Ask an Admissions Expert Ralph Becker

Ask an Admissions Expert Ralph Becker Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Ralph Becker received his Bachelors degree from Yale Universityand his MBA from UCLAs Anderson School of Management. He served as an alumni interviewer on the Yale admissions board and eventually founded Ivy College Prep, a college counseling and preparation service. For many years, Ralph has helped a number of students gain acceptance into top schools such as Brown University, Rice University, Northwestern University, and more. VT: How far ahead of time should a student begin working on his or her college application? Ralph: I like to get students working on the first draft 6-8 weeks before the due date. Often its useful to take a first shot at an essay, and just let it sit for 5-7 days. Starting early allows for such a luxury of time. VT: What are the best ways to go about selecting a terrific essay topic? Ralph: Certainly there are topics best avoided: death of a pet or the big tour of Outer Mongolia are twobut, for the most part, write about what interests you; dont worry about what might, or might not, interest the reader. Trust that your enthusiasm will be reflected on the page. Know your topic thoroughly. If it has to do with cars, know the transmission, alternator, and manifold. VT: Are there any essay topics you get tired of seeing or would warn students to stay away from? Ralph: Ive read dozens of essays about the big game, vying for first seat in the Wind Ensemble, and the difficulties of acculturating into the US from China. You can only imagine what a reader for UCLA (who received over 90,000 applications last year) could say. No matter, if it truly evokes a meaningful emotion in you, and you can get it down on paper, write it up and see what youve got. VT:What is the biggest mistake a student can make on a college application? Ralph: Thinking that he/she can bluff his/her way through the question, What about Northwestern makes you want to apply. Know the school youre applying to well. Realize the admissions people will recognize when you havent done your homework. VT: What is the typical process an admissions officer goes through to evaluate applications? Ralph: Once your application reaches admissions, it goes to your first read. The first read is, oftentimesespecially for Ivy League schools, the colleges regional representative for your high school. Consequently, if a college that youre interested in visits your high school, go to the meeting and introduce yourself to the representative; he or she can greatly influence the success of your application. First reads will give your application a thoughtful review: usually spending between 15-35 minutes with it. Moreover, the first read creates your electronic data sheet, which includes your hard data and basic information. (So if the school super-scores your SAT, the first reader will usually assemble your highest scores from each section of the test.) Interestingly, after the score and GPA are factored out by the first read, its rare the original test scores or transcript will be accessed. The rest of the data is then assembled: race or ethnicity, special status, extracurricularThe fir st read then determines whether your application is admitted or denied, or warranting further discussion. Your application will then workflow to a second reader. If both readers concur on denial or acceptance, then its likely your application will go to the dean of admissions for final authorization. If the two are in disagreement, or your application is somewhere in the gray zonethe purgatory between acceptance and rejection-- then it goes to committee for consideration.VT: What do you think is the single most important thing a student should make sure they present in the best possible way on their application? Ralph: Assuming the application contains essays, within the scope of these essays, the applicant should put forth an image of a knowledgeable, eager, interested candidate who has a decent sense of humor and would be a pleasure to have on campus. If that comes across clearly to the admissions office, the essays have done as good a job as they ever will. VT: How should students go about determining the culture of a university, and whether they would be a good fit? Ralph: Students need to ask themselves some questions: What type of educational methods work best for them? What kind of academic atmosphere best fits their learning style? What college environment do they prefer? Where do they want to live for four years? What kind of social environment is preferred? This list isn't exhaustive, but it's a good place to start. Visiting a campus, sleeping over in a dorm and eating in the cafeteria help a student gain a sense of the school. Trust your gut. VT: Early-action, early-decision, binding/non-binding, regular decisions...With so many choices when applying, what do you recommend to students? Ralph: Applying ED limits your access to financial aid, commits you to a place that you might not like, and surrenders your ability to search and consider many other fine institutions during the admissions process. Under early action (EA), the admitted applicant is free to apply to any other school and has until May 1st to make a final decision. Then there is early action single choice, in which you can only apply early to one school (e.g. Yale), but all the benefits of EA remain. There is also regular, rolling, and open, but, the key issue for most students is to have options. Stick with EA and, unless youre absolutely in love with the college, avoid ED like the flu. VT: How important are grades and standardized test scores when admissions decisions are being made? Ralph: The higher a students grades and test scores, the more options that student will have. The higher both, the more selective schools one might be admitted to, the better the financial package offered, and the better access to a schools honors program. Options make a students life more interesting. VT: What tips do you have for students asking their teachers for letters of recommendation? Ralph: Be very selective about which teachers write your recommendations. Preferably, you can find a teacher from a class in which you participated actively, enjoyed, and, as a consequence, did well. If in the class, you wrote a strong paper, or performed admirably on a test, all the better... Additionally, the teacher should be someone with whom you have a solid rapport. Of utmost importance, make certain that she can write well. It doesnt matter how much a teacher might admire your academic gifts, if she cant express herself well on paper its not going to benefit you. To raise the bar a bit more, its important that the recommender be experienced, preferably with five or more years of classroom experiencemeaning she should already know how to write a decent recommendation and know their import--, and from a class you took in your junior or senior years. Check out Ivy College Prep to learn more about Ralph and the services his company offers.The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

What You Should Know About The SAT

What You Should Know About The SAT The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized exam that is used for college admissions. While some programs do not require it, mostfour-year colleges and universities require that applicants take either the SAT or the ACT. [RELATED: What Does SAT Stand For?] The SAT has three sections: Math, Verbal, and Writing, which was added in 2005. Each section is scored on a 200-800 point scale, and the total of these sections makes up the complete score (600-2400). The test is broken up into seven 25-minute sections, two 20-minute sections, and one 10-minute section with three 5-minute breaks, meaning that the full test clocks in at three hours and forty-five minutes. TheMathportion of the SAT is made up of two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section consisting of multiple choice and grid-in questions. The material covers things youve learned in Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra I, and a few things from Algebra II. You can use a calculator on the SAT and some formulas and theorems will be provided in a reference sheet. TheVerbalportion of the SAT has two 25-minutes sections and a 20-minute section that test your basic reading skills. Questions are broken down into passage-based reading comprehension questions and sentence completions, which test your vocabulary. TheWritingpart of the SAT consists of the essay and two sections of multiple choice questions (twenty-five and ten minutes). The essay assesses your ability to structure a piece of writing and make well-reasoned argument in response to a prompt you do not know beforehand. The multiple choice questions test your knowledge of English grammar. On every SAT test, there will also be one 25-minute experimental section. You will not know what section this is while taking the test, and so it is best not to try to guess. However, your performance in this section is used by the makers of the SAT for research and will not affect your final score. You can take both the SAT and the ACT, and can take the test as many times as you likemost students take the SAT two or three times. The only colleges that will receive your scores are the ones you specifically choose. If youve taken the test most than once, most colleges will look at your highest scores for each individual section. Colleges will not average your scores across all the tests youve taken, so if you have one low overall score, this will not count against you. [RELATED: What is an Average SAT Score?] Perhaps the most important thing to know is that the SAT is not an IQ test and does not assess raw intelligence. Rather, it measures a number of qualities, such as basic knowledge of the material, problem-solving skills, and familiarity with the style of the SAT itself. Therefore, unlike an IQ test, the more time you put into studying, the better your score will be. You may benefit from reviewing with tools like aprep book. Good luck and happy studying!

How Online teaching can help Kinder Garden Kids

How Online teaching can help Kinder Garden Kids Every child less or more has done this at one point of time. All children during their first day at school bursts out with a loud whale cry when their parents hand them over to their teachers. The school at that time turns into a nightmare where the kids are afraid to go. New things are being taught to them every day. The cry is louder and sometime with time decreases a lot as kids generally gets mingled up with the other children they found in their class. It is an awesome feeling for the parents to see their kids grow and for the kids school slowly turns into a place of interest as they gain many happy moments. I remember my nursery days when every time my mom used to take me to school in the beginning, every time I used to cry. I used to cry for getting departed from my mom and the fear of getting scolded and getting punished was scary to me. Today’s children are enough smart and capable to handle school, private tuitions and other classes of various co-curricular activities. Parents of today’s time are very much progressive and thus every single parent wants their child to be admitted into a good and reputed school. It is one of the biggest criteria that a parent wants. But sometimes the kids are unable to follow the entire process that is held at school because of the fact the school has a certain procedure of teaching and learning. As the children are very small they cannot come up with their problems that they are facing as they are unaware of what the exact problem is. It is not possible for any school also to give attention to every child individually. The child ends up learning nothing or something that is wrong. Online teaching and its several benefits that arrives in If from the starting days only the base of a student is not made strong then how can the structure for future be concrete. It is very important that parents should keep a regular check with what is happening in their child’s life and how much have he gained from everyday schooling. Apart from keeping a track on the daily improvement of their child, the parent can also take help from the online teaching institutes that are now available all round the world. The set of online teachers have excellence in their work and helps you with 100% satisfaction regarding results. The teachers are well trained and well efficient to handle the small little kids with great tenderness and care. As the entire process is conducted through the help of online messaging so the parents can also join the classes and view what and how the teacher is teaching. These classes provide you with entire amount of satisfaction with the way they teach. Small kids also gain interest through such classes and like to attend those classes with zeal and enthusiasm. These types of classes help in making a kid much more advanced and get high level of concentration. The entire process has only a teacher and a student and no one in between. The teacher is focused toward one student at a time and this help the kid to gain better. Keep in mind not all types of online teaching facilities comes up with such kind of help for the nursery kids and kinder garden kids as well. There are very few such e-learning web portals that have opened up help for nursery kids as well. It is a tough job to deal with small kids as the toddlers as they are very small to come up with their problems. Teachers have to be very patient with the kind of process they are applying to make the kids learn. Reputed institutes have many types of services for nursery kids and each kid is attended by single teacher. Whether it is Reading help for kindergarten or learning help, clearing the homework or so on, every kind of help is easily available with well proficiency and great care. Parents can be tension free with their children as these institutes deliver the best and also make every effort to come up with satisfactory results in the eyes of the parents. The charges of such services are very less and thus parents are happy with the service. W hen you get good service with less payment then it brings a smile on your face automatically. About TutorPace and its various advantages you can come across Online search will bring to you various institutes that have the facility of e-learning courses. Every institute is different and every institute has its own way of teaching and learning. Some of them can provide you with the best services but will end up charging high bucks as per their quality to teach. Whereas some of them are there who charges less, but the quality of the teachers and the teaching process are not at all up to the mark. You will not feel satisfied with the kind of service they provide. For parents it is a great dilemma as whom to choose. For your help, it is just a suggestion that you can check TutorPace, an e-learning institute who will help you to get the best facility and that also within a middle class parent’s reach. The teachers are very efficient and also hard working. They know how to tackle the small kids and how to entertain them in the learning process so that the kids like the learning experience to a large extent. There is no time limitation and the teachers have high level of patience that helps them to cope up with any weak kid very easily and devoting ample amount of time. Get into their site and check for the other details that you want to know. You surely will be pleased with the kind of answer you get.  

Tutor Pace-Triangle

Tutor Pace-Triangle On a plane figure when three lines intersect each other at their last end is called a triangle. The end place where lines intersect to other lines, makes a corner. These corners makes an angle. In a triangle there are only three corners and three angles. The sum of all the three angles in a triangle is 180. There are 3 types of triangles: 1) Acute angled triangle All the angles in a acute angled triangle are 90. 2) Right angled triangle One of the angles in a right angled triangle is 90 3) Obtuse angled triangle One of the angles in an obtuse angled triangle is 90 Example 1: Two angles of a triangle measures 59 and 85. Find the remaining angle? Answer: Sum of all the angles in a triangle is 180. 59 + 85 + x = 180 144 + x = 180 x = 36 Hence the third angle is 36. Example 2: The three angles of a triangle measure (3x) , (4x 8) , (3x 2) . Find x and all the three angles. Answer: 3x + 4x 8 + 3x 2 = 180 10x 10 = 180 10x = 190 x = 19 First angle = 3x = 3(19) = 57 Second angle = 4x 8 = 4(19) 8 = 76 8 = 68 Third angle = 3x 2 = 3(19) 2 = 57 2 = 55

Narrative, Person, Distance and Author

Narrative, Person, Distance and Author What is Narrative? E. Irving Couse [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons What is Narrative? A narrative is the combination of a story and its presentation. The first of these two elements, story, is a series of events involving entities, with a beginning, middle, and end. The entities in the story can be sentient, such as in stories about people or human-like talking animals, or entities can be insentient, such as stories about the formation of the solar system, in which the entities are non-human and incapable of acting with intent. The second element of a narrative is the presentation of the story, sometimes called the narrative discourse, which is the particular way a story is told. If you have ever read a book and seen the movie adaptation, you might observe that the story was essentially the same but the film and book versions were different renderingsâ€"two narratives about the same story. First, Second, or Third Person Narration To illustrate, if four writers were to agree on a series of events involving the same entities, but then went off to separate rooms to write the story, each would produce a different narrative because the presentation of those events would inevitably be different. One author might choose to write the story using first-person narration, “I woke up late.” The second author might choose instead to use third person narration, “He woke up late.” The third author might choose to use third-person omniscient narration, “No one in the galaxy cared that he had woken up late.” Alternatively, a fourth author might choose to experiment with second-person narration, “You have woken up late.” Each produces a different narrative effect in the mind of the reader. First person narration feels true. When the story is about the narrator, it seems autobiographical, even if the story is fiction. Readers tend to construct an idea of the author in the process of reading and begin to think that we know something about him or her by the end. This inferred author may, in fact, be nothing like the real author. In fiction, we should remember that the narrator is an invention of the authorâ€"a tool used to tell the story. The illusion created by first-person narration, however, can be so convincing and so complete for readers that many can come away from a book worrying about the mental health of the author. Such was the case when Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita first appeared. At the time, misconceptions about the author were so pervasive that Nabokov felt it necessary to add an afterword to a later edition of his novel to emphasize that he was not anything like the murderous Humbert and did not share his narrator’s predilection for 12-year-old girls . Narrative Distance It is easier to distinguish between the author and the narrator in third person narration. The third-person narrator can exist outside of the storyworld as a non-character or participate in a small way as a minor character. The degree of involvement in the story is called narrative distance, and it is variable from narrative to narrative. Hemingway wrote third-person narration with “complete emotional non-involvement” (Abbott, 2008, p. 75). His narrator always remains distant from the action. He describes but does not judge. He reports. In contrast, Nelly Dean, the narrator of Wuthering Heights, participates as a minor character, commenting and expressing sympathies in a story that is, for her, still in progress. A reader can judge the emotional distance of the narrator by counting the number of adjectives employed. With the exception of descriptive adjectives denoting size, shape, or number, the presence of evaluative adjectives let us know that the narrator cares and feels. It is possible to tell a story using second person narration. It has been done, but it is rare. Balzac writes, “You hold this book in your white hand, lying back in a softly cushioned armchair, saying to yourself, ‘Perhaps this one is amusing.’” Being addressed by the narrator in this way creates a relationship between the reader and the narrator, however hostile. Jay McInerney’s narrator maintains more distance, making the reader a protagonist in his story. He writes, “At one o’clock, you go out for a sandwich. Megan asks you to bring her a Tab. Downstairs, you semi-revolve through the doors and think how nice it would be not to return, ever” (McInerney, 1984, p. 27). Second person narration like this is more common in hypertext fiction. The effect of second-person narration is strange, to say the least. Person, distance, and narrator all take time to develop and understand. As we have seen, there are dangers, too. Readers make false inferences about the author that sometimes need to be dispelled. References Abbott, H. P. (2008). The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. McInerney, J. (1984). Bright Lights, Big City. New York: Vintage. Please follow and like us:

Use The Summer Wisely Build Academic Skills With These Simple Ideas

Use The Summer Wisely Build Academic Skills With These Simple Ideas Use Summer Vacation to Boost Your Child's Academic Skills! The upcoming school year is just around the corner and it isn't too late to discover ways that academic summer programs can help your child. The lazy days of summer are a perfect time for you to reflect on the past school year, your child's performance and behavior, and ways that you can help reduce frustration with both school and homework. If you believe that your child is struggling and needs help with academic skills there are certain questions you may be asking yourself, such as: What do teachers think of my child's schoolperformance? Perhaps teachers have told youthat your child is a class clown, a day dreamer, or acts out when theacademic material becomes too difficult. You may have had conversationswith teachers about retention, a study team evaluation, or additionalacademic interventions. Are there observable signs of struggle when my child iscompleting homework? Ifcompleting homework is an ongoing struggle for your child you may belocked in a constant cycle of frustration or refusal. Your child may beindicating the homework is too hard if it takes too long, completion is abattle, or there is constant refusal or avoidance. Does my child's schoolwork seem too hard? You may have noticed that your child isn't able to readthe textbook and classroom materials, gives up easily, receives gradesthat don't reflect effort, is disorganized and lacks strong studyhabits, or seems to struggle with time management. Each of these isan indicator that the academic content is too difficult. What impact are the academic struggles having on mychild's behavior? Whena child is struggling academically the frustration and lack ofunderstanding often manifests itself in behavior issues. If your child isangry, withdrawn, unruly, or disrespectful these may be signs that theacademic work is simply too difficult and frustration has set in. If you are concerned about your child the professionals at Huntington Learning Centers are available to help. We are committed to creating academic summer programs that help struggling learners better prepare for future learning. Don't let the next couple of months slip by when your child could be working side by side with a professional tutor who is committed to helping meet your child's needs.Our approach is unique and completely child-centered. We will work with you to boost academic skills and better prepare your child for the upcoming school year. Academic Evaluation Westart by determining your child's specific needs. We use a variety ofassessments based on your child's age, developmental ability, and yourspecific concerns. Your child's behavior and response to the assessmentsare also observed and measured. Data analysis Theresults from the academic evaluation are analyzed and your child'sstrengths and weaknesses are identified. These assessment results form thebaseline for your child's ongoing growth. Parent conference Oncewe have determined your child's areas of strength and weakness we meetwith you to fully develop a tutoring plan. This conference is focused onour observations, conclusions, and recommendations and the ways thatHuntington Learning Centers can help. It is an opportunity for you tolearn more about your child and to ask questions about how our tutoringapproach will help reduce frustration, increase academic understanding,and better prepare your child for future learning. Personalizedtutoring sessions Once the parent conference is complete and your child's specific learning plan is created, the real work begins. The tutoring sessions are focused on your child's specific needs and utilize instructional methods that arecentered on your child's areas of identified growth. Ongoing feedback Wepride ourselves on maintaining close contact with parents and work to keepyou updated and informed. Results from ongoing assessments, observationsfrom tutoring sessions, and changes to the learning plan are communicatedto you in a timely fashion. We will make sure you understand your child'ssuccesses and the areas of ongoing need. School communication Withyour permission we will be in contact with your child's school once thefall term begins. Our tutors will share information with your child'steachers and will shape tutoring sessions to meet the school's academiccurriculum. Are you concerned about your child's academic abilities? What difference could academic summer programs make in your child's learning?

Fellow Parents, this Tutoring Site is Awesome!

Fellow Parents, this Tutoring Site is Awesome! In October the testimonials from parents and tutors surged. Here are four examples. Sagit, Organic Chemistry This site is awesome and I have told many fellow parents about it today actually! Tutor Sagit seems fantastic. I would love if many people contacted me, I am a great resource and even if my daughters dont need it, I have many friends who can use help for their kids too! Gabi G. of Encino, CA October 22nd, 2015 Calculus Tutor Amer of Gurnee, IL Amer met with my son for the first time today. He was finishing up with another student and his mother stated, your sons in good hands. She was absolutely correct. Amer was very patient with my son and inquired my sons needs as they moved through the session. By the end of session one, my son was much more confident about his abilities. Thank you Amer. Looking forward to his next session. Randy T. of Wadsworth, IL October 18th, 2015 Dr. Sai, Math and Java Dr. Sai is very knowledgeable, qualified and have patience to teach kids, we highly recommend. Murthy,  Irving, TX October 17th, 2015 Tutor Stewart, ADHD Stewart was great- he took the to explain everything to my son. He was very patient and knowledgeable. Mrs. Laura C.  of North Reading, MA   October 5th, 2015 Thank you Gabi, Randy, Murty and Laura for your words of appreciation. TutorZ is always happy to be of good service to you and will do its best in the future too.