidedly goes his own way. For him, identity was much more than something your parents "gave" you - it was what occurred when what was given met what was received (individual encounters with the world).

So Lincoln took a proactive approach to his identity, as did Joyce's Dedalus, but perhaps no person has had their "search for identity" more broadly and clearly broadcast than the hotel heiress Paris Hilton. Always known by the moniker "famous for being famous", she has taken what was essentially a reputation for being rich and parlayed it out into nearly everything imaginable. She has recorded a CD, starred in a movie, been in a TV show that ran for more than one season, debuted a perfume...the list goes on and on, rather like this test, though at least her endeavors have a point. Paris has seized the initiative to carve her own identity.

In the essay above I have demonstrated that identity is much more than something simply "given" to us. In accepting the responsibility of carving our own identity, we accept the responsibility of "giving" back.

Yes, the SAT is pointless

2007-10-31T18:16:00.000-05:00

Do you Need an MBA?

2007-10-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

By Stephen Heiner

As the owner of a successful business, is there any point to finding the time to pursue a master’s in business administration? After all, you already have founded a successful business. Before you can answer that question, you need to ask yourself why are you seeking an MBA.

Answers vary, but they often break down into a variation of three things:

1. A desire for more income.
2. A desire to see/do/learn new things.
3. A desire for personal satisfaction that comes from furthering your education.

Will there be more income from holding an MBA? Absolutely. Over a lifetime the estimates vary widely – a writer at Businessweek says hundreds of thousands, one at Monster.com says millions in additional earnings. Even factoring in paying back the loans you take out to go back to school, the earnings will still be there. Earning more income is a legitimate reason to get an MBA.

Will you see and do and learn new things? Yes. Not only will you delve into a new environment with people who are as dynamically interested in broadening their horizons as you are, but you will be challenged to fill in some of the gaps in your education. You also will be challenged as never before in your time-management skills (remember the old sleep deprivation undergraduate days?)

Will you further your education and get personal satisfaction? That really depends on the quality of the school you are attending. For those who want an MBA that will travel beyond their local area – it needs to come from a school with one of the top programs. Options in Kansas City include programs at the University of Missouri-Kansas City through the Bloch School of Business, Rockhurst University’s Helzberg School of Management, and the University of Kansas program at the Edwards Campus. All three are known throughout Kansas City to be the best in the area.

Some schools have online MBA programs. Penn State, one of the top 50 business schools in the country, offers one. Two things to keep in mind when examining these programs: 1) Is the degree from a prestigious university? If so, its brick and mortar coattails will extend to your online degree and you will reap the same level of respect accorded to regular grads, and 2) How long has the program been around and how was it developed? Online adult education is a booming industry, as evinced by the University of Phoenix’s rapid success, but remember you aren’t buying a car or an ipod here. This is your education and great MBA programs don’t spring up overnight. Even more important than this is the fact that online can sometimes be harder than traditional programs. You don’t have any live peer support, and you have to motivated enough to work through assignments and lectures through the format of your laptop rather than a traditional classroom. If you lack self-discipline, this is the worst path for you.

In a world in which many are claiming top MBA programs you need someone objective who is not getting paid to say that about a particular school. You’ll want a school with Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation in its MBA program. Not only does that mean your credits will transfer to other AACSB schools if you relocate while pursuing your degree, it means that your degree is looked at with a greater deal of respect.

An MBA from a great program also ties you into an alumni network that can help you expand your business. It is “who you know.”

The questions beyond accreditation and reputation are very individualized – and we start to get into admissions criteria and how that applies to you and your undergraduate prerequisites and intangibles that make you stand out beyond your education.

All the programs require the GMAT – a tough test but not unbeatable. It is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) which means the difficulty of the question auto-adapts to the last question you answered. Answer a medium level question, you’ll get a harder question. Miss that one, you’ll get an easier one, and so on. Harder questions are worth more, easier questions are worth less. You’ll be tested on things from reading comprehension to grammar to algebra to logic to writing. And it’s a little under 4 hours. Studying can vary from getting a book from the library to a full-fledged course like my company offers. You will have to weigh your strengths and weaknesses before you make that decision, and the best (and cheapest!) way to do this is to buy one of these “practice CATs” from Borders – Kaplan has a decent set of tests – and take one and see how you do. You may be a natural and may already be in the zone for the schools mentioned above. While each school varies in the scores they are looking for, I can safely say that a 600 would get you in without question into all the local programs.

You may have started reading this article with one question, but you will have more. You need to examine your time and finances and determine what you’ll be cutting out – of your budget and your personal life – while you work on an MBA. It also will help you to find support and accountability people who will help you be unlike many MBA students who do their homework at the last minute, taking days off work to do so (the exact opposite point of getting your MBA).

But most importantly, you’ll have to make sure this is something you want to do, not just something that other people tell you “you should.”

Stephen Heiner is the owner of Get Smarter Prep, Kansas City’s only locally founded, owned, and operated test prep company. His company preps students for the ACT, SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and MCAT. You can reach him at Stephen@getsmarterprep.com or at his office 913.322.3400. You can also visit the company on the web at www.getsmarterprep.com.

The talk at Rockhurst

2007-10-14T16:04:00.001-05:00

We recently gave a talk at Rockhurst's annual college night. Here are some pictures from the event.

I did get a haircut. I promise. :-)

Excellent article about college admissions from the Wall Street Journal

2007-10-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I ran into this last weekend - it;s a great corrective to parents and students who are test-score crazed...

The College Try May Not Get You Into College

By NAOMI SCHAEFER RILEY
September 28, 2007; Page W11
Chicago

On a beautiful fall day last week, I found myself on the main quadrangle of the University of Chicago, walking with the school's admissions director, Theodore O'Neill, when a freshman girl approached us. "How's it going?" Mr. O'Neill inquired of her orientation week. "This place is Mecca," she answered.

Theodore O'Neill

Mr. O'Neill decides who gets to go on this pilgrimage, and there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of high-school seniors who would kill for the opportunity I have today -- to spend an uninterrupted hour talking with him. These eager boys and girls might try to enthrall Mr. O'Neill with their knowledge of the faculty's research, their love of community service, their expansive vocabulary, their passion for wind instruments or veterinary medicine or juggling. Anything that might make them stand out.

When Mr. O'Neill joined the admissions staff here in 1981, things were different: The acceptance rate for undergraduates was 70%. Today, it's about half that (even though the freshman class has doubled to 1,300). A quarter-century ago, the freshmen who ended up at the University of Chicago were mostly just smart kids who graduated from decent high schools, a sizable chunk in rural Midwestern towns.

Now it's a different ballgame. This fall, Mr. O'Neill will sort through several thousand applications, trying to find the perfect freshman class. What has made it so much harder for students to get into top colleges? And what is this cutthroat competition doing to kids?

To begin with, there was a baby boomlet around 1990, the year many of today's high-school seniors were born. Also, despite skyrocketing tuition, more parents can afford to send their kids to college, and higher education is more important for gaining secure employment.

Mr. O'Neill says that "students today have a better sense of what it takes to make themselves look like good candidates." They take as many AP classes as they can, prepare for the SATs, polish their essays, etc. And many parents pay tutors and coaches to help with this effort. But he tells me it is an "open question" whether the university's applicants are actually of a higher quality than those of 25 years ago. How many areas of American life are there today in which people work harder and spend more money only to see the same results they did decades before?

Well, that's not quite true, according to Mr. O'Neill, who proudly points to what he thinks is one of the biggest improvements to the University of Chicago in the past few decades -- diversity. The school used to be about two-thirds male and overwhelmingly white. Now the gender ratio is about even, and 7% of the student body is black, 9% is Hispanic and 1% is Native American.

How has this happened? For one thing, Mr. O'Neill tells me, he has de-emphasized the SATs in the admissions process. They're used as "corroborating evidence" for what his staff learns from teacher recommendations, high-school records and essays. Ultimately, Mr. O'Neill believes that "there are some things that are more important than test scores."

A few months ago, black presidential hopeful Barack Obama, a former U of C lecturer, told George Stephanopoulos that he didn't think his daughters should be treated differently in the college admissions process from any other "advantaged" kids. But Mr. O'Neill disagrees. He would give the Obama girls "a break" anyway: "Those children, for all their privileges, will have interesting things to say about American society based on what I'm assuming their experiences are."

On Tuesday, Mr. O'Neill participated in a meeting of the Education Conservancy, which is "committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools." Hosted by Yale University, the meeting consisted of 100 college administrators discussing how to get "beyond rankings." College "ranksters" -- as Conservancy president Lloyd Thacker refers to U.S. News and similar surveyors -- can be blamed, he argues, for much of the crazy atmosphere surrounding college admissions.

At a news conference after the meeting, some of the administrators complained that rankings didn't provide enough data or tried to quantify things that aren't quantifiable. What was needed were more "descriptive" measures of colleges. (Mr. O'Neill expressed the same sentiment when I spoke to him.) The group is trying to develop a system in which high-school students would be asked to evaluate their own "learning styles," and then a Web site would "match" them with colleges providing the right sort of learning environment.

Leave aside the silliness of asking a high-school student for this level of self-knowledge or the fact that most colleges sound the same when describing themselves. The real problem is that such a system would add another fuzzy element to the admissions process.

As it is, colleges already discount so many of the concrete measures. In addition to ignoring test scores (when it's convenient), admissions officers have a hard time keeping track of which high schools are rigorous and which are not. The U of C has freshmen matriculating from 900 different high schools this year. What does an "A" mean at any of them? "We don't know," Mr. O'Neill replies. What about the essays? More and more kids pay coaches to compose them. The U of C has picked some odd topics to get around this -- "Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard" or "Use the power of string to explain the biggest or the smallest phenomenon" -- but coaches can get creative, too.

I suspect that what bothers kids most about the process is not the cutthroat competition they face, but the arbitrary nature of the whole thing. You struggle to give schools what they want. But ultimately folks like Mr. O'Neill may simply ignore your grades or your test scores, focusing instead on whether you've had the right "experiences" or have the right skin color to be admitted to the sacred city.

Ms. Riley is the Journal's deputy Taste editor.

Article in the Kansas City Star about student loans...

2007-08-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

Upromise, a Newton, Mass., company that allows consumers to use rebates on selected purchases into college-savings plans and which Sallie Mae acquired last year, now offers a chance to use the reward money to pay down Sallie Mae and other student loans.

It seems a natural extension of services, said chief executive David Rochon, one of the architects of the enterprise’s original savings plan.

“Taking on more debt has been the only avenue available as college costs rise 7 percent annually compared to the consumer price index, which is up three percent,” he said.

Pouring a little sweat equity into the effort helps too, said college admissions counselor Stephen Heiner, of Get Smarter Prep in Overland Park.

While he works with students in the admissions process, even relatively last-minute preparation for the exams can make a significant difference, he said.

“The tests exist to give colleges a chance to say no,” Heiner said, “and the higher your score, the harder it is for them to do that.”

read the full article here.

Stephen interviewed on Kansas City Live for "Back to School"

2007-08-17T15:02:00.000-05:00

Youth for Understanding...host a foreign exchange student!

2007-08-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

The profiles of students are available on the Get Smarter Prep homepage as a PDF.

Steve,

It was very nice to meet you last night. This is a little bit about what we do. Thanks so much for your help! I have also attached a list of students that I have that need home asap as they are flying in next week and the weeks following.

+++

Dear Potential YFU Host Family,

Greetings from the Western District of Youth For Understanding! I am writing to you to ask for your help in identifying host families for YFU international students wanting to come to the United States to live with a family and learn about American culture.

Today, I feel it is more important than ever to have people from different cultures coming together to promote peace and understanding through student exchange. Some of the young people we host this year may very well be the leaders of their countries sometime in the future. Hosting an international student gives a host family the opportunity to learn and experience a different culture without ever having to leave the comforts of their own home. It also provides the exchange student the chance to have a life-changing experience. This type of student-to-host family relationship often lasts a lifetime, building contacts that can last well beyond the school year.

In August 2007, we will have 300 students arriving in the 11 states of the Western District for the 2007/08 school year. We still need many families to open their home and hearts to one of these students. I am enclosing profiles of students for whom we are trying to find a family, and I am asking you to please take a moment to review them.

If you and your family, or someone you know, is interested in hosting one of these students, please call the Western District Office at 1-866-493-8872, and we will help you complete the proper paperwork. While the students are coming for the full school year, we do offer three month, one semester, or full school year hosting opportunities. We have many families who opt to host for the three month period, and then we identify a new family in the same general area so the student can remain in the same school for the entire year. This also gives the student and his/her three month family the opportunity to stay in touch with each other.

Time is of the essence. It can take as long as 4-6 weeks for a student to get an appointment to make their visa application at the nearest American Consulate and they may need to have a host family name to complete their application.

I hope you will give some thought to opening your home to one of these students. In the event you are not in a position to do so this year, please pass the enclosed profiles on to a neighbor or friend, or ask your church to include them in their bulletin and/or newsletter. We will be happy to answer any questions and/or concerns if you call our toll-free number listed above.

We look forward to having you join the YFU family. Without families such as yours, we could not offer international students the unique opportunity of learning about American culture at the grass roots level. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Youth For Understanding
Ronda L. Stiefel, Field Director
Kansas & Missouri
Phone: 785-255-4050
Fax: 785-255-4549
E-mail stiefel@yfu.org
District Office: 866-4-YFU-USA | National Office: 800-TEENAGE
Share your home. Change the World. Host a YFU Exchange Student.

Stream of Stephen's radio interview

2007-07-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

on KCTE 1510 am last month.

Here's the link to the show we were on...Live with Jay...

Get Smarter Prep was grateful for the opportunity to appear on Jay's show...

New Office Hours Policy

2007-06-27T13:30:00.001-05:00

Our Office Hours, formerly known as "Friday Extra Help" has been changed. Instead of being on Fridays from 4-6pm and being available on a walk-in basis, it has been expanded to 3-7pm, and is available with as little as a one-hour in-advance appointment.

This unique perk, not offered by anyone else in our industry, is available to any former Get Smarter Prep student for life. It allows students to drill on areas that they are weak in, or brush up before another test if they haven't been in one of our classes for a while.

This change is effective July 1st, 2007.

Excerpt from our Johnson County Gazette article on test prep and college counseling

2007-06-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

We recently had an article published on the front page of the Johnson County Gazette. Here is an excerpt:

...Many test prep companies often offer a free practice version of a real SAT or ACT. In addition to not having to pay to take these, they also don't show up in your "permanent record". Students sometimes take the test as early as the end of their Sophomore year. But they should never wait until after Spring of their junior year. The sooner you take the test (within reason - there is such a thing as "too soon"), the sooner you will identify weak spots and trouble areas and have time to target and beat them. Once those areas have been identified, you can work with something as advanced as a professional test prep company or as basic as a book from a library. But whatever you do, don't expect the scores to increase just by taking the test over and over without any kind of prep....

6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

2007-06-19T00:52:00.000-05:00

Whether you like it or not, foreign expressions represent an integral part of the English language (and of many other languages, too). Knowing the meaning and usage of the most used ones is very important. First of all because it will enable you to understand pieces of text that include them. Secondly, because you might also need to use those expressions on particular situations (avoid using them just to sound smart though). Below you will find 6 foreign expressions commonly used in English, enjoy!

1. De Facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means “actual” (if used as an adjective) or “in practice” (if used as an adverb). In legal terms, de facto is commonly used in contrast to de jure, which means “by law.” Something, therefore, can emerge either de facto (by practice) or de jure (by law).

And what of the plastic red bench, which has served as his de facto home for the last 15 years and must by now be a collector’s item? (NY Times)

2. Vis-à-Vis

The literal meaning of this French expression is “face to face” (used as an adverb). It is used more widely as a preposition though, meaning “compared with” or “in relation to.”

It’s going to be a huge catalyst in moving the whole process forward and it really strengthens the U.S. position vis-a-vis our trading partners (Yahoo! News)

3. Status quo

This famous Latin expression means “the current or existing state of affairs.” If something changes the status quo, it is changing the way things presently are.

Bush believes that the status quo — the presence in a sovereign country of a militant group with missiles capable of hitting a U.S. ally — is unacceptable. (Washington Post)

4. Cul-de-sac

This expression was originated in England by French-speaking aristocrats. Literally it means “bottom of a sack,” but generally it refers to a dead-end street. Cul-de-sac can also be used metaphorically to express an action that leads to nowhere or an impasse.

But the code of omerta was in effect for two carloads of fans circling the cul-de-sac to have a look at the house. (Reuters.com)

A cul-de-sac of poverty (The Economist)

5. Per se

Per se is a Latin expression that means “by itself” or “intrinsically.”

The mistake it made with the Xbox is that there is no game console market per se; there are PlayStation, GameCube, and Xbox markets. (PCMag.com)

6. Ad hoc

Ad hoc, borrowed from the Latin, can be used both as an adjective, where it means “formed or created with a specific purpose,” and as an adverb, where it means “for the specific purpose or situation.”

The World Bank’s board on Friday ordered an ad hoc group to discuss the fate of President Paul Wolfowitz (CNN)
original link here.

Stephen interviewed on the radio!

2007-06-14T15:41:00.000-05:00

from the email preview:

The Heart of the Matter
with Pat Zimmer & Jay Liebenguth
Thursday @ 9 am (1510 AM KCTE)

A Father's Day treat; Bob & Steve Bernstein, the 1st and 2nd presidents of Bernstein Rein Advertising, respectively

Preparing students for some real tests, Stephen Heiner helps them Get Smarter Prep.

We will have the stream of the interview available sometime next week...

100 Words that All High School Graduates - and their Parents - should know

2007-05-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

This was recently released here. How many do you know?

BOSTON, MA — The editors of the American Heritage^® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know.

"The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."

The following is the entire list of 100 words:

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
euro
evanescent
expurgate
facetious
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissez faire
lexicon
loquacious

lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
oxidize
parabola
paradigm
parameter
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
usurp
vacuous
vehement
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat

Stephen's Interview on KC Live (footage)

2007-05-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

Stephen interviewed on KC Live!

2007-05-23T16:09:00.000-05:00

College crunch time is here, and we aren’t talking about the graduates… but the soon-to-be freshmen! Help is here -- learn how to boost your kids’ entrance scores and get more help for tuition!

That's what NBC Action News posted on their website here.

Video from Stephen's 10:30am interview today will be available and posted tomorrow.

If I've said it once...

2007-05-15T22:51:00.000-05:00

Online test prep is similar to grabbing a book from the library...meaning...at least you're doing something. But, it'll never be as good as a qualified instructor teaching you live. This article has some troubling comments within it, including:

WebWatch said it observed what it called some "troubling trends," such as the blending of advertising and educational content, aggressive marketing, and privacy practices. In one case, The Princeton Review reportedly sent an eMail message that included a link to a U.S. Air Force recruiting form to a tester who expressed interest in college scholarship information. The College Board, creator of the SAT, reportedly marketed its online test-prep service in advertising space not clearly distinguished from its free test resources.

Testers found The College Board's online service had technical glitches and lacked interactive features common on other sites. Mistakes in online sample tests--including grammatical problems, questions with no answers, and poorly constructed questions--were consistently present in six of the 10 services evaluated: Boston Test Prep, Kaplan, PrepMe, SAT Secrets, Test Preparation Program, and The Princeton Review.

Read the whole story here.

Video of Stephen's interview

2007-04-30T17:15:00.001-05:00

Get Smarter on TV!

2007-04-26T18:48:00.001-05:00

Saturday April 28th KCTV (Channel 5)

Stephen Heiner, President of Get Smarter Prep, will appear on KCTV this Saturday morning at approximately 7:50am. He will be interviewed on the subject of college preparedness. Stephen will be answering questions regarding the best strategies on getting into a better college and how to pay less for the college of your choice.

GRE doesn't change, so back to work...

2007-04-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

Here at Get Smarter, we were running what we thought was our second-to-last GRE class for half a year. With a new test on the horizon, we were going to shut down the program, study for the new test, go take it, and then develop an entire course and curriculum (the process, by the way, that guides a lot of our teaching philosophy).

Well, as Cornell and UNL students report, this is not to be. So, that means that it's time to hit those books again! We have classes up that start in May for a test date in late June/early July.

KU Edwards prospective students get GMAT workshop

2007-04-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

KU Edwards prospective GMAT students got a free one-hour workshop from a Get Smarter Master Instructor last Thursday, April 19th. There were over 70 students in attendance and this workshop was similar in size and scope to one put on by Get Smarter in February. Students were actually given techniques and worked on real practice math and verbal problems.

In response to student demand, and an encroaching deadline, Get Smarter Prep is offering a one month course, with the same amount of classroom time as a regular course, compressed into a tighter schedule. Edwards applicants may receive a $200 discount on this course by contacting Jeff Morrow in Admissions.

Final ACT practice test

2007-04-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of our students from all over the Kansas City metro who took their final practice test (Get Smarter students always take 3 before the real one).

Here were the schools represented:

Notre Dame de Sion
St. Pius X
Pembroke Hill
Lee's Summit Community Christian
Shawnee Mission Northwest
Shawnee Mission East
Shawnee Mission South
Olathe South
Lawrence Free State

If your school isn't listed, shouldn't it be? Give us a call at 913.322.3400 and see if we can't set up a free practice exam at your school.

AP Classes...of course you should take them!

2007-02-26T17:50:00.000-06:00

While some know-it-all naysayers denigrate AP/IB programs, we at Get Smarter agree with these sentiments:

Students who take AP or IB classes, whenever they are available, send a message to colleges that they aren't afraid of hard work. Strong grades, along with good scores on the standardized exams, validate that message.

Read more here.

GMAT - a balancing tool for Business Schools

2007-02-26T17:44:00.000-06:00

Interestingly enough, this story comes from Pakistan.

A notable quote:

"At international student recruiting fairs, and increasingly in Australia, students with GMAT scores turn away when they learn that not all candidates will have taken the GMAT. They seek an MBA program that imposes a minimum GMAT score as insurance that they will be sharing classes and group work with students who measure up to a high standard...Knowledgeable employers also prefer MBA graduates with GMAT scores. Brian Gillespie, Brisbane partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers, says: ‘’My view is that the only way to survive in the quality half, as the MBA market shakes out, is to have program credibility, and for me having the GMAT as an entrance requirement will do just that. Certainly, as one of Brisbane’s largest employers of MBAs, I look favourably on programs where the GMAT is used.’’

The interview for incoming college freshmen...

2007-02-22T15:23:00.000-06:00

Ask anyone in the college counseling industry (who's worth their salt) and they will tell you, interview whenever you have an opportunity. It is just one more opportunity to get in front of admissions staff and one more way to make yourself stand out.

Dartmouth used to agree with that too. Until recently. Now, that doesn't make Dartmouth (or Hanover, NH) any less attractive - it just means Yale stands alone among Ivies for interviews anymore...

And here at Get Smarter, we say, Yay, Yale for giving students another way to showcase themselves and prove themselves worthy of admission.

More news on the developing changes to the GRE this Fall

2007-02-22T14:54:00.000-06:00

Nag, nag, nag...we've heard about how this test was going to change for the last 12 months. Here are a couple pieces of news:

from the University of Maryland school paper

from the University of Wisconsin school paper

As I've said before, if you are thinking about taking the GREs, do so now, because the devil you know is tamer than the one you don't.

To add on parenthetically to what the Kaplan people are saying in both of these pieces, it's fair to say that ETS is changing the GRE "because they can" and so that they can bring it more in line with their new SAT.

The GRE was always just a grown-up, more difficult version of the SAT. With a new SAT, you need a new GRE. That simple. And stupid.

No matter what, we will be here to help our students hit the ground running in September.

Electronic Prep? Not so fast...

2007-02-22T14:39:00.000-06:00

A high school junior comments on the Franklin/Princeton Review "pocket prep":

"At the end of the day, it's hard to justify the Pocket Prep's™ price tag. The math help is good, but for $150, you could just as easily enroll in courses that would teach the entire test and not just a third of it."

We completely agree. Read more here.

We do beg to differ with his advice here, though:

"Or better yet, we could all prepare for the SAT in what could be the most overlooked way: paying attention in school every once and a while during our 11 grade-school years before the test."

If this were any sort of truism, we would routinely witness "A" students scoring well on these tests. Since that doesn't happen, we know that this is not a normal test, and cannot treat it as such.

Marillac and KVC fundraiser with Borders

2007-02-19T15:22:00.000-06:00

We have teamed up with Borders Books to provide a weeklong fundraiser for KVC and Marillac.

Go to our main page, www.getsmarterprep.com, find the link that says Marillac and KVC promotion with Borders, click on the PDF and you will find a coupon. Print it out and write either "KVC" or "Marillac" on the left hand side of the coupon, and you will save 10% on any of your purchases that week and 10% of your total purchase will be donated to the organization you designate.

This event is to raise awareness for these two charities while also providing a lead up to our literacy program that kicks off March 1st. More details at www.readingforourfuture.com.

Myths vs. Realities: College Admissions, ACT/SAT, and you

2007-01-30T12:09:00.000-06:00

Is the SAT really the preferred test of elite schools?

Shouldn't a student just take ACTs over and over, hoping to get a higher score?

Shouldn't a kid be "well-rounded" to have a better chance of getting into college?

If you answered yes to any of these following questions, you'll be interested to know why you're wrong.

Come find out at our free seminar,
which is being given at two different locations:

February 5th

Lee's Summit Community Christian High School
1500 SW Jefferson
Lee's Summit MO 64081

7:30pm
Gym

February 8th

Ball Conference Center
21350 West 153rd Street
Olathe KS 66061

7:00pm
main hall

admission is free

no names or addresses will be taken - this is an informational talk given as a service to the community

door prizes will be given, including partial and full scholarships for our test prep classes

8th Grade Education?

2007-01-27T17:29:00.000-06:00

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895

Grammar (Time: one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,""play," and "run."
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time: 1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold? 3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time: 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States .
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name event s connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time: one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time: one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

That's five hours, folks.

Why I am at NYU

2007-01-02T21:13:00.000-06:00

by Brittani Cluck, a former student of ours:

I chose NYU for a variety of reasons. The main reason was that it was the most prestigious school that I got into and I had worked very hard in high school and for me to go to a school that many people, who hadn't put forth the efforts that I had, had gotten into, wouldn't be fair to me.

I also wanted to get a different experience from the one that I had gotten until that point. I felt that if I went to a California school, it would, in many ways, be like my 4 years of high school all over again. I wanted to get out of southern California and get a taste of a different part of the country and I am so glad that I had. I wanted to become a more independent and mature person and not rely so much on my parents. Although it would be nice to hop in the car and drive home for the weekend to visit my friends and family, I am happy that I don't have the ability to do that because it makes me appreciate my family and the beautiful place that I live so much more.

I knew that the Greek life, although a fun aspect of many colleges, wasn't a necessity for me. NYU and NYC has so much to offer that I, as well as many others, don't need to join a sorority or a fraternity to have fun. There is so much else to do. Although there is a lot of work, I am so glad that I chose NYU because I am learning so much and I feel as though I am maturing in so many ways. The program that I am in, the General Studies Program, is great. I have learned about the history of our universe, about various philosophers, arts/artists, and how to improve my writing, etc...I have had the opportunity to read so many great books. The teachers are all experts in there feilds and I have met so many interesting people.

Also, it is so nice to have the ability to go to Times Square or Central Park or to see a Broadway play on the weekend. It is also a nice aspect that NYU is in the middle of Greenwich Village. It also isn't so bad that while walking down Broadway or just through the city you have the opportunity to spot many celebrities. I don't really feel as though it is such a college atmosphere. It is like I am living in the city and I go to class for a couple hours a day. The one thing that people say about NYU is that there is no sense of community, no campus, and no school spirit. These are all true, but that is what makes NYU so unique. It is hard to meet people. But, you make the effort and its amazing what happens.

I like the fact that I have to walk a little through the city to get to some classes. I really don't need the school spirit and rah-rah that goes along with many schools. I know that this year has been an amazing experience in so many ways, and I don't regret my decision to come here at all.

Now hiring...

2006-12-26T11:11:00.000-06:00

Get Smarter Test Prep and College Counseling
"the score you need for the school you want"

There are big-box test prep companies who will try to pay you as little as they can get away with. That's fine, that's how they have to run a corporation. We think differently. We'd much rather reward longevity and loyalty with steep pay raises because good people in our industry are very hard to find.

Are you interested in making $30/hour after 3 months of teaching? How about $50/hour after 6 months, or $80/hour after 12 months? Well, that's what we pay. There are a couple catches, though.

1. You have to be really good. We don't just take everyone who applies or anyone who did really well on the ACT back in high school. Our company has raised the score of every single student who has ever walked through our doors and we plan on keeping that reputation. To that end, we have often lost 50% or more of our training classes in adhering to these high standards.

2. Your first three months of teaching, as well as your training, are paid at $6/hour. This is because we don't know how good of a teacher you are yet. We will need to tweak you, counsel, and commend you, based on actual classroom observance. As we said above, we're not like big-box test prep companies, because we became master tutors for those companies before we left them years ago to found our own. We don't believe in just "cranking out" teachers in big training classes because we're not interested in "cranking out" clientele. We pay our best classroom teachers more than anyone else does in the country, because our clients pay well and expect the best.

We have the smallest student-teacher ratio of any classroom test-prep program in the country. We also are heavily involved in the KC community, from running literacy programs to offering scholarships. We are heavily involved with business and governmental leaders throughout the Metro. If our walk is our talk, we are just as much interested in education and being a part of the community as running a business.

If you're interested in something part-time, scalable to your needs and desires, that is nights/weekends all year except summertime (and even then you don't have to work days if you don't want to), and something that will steeply and quickly reward good performance, then we are the place for you to apply.

Training will only take place the weekend of January 20-21, 2007 in our Overland Park offices and classrooms. You will need to be available all day both days. Food will be provided. There will be no make-up dates, and training will not occur again until April. Training will take place for the following test types:

GRE
GMAT
ACT
SAT

There are 3 interviews that you will need to navigate, as well as an actual practice GRE/GMAT/ACT/SAT (depending on what you want to train for - and you can train for more than one test!)

For information, please email info@getsmarterprep.com and check out our website at www.getsmarterprep.com to find out more about our company.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and we look forward to speaking with you if you're interested.

What the Chamber means to me...

2006-12-12T17:15:00.000-06:00

It’s December, and as some of us make New Year’s resolutions, some of my fellow business owners are, as I am, figuring out marketing and advertising for the next year, or at least, for the next quarter.

We’ll look at the costs of each type of advertising, the relationship we had with that company, mentally calculate whether the advertising/marketing paid for itself – and ask the bottom-line question: Are we going to do it again?

We might have advertised on radio or in the paper. We might have done direct mail – or even adorned our car as a moving billboard.

But the Chamber is different.

Everywhere I go, in the many networking activities I’m involved in, people inevitably ask – “Well, what about the Chamber?” But to understand the question, you have to understand the questioner. That is – are they a giver – someone genuinely interested in being part of the city framework vis-à-vis the Chamber, or are they a taker – someone who sees the Chamber as a glorified leads club with great food and door prizes?

For me, having been in business for 4 years, but only 6 months of that time here in Kansas City, I’ve come to understand that the Chamber is really all about relationships.

Relationships

As a member of 4 different (and excellent) chambers I’ve come to realize that the Chamber is a place where you can just “be yourself” around fellow business owners. Yes, there’s business to be done, and yes, sometimes it gets done right then and there, but a lot of times, some of us just need to eat some good food, drink a bit, and relax. Often it’s been a long, hard day (or the beginning of one, at AM events) and the Chamber can be a support in that day – or a drain – it’s whatever you make of it. It’s directly linked to your attitude.

Attitude

If the attitude is, well, my membership didn’t pay for itself – I’d ask “Why?” Did you expect someone to come up to you within 90 days of your joining and say to you: “Hey Joe/Jane, do you sell widgets? Can I order $10,000 worth of them?” If you expect this sort of thing to happen, I believe you will condition yourself to act in a way that will consistently fail.

So, from a very young buck, here are some tips to make the most out of your Chamber experience:

1) Go to events. I don’t know about you, but free food always sounds good to me, and you have no grounds to complain about “not getting anything out of the Chamber” if you’re not showing up. Besides, you just make it easier for people like me who are always there to win all the door prizes, including a $250 pair of Oakleys (Thanks, Dr. Besler!).

2) Be yourself. People are not going to want to do business with an idea, they’ll want to do business with you. If you’re there acting out a role, or asking about my business just so you can interrupt and tell me about how you fit into it – those of us worth our salt will pick up on it, and file your business card appropriately when we return to our office – in the trash can.

3) Bring guests. As I do this more often I get more and more amazed at how many wonderful friends I’ve gained in the past year – as I’m introducing a colleague who has never been to a particular chamber – they feel that same sense of camaraderie among “fellow cronies” and they feed off it too – plus guests are part of growth and energy – they help keep things moving and make us realize just what an exciting place Kansas City is right now.

At the end of the day, the Chamber may not immediately lead to direct sales (though it does do that too), but I can point to a whole host of wonderful friendships I have gained, and quite a few other relationships are leading to a great group of big projects.

Overland Park Chamber

2006-11-29T19:42:00.000-06:00

Looks like a couple of tutors getting to know the community better...Scott and I in the far left sidebar...

This year's October SAT essay

2006-11-24T14:46:00.000-06:00

Annually, I pretend that I never left high school and venture in to take both the SAT and ACT with my students. I'm not a masochist, I just deeply believe in making sure that my skills are sharp through actual practice. Here is my 25-minute timed essay, which received a 12 out of 12, that was in response to this question:

Prompt: While some people promote competition as the only way to achieve success, others emphasize the power of cooperation. Intense rivalry at work or play or engaging in competition involving ideas or skills may indeed drive people either to avoid failure or to achieve important victories. In a complex world, however, cooperation is much more likely to produce significant, lasting accomplishments.

Assignment: Do people achieve more success by cooperation than by competition? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

The fast-paced nature of the modern world has made competitiveness the hallmark of success. While cooperation may achieve greater success in the long run, it is often abandoned by most of our society in the hustle and bustle of trying to "get ahead." This competitiveness can be observed in the current paradigm of our economic world (free-market capitalism), our recreation (professional sports), and our "culture", or what passes for it these days, television.

The not too distant memories of Worldcom, Global Crossing, and Enron give people a chance to reflect on the consequences of unbridled competition. These were companies that became supergiants by competing against, and then gobbling up, their rivals. And what was happening? They were given laudatory front-page headlines, their stock prices soared, and their CEOs regularly spoke on television. Competition made these companies what they were - and no matter how "shocked" everyone was when it all came crashing down - we were cheering them all the way.

The cheers are not any less loud for our professional athletes. Instead of simply encouraging excellent performance in the last year of high school and the college years to perhaps land a professional berth, today we observe the phenomenon of grammar-school children taking sports as seriously as high school students. And to what end? Well, they are told that the best, fastest, strongest, etc. will receive the most money and fame. And athletes routinely push their bodies to their limits - injuries that cripple for a lifetime seem ho-hum in an environment that consistently echoes Vince Lombardi: "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

And winning, that's what "reality shows," the dominant form of television entertainment, are really all about. The ruse is simple - put a group of demographically different people into an uncertain environment and then give them tasks to perform. As we've seen above, cooperation does not "pay." Ruthless, unbridled, take-no-prisoners cutthroat savagery is often essential to the "winners" of these shows. As always, the theme is the same - winning gets one money or "fame" - or both.

Ultimately that's what drives competition in today's world - the love of fame and money. These desires appeal to the basest and most primal urges of mankind, and those base and primal instincts bring out anything other than the "better angels of our nature", as Abraham Lincoln once said. Yes, competition achieves more "success" than cooperation, but at what cost?

New team member

2006-11-15T11:03:00.000-06:00

From the Press Release to the Kansas City Business Journal:

Get Smarter Tutoring of Overland Park has just hired Kim Peterson as their new Director of Course Services. Kim replaces Scott Tidwell, who was out here for a 6 month stint to get the new location of the company going. He returns to California in December (and to sunnier weather!) to continue tutoring and grad school.

Thanks for all your hard work, Scott!

Overland Park B2B Expo

2006-11-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday we were privileged to be part of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce's annual Business 2 Business Expo. We met many fellow business owners as well as key contacts in the local and surrounding areas. Here are some pictures of our booth:

Scott Tidwell, one of our Master Tutors, working the desk...

Charlie Galvin, left, Scott Tidwell, right, in front of giant balloons spelling out ACT and SAT, kindly provided, along with some treats, by Terri Perkins from It's My Party. She can be reached at 913.963.5130.
another view of the booth, showing the GRE and GMAT balloons...

A great day for us overall, with coffee provided by Nameel of Daily Dose at 135th and Quivira (one of the only coffee bars outside of Europe that I know of that serves alcohol) for those who were a bit wearied with all the hours of networking.

We also gave away 12 free 20-hour ACT prep classes. Congratulations to all our winners!

And now, a word from our sponsors...

2006-11-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

Well, more like, here, we'd like to say a few words about the groups we've decided to sponsor in the last few months.

Kansas Public Radio

I've always been a big fan of NPR and it was really quite thrilling to help underwrite parts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered on KPR (91.5 FM in Lawrence and Kansas City). Our first block of underwriting was from September through this month. We look forward to continued collaboration.

Gobbler Grind Marathon

This 10 year-old running event in the heart of Overland Park features a 5K, half marathon, and full marathon.

I haven't run a marathon since Wichita in 2001, where I clocked in an Oprah-esque time of 3:59:59. We have a free entry as a sponsor, but neither myself nor Kim, our new Director of Course Services, is the running mood with just 7 days to go. If you would like to walk/run any part of the Gobbler Grind, send us an email at info@getsmarterprep.com and we will gladly sponsor your entry!

Marillac's Enchanted Evening

Marillac, a fellow member of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, is throwing a gala and auction two Fridays from now. Their mission is to help at-risk children and families.

From the site:

Marillac's annual fundraiser, will be held on Friday November 17th at Union Station in the Sprint Festival Plaza. Sponsorship opportunities are still available at various levels.

The Enchanted Evening of Cocktails & Cuisine "kicks off" Marillac's Enchanted Forest, a public display of beautifully decorated trees and wreaths.

For more information on sponsorships, donating a tree or volunteering, contact Rachel Larsen, Special Events and Volunteer Services Manager at (816) 508-3308.

We are donating one free ACT class (a $499 value) and will be attending the gala. Now I just need to find a new suit for this swanky event! Terry from Jos. A. Bank, find me at the B2B Expo today! :-)

Daily Dose

We will be participating in this cool coffee spot's Gift-a-Day giveaway in December, also with a donation of a free ACT class. Check out their site and their phenomenal coffee!

It's that time of year...

2006-11-07T17:28:00.000-06:00

So let's look at a few of the top schools in the country to see what they are asking their potential applicants to write about. We've included the more interesting examples...

MIT

1. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it (This isn't a trick question. We want to see how you bring balance to your life).

2, Tell us about an experience which, at the time, really felt like "the end of the world" - but had it not happened, you would not be who you are today. Describe the process htrough which you discovered value in the negative.

Optional:

1. On a separate sheet, show us and/or tell us about something you have created. This can be, for example, a design, a device, an object, an idea, or concept.

Johns Hopkins

1. If you had a full day with no commitments, no homework, no home responsibilities, and only the money in your pocket, what would you do? Where would you go? Whom would you take with you?

Harvard

1. Suggested topics for an additional essay:

a list of the books you have read during the past twelve months (and why)

unusual circumstances in your life

an academic experience (course, project, paper, or research topic) that has meant the most to you

For those parents with children who are currently juniors or below, use these topics as balls to throw around the dinner table. Surprise your children and see how well they think on their feet. Help them work through different approaches to the answer.

Scholarship Contest Announced!

2006-10-26T13:19:00.000-05:00

Get Smarter Tutoring’s 1^st Annual Scholarship Contest

it’s going to be a cold, cold winter.

Don’t waste all that time indoors!

Enter our scholarship contest!

Simply send your essay, with a heading of your name, address, phone number, and email address before January 15^th, 2007 to:

Info@GetSmarterPrep.com

Please write no less than 500 but no more than 1500 words (no exceptions!) on one of the following topics:

1. The burdens on high school students have been increasing steadily over the past ten years. Increased expectations in sports, difficult classes, and standardized test scores have made an already competitive environment frantic.

Are these burdens worth it? Why or why not?

2. In your high school studies, which subject do you think will benefit you the most in the future? Will knowledge of that subject benefit others in the same way? Explain.

3. Send us an essay you have written for another scholarship, adapted for our length requirements.

The Prize?

$250 cash and Ten hours of free tutoring

in the subject(s) of your choice

www.GetSmarterPrep.com

“The Score You Need For The School You Want”

Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening

2006-10-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

Engineering Job Fair at KU Lawrence

2006-09-20T00:14:00.000-05:00

Day One

2006-09-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

This blog will chronicle the re-starting/re-location of my company from Laguna Beach, California to Overland Park, Kansas. Our main purpose is to use it as a platform to keep our investors informed of events as well as inform our students and their parents about important articles, deadlines, etc.