The Fat Envelope Blog

Using Evernote for your college admissions hunt

I freely admit to being an Evernote addict. I use it for keeping so many aspects of my life organized that I’ve gotten to the point that I’d be crippled if it ever disappeared! (Did you hear that Evernote? I’d be CRIPPLED.)

If somehow Evernote hasn’t made it on to your radar screen, here’s the low down. Evernote is a multi-platform app that allows you to permanently store notes, voice recordings, photos, videos, etc. in the cloud. It works with Apple, Android and Windows based phones, tablets and computers. It can easily follow you everywhere, and you’ll want it to! But here’s the catch...it’s free. Ok, there isn’t really a catch.

In my business life, I use it to keep track of words I want to add to Word-Nerd, ideas for blog posts, notes about my tutoring students and people I want to contact. I’m also thinking about using Evernote to share some of my own notes and resources with my students, and I’ve been keeping clips of College Board “SAT Questions of the Day” that could be useful for those who’ve exhausted all of the other available official practice tests. Personally, it’s great for listing ideas for future travels, clipping recipes and restaurants and remembering mundane facts like the size of filters for my home furnace.

So all this obsessing over Evernote has led me to this post. Evernote is an amazing and convenient way to keep up with all the drama of college admissions. When I went through the process myself, I had stacks of college catalogs and applications a mile high in my room. If only the internet had existed back then! Here are a few tips:

Create an account in Evernote for all interested parties, then make your college notebooks shareable. You may want to consider upgrading to Evernote Premium accounts so everyone can edit each others notes, and you’ll have plenty of space to upload videos and photos. The premium service is only $5 a month, so it’s still well worth it.
Create notebooks for all of the various aspects of your search. These could be scholarship applications, your top schools, ideas for test prep, financial aid information, travel details for your visits, etc. The list is endless. You can then create “stacks” of your various notebooks into broader categories.
Then, get to work! Take notes with ideas when they come to you. Voice record presentations from admissions staff then upload them. Take photos on campus of your favorite buildings, campus life, or the cute tour guide you want to remember. You can forward important emails from the College Board, your guidance counselor or your first choice school directly into Evernote using the personalized email address you receive when you register.
Download a few of Evernote’s other apps, too. Skitch allows you to draw/write on photos and PDFs. It’s useful for noting certain features of a photo you want to remember (or drawing mustaches on your parents). Add Evernote’s web clipper to your browser to send webpages, or just web links, straight to your account. I also like Evernote Clearly for saving articles as simple text (without all the ads cluttering up your screen) for later reading.

So there you have it. I suspect you’ll find Evernote helpful throughout your college years, too. If you have other ideas or tips, please add them to the comments section below!

The ACT: The other college admissions test

I'm the new Dallas SAT Prep Examiner for Examiner.com and here's my first article. The ACT is largely unknown in Texas, so I'm hoping to convince some students to give it a try!

SAT test day may not be the best time to guess

There are two very different schools of thought on guessing on the SAT. Both sides have good arguments, and there really isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, so I talk about it with students on a case-by-case basis. One side advocates guessing if you can rule out at least one wrong answer. This is statistically prudent given the 1/4 point guessing penalty on the SAT. The other side is against guessing, even when you can rule out some answers simply because the nature of the SAT encourages students to jump at plausible, but wrong, answers.

However, I recently read about some new research that makes me think that the anti-guess faction may have it right. This study found that people under stress are more likely to think that their decisions will have a desirable outcome, and that they may have more trouble controlling impulsive decisions because they expect things to turn out positively in the end.

So what does that have to do with guessing and the SAT? Well, it should be obvious that the SAT is a stressful situation. Since students are stressed, they may feel more confident about their guessing ability than they should. So, they may be more likely to guess on questions when it's really in their best interest to skip.

This effect may be even more pronounced in students with ADHD. One symptom of ADHD is impulsivity. In other words, ADHD students are more likely to act or make decisions without thoroughly thinking them through. So in a stressful situation, they may be even MORE likely to guess when they shouldn't.

My own observation has been that students tend to guess much more in their best subjects. One of my tutoring students was quick to skip math questions she didn't feel confident enough to answer. But she answered every reading passage question despite answering many of the harder ones incorrectly. Feeling more confident than you should could lead to poor guessing, too.

In the end, it's up to each student to make a good decision about guessing on test day. Just keep in mind that your guessing skills may be a bit compromised when you're stressed, so proceed with caution!

Note: There is no guessing penalty on the ACT, so you should always guess even if it's a shot in the dark! Add one more reason that the ACT is a better choice for many ADHD students.

Too cool for school: AP and honors students head off campus

We have a guest post today from Karl Fendelander of TutorWhiz on the topic of finding suitable higher level honors and AP classes if your school does not offer the classes you need.

You've seen it on the news. Protests at state universities trying to make ends meet by raising tuition. Teacher layoffs across the country. It's no secret that public education is feeling the sting of budget cuts, and high schools are certainly no exception. From classroom overcrowding to the cutting of extracurricular programs, the results haven't been pretty, and the effects are being felt by students, particularly those trying to get a head start on college. Schools are reduced to simply making sure that no children are left behind, which often means leaving the students trying to get ahead in a lurch.

There are two big issues with honors and advanced placement (AP) classes that get them on the budgetary chopping block:

First, they aren't strictly necessary (i.e., you don't need them to graduate).
Second, the classes are often smaller because not everyone is forced to take them; a smaller number of students are interested in enrolling and different classes are in demand each year (e.g., one year you've got a glut of prospective engineers who are interested in taking AP physics and calculus; they graduate and suddenly all of the honors students want to take upper-level history, government and language courses for their international-affairs-oriented futures).

Classes that aren't necessary and aren't full just can't take up valuable classroom space even if there are qualified teachers at the school. It's nearly impossible for an overcrowded school catering to a diverse student body to accommodate everyone's needs. Smaller high schools in rural areas have been suffering from the same issues for years. Fortunately for all you go-getters out there, options do exist.

Don't mind the recession. Take your classes elsewhere

Whatever the reason that you can't find the class you want on campus, online high schools and your local community colleges are here to help -- but there are a few things to keep in mind for each option.

Community college.

You have to get to campus. You're expected to show up to class on time and be prepared, just like you are at your regular high school. If you've got a job or the class you want conflicts with your regular schedule, you'll need to figure something out.
It's probably not an honors class. The only thing advanced-placement about the classes you take at community college is you. If you were in college, they'd be standard classes. This can be a blessing or a curse. On the one hand, your classmates are likely to be more focused on their studies because they're paying to be there. On the other hand, you're going to get a crash course in college-level work, which can be jarring. Be prepared, and keep lines of communication with your professor open.
Not all college courses are created equally. This means two things: First, transferring credits might be an issue. Taking the course will look great on your college application, but the credits might not transfer directly. Talk to your academic advisor if you have issues. Second, if the class does transfer directly, you might not have covered the same material at your community college class as they did at your university's version of the course. Whether that's because of differing state curricula, the school being on the semester instead of the quarter system or just different professors teaching different things doesn't matter. What matters is that you're prepared for it.

Online high school.

Not all online high schools can offer AP courses. Make sure that the online school you're looking at is offering classes that have passed the AP Course Audit from the College Board. If you aren't sure, ask. Honors classes look great on transcripts and college applications -- and they're a good way to push yourself, too -- but only real AP courses can qualify you for college credit.
You have to keep yourself motivated. You don't have to find a way to get to campus, but you don't have a teacher right there to keep you accountable -- and just because a course is online does not mean that it's easier.
You still have to pass an AP test in person. You will still need to take a test at the end of your course to qualify for AP credit. These tests are standardized, closely monitored and only available at participating schools. Check out the College Board's website for details on registering.

Don't let anything slow you down

Just because your school doesn't offer these classes doesn't mean you should despair. You can still get the education you need and get into a great school. There are plenty of community colleges offering online college courses if neither of the above options appeal to you or fit your exact needs -- and you may even be able to petition your own school's administration to get a different AP class on the schedule. More than a long list of impressive classes, the admissions folks at colleges love to see that you've worked hard, and you're eager to keep learning. Whatever route you take, be sure that's on your application, too.

Karl Fendelander cut his teeth on web writing in the late nineties and has been plugged into the newest technology and tuned into the latest trends ever since. He writes on a variety of topics from the latest social media trends to reasons why you should find a tutor. With an eye for design and an ear for language, Karl has created content and managed digital media for startups and established companies alike. When he unplugs, Karl can be found biking about town and hiking and climbing throughout the West.

Word-Nerd mentioned in New York Post as top SAT online resource

Pretty cool - we just discovered that today's New York Post lists Word-Nerd as an "online resource that can help you score big." We're even listed first, so thanks New York Post!

(Not to be greedy, but any way you guys can throw us a link?)

Preparing for the SAT or ACT: A guide for ADHD students

If you have ADHD, or you have a child with the disorder, don't miss my blog post over on adhd-inattentive.com. It's a wealth of tips to get you started, especially if you intend to apply for test accommodations. Check it out!

Whose advice should you trust when it comes to test prep?

I've been pondering this question since yesterday. I've noticed a lot of bad SAT advice floating around lately from parents and/or independent college counselors. Here are a few reasons why you should take any test prep advice coming from either of these sources with a grain of salt.

Let's consider parents first. I want to make it clear that there are some amazing parents out there doing yeoman's work on behalf of their kids. Spend a little while in the parents forum on College Confidential and you'll see them by the dozen. They ferret out tons of useful information on applications, colleges, dorm room decor and extracurriculars. They also have been through the stress of test prep, and they may offer opinions on what worked for their children. There's nothing wrong with that, and actually other parents can be great resources for ideas for your own kids. HOWEVER, those parents didn't actually do the test prep themselves, and they may have arrived at their choice for their kids based on nothing more than an ad they saw in the newspaper. Further, their children may have very different needs/preferences than your child, so it's up to you to do the research yourself. Use other parents as a source of information, but never as a definitive answer to your test prep needs.

As for counselors, they can offer amazing help with choosing colleges, finding scholarships and planning your college admissions calendar. They are experts in finding the perfect fit for your student and helping them get accepted. It's an incredibly valuable service, and I don't pretend to be an expert in that area. I'm more than happy to leave those jobs up to the real pros! It seems that a counselor should also be a good resource for test prep recommendations, and some of them really do keep up with the prep industry, or even offer test prep themselves. However, many don't do much research into the best test prep available, or rely on the usual suspects they've been advocating for years. Some even have affiliate deals with prep companies that give them a fee when they refer a student, or allow their clients to sign up at a discounted rate. Don't get me wrong. The usual suspects or affiliate companies MAY offer terrific services, but again, do your homework before defaulting to your counselor's recommendation. Really, just avoid defaulting to anything at all (I've got another blog brewing on that topic...stay tuned).

So who is trustworthy when you're looking for advice? I'd love to say that my tutoring services are right for everyone and that I'm your one-stop-shop for test prep, but I can't. While I am 100% confident of my knowledge of the SAT and ACT, there are any number of reasons why I may be the wrong choice, from personality fit to availability to convenience to cost. I hope you'll consider me, but I won't be hurt if you decide your best fit is elsewhere. Honestly, if you see any tutor or business claiming to be perfect for everyone, you should see that as a red flag!

But you SHOULD seek out real SAT experts for advice. I'm one of those (I hope!), but there are tons of other people out there doing great work with students. Read SAT prep blogs (most of the great tutors have them). Peruse Amazon for book reviews. Take advantage of Twitter chats like #campuschat (Wednesdays at 9PM Eastern) and #collegechat (every other Tuesday at 9PM Eastern). Check out test prep groups on LinkedIn. Head over to the Perfect Score Project and see what a parent who took the SAT herself learned about test prep last year. I consider all of these to be credible sources of information. Then, set up a "get to know you" interview with a potential tutor, or sign up for a free trial of a prep program if they offer one. Go to the bookstore and scan through the book you're considering. Ask if a course or tutor uses the College Board Official Guide as a text (if they don't, run away). That last piece of advice rules out the big box test prep guys...I don't consider them to be worth your money.

There really is something out there for everyone (and every budget). Just consider researching test prep to be part of the overall college process. It pays off in the long run.

The ACT may be a better choice for ADHD students

Check out my post on why the ACT (with accommodations) has some real advantages over the SAT for ADHD students. Give it serious consideration before you automatically default to the SAT.

College admissions test accommodations for ADHD and LD students

My friend Laura Rolands at MyAttentionCoach.com was nice enough to allow me to guest blog on the ins and outs of test accommodations. If you have ADD/ADHD or a learning disability, test accommodations are a necessary part of your test prep. The key is to start early! The process of choosing which test to take can take several weeks on its own. Start now if you're thinking about taking the test in the fall. Seriously.

SAT prep for ADD/ADHD and a big announcement

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know I'm going to be taking on a limited number of tutoring students this spring. I hope to have more time available in time for the May and June SAT's.

I take a knowledge based approach to standardized tests, and I don't rely on the sorts of test prep tricks the big box test companies preach. While I don't promise instant results, and hard work is a must, the time and effort you put in will pay off down the road in college and beyond. My techniques will serve you well beyond test day!

Although I'm happy to work with any student, my specialty has always been students with ADD/ADHD or other special needs. To the best of my knowledge, there are few other (if any) standardized test tutors that have my depth of knowledge about learning differences. I understand the unique challenges these students must overcome, while at the same time pushing them to achieve beyond what they, and everyone else, think they can do.

I'm also able to provide assistance with developing a testing accommodations strategy. Not all accommodations are created equal, and those a student uses daily at school may not serve him/her best on test day.

I offer a variety of other services ranging from developing self-prep plans for students on a budget to parent coaching to mental toughness training. As a bonus, my tutoring students receive discounted or free subscriptions to Word-Nerd!

For more information, please visit my tutoring website at SATPrepforADHD.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Yet another critique of college rankings

The Claremont McKenna scandal has brought about an avalanche of opinions concerning the assorted college ranking lists thrust upon the American public, the U.S. News list being the most notorious of course.

I've chimed in before about my feelings about the rankings and I'm certainly not alone. Here is a particularly good critique from CNN.com written by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president emeritus and university professor of public service at The George Washington University.

I wonder how many other schools have submitted false data to inflate their rankings? I'm sure many, if not most, game the system to some extent. But Claremont McKenna has stepped over the line, and if there is any good that comes out of their transgression, it's the renewed focus, such as in the CNN article above, on the flawed nature of the rankings.

Want to flunk your college admissions interview?

I've previously given tips about nailing your college admissions interview. Still, it appears as if a disturbingly large number of interviewees are getting off on the wrong foot. The last couple of years, Jenn and I have noticed a trend towards poor behavior among the students we have interviewed as part of our local alumni interviewing committee. Talking to other interviewers, it looks like we are not alone with this observation.

The problems have more to do with basic manners and maturity than the actual interview itself. It seems like common sense, but if an interviewer contacts you and leaves a voicemail message or sends an email, don't wait 2 weeks to reply. Try to respond as quickly as you can, preferably within 24 hours. Be courteous and polite, and be flexible about the meeting location and time. Remember, your interviewer wants to help you, but is an unpaid volunteer who is using his or her free time to talk to you. You should therefore be at accommodating as possible and respectful of your interviewer's schedule. You may think you are a busy person, but chances are you aren't nearly as busy as your interviewer!

Keep in mind that you want to communicate to your interviewer that you are mature and responsible. In fact, many colleges specifically tell their alumni interviewers to watch for these traits. So doing something as simple as calling your interviewer back right away and being courteous will go a long way towards making a good impression.

60 Minutes reports on the New York SAT cheating scandal

I don't know if you caught tonight's 60 Minutes piece on the recent New York SAT cheating scandal, but it shed some light on the motivations and mindset of Sam Eshaghoff, the hired gun who took the test (as well as his "clients"). If you missed it, you can watch on 60 Minutes' website.

The 60 Minutes report makes the College Board look like a bunch of bumbling oafs when it comes to test security, and the representative inteviewed offered feeble excuses at best. I suspect security policies will get tighter very quickly, and that's obviously in the best interest of the 99% of students who take the test legitimately.

But by far the most striking aspect of the piece was the interview with Eshaghoff. Remorse? Not even a little bit. He liked the cash, and he liked the thrill of getting away with it, coming across as incredibly narcissistic. For example, check out this short video 60 Minutes made of his tips for taking the SAT. Eshaghoff basically states SAT prep is a waste of time, and if you can't do well on the test you should pay someone to take it for you!

I was most amazed, though, by the rationalizing Eshaghoff did to justify the cheating. He actually states that by taking the SAT for someone, he was "saving his life." My head is still exploding! Granted, this came from the mouth of a sociopath who I'm certain used that sort of language to sell his services. He may or may not actually believe it. But his clients did. And by extension, the parents of his clients did, too. Eshaghoff speculates that his clients had to get the money to pay him from their parents, and he's almost certainly correct. He's just playing on the rampant insanity surrounding the college admissions process, and the utterly inaccurate belief that good SAT scores will guarantee future success and happiness. Sure a great college is a first step, but no one's life follows the script you think it will when you're 16.

I'm sure Eshaghoff is more than willing to blame the competitiveness of college admissions for his bad behavior, but buying into the craziness doesn't give him, or his clients, a pass. Those who cheat their way into colleges that are beyond them academically aren't doing themselves any favors. Work hard. Do your best. And look forward to college as the beginning of the rest of your life rather than the end all, be all!

How to nail your college admissions interviews

As the calendar heads towards 2012, we have entered that time of year in which colleges reach out to applicants to conduct admissions interviews. Typically, interviews are held in December through February, although early applicants might have theirs in November or even October. Most schools have local alumni volunteers conduct the interviews, and these alumni are usually gung-ho advocates of their alma maters. Admissions offices try as much as possible to assign applicants to alumni who live close by or have something in common with the applicant.

So, how should you handle your interview? Of course, you want to do as well as possible, keeping in mind that the interview is just one piece of the whole process. I am a volunteer interviewer for my college, and I have conducted roughly half a dozen admissions interviews a year since 1996. During that time, I have definitely seen the good, the bad, and the ugly!

1. Dress appropriately and be on time. This advice may be self-obvious, but I once had a student show up to my law office in jeans and a t-shirt with holes in it. Nowadays I meet my interviewees at Starbucks, but it still reflects poorly if you show up looking slovenly. It tells the interviewer that you are not serious. Similarly, don't be late! Give yourself plenty of time to find the interview location (often a coffeeshop) and if you get lost, be sure to have the telephone number of your interviewer handy. I guarantee your interviewer will appreciate a call if you are lost or run into unexpected traffic.

2. Be educated. I have had countless interviewees not have a clue about even the most basic aspects of my school. In each case, it was clear to me that they applied simply for the sake of applying, which is so easy these days as a result of the common application. Therefore, do your homework! Read the school's brochures, admissions pamphlets and website so that you are familiar with the basics. I once had an interviewee tell me how much he enjoyed my school's football team's success even though the team had won one game total in the prior three seasons!

3. Be prepared with questions. At some point, your interviewer will ask if you have any questions about the school. Chances are good that if you are well-prepared, you will have some specific questions about things you are wondering about. Great topics to bring up are questions about student life, opportunities for graduates, the admissions process, etc.

4. Don't be a robot. I always tell my interviewees to act naturally and answer my questions as honestly as possible. In other words, be yourself. Do not tell your interviewer what you think he or she wants to hear because there is a good chance you will be wrong! Remember, your interviewer wants to find applicants who are enthusiastic about the school, have interesting personalities, and would contribute positively to their alma mater's student body. They do not want to talk with someone who simply spews bland answers that have been rehearsed with their guidance counselors. Unfortunately, this happens all the time, and I find myself talking to students who are scared to say anything that isn't "counselor approved." The result is an uninspiring, unmemorable interview.

5. Be confident but humble. In most cases, your interviewer will know nothing about your grades and credentials. The idea is to learn about your personality without being colored by the rest of your application. Therefore, the focus is entirely on who you are as a person. Be assertive and be confident, but don't be arrogant. I once had an interviewee tell me that he wasn't sure if college was right for him because he already knew everything about the world. Riiiigggghhhttt.

6. Don't be intimidated. Your interviewer might be a bigwig in the community or have you come to a fancy office, but at the end of the day, he or she is merely a volunteer who likes talking to students about their alma mater. Most likely, your interviewer wants to like you and help you. And there is a decent chance he or she will spend more time talking than you will since part of the job description is to be an advocate for their school. A good interview will end up being a pleasant, two-way conversation in which you feel comfortable simply chatting with your interviewer. With that said, you might end up with an interviewer who enjoys asking questions out of left field ("If you could be a vegetable, what would it be?"). In that case, remain composed and do the best you can.

7. Speak well. It might take some practice, but try to avoid using "like" and "um" as much as possible. You want to come across as mature and intelligent. Be sure to look your interviewer in the eye, don't squirm in your seat, and be polite. And definitely don't be afraid to smile or laugh!

Most students do just fine, so go in and nail your interviews!

"Study drugs" are bad news

I’ve seen a number of articles recently on the rising prevalence of illegal use of prescription ADHD medications. I’ve spent a lot of time with ADHD students over the years, and I can say from first hand experience, using your friend’s Ritalin to help you study is an absolutely awful idea.

It sounds like it should help. If these medications can help my ADHD friend focus, what will they be able to do for someone with normal attention? They’ll give me laser intense focus, right? Not so much.

ADHD medications like Ritalin and Strattera are stimulants. They are chemically similar to illegal drugs like amphetamines (aka speed). They help people with ADHD by revving up their brains so they can stay focused. But for people with normal brains, they are just stimulants. They will make you jittery, anxious and hyper; these are not exactly things you want to be on SAT day, when you’re likely to feel stressed and nervous already! These drugs also tend to reduce your appetite, just when you need to be fueling up with healthy protein.

Some recent research also shows that college students who use prescription drugs for non-medical reasons tend to have lower grades. They also skip 21% of their classes. My guess is that these students aren’t spending enough time studying on a regular basis (maybe because they’re partying too much), so they’re using Ritalin when they cram for an exam. It’s not a healthy strategy, and it doesn’t work.

So let your friend keep his meds. If you need a pick-me-up, stick with coffee.

Great college admissions advice for parents

I love Twitter. Why? Because I get to meet awesome people like Nancy Berk (@nancyberk). Nancy is a Ph.D., comedian, and writer, and she's just released a new book aimed at parents slogging throught the college admissions death march. She was nice enough to send me a copy, and I want to encourage everyone to check it out. It's called College Bound and Gagged and it's lots of fun.

I just ripped through the chapter on standardized testing and laughed all the way! But between the laughs there's plenty of solid advice, too (including a tip from yours truly). Take home message...don't spend too much money or rely too heavily on bribery to get your kids through the SAT or ACT.

You can find College Bound and Gagged on Amazon and on Facebook.

Slimy SAT tutor - buyer beware!

Here's a cautionary tale about believing what you read on the internet. It just happens to be related to SAT prep, but the message applies to anything you come across online. People can and will pretend to be anything, and they'll do it with the aim of taking your money. On to the story...

An SAT tutor (and one of my Twitter colleagues), @PWNtheSAT, unearthed a press release naming one Harvey Manger-Weil the "Best SAT Tutor in America." Since he'd never heard of him, he did a little digging. Turns out Mr. Manger-Weil invented an organization which gave him a fake award. In addition to his 30 years of experience as an SAT tutor, Mr. Manger-Weil also has 30 years of experience as a wedding photographer, songwriter/musician and benefactor of an orphanage in Ethiopia. He's a veritable Renaissance man (NOT). Maybe he's done these things, but given his proven lying ability, it's more likely he hasn't. So what does he do?

Look a little farther and you'll find what his real business is...affiliate marketing. Lowest of the low. Slimiest of the slimy. And take a look at this quote from that article.

Despite charging top dollar for his services, Manger-Weil says, he’s “close being at capacity for what I can personally do” with this particular site—a fact that is prompting him to expand into video and more affiliate marketing.

It appears he got into SAT tutoring when Google clamped down on what affiliate marketers could do. Not exactly his life's work, is it? Maybe the guy is a decent tutor, but would you trust him with your future, not to mention your money?

In addition to Pwn's article linked above, here's a couple of other takes from Stacey Howe-Lott and Akil Bello. All of these tutors take their jobs seriously and are worth your SAT prep dollar. Glad I'm on their good side, too :)

How important are AP classes?

AP (Advanced Placement) classes are indeed important if you are applying to top schools. College admissions officers like to see that you are challenging yourself with difficult subject matter. Even more importantly, a good score on an AP exam (4 or 5) shows that you mastered the material and are therefore able to handle college-level subject matter.

Don't fret if your high school only offers a limited range of AP classes - the admissions officers will understand the situation. Conversely, if your school offers a large number of AP classes, be careful not to overburden yourself. Determine the right number of AP classes so that you are challenged, but not overwhelmed. It won't do you any good to take an absurd number of AP classes if you perform poorly in them!

As a bonus, most colleges will accept scores of 4 or 5 for actual college credit, although some schools will also accept 3s for certain subjects. These credits typically won't help your college GPA since actual grades are rarely associated with the credits, but they will make your path to graduation easier since you will not need to take as many classes while in college.

"Big Test Prep:" Solid gold or wooden nickel?

Imagine this scenario. You're a high school junior, spending a few idle minutes surfing the web looking at colleges. Every one of them is touting the average SAT scores of admitted students, and you start getting anxious about taking the test. Magically, your fairy godmother suddenly appears and says she'll pay for whatever SAT prep you desire, but you have to tell her your plan in the next ten seconds before she returns to her castle in the clouds. Yikes! What do you do?

(insert 10 second pause here)

So what did you say? I would bet money that nine out of ten of you shouted "Kaplan" or "Princeton Review" before two seconds had passed. Despite the wealth of SAT prep resources out there, from books to websites to tutors, most students and parents default to these household names that dominate the test prep market. Why? Marketing, of course. The big guys make sure they're the first thing that comes to mind.

If you're a student, Kaplan has probably been advertising in your school newspaper and yearbook. They're offering free diagnostic "SAT" tests and your high school may even have provided them with space to offer classes on site. Your friends are taking Kaplan, and your older brother did, too. Kaplan's everywhere and for once, making a decision related to college admissions is easy.

If you're a parent, you took the SAT back in the dark ages, and SAT prep didn't really exist. You have no idea what's on the test these days, and you know your child needs outside help to score high. You're hoping for admission to a great school with extra scholarship money from your kid's high SAT scores. Other parents are sending their kids to Kaplan, and even though you wonder if there are better options out there, you don't know where to look or what questions to ask. Kaplan is your default, so you whip out your credit card and wipe your hands of the whole thing.

In the interest of disclosure, I should tell you I was a Kaplan SAT and ACT instructor off and on for several years. I've also taught for a small local prep company, been a private tutor, and led the continuing education GRE course at Southern Methodist University. In other words, I've seen and done it all when it comes to SAT prep. I'm fairly well qualified to make the following statement. Don't waste your test prep budget on Kaplan or any of its ilk.

But before I go any further with that line of thought, let's focus on the things that any quality prep course should do. It should review (or teach if necessary) the skills required to take the test. It should present tried-and-true test taking strategies and prepare students for all aspects of test day. It should provide ample high quality practice questions. It should hold students accountable for their own learning. And finally, it should make students feel confident and ready to do their best.

Kaplan does review the necessary skills, teach strategies and give students access to an instructor. But it doesn't do these things all that well. Instructors are expected to cram a lot of material into each session. Our job was to sell the Kaplan system, even though I had my doubts about it from the start. The students were far from motivated, and they rarely completed homework. They seemed to be in SAT class because they were "supposed" to take one, but didn't know how any of it related to their futures. We were all going through the motions, and it wasn't good.

As for my other criteria, Kaplan does nothing to teach new, or poorly learned, skills to students who need remediation. And unfortunately, most of them do need remediation! Kaplan also writes all of its own practice questions rather than using the gold standard of SAT prep, The College Board's Offical SAT Study Guide. Because the questions are unofficial, student's results on practice tests didn't necessarily reflect their actual scores.

Finally, Kaplan's approach is all about instilling fear, not confidence. There is an implicit suggestion thoughout that the only way to score well on the SAT is to essentially "game the system." Out of necessity, Kaplan can't tailor it's classes to individual needs, so it relies on teaching tricks and strategies, rather than showing students how to actually DO the math, etc. Students get the mindset that the SAT is a video game, and Kaplan will give you the cheat codes! The test is out to get them. Is it any wonder kids are so stressed out on test day?! They're hardly building confidence.

You may be wondering what to do now that I've convinced you (hopefully!) to look beyond the usual suspects when it comes to SAT prep. I'll answer that in another post in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Google, google, googol

Since I don't want you to forget you're dealing with a serious nerd, I'm sharing with you the information garnered from a few minutes of "research" I completed yesterday. Something made me ask myself if "google" had made it into the dictionary yet. As in "I googled Justin Bieber's hair," or "I couldn't remember the real name of Screech on 'Saved by the Bell,' so I googled it."

Turns out "google" is an official word. That's not surprising given how Google has invaded our collective consciousness. The interesting thing is that Google was initially opposed to the idea. It seems they thought it would dilute the brand in the same way that Kleenex and Band-Aid have become generic terms. But the dictionaries carried the day, and "google" entered the Oxford English Dictionary back in 2006.

Here's another interesting tidbit. I always wondered if Google had based its name on the mathematical term "googol." If you're not up on your esoteric math words, a googol is a one followed by one hundred zeroes. And yes, Google's name is a play on googol. Google's founders certainly exhibited a degree of hubris in choosing the name, implying that their search engine would eventually index such a huge number of web pages. But given Google's amazing success, the name really does seem to fit.