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December 23rd, 2009 - Carnival of College Admissions

Omniac College Roundup for November 20th, 2009

Want a big payoff on the Millionaire game show?  Only old timers and people who live in the past need apply.  (Photo credit: Flickr via M People & Heather Small)

 

College students, and other young people, have little information on yesteryear's pop culture.  Because of this, the appeal of TV game shows is significantly misleading.  (TV Squad)

Thanks partly to the emerging popularity of community colleges, and despite economic troubles, 40% of young adults are now enrolled in college, a record number.  (The Choice)

An Indiana high school punished two students for photos posted to MySpace and the resulting lawsuit is predicted to evenutally go to the Supreme Court. (The Associated Press)

As the economy sours and as the price of college skyrockets, university presidents salaries continue to soar, in some cases, even over $1 million.  (US World and World Report)

College can be an extremely difficult time for any student, but students who neglect their mental health will find these difficulties increased significantly.  (The New York Times)

Local politicians have suggested a new tax on tuition for Pittsburgh colleges to help bear the city's financial burden.  However, the presidents of the affected colleges have universily denounced the idea.  (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

The idea that too many students are currently enrolled in college has been proposed.  Is this idea valid, and if so, which students should and should not attend college?  (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Colleges are require more and more personalized things on their applications that the 'numbers game' of GPA and test scores is slowly starting to lessen. (The Choice)

UC system to raise tuition by over 30% while President Mark Yudof makes nearly $1 million.  Are the students really the best people to pick up the financial slack? (The California Progress Report)

Omniac College Roundup for November 6th, 2009

We're glad that schools are keeping dangerous influences like this fellow off campus. (Photo Credit: Flickr via DPStyles)

A New York Eagle scout was suspended for 1 month for keeping small pocketknife in his locked car. He fears that the incident could hurt his application to West Point.  Fox News

A list of the 25 most dangerous schools has been compiled.  How does your school compare against others in terms of student safety? The Daily Beast

There is most definitely a relationship between a university and the type of student it attracts.  How much does a particular college affect its students, and how much does a student body affect the school?  The New York Times

New GI bill will eventually be a huge help for veterans.  Unfortunatetly, they are struggling to receive their benefits right now.  The Washington Post

Students who have higher GPAs will have more options for college, but there are still plenty of choices for students who have more Bs and Cs.  The Choice

More and more colleges are using Facebook to reach out to students;  as a result, more and more students are looking there for answers.  The Boulder Daily Camera

When college admissions officers met for their annual convention in Baltimore recently, one frequent topic of discussion was the economy and its effect on students and parents.  The New York Times

Louisiana universities have some of the worst graduation rates in the country.  To correct that, state lawmakers are attempting to raise admissions standards.  The New Orleans Times-Picayune 

The University of Nevada - Reno plans to remove their free university email services, touting it as a fantastic way to cut school costs without getting rid of anything with actual educational value.  The Nevada Sagebrush

Omniac College Roundup for September 24th, 2009

 No caption could really live up to how awesome this photo is by itself!  (Photo Credit: Flickr via Eastern Washington University) 

The military needs more skilled officers, so the ROTC program has been steadily increasing its enrollments...and the scholarships it offers!   The Silicon Valley Mercury News

Purdue admissions office starts Facebook group for incoming freshman.  New Purdue students will now have more options to get integrated and meet their new classmates.  The Purdue Exponent

College can be a scary time for an 18 year old: first time being away from family and in a new envirnment.  Now imagine going through that when you're 13.  The Washington Post

Several states, such as California, are having to cut High School counseling budgets.  As a result of the lessened counseling time, students are now turning towards the internet for info on college.  The San Fransisco Chronicle

Florida is increasing admissions requirements for all of it's state universities.  Straight C's are no longer acceptable.  The Palm Beach Post

Yale recently had one of its greatest tragedies in the last 10 years when a Yale grad student was murdered.  Fortunately for Yale, the incident does not appear to be affecting admission rates at all.  The Hartford Courant

Michigan state legislators are attempting to cut scholarship funding for Michigan universities.  In response to this, dozens of local students marched on the state capital in protest.  The Lansing State Journal

The plays of Eupides have been called masterpieces for over 2500 years.  Unfortunately, they are 'inappropriate' for BYU students. USA News & World Report

Omniac College Roundup for September 18th, 2009

Is this your professor, or your classmate? (Photo Credit: Flickr via Zaid Al Balushi.)

As older and older people start becoming students, it's becoming clear that college is no longer just for teenagers.  The Wall Street Journal

As we all know, dorm rooms are typically drab and boring places.  But one interior designer is armed with several tips for students who'd like to add a little style to their rooms.  Black Voices

The companies that make the ACT and SAT will each tell you lots of things, most of them untrue.  Here are 10 things that neither test maker would want anyone to know.  Smart Money

Yale and other Ivy League schools are drastically cutting their travelling budget, meaning that they'll be visiting fewer high schools than in recent years.  The Yale Daily News

High schools seek corporate sponsorship for their sports teams. Next year, corporate logos will be tattooed to each player's forehead as part of their uniforms.  True / Slant

Which is better, to use savings to pay for college, or stick that away for retirement and take out loans?  The Wall Street Journal 

Texas will change it's 10% law to a new 8% law in 2011.  It's great that schools are getting a little more control over whom they're able to admit.  San Antonio Express

Stanford admissions dean reflects on his own college admissions experience, giving a unique view of the process from both sides of the coin.  The Stanford Daily

Students are now using Facebook to speak with college admissions officials.  Be careful though, this can hurt just as easily as it can help.  USA Today

September 12, 2009 ACT - What We Saw

Over the years, we here at Omniac have done a lot of work to keep our finger on the pulse of the ACT.  Technically, the test isn't supposed to change without ACT notifying test takers, but we all know that small changes creep into the test over time. 

While ACT releases a good deal of material every year to students for us to study, we don't rest until we feel like we've experienced the test exactly the way our students do on test day.  That means...we have to take the test too.  

Today, I'm introducing a new feature here to our blog.  We want to share the information we get from taking the test with our readers, especially those students who are trying to figure out what to study and where to work on their test taking skills.  We're hoping that it helps all of you make better choices about what to study!

To be clear: we will not be posting questions, answers, or other direct material from the test.  Instead, we want to highlight the big trends that are shaping up and draw your attention to specific topics that we think are important.  In addition, we want you to know how hard we thought the exam was relative to past exams.

WHAT WE SAW (September 12, 2009 ACT)

Section 1: English

Difficulty: Medium

The English section was an extremely typical exam for the September 2009 ACT.  We saw the usual split between Grammar and Rhetoric and plenty of questions that asked students to remember how punctuation marks, verbs, and pronouns work.  

This year, we did see a slight decrease in punctuation questions and a slight increase in verb questions.   Also, a good number of the verb questions provided answer choices that weren't even real words: ranned, wented, threwed, etc.  Students should use these "verbs" to their advantage by getting rid of answer choices that can't be correct.

Section 2: Math

Difficulty: Hard

The Math section for the September 2009 ACT was a tough section filled with tricky questions.  We saw the typical six math subjects (Pre-algebra, Algebra I + II, Shape Geometry, Coordinate Geometry, and Trig), but the focus shifted from the usual Pre-algebra and Algebra I to Shape Geometry and Algebra II.

There were several questions that appeared to be trying to slow students down.  Upper-level math problems for this test seemed to be specifically guilty of this, introducing concepts like the Law of Sines and the absolute value of complex numbers.  Students would have been served well by skipping such questions.

Overall, students should not see huge drops in scores on the Math section.   While it was hard and students probably felt like they were drowning in numbers, the test is scaled for a reason.  All the students will labor under the same burden for the September 2009 ACT and the scale for the scores will reflect that.

Section 3: Reading

Difficulty: Easy

We are always hesitant to say that a section is easy on the ACT.  However, it's been a while since we've seen such a manageable Reading section.  Containing the usual four sections (Prose Fiction, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Science), the September 2009 ACT featured clear writing and compelling topics that made the Reading section a relative breeze.

The Prose Fiction section, as usual, proved to be one of the most difficult sections for students to understand.  While most of the questions were easy to solve, the remaining problems were vague and unhelpful.  Once again, the Science section was a pleasant alternative for students seeking to find easier questions.

Section 4: Science

Difficulty:  Medium

The September 2009 ACT ended as it began: the Science section was a straightforward version of the test we've seen a million times before.   Just like the English subtest, the Science section had the usual breakdown of questions with the usual levels of difficulties.  Any student who invested time into learning how to break down and solve basic Science questions was well-rewarded on test day.

However, we did see a few questions that struck us as odd.  It's commonly accepted that the ACT Science contains very little actual science, but this year featured a few questions that required students to know the basics of Chemistry and Biology!  It's difficult to prep for questions of these type because we have no idea what the ACT thinks is important (Acids/Bases, Cell Mitosis, Photosynthesis, ets?)  We urge students to continue to focus on the big picture, eliminating answers they know are wrong and focusing on questions they can score points on first.

September 2009 ACT Overall

Overall Difficulty:  Medium

As you can tell from the notes above, this was a pretty typical September ACT.  We fully expect students to show strong improvements if they've worked hard to learn new skills since their last test.  Students probably felt frustrated by the Math section, but as long as they didn't let that struggle get them down, they should have bounced back well on the other sections.

Also, it's worth noting that the ACT instructions about snacks aren't accurate.  Your ACT ticket says that snacks are "Not allowed," but it's perfectly fine to eat them on the break if they fit in your pocket.  You just aren't allowed to bring them into the test room.

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Got any notes for us about your test?  Please let us know in the comments!

Omniac College Roundup for September 10th, 2009

 

Are these girls learning anything? (Photo Credit: Flickr via alarzy) 

Colleges are offering unusual classes, such as ones covering Twitter or Guitar Hero, more each year.  But is that really the best way for students to learn.  Switched 

Credit card companies will no longer be able to target college freshman for easy and early debt.  But there are still plenty of ways for responsible students to build their credit ratings.  USA Today

President Obama's recent speech has caused an uproar around the nation.  And schools are reacting radically different from one another on how to handle it.  The Washington Post

Nine university proffessors from around the country, with over 400 combined years of teaching, give advice to incoming freshman, not only on how to succeed at college, but also how to make the overall college experience more enjoyable and more memorable.  The New York Times

Tuition continues to rise with each new year, and high paying jobs for recent college graduates become harder and harder to find.  Is college really worth the cost?  The Choice

The University of Illinois has just finished appointing new Trustees to replaces those who resigned following an admissions scandal.  One former Trustee, however, believes that Trustees should return to being elected officials. The Springfield (IL) State Journal - Register

As students stay in school longer (and do more post-grad work), as tuition skyrockets, and as the economy sours, students and recent grads are going into debt like never before.  The Wall Street Journal

Graduation rates have been steadily dropping for over ten years, including at several high profile universities.  What are the reasons for this, and how does UNM fare?  The New York Times

Beware the Freshman 15!  College Humor

Omniac College Roundup for September 4th, 2009

Yale dorms probably have golden sheets... (Photo Credit: Flickr via Poldavo)

 

Add 'going Green' to list reasons why students choose Yale.  Oh, and the food.  We hear Yale food rocks. Yale Daily News

 

Want to avoid the mistakes every new college student makes?  Check out this article on the "7 First Semester Freshman Mistakes." Great advice for our new college freshman and outgoing seniors! GoCollege.com

It's great to see the UC president, Mark Yudof, taking personal interest in the epidemic of budget cuts.  It's unfortunate that he seems to be doing little about them.  Educated Nation

A great look at the first day of college, from both the student and parent's perspective.  Wall Street Journal

Governor of Kansas challenges state universities to treat academics as importantly as they do athletics. He outlines a five point, ten year plan to pull Kansas Universities up in the rankings.  The Joplin Globe

Many students have second thoughts about their major as the economy worsens.  Suddenly, business just doesn't seem as...profitable.  Newsday.com

Wow!  Turns out that college rankings actually do matter, for some things at least. Everytime a school improves its ranking...the next class of Freshman is more exclusive.  New York Times

E-Textbooks: less weight to carry around, less money wasted on books.  Are they the future of education?  VOAnews.com

High school football players uses on field skills to save school bus from an armed student.  An armed 14-year old, female student.  People.com

Carnival of College Admissions - Omniac Attack Sequel Edition!

College Consultant Tip: Get a Tutor Before Finals Week

It's been said time and time again: Grades are by far the most important element of your college application.  In the eyes of college admissions officers, high school grades reflect your comittment to learning, your desire to succeed, and your willingness to push yourself as you work toward your dream school.

When I meet with students, however, they largely consider GPA to be the least fascinating part of the college admissions process.  Students always have questions about SAT and ACT tutoring, college essay help, and school search tips, but rarely does a kid sit across the table from me and ask "What about my grades?"

I think this is because students think that improving their grades is going to be hard work.  And they aren't wrong.  Bringing up your grades and improving your GPA requires more than just a twitch of your nose. 

Yet, improving your GPA is easier than raising an SAT or ACT score.  It's a lot easier than writing the perfect college essay.  And it's a ton easier than doing hundreds of hours of community service or opening your own business to impress colleges.

So where do you start if you want to raise your GPA?

We suggest hiring a tutor.  Our Omniac Tutors can cover any subject you throw at us and even come to your house to meet you! 

And we don't think you should wait until finals week to get started working with someone.  It's tempting to try to make things up at the end, but it's often not realistic.  In addition, getting started early has quite a few advantages you probably haven't even thought about:

1. It's easier to catch up when you start early.

It is significantly easier for a tutor to help a student meet their academic goals before all of the damage has been done.  Many of our clients call us the week before finals, hoping to use the last test to turn a D into a C.  While we are always happy to help students patch things together at the last minute, all tutoring is more effective if it starts early and stays consistent.  Learning is like losing weight; it can't happen all on one day!

2. Tutors help you focus on learning instead of your grade.

Most students get into trouble when they start to think that grades are more important than learning.  A grade is temporary; you will get a new set every semester.  If you are working smart, you should be focused on learning the material, not just getting your goal grade.  Working with a tutor gives you the confidence you need to concentrate your efforts on understanding the class you are in now so that you can use that knowledge to learn more effectively in the future.

3. Busy schedules mean you have less study time. 

Students with a long list of intensive extra curricular activities often don't have time to spend 3-5 hours on their own studying.  While a student in an ideal setting would have an infinite amount of time to study and work, it's an unfortunate reality that most students don't have enough time to even do the homework they are given.  A tutor can help make the most of the time you do have and aid you in prioritizing the elements that will help most when finals week does come calling.

4. Tutors keep you motivated by keeping you accountable.

A tutor is your study friend, there when you need a partner to keep you going or when you need someone to quiz you for that test coming up.  They call you to remind you that you need to have all your math done by Friday before the test and they are there to answer questions at late hours when Mom and Dad are tired from a full day of work.  In short, they've got your back when you need a lift to succeed!

5. Tutoring can help make your good grades great. 

Are you consistently getting Bs? Always stuck at the low end of As, worried that you might drop lower?  Why are you settling?  Selective colleges don't mind the occasional B in a class, but you really should be earning As to impress the schools you dream about.  Working with a tutor can streamline your work and push you to the point of real success!  Think of tutors as personal trainers for your mind!

So go get a tutor.  You'll thank me when your grades (and your college application) become that much stronger!

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Got other reasons that tutors rock?  Leave them in the comments!