Danny Rivkin, a sophomore at Bard College at Simon's Rock, spent many summers working and vacationing on Catalina Island. When this innovative 18-year-old, learned that the students at Catalina High School desperatley needed SAT prep help Rivkin decided to make a difference in the under-served community.
Rivkin created an SAT Prep class that helped to change the lives of many Catalina Island students. One student in fact,
calculated that she received an additional $10,000 in financial aid as a result of her improved SAT scores.
This Saturday, students all across the country will be franticly filling out little bubbles with number 2 pencils. The stakes are high. Everyone takes the SAT with hopes for scoring well enough to get into their dream college. No wonder students have SAT test prep anxiety!
Of course with these high hopes and last-minute efforts to prepare comes baggage. Lots of baggage. If studying for the SAT is making you a big ball of nerves it may be time to think of some ways to cut down on your stress. After all, you don't want to get "brain freeze" on test day because you're so overwhelmed!
StudentAdvisor asked Rory Hatfield, a veteran SAT tutor at Kaplan, what the most effective SAT Prep techniques were for cutting down the stress. Read more...
By Megan Kenslea
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Friday means the weekend for most students, but at StudentAdvisor, it also means it's time for another edition of This Week in College News. It's been a tough week this week, with a senseless murder on a college campus and the lowest SAT scores in 40 years reported. But there's also some hope coming from Washington, as the White House unveils a new plan to bring digital learning to the classroom. Check out the news below to learn more:
Bowie State Student Fatally Stabbed by Roommate
It's every college student's worst nightmare: a 19-year-old Bowie State University student stabbed her roommate to death Thursday night in their dorm room. According to Maryland State Police, Alexis D. Simpson allegedly stabbed her roommate, 18-year-old DOminique T. Frazier, in the throat after the pair got into an argument. Simpson turned herself in to police late Thursday, and has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault. University officials canceled classes for the day and will hold a "community gathering for consolation and support."
White House Launches New Digital Learning Research Center
The White House today unveiled plans for a new research center that will promote digital learning in classrooms across the country. The U.S. Department of Education is sponsoring the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, which plans to research "the ways in which technology can really make a dramatic impact on student performance and student outcomes." Plans to create the center have been in place for 10 years, but Congress did not approve funding until 2008.
SAT Scores Lowest in 40 Years
SAT reading scores are at their lowest in 40 years, College Board reported Wednesday, with the average falling four points to 497. College Board reports that declining scores are due to an increase in test takers from a more diverse population. While that may be the case, though, The Atlantic reports that based on the demographic breakdown of scores, the achievement gap is widening. According to Bob Schaeffer, the Public Education Director for Fair Test, a non-profit advocacy group, "a very rapid gain in both academic proficiency and narrowing of the achievement gap has stagnated in this decade."
Linn State Drug Tests Students; ACLU Files Lawsuit
Most students are used to submitting GPAs and SAT scores to colleges, but Linn State Technical College in Missouri is going a little further: the school is requiring students to submit to a mandatory drug test, and the American Civil Liberties Union has a problem with that. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit this week accusing Linn State of "violating the constitutional rights of its students by forcing them to submit to mandatory drug tests as a condition of their enrollment." A Missouri judge granted a temporary restraining order to stop the drug tests.
Coming Up: StudentAdvisor heads to NACAC!
Finally, StudentAdvisor will be in New Orleans next week for the annual National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). If you'll be at NACAC, here are three reasons you should stop by the StudentAdvisor booth (#130). Still not convinced? Check out our super awesome video, featuring the one and only Dean Tsouvalas, for a preview of NACAC.
Photo: flickingerbrad
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
College entrance exams are the bane of just about every high schooler in America. Between your regular coursework, after-school activities, and all the assorted craziness of being a teenager, do you really want to think about another test? To help you get through one of the most anxiety-filled times in your high school career we've compiled the registration, late registration, and test dates for each SAT and ACT exam for the 2011-2012 academic year.
If you're just getting started with preparing for the SAT or ACT be sure to keep these test and registration dates handy. Pop them on your Google Calendar, put this post on the fridge, write them on your forehead - whatever you need to do so you don't forget!
SAT Test and Registration Dates 2011-2012
|
Test Date
|
Registration Deadline
|
Late Registration
(w/ fee)
|
|---|
| October 1, 2011 |
September 9, 2011 |
September 10 - 21, 2011 |
| November 5, 2011 |
October 7, 2011 |
October 8 - 21, 2011 |
| December 3, 2011 |
November 8, 2011 |
November 9 - 20, 2011 |
| January 28, 2012 |
December 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2011 - January 13, 2012 |
| March 10, 2012 |
February 10, 2012 |
February 11 - February 24, 2012 |
| May 5, 2012 |
April 6, 2012 |
April 7 - April 20, 2012 |
| June 2, 2012 |
May 8, 2012 |
May 9 - May 22, 2012 |
Register for the SAT at CollegeBoard.com
ACT Test and Registration Dates 2011-2012
|
Test Date
|
Registration Deadline
|
Late Registration
(w/ fee)
|
|---|
| September 10, 2011 |
August 12, 2011 |
August 13 – 26, 2011 |
| October 22, 2011 |
September 16, 2011 |
September 17 – 30, 2011 |
| December 10, 2011 |
November 4, 2011 |
November 5 – 18, 2011 |
February 11, 2012*
* Test centers in New York do
not administer the February exam |
January 13, 2012 |
January 14 – 20, 2012 |
| April 14, 2012 |
March 9, 2012 |
March 10 – 23, 2012 |
| June 9, 2012 |
May 4, 2012 |
May 5 – 18, 2012 |
Register for the ACT at ACTStudent.org
Photo: naraekim0801
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Controversy hits the college news scene this week. A new study suggests that "sexting" among college students may now be the norm. Test-optional colleges get slammed for buying lists of high scoring SAT students, while a recent high school glad sparks a fire about racial discrimination in high school course selection in Arkansas. On the lighter side of things, Amazon is bringing students another way to save boatloads of money on textbooks.
Want the details? Get the scoop on this edition of This Week in College News:
A new study from the University of Rhode Island has found that 78% of college students have received sexually suggestive messages. Over half (56%) of the students surveyed indicated that they have received sexually suggestive images. Even though the most students engaged in these activities, known as "sexting", sent these messages to someone they were in a relationship with, 17% of those surveyed admitted to forwarding the messages to at least one other person. One of the researchers, Tiffani Kisler warns, "Once they click that 'send' button, they don't know where else a message will wind up."
When most students find out they've earned the valedictorian title in their graduating class they're typically pleased as punch. Not so much for one recent Arkansas high school grad. Kymberly Wimberly, a member McGehee Secondary School's 2011 graduating class, submitted a complaint to the U.S. District Court for Arkansas' Eastern District after the school gave her co-valedictorian status with a white student with a lower GPA.
Wimberly believes that the school has a history of limiting black students' access to challenging classes. She is seeking punitive damages of $75,000 and official recognition that she is the only valedictorian of her class.
Last week Boomblerg bursted the bubble of legions of anti-standardized testing advocates by revealing that several SAT-optional colleges were buying the names of top-scoring SAT takers. Pitzer College, a small liberal arts college in Claremont, Ca., was one of the schools called out in the report.
In a response on the Huffington Post, Pitzer's president, Laura Skandera Trombley, defended the school's actions:
"Now this issue of purchasing mailing lists is in my view really a straw dog. I don't know about you, but when I throw a party I like to send invitations to the guests. This is what our admission office does in purchasing lists. We run tours 364 days out of the year, present at college fairs, visit high schools and yes, we try to get the names of as many college-bound students as we possibly can. "
Hate spending tons of money on textbooks every semester? Amazon is now offering a textbook rentals program for Kindle readers and and devices with Kindle software. According to Amazon, students can save up to 80% of the original price for their textbooks. Rental periods are availible between 30 and 360 days. Don't worry about missing being able to take notes right in the book - notes and annotations can be stored by Amazon, even after the rental period is over when the book is re-rented or bought.
Photo: notemily
