Check...ers? Check..mate? Checklist!

Take a good look at the picture on the left. That is a depiction of your most valuable asset in terms of high school success.

Whether you are like me and function best when your room is in casual disarray, cluttered desk and all, is of little consequence. There is no avoiding the necessity of planning out the next four years.

Why, you ask?

There are infinite possibilities when it comes to pre-college routes: AP European History, or AP Human Geography? Mock Trial or Baseball? Summer program at Northwestern University or internship at NIH? Your high school career is brief and a single misstep could leave you desperate for one of those coveted Time-Turners.


"What? Why does my schedule say Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations?"
"We couldn't fit you anywhere else."
"Law? AP Psychology? Model United Nations?"
"No, no, and...no."


Because I know you were wondering, AMC involves the history of classical civilizations. It's an extensive study of topics including the Roman-Carthaginian rivalry, the Hellenistic Period, and the Persian Empire extending from the Indus Valley to Thrace and Macedon.

 I really wish I didn't know that.

Next up: A recommended high school checklist - "Check...ers? Check...mate? Checklist!" Part II.

E is for Enjoyable

Mike Wasowski is President of the It's Academic! Team and National Honors

Society (NHS). In addition, he is a member of the following: Odyssey of the Mind, Young Republicans, Prom Committee, Golf, Football, SHS (Science Honors Society), SHS (Spanish Honors Society), Debate Team, Key Club, Rotary Club, Amnesty International, Big Brother/Big Sister, Help Save Our Environment, Model United Nations, and Young Democrats.

Zzz.

Here's the truth: It is not advantageous to sign your name on 17 activity rosters.

I haven't finished the college application process, nor am I an admissions officer, but I would wager my own imaginary acceptance letter that no sensible person would be impressed by the small mountain of "credentials" presented above. My logic is that if you and I have little interest in reading padded résumés, so will the admissions office, which no doubt encounters thousands of these a day come January.

Therefore, do not feel pressured to join the Fur Trimming Club for Underprivileged Felines.

In all seriousness, engaging in extracurricular activities (ECAs) is not supposed to be an excruciating experience. (Of course, I felt compelled to join Debate Team because of my lack of oratorical skill prior to high school. As some of my companions from Eastern Middle School may recall, I had a habit of refusing to participate in Socratic seminars and an irrational fear of ordering my own lunch from the school cafeteria. That said, my passion for debate and my love for the team eventually overshadowed urges to run screaming out of the tournament hall.)

The bottom line is that you should care deeply for what you do. It may seem that the safest bet is to join as many ECAs as possible; if that were true, every John, Mary and Alice would be accepted into schools of Ivy League caliber. It is much more difficult, and infinitely more commendable to put honest effort into your work.

Choose your activities prudently; if you make your selections well, you will reap colossal rewards.

I certainly did.

SATs and ACTs: An Opportunity to Shine

Most kids hate standardized tests.

This is a fact.

Chances are, your face closely resembles this when someone brings up the SAT or ACT.

Why?

a) you think that they fail to evaluate students holistically

b) both require you to sit quietly for an inordinate amount of time

c) you don't test well

d) you are secretly terrified that you will not achieve the stupendous results that you dearly desire

e) all of the above

Whether you select a-d or e, you will inevitably have to take one of the two tests; it would therefore be in your best interest to make the experience bearable. For the most part, I will focus my attention on the SAT, since that is the test I am most familiar with. (I once attempted a practice ACT, which instead of producing good results, yielded a sore forehead and a dented desk. If you wish to receive advice about the ACT, I suggest finding a peer with a proclivity for mathematics. Try the blogger from coaswel.blogspot.com)

In all honesty, the SAT isn't half as bad as it's cracked up to be. Achieving decent results relies on the following five steps:

1) Studying. The types of problems you will encounter vary little from test to test, which is something you can and should use to your advantage.

I worked with a C2 Education Center teacher recommended to me by two former Walter Johnson students, one of whom now attends Wellesley and the other Dartmouth. If you can afford it, I guarantee that you will find the sessions worth your while. Leave me a comment if interested.

2) Studying.

3) Studying.

4) Studying.

5) Studying.

Sadly, there is no magic formula for doing well on the SAT, which is what I assume you came here to find. Do not keep searching the Internet in hopes of uncovering a miracle worker. It does not exist. No book or tutor alone will push you to the top, though both can certainly be heavy factors in reaching a favorable outcome. Interestingly enough, that's excellent news for most of us. That means that top results on the SAT aren't exclusively the domain of geniuses, who so rarely grace us with their presence.

I'm not a prodigy. I never have been. I'm a quick study and I care about my education, but I do not have in my possession more than average intelligence. Recognizing this, I set high bars for myself and work to achieve them - but that comes at the cost of having less leisure time. I started out with a 1700, which is actually somewhat shabby even for the Average Joe and Mary. However, in spite of all bets against me, I raised that score by five hundred - almost six hundred - points.

You can do it. The fact you are searching this blog means that you have motivation and ambition in your arsenal.

Now, unless you happen to be me and accidentally end your reading section on question 23 instead of 25, resulting in a 790 instead of 800, you will do perfectly fine. (Under no circumstances should you exclaim, "Crap, this is like a frameshift mutation!" if it does happen to you. Not that that's what I did, of course.)

If you would like to see a list of the types of problems that crop up in the test, comment below.

Cheers.

An Introduction

Generation Y: the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s, often characterized as achievement-oriented and tech-savvy.

The high school students of the present time are viciously competitive, more so than ever before. And with good reason. College admissions are becoming increasingly selective and kids are feeling the pressure. Too often, you hear a particularly stressed teenager complain, "I have to discover a new species of bug or X school won't accept me." Self-conscious adolescents rapidly click through the virtual pages of CollegeConfidential, hoping to hear reassuring words from other college aspirants; all they find is a plethora of 4.0 GPA students who participate in rigorous summer programs and numerous extracurricular activities. Not so good for the ego.

And so they throw themselves into their books, hoping that sheer perspicacity will help pull them through. When they express their worries, coddling parents and equally distraught friends tell them that college isn't everything. They're right, of course, but the high-achieving teen of today still wants to ensure that his or her near future is bright.

This blog is an attempt to assist fellow Generation "Y"ers in putting everything in perspective. It's a take on education from a student's point of view and an overall guide for survival. Every day that you trudge through the school hallways to your next foreign language class, I will be shadowing the same footsteps - and be ready to provide commentary.

Next up: How I improved my SAT score by more than 500 points in less than 1 year and how you can do it too.