The Prep Talk

Welcome to The Prep Talk. Our goal is to provide you with fun but informative answers to your questions about the college application and testing processes. Read it, check out the links, and if you like it forward the newsletter to your friends.

Next week we’ll talk more about summer plans and what juniors might want to do as far as prepping for the NEW SAT.

Weekly Wisdom for Students

Since it’s summer, our first bit of wisdom is about what you can do before fall rolls around.

There are many schools of thought about summer – but one thing is for certain: do not waste it. Colleges (and parents, by the way) do not look favorably on kids who spend their summers sleeping late and playing Dead or Alive bikini beach volleyball. If you don’t already have a job or summer school planned, try volunteering for some community service. Nothing planet-changing is necessary – just help at a local animal shelter or something like that. There are any number of impressive volunteer jobs out there, and you may find that your “soul work” actually helps your soul – as well as padding the old college application resume.

Upcoming Deadlines

• August 20th – last day to register for the Sept. 25th ACT test
• Sept. 3rd – late registration deadline for the Sept. 25th ACT
• Sept. 7th – last day to register for the October 9th SAT & SAT II
• Sept. 15th – late registration for the October 9th SAT & SAT II
• Sept 25th – ACT Assessment Test
• October 1st – last day to register for Nov 6th SAT & SAT II
• October 9th – SAT & SAT II !

Essay & Application Tips

If you think you can churn out an interesting, original, stand-out essay in the fall while taking five AP classes, figuring out where to apply for college, going to football practice, dealing with your parents’ nerves, and everything else you have to worry about (don’t forget second or third go-round SATs and SAT IIs)… think again.
Start your brainstorming and first-draft writing on your college essays now! Set aside as little as one or two hours a week to find what you’re really passionate about! Passion is everything; no matter what anyone tells you about college essay topics, you will never write something that admissions officers have NEVER seen before. Passion is what can set your writing apart and make the reader sit up and take notice. So find your passion – and start writing!

Testing Tips

SATs are a lot easier the second time around – but that doesn’t mean you should waltz in without practicing. In the months prior to sitting down for the test a second time, take a few practice tests and meet with your tutor a few times – it will pay off when you get those final senior year test scores back!

Interesting Articles

Check out this article about curing your Ivy League addiction. It’s important not to be seduced by the notion that if you don’t go to Princeton or Stanford, you’re worthless. Check it out at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wpdyn?pagename=article&contentId=A353382004Mar30&notFound=true

Vocab of The Week

Perfunctory: adj.
Done routinely and with little interest or care.
Britney Spears’ concert was so boring; she performed in a perfunctory way, without doing any of her usually emotional routine.

Lugubrious: adj.
Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree.
He was already at the funeral dressed in his bright orange Sean John outfit when he realized it was a lugubrious event.

Salacious: adj.
Lustful; bawdy.
Even though her concert performance was perfunctory, Britney still managed to dance in a very salacious manner.

Tenacious: adj.
Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view.
Jack Black’s band, Tenacious D, is known for its tenacious nature; once they take the stage, they never let it go.

Chagrined: adj.
To cause to feel chagrin; mortify or discomfit.
After Lindsay Lohan refused to nuzzle up to Jack Black upon his request at the MTV movie awards, he was left feeling chagrined as all present watched him carefully.

Joke of the Week

Five people are in a small private airplane that loses an engine and is about to go down. There are only four parachutes. The first person, Hilary Clinton, stands up and says, “I’m a senator from New York, I may one day be president, and my country needs me.” And with that, she grabs a parachute and jumps out. Next, Ben Affleck stands up and says, “I’m People Magazine’s sexiest man alive, I am a famous Academy-Award winning actor, and the world would never stop crying if I died.” And with that, he grabs a parachute and jumps out.

Next, George W. Bush gets up and says, “I’m the president of the United States, I am the leader of the free world, and I’m the smartest president in the history of my country.” And with that, he grabs a pack and jumps.

The two remaining people are the Pope and a young boy. The Pope looks at the young boy and says, “I’ve lived a long life in the service of God, and I am destined for heaven. You take the final parachute, my son.” The young boy looks at the Pope and says, “That’s okay, father, we can both jump. The smartest president in the history of the United States just jumped out wearing my backpack.”

Featured College

Reed College. Reed is an intellectual’s college. Known for its strengths in many different programs, what sets Reed apart is its independent, march-to-the-beat-of-your-own-drummer outlook. Classes are not graded, and every Reed student has to complete a demanding thesis before graduating.

Reed’s beautiful campus in the heart of Portland, Oregon, gives many opportunities for city life as well as recreation along Portland’s rivers and in the nearby Columbia River Gorge. Mostly, though, Reed is an academic and intellectual paradise. If you’re looking for a four-year party, Reed is not for you. But if you’re looking for a school that will more than prepare you for the world after college, check out Reed.