One of the things that we always encourage at Veritas is to see the
value in test preparation that extends well beyond the test. By
 preparing in this way, you’ll both leverage your preparation for
 something greater than the test, and likely also do a better job of
preparing yourself for the test as well. 

On that note, Jon Hodge of Strictly English TOEFL Tutors has explained 
here how you can apply this type of approach to the TOEFL.

Leveraging Your TOEFL Skills

Many non-native English speakers applying to English-speaking universities think that the TOEFL is some perfunctory obligation that does not really capture their intellectual ability and will have no usefulness for them after they start their college studies. But this is not true. Of all the standardized tests, TOEFL requires skills that are immediately transferable to almost any academic environment, especially if you really learned those skills and didn’t just cram for the test.

First of all, the TOEFL Reading Section demands that you focus not only on content, but also on the organization of the writing and on the relationship between ideas. When your college courses are demanding that you read 200 pages a week, you need to read strategically and efficiently by always evaluating the text as you read. Someone who can score over a 25 (out of 30) on the Reading section of the test will probably be able to complete reading assignments quicker than students who score in the low 20s (which is still a respectable score for TOEFL).

Similarly, once you understand how TOEFL structures its lectures on the Listening Section of the test, you will be better trained to understand class lectures and how to take notes while following the lecture. Many students untrained in note-taking say that they do not take notes because once they begin writing their notes, they lose what the professor is saying. But good TOEFL tutoring trains you to take notes AND follow the new content the lecturer is saying, so that you miss nothing. This is not an intuitive ability, but a learned skill and preparing for the TOEFL is one effective way to master this skill.

Perhaps the most important part of the TOEFL for a college student to master is the Speaking section. Most college classrooms today were designed to have all the students talk in class. Student sit in a circle, and usually 10% of the course grade is based on class participation. If you’re unable to join the conversation because you’re shy, then you’ll get a lower grade. TOEFL gives you the confidence to speak without being afraid of your accent or your grammar. Now, it’s also true that talking a lot in class is not necessarily good either. Monopolizing the class, or taking a really long time and talking in a convoluted manner is distracting to the flow of the class. Teachers want your contributions to class to be concise, direct, and well organized. This is a hard to do well and it takes a lot of training. Because TOEFL requires you to answer its questions in 45 to 60 seconds, it trains you to contribute to class efficiently. Moreover, the TOEFL only give you 15-30 seconds to think of your response to its prompts, which means you’ll be better prepared to answer a question intelligently if a teacher calls on you in class unexpectedly.

For all the reasons above, we at Strictly English TOFL Tutors urge all TOEFL test takers to remember the skills they learned for the test and find ways to use them once they get to college.

We recently received a question from a parent asking about a policy change at her child’s school, the esteemed Boston Latin School.  With rampant student competition, the school has recently changed its policy to remove Honors classes from its Freshman curriculum.  With no GPA weighting for ninth grade BLS students, this curious parent wondered whether her daughter’s chance at admission to a top college would be limited.

In short, the answer is no.  Colleges are acutely aware of context when evaluating every applicant.  They know the policies and expectations of every applicant’s school of origin.  Even top colleges with exceptional applicant pools will not penalize a student with no AP courses if her school does not offer that curriculum.  As such, administrations are taking justifiable steps to throttle back over-achieving students.  Rather than creating a crucible of competition and stress, students ought to be encouraged to pursue activities and passions for long term interest and fulfillment.

Admissions offices certainly understand the virtue of academic passion but also recognize the life-shaping value of extracurricular interests.  The ability to learn and perform for the external motivation of grades is one indicator of diligence; however, the passion to pursue interests – such as music, sports, art, or volunteer work – for internal reward will get a student into college but more importantly into herself.

Therefore, every member of the Veritas Tutors staff is not only a expert teacher but an inspiring mentor.  It is our mission to improve student outcomes within and without the classroom by fostering sustainable curiosity, passion, and success for the school setting and beyond.  We help students discover their passions, whatever they may be, and guide them to excellence in that field.  When was the last time you asked yourself, “What am I passionate about?”

As always this was an informative and interesting discussion with Chris H. as we explored the intimate details of the admissions process.  For more information on College Admissions please visit the Veritas Blog.  Without further ado, here is the seminar in its entirety.

To download, follow this link: http://drop.io/HowToGetIntoHarvard/asset/how-to-get-into-your-harvard-2010-mp3

As always, we will be recording and sharing these lessons freely with the world. Without further ado, here goes:

Lesson One: Introduction to tutoring, education, and disruptive market forces
http://drop.io/VeritasHarvardGSE_1

In the Northeast, it’s a little known fact that the ACT is an absolutely viable replacement for the SAT for application to most colleges.  In fact, though the acronyms are almost the same, the tests are very different in some important ways.  Because of these differences, some students will perform significantly better on one of the two tests.  Are you one of them?  Read the below Q&A to understand whether you should be considering the ACT.

What are the structural differences between the SAT and ACT?

The SAT has math, critical reading, grammar, and writing components.  These are set up in 10 sections, 3 of each and one “test” section that’s not counted toward your score.  The total time of the exam is 3 hours and 45 minutes.  There is also a guessing penalty on the SAT in the form of 1/4 point off for each question you get incorrect.

The ACT also has a math, reading, and grammar section.  It also has a science section, and the writing portion is optional.  The science section, however, does not test your knowledge of chemistry, biology, or physics, but rather your ability to read closely and critique experimental design.  In fact, it’s more like a critical reading on science experiments.  The ACT is broken down into five sections and takes 2 hours and 55 minutes without the writing, or 3 hours and 25 minutes with the writing.  There is no guessing penalty on the ACT.

What are the other differences between the two tests?

The other differences in the tests can be understood by knowing a bit about the history of the two tests.  The SAT was developed as an aptitude test in the 1920s, and the ACT was developed as a content test in response a few decades later.  In other words, the SAT tries to test how smart you are by giving you really tricky problems and the ACT tries to test how much you actually learned in high school.  Though this is a bit of a simplification, it does illustrate the differences.

How does this manifest on the test?  Well, the SAT focuses more on abstract reasoning, tougher vocabulary, and really tricky problems.  The test is sort of like a logic test or a brain teaser (not coincidentally, the SAT’s original author also created the first aptitude/IQ tests for the army).  However, the SAT gives students relatively more time per problem than the ACT because they figure the student either gets it or they don’t, and extra time won’t make too much of a difference.

The ACT, on the other hand, focuses less on tricky problems and more on just testing students on concrete things that should have been learned in high school.  The ACT, however, does give less time per problem and timing is the most challenging aspect of the test.   Because the problems are pretty straightforward, the ACT wants to see how quickly students can answer them.  That, to the ACT, is an indicator of how well a student knows the subjects.

So is the ACT easier than the SAT?

In some ways yes, and in other ways no.  Though the ACT has problems that are generally less tricky, the timing of the test is quite a bit more stringent.  So, if you’re a student that needs a lot of time to read and answer questions, the ACT may be a lot harder.  But if you don’t have a great vocabulary or are not a particularly good abstract problem solver, the ACT may very well be a lot easier.

So what kinds of students should take the SAT?

You should be focusing on the SAT if you have a great vocabulary, are good with tricky reading and math problems, and have a strong reading comprehension level.

And what kinds of students should take the ACT?

Doing moderately well in a standard high school curriculum and having a strong reading speed are prerequisites for doing well on the ACT.  Also, if you have begun preparing for the SAT already and are not doing as well as you’d like, you should take a practice ACT to see if you feel any more comfortable on it.

Where should I start?

Well, if you’re a good student and a quick reader, but have a weak vocabulary or aren’t good at tricky problems, start with the ACT.  If you have a great vocabulary and are good at figuring out abstract problems, begin with the SAT.

If you’re still not sure or don’t fit in either category, start with the SAT.  The SAT is actually a more coachable test.  This is because there are only a certain number of tricks that the SAT tends to throw at students, so improving for the SAT — to a certain degree at least — lies in understanding the “tricks” and the problem types that the SAT tends to favor.

The ACT is not as coachable because it requires a lot of knowledge that has to be internalized and deployed very quickly.   In other words, it generally takes longer to improve your scores on the ACT than on the SAT.

But won’t colleges think it’s odd if I submit an ACT score instead of an SAT score if I’m from an area where the SAT is more common?

No.  If you do well on either test, it’s a good sign.  Doesn’t matter which one.

If you do well on the SAT, it shows that you have good abstract reasoning skills and have a strong grasp of the fundamental concepts on the test.  If you do well on the ACT it shows that you also have a good grasp of the fundamentals and that you really learned what you were meant to in high school.  Both results are great signs for a college.  Furthermore, because so many students are applying to colleges from so many different locations, admissions officers are used to seeing both.

Should I do both?

There is some debate as to whether you should submit both scores.  We advise that you only do so if you’ve done extremely well on both.  Otherwise, a lower score on one could be considered a weakness in your application.  If you’ve scored well on one, then don’t worry about taking the other until you’ve finished everything else in the college application process.  Having one good score and great essays, or a great extracurricular experience, is far more impressive than having two great scores and a weakness somewhere else.

The first choice students must generally make is between a university and a college.  For those who don’t know the difference, universities include both undergraduate and graduate programs.  Universities tend to be larger, to possess abundant resources, and to focus on research ahead of instruction.  For those self-motivated and aware undergraduates who know what they want, the university setting provides a near-infinite setting for exploration and learning.  Liberal Arts Colleges, however, focus unwaveringly on undergraduate education, providing smaller classes and focused attention and mentorship.  For bright students whose pursuits are undefined, the intimacy of a college can be far more enriching than the vast scale of the university.

Beyond that large question, there are numerous issues of personal preference – city vs. suburb, geography, proximity to home, cost, abroad opportunities, campus culture, even culinary options – to consider.  When trying to decide, the best course of action is to visit each school and mingle with the community of current and incoming students.  That’s right, if you’re considering attending a school sight-unseen, think again.  A prefrosh visit is utterly essential.  You wouldn’t buy a pair of jeans without trying them on… so don’t even consider attending a college without first seeing how it fits.

When visiting a school, the most important variable is the student body.  This is the community in which you’ll be living, working, and socializing for the next four years.  If you feel at home and happy early-on, the transition to independent and challenging academic work will be much easier.

Along that line, the best place to look for a diverse, social college experience is the dining hall.  This is the single place on campus that will showcase the entire cross-section of social life.  Everyone has to eat, and generally speaking, like-minded people tend to dine together.  If you want to understand the implicit and explicit social dynamics of a college, then take a long lunch and/or dinner and pay attention to your surroundings and even try meeting some of the people you find interesting.  As a prospective student, you will certainly be welcomed and inundated by numerous opinions about the school.  Let this be your first lesson in filtering information to suit your preferences rather than someone else’s.

Last and certainly not least, you must go to some classes in subjects you find interesting.  While the anonymity and awe of large lecture classes is appealing, also seek out smaller seminars to gauge the collegiate discussion dynamic.  Of course scholarship is going to transcend most high school curricula.  Don’t be daunted; you’ll fit right in by the end of freshman year.

Last but not least, you have to understand that there is no perfect school out there.  Every setting will have times both good and bad.  Exams and papers will be more frequent than parties as well.  The key is to place yourself in an environment conducive to success within and without the classroom.  That way you’ll get the most out of the next four formative years of your life.

In many cases, College selection is an example of the Paradox of Choice.  To learn more, check out this Ted Talk by Barry Schwartz:

First, here is the information on how to write the personal admissions essay from Andrew Magliozzi, the company’s founder.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates (470-399 BCE)

When official visits and peer enthusiasm crest in springtime, however, even the most intrepid students are persuaded to follow the ordinary path to college. Since adulthood is about successful autonomy, I never compel compliance. I do, however, endorse active self-discovery during adulthood and adolescence alike.

Perhaps not always a year in duration, contemplation of the self is invaluable during periods of transition – geographic, academic, and occupational. That is, relaxed reflection is essential to the practice of everyday life with particular focus on the space between the signposts of success. Simply put, scenic detours engender happiness, encourage exploration, and reinforce confidence. Although it is best to start young, it is never too late to begin living the self-examined life Socrates could not live without.

Before reading on, you may also listen to a full recording of a seminar on the gap year, which was held in Spring 2010.  Feel free to listen here or download the file for later.

The Arguments Against

Fortunately, I have learned from my students’ reaction to deferred promotion and thus have a certain amount of insight into the teenage psyche. Teens, like the rest of us, are creatures of habit, whose daily environment of bells and corridors seamlessly leads intellectual growth from one level to the next. In fact, “staying back” in the K-12 system engenders perpetual promotion to college and beyond. It is this concern for continuity, which constitutes the primary student arguments against the gap year.

Why wait when I am ready for college now? This is always the first question high school students ask when confronted with the prospect of a gap year. In most cases, students are not ready for collegiate success; they merely think they are based on the immature students who have made (or are making) this transition. In truth, the student capable of simultaneously adapting to a new set of social, amorous, and academic responsibilities is rare indeed. Rather than confront all of these trials at once, it is best to tackle each of these matters over a full year without the burden of classes – and tuition.

If I take time off now, I worry I won’t go back to school. This is one of my favorite excuses, because it is simply ludicrous. If, however, a student feels this is a genuine concern, there is a sure fire solution: get a job. After a month of 40-hour workweeks, any teenager will be begging for school. The discipline of rising early for work is also an invaluable academic practice. From personal experience (albeit not until senior year), a 9-to-5 approach to school ensures excellent grades without the burden of stressful cramming or all-nighters. In fact, most students will find a full academic workload corresponds more closely to thirty than forty hours per week.

By next year, I will be too old for college. The movie, Old School, should have confirmed you are never too old for college. If, however, Frank the Tank is not a credible mentor, it is worth recognizing that college is the first step to eliminating the artifice of age from one’s consciousness. College courses, unlike those in high school, are homogeneous mixtures of lower and upperclassmen with a few graduate students mixed in. As such, the age of any college student has little import within or without the classroom.

For the most part, the social stigma of “staying back” seems to prevent many students from taking a necessary moment to pause and reflect on life and learning. As a result, social inertia pushes students along – often to places they are not ready go. While some are ready for promotion, others are much better served by a break – an opportunity for contemplation, introspection, and exploration.

The Argument in Favor

The concept of a gap year (often up to 15 months including two summers) is almost always misunderstood. Parents and students fear the onset of lethargy and mental atrophy and wonder what to do over that seemingly interminable span. To those people, I always stress a multi-faceted approach. Imagine the opportunity for personal growth inherent in the following timeline:

• June: Graduation
• July – September: Summer employment
• September – January: Travel abroad to learn a foreign language and culture
• February – June: Work, intern, take a course or two, and visit with friends
• July – September: Continue study, work, and connecting with friends

Beginning school as a freshman the following fall, a gap-year student has the distinct advantage of maturity, additional education, a rested mind, and increased social confidence. Often self-growth is the process that occurs in the background of life, while we aren’t paying attention. As a result, it tends to be ignored or devalued. The self, especially during times of transition and growth, should instead be prioritized. During adolescence, little is more important than understanding of the self in isolation as well as in worldly context.

With self-awareness and confidence comes success in academics and work. Unfortunately, other pressing priorities overwhelm this subtle necessity. It usually takes decades to fully know thyself – in fact, most people never get to that point. It’s best to begin early and practice the art of reflection often. If you do, you will have more success and less stress – while saving tuition money in the process.

If my anecdotal authority is not persuasive enough, the following excerpt from “Time out or Burn out” by William Fitzsimmons, Harvard College Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, should bolster the argument for a gap year:

For over thirty years, Harvard has recommended this option, indeed proposing it in the letter of admission. Normally a total of about fifty to seventy students defer college until the next year.

The results have been uniformly positive. Harvard’s daily student newspaper, The Crimson reported (5/19/2000) that students who had taken a year off found the experience “so valuable that they would advise all Harvard students to consider it.” Harvard’s overall graduation rate of 98% is among the highest in the nation, perhaps in part because so many students take time off. One student, noting that the majority of her friends will simply spend eight consecutive terms at Harvard, “wondered if they ever get the chance to catch their breath.”

During her year off, the student quoted above toured South America with an ice-skating company and later took a trip to Russia. Another interviewed in the article worked with a growing e-commerce company (in which the staff grew from ten to a hundred during the year) and backpacked around Europe for six months.

[http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/applying/time_off/timeoff.html]

Rather than dwell on the potential downside of a year spent exploring the path less traveled, we should all consider its benefits. So, once you’ve finished the getting into college, do yourself a favor and pause to consider setting aside some time for getting into yourself. You’ll be happier that you did.

If you don’t believe me, listen to Stefan Sagmeister’s argument for “time off”:

First off, I should reiterate that extra-curriculars should never come before academic obligations.  They are, as the word implies, “extra.”  So students should not lobby to replace homework with the Call of Duty 3.  Also, I’m not suggesting students wile away all of their free time with a Wii-mote in their hands.  Rather, if a student is going to make a case for video games as a genuine extra-curricular, the activity should be treated as if it were a sport or musical instrument.  That is, hours of mindless play should be replaced by focused practice, thorough evaluation, and meaningful competition.

If you don’t believe me, here’s an excellent TED Talk by Jane McGonigal, video game expert and believer in the power of video games to enable collaborative problem solving and change the world:

Play is not practice.  Practice is not play.

As with any other activity, genuine improvement comes from practice with measurable results.  If you were a basketball player, drills, training, and repetition of simple tasks would be as important to improvement as game experience.  Video games are no different.  If you want to improve your skills, you have to focus your efforts on individual skills and track your progress accordingly.

As with any game in real life, video games have various facets – strategy, offense, defense, shooting, maneuvering, etc. – over which certain players have varying degrees of mastery.  If you want to be the best, you’ve got to systematically practice each micro-skill and apply those skills to a game setting.

The most famous name in professional is Johnathan Wendel.  He has earned over $100,000 in a single year of competition.  Jonathan, however, admits that such success requires no less than eight hours of practice every day.

It’s all in your head

Without a genuine physical component to video games (though consoles are evolving), the key to being a successful video game player is not only the dexterity of your thumbs but also  your brain.  That means video games can’t be about shutting off your brain.  Instead, you’ve got to employ all of your cognitive capacity when at play.  Rather than zoning out to the point of catatonic drooling, you need to remain conscious of your activity, incorporating frequent breaks for analysis.

While playing a sport, musical instrument, or video game, breaks are essential.  They allow you to gather your focus and give thoughtful consideration to your progress and mistakes.  Most of all disciplined and frequent breaks allow you to maintain control over your activity rather than the other way around.  In short, video game addiction is real; genuine and productive involvement requires careful time management to prevent being overwhelmed as happens in South Korea.  A policy of requiring 30 minutes of off-line time for every hour of gaming is an essential practice for managing one’s self.

Compete against the best

In any extra-curricular activity, regional, national, and international recognition are essential measures of success.  Moreover, competing against the best raises your personal expectations and performance.  Playing against the best brings out the best in you.  Some international competitions include the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) and the Electronic Sports World Cup.

As always, dedication to a single activity – be it video games or violin – must not force other activities to the margin.  Adolescent maturation requires balance and exploration of several interests.  In conclusion, video gaming can be a valid activity if conducted with discipline, dedication, and competition.  In our changing landscape, digital natives will be essential actors in the economy and society of the future.  But managing online and real-life performance is essential for a happy and balanced life.  Here’s a fascinating Frontline episode that investigates our evolving digital culture.

First published in 1922 and translated to English in 1951, Siddhartha has become a cult classic among readers in the West seeking to understand Eastern mysticism.  A major preoccupation of Hesse (b. 1877 d. 1962) when writing Siddhartha was to cure his ’sickness with life’ (Lebenskrankheit) by immersing himself in Eastern philosophy, specifically the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.

The second half of the book took years to write, because Hesse “had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires.”  In order to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures . His intention was to attain that ‘completeness’ which, in the novel, is the Buddha’s badge of distinction.

All of these themes and more are explored in the following lessons:

[To download MP3 files of these recordings, please visit the following link.]

Siddhartha Lessons by Veritas Tutors is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at veritutors.com.