The good news is that there’s still time to register for the August 24th SAT exam. The bad news is that, if you’re living in Central NJ, taking the test will likely require a road trip as seats have already filled at most local high schools.
The August SAT exam is being offered for the third consecutive year (replacing the March SAT) after being eliminated back in the 1970’s. It’s extremely popular with students who view summer as the perfect opportunity to prepare for the exam without the pressures of school, homework and afterschool activities. By taking the exam in August, students have the opportunity to put their newly acquired SAT strategies and skills to the test without waiting until October – which they had to do prior to recent years. But students interested in taking the summer test should sign-up soon as they are already in a “late registration” period with a final deadline of August 13th.
Three million Americans over the age of 60 are still paying off student debt. Approximately 40,000 of them are having Social Security or other government payments garnished. It shouldn’t be this way. To avoid the likelihood of joining these ranks, parents and students need to do some careful planning well before deciding on their college of choice.
One of the best ways of reducing the total cost of a college education is reducing the number of years spent acquiring a college degree. By taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high school, taking an extra course (at no extra charge) during some college semesters, and/or taking courses at a college close to home in the summer, students can often complete their college requirements in three years, cutting 25% off what is typically a four-year college bill.
Back in 1975, administrators from fifteen colleges got together and decided to create one application that students could use to apply to any, or, all of their colleges. This was the birth of “The Common App,” which is now accepted by more than 800 colleges and universities across the United States as well as at more than 50 international universities in 18 countries. More than one million students are expected to use this year’s Common App – which will go live with its latest updates on August 1st – to file more than four million college applications.
The Common App is an online application that asks a series of questions in several categories, including: parents’ educational history and current employment, students’ SAT/ACT/AP test scores, senior year courses, high school activities, and intended college major. There is also an essay of 250 to 650 words that is required by the majority of Common App colleges. Students have a choice of seven essay topics. One of the long time favorites states, “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.” Another prompt says, “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” So the topic options are truly limitless!
If your goal is to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a Fortune 500 company, you may be wondering exactly where you should go to college. The truth is there are many options.
U.S. News & World Report recently looked into the educational backgrounds of the top CEOs following the release of Fortune 500’s list of companies with the highest revenue. It turns out that there’s a great deal of diversity. In fact, none of the CEOs among the top 10 companies on the Fortune 500 list attended the same college. The President and CEO of Walmart, C. Douglas McMillon, earned his bachelors degree from the University of Arkansas, while Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO, Warren Buffett, graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Six of the other top executives also graduated from public universities, while one graduated from a school outside the U.S. and one, Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, graduated from an Ivy League University – Princeton.
Three weeks from today is the registration deadline for the August 24th SAT exam, and it’s not just rising high school seniors who are planning for that date. Many teens who are preparing to start their sophomore or junior year are already registered for the summer SAT exam in order to reap the benefits of starting early.
Students know that they can take the SAT as many times as they want and (most) colleges will never know how many times they have taken the test. When the time comes for students to submit their scores to colleges, they can choose their highest scores, often even “super-scoring” (mixing and matching) so colleges consider their best Math score from one test and their best Reading/Writing score from another test.
