“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.” – Evelyn Waugh

Wordsource | Quizlet | Dictionary Tooltip Review

By now you’ve likely heard about “Web 2.0″, which means a lot of things but generally relates to the new wave of websites that look and feel more like desktop applications. Another Web 2.0 hallmark is the rise of social networks and user generated content (a fancy way of saying that end-users – meaning YOU – play an active role in creating the content that drives the site). High school kids are more likely to encounter new vocabulary online instead of reading the newspaper or a magazine. Today we profile a collection of websites and tools that make the building of your vocabulary less painful, if not even mildly fun. (more…)

A few years ago I remember reading a newspaper article that included a funny letter written by a high school senior who had received several college rejection letters. I recently came across a copy of the letter and thought I would share it.

Office of Admissions
Any College
Wherever, U.S.A.

Dear Any College:

Having now reviewed the many rejection letters received in the last few weeks, it is with great regret that I must inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection at this time.

While I realize that, whatever you might read after that first sentence may be of little consolation, I would still like to clarify some points for you.

This year, I applied to a great number of fine colleges and universities and, of course, received many rejection letters. Unfortunately, the number of rejection letters that I can accept is very limited. It is for this reason that I was forced to reject the rejection letters of many qualified institutions. (more…)

One of the students I tutored yesterday afternoon is a football player who will be attending an Ivy League school next year. He told me about an Ivy League football movie in the making and about a trailer for the movie. I did a little digging and found the trailer on ivysport.com. I am a little annoyed with fellow blogger, Eric Barnes, (just joking) who founded ivysport.com several years ago and neglected to tell me about the movie and the trailer. Anyway, you can access the trailer at www.ivysport.com by clicking on the image of the football-player gargoyle. Below is some additional information about the movie that I obtained from Eric.
(more…)

We all remember that classic scene in the movie Caddyshack when Carl, the Bushwood greenskeeper, plots the demise of the gopher while humming “Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts”. Based on this quote, or any number of the cleaning product commercials on TV, you might think you understand the definition of ‘grime‘. Not so fast! If you’re anything like me, you will be surprised to discover the definition is not so straightforward.

Join me in this prepcast video as I explain why it’s so critical to take the time to look up vocabulary words, not just to score higher on your SAT, but to prepare yourself for success in life. (more…)

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Coming up in March, many high school juniors will take on the SAT test for the first time. Despite all your best efforts to prepare for the SAT test, chances are you will not “crush” the test and reach your highest potential score. Why? In this prepcast, I discuss why junior year SATs are for most a developmental step towards your final SAT goal. (more…)

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Well almost. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports on the momentum of elite universities offering full courses online for free to the public. MIT spearheaded the movement in 2003. The school’s “OpenCourseWare” provides syllabus and class notes for more than 1,500 courses online. Take a peak at this MIT physics lecture (requires Real Media Player). The article notes many colleges are following in MIT’s footsteps. We applaud Yale’s announcement to put seven undergraduate courses online in full video beginning this year.

The opportunity to learn has never been more exciting. As a high school student beginning the college search, we encourage you to explore their free online course offerings and begin to experience what it’s like in class.

– or so goes the quote in a recent Inside Higher Ed article about merit-based financial aid. The article notes a recent meeting of the American Council on Education in Washington where the “merit” of current merit-based programs was under scrutiny.

“Too many states and institutions have lost balance and are subsidizing students who are already college bound”

SOME ADVICE ON WRITING:

There is nothing further from the truth than to tell someone there are shortcuts to good writing. There is no magic formula to writing well (or better than you can now) other than to write and write often; good writing comes from working at it all the time. And you will find that the more you work at writing, the more it will give back to you. While I can think of no writer who would ever say that writing is “easy,” I can think of several students of mine who would say that the difficulty writing posed for them was worth it when they realized how much they’d improved in the expression of their ideas. Writing is hard work, but it is (more…)

I came across this article today and thought it might be of interest to some ePrep visitors. According to a report authored by Elizabeth Redden in today’s edition of insidehighered.com, the College Board release statistics on Tuesday that demonstrate the substantial and continued growth in both the number of AP exams administered annually and the number of students scoring 3 or higher on the 5-point scale. The report also discusses two new studies that link, among other things, participation in AP courses to success in college.

Preparing for the SAT requires practice and practice tests should always be completed under “simulated” conditions. It’s not enough to merely master the subject material given the number of extraneous variables at work on test day. In previous posts on ePrep, I’ve discussed the need to simulate the test environment by practicing at your kitchen table or high school desk instead of while lying on your bed. I’ve noted how the noise, temperature, and other distractions within your SAT test classroom are outside of your control. The devil is in the details. Join me in this Real SAT Story as I relate how allowing too much time for second guessing proved to be the undoing of a former student. (more…)

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