What was it that Socrates said? “Visit the Veritas Tutors Blog for all your tutoring needs”? No, wait—I think it was actually “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Yes, that’s it. While Socrates may not have been referring to “The Gap Year,” he was correct that contemplation of the self is invaluable during periods [...]
How to Use a Semi-Colon
Often underused, misused, or simply feared, the semi-colon is a versatile punctuation mark that may be employed in two distinct ways. First, and most commonly, a semi-colon connects two independent clauses. (As a quick refresher, an independent clause is a phrase that can stand on its own as a sentence. For example, “The French bulldog [...]
A Recent Graduate’s Guide to Life at Harvard
Happy decision day! We tapped into our staff resources to conjure up a list of things they love/loved about Harvard. Those of you that decided on Harvard today (congratulations!) will be one step ahead of the game come September. Enjoy! Where do Harvard students eat? The Square offers many fantastic restaurants. If you are visiting [...]
SAT Prep: Your Ideal Timeline
Now that we’re almost to summer, let’s talk a little about test-prep. Test preparation should start the summer following your sophomore year of high school. During your junior year, you can prepare during the fall, take your first test in December or January, and re-test in the spring as needed. Starting SAT preparation later than [...]
How to Spend Your High School Summers
After 9th grade… Do something interesting, something that helps you explore a world or a subject or an activity that you love or have always been curious about. Let’s say you’ve always wanted to join an a cappella group but your school doesn’t have one. Well, what would it take to get one started? [...]
4 Programs to Help You Boost Your Productivity
At this point, it’s a cliché to bring up Internet addiction in a blog. It’s like live-tweeting the Oscars, or Instagramming the food on your plate. “Yes,” people think, “we know we’re addicted to the Internet. Thanks for pointing that out.” So we’re just going to leave it at that: the internet is addictive, and [...]
How to Overcome Senioritis
While not listed in the latest edition of The Merck Manual, Senioritis is nevertheless a very real ailment. Its debilitating symptoms should not be underestimated. Given how hard you have worked throughout the high school ‘race’, it would be a shame to transform into a slouch during the very last lap–especially because the high school race [...]
How To Get Off the Wait List: Dos and Don’ts from a Former Ivy League Admissions Officer
So, you’ve been wait listed. What now? We’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from students and parents asking us how they can get off of the wait list and into their dream school. To get the inside perspective, I sat down last night with Lauren, one of our admissions consultants and a former [...]
AD(H)D Case Study- Joanna: Part 3 of 3
Joanna, a 14-year-old honors student, met me when it became apparent that she was struggling with test preparation and and overall study skills. Her History class presented the most immediate issue, though her academic inconsistencies had impacted every course. Unlike Paul, who gets lost in the abstract, Joanna is an extremely concrete learner. She has trouble seeing [...]
AD(H)D Case Study- Paul: Part 2 of 3
As mentioned in the first post of this series, students present teachers with myriad learning styles and learning differences. In order to take a closer look at the ways tutorials can be customized for students, consider the following case study based on my work with a 16-year-old high school junior named Paul. Paul initially met [...]
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