HANNA HELPS

Kids today are the most overprotected, overindulged, and overscheduled in history. Is all of this attention giving the next generation a competitive edge, or creating new problems that will last a lifetime? This CBC DocZone documentary is an interesting watch.

Continuing a decade-long trend, secondary school students are applying to Ontario universities in ever-increasing numbers and making more university and program choices as well, according to statistics released today by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU).

The number of high school applicants rose 2.7% to 86,542 from 84,300 last year and the number of university choices grew 2.1% to 375,278 from 367,739 last year. Since 2000, there has been a 46.2% increase in applicants. These statistics include all applications received by the January 13 deadline for secondary students, although the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre will continue to process applications received after the deadline and forward them to the universities.

The total number of university applicants will get another boost later this year when mature, returning, transfer and international students apply. This group, which is called non-secondary school applicants, is also tracking 2.7% higher and could represent more than 45,000 applicants by the end of the application cycle in September. These students are diverse, with some presenting secondary school marks achieved in previous years, some applying from other provinces and countries, and others submitting transfer applications based on their desire to change programs or upgrade their educational credentials.

“The growing demand for admission confirms the relevance and value that universities continue to provide in the lives of students and their parents,” says Sheldon Levy, Chair of Council and President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University. “Graduates of Ontario universities possess the creative, technical and critical thinking skills to be leaders in the knowledge economy, where about 70% of jobs will require a postsecondary education.”

Preparing for exams: the last few weeks

• Careful planning of your time before exams is common, especially among successful students.
• As exams approach, there is a need for careful allocation of your time in order to make sure that the necessary tasks get done as well as possible, and that your efforts are applied evenly across the board rather than erratically according to what seem like the most urgent tasks at the time.

Planning time before exams

• Making a chart showing all the days available until the end of the exam period is a good idea at this point.
• The next step is to get an overview of the main tasks you need to complete in each course, and see how you are going to spread them over the period of time available.
• Allocating more time to courses that need it or which are priorities for you.
• There is a natural tendency to leave preparation for exams that come later in the exam period until after you have taken the earlier exams, but this can sometimes cause problems. Some people find that switching from one subject to another leads to better concentration than if they try to spend a whole day, or more, on one subject.

Getting enough sleep and relaxation

• Students are advised to get a good night’s sleep before an exam. The pressure of an exam often enables us to sit at a desk for two or three hours and work at full speed on a demanding mental task without getting distracted. You need a good night’s sleep to do this well.
• If you have to stay up late immediately before an exam to finish things off that’s not likely to be a problem. It may, however, prevent you from studying effectively for the next exam.
• Getting some regular relaxation while you are reviewing for exams also seems to be important. You are naturally under stress, and concentration may suffer if you do not get sufficient breaks.

Keep going to class

• The last few classes often contain a heavy component of reviewing of material, suggestions for preparing for the exam, and special attention to topics that the teachers know are on the exam.

Reviewing: how to spend the time

• Going over notes, identifying weak areas, selectively re-reading textbooks, re-thinking important issues, memorizing important details – these are the normal things. It’s important, however, that these don’t become just passive tasks, in which you run your eyes through your notes being satisfied with a vague sense of familiarity with the material.
• Anticipate questions. What might they ask me to do with this information? How would I solve this kind of problem? Can I explain what the difference is between this theory and that one? What if they ask me to compare this book with that other one? How would I answer an essay question on this topic? You might spend a few minutes making a plan of how you would answer a particular question.

Group study

• Study pairs or small groups seem to work best when people who are roughly equal in their achievement and application use each other to test themselves on their grasp of material they have already learned individually. They might make up questions for each other, ask each other to state briefly how they would answer them, and discuss alternative answers. CAUTION- groups often waste time on talking about other things, and there is a tendency for weaker students not to contribute much.

Test anxiety

• It seems likely that some students who say they did poorly on a test because of anxiety (“I blanked out,” “I froze”, “I choked” etc.) are either talking about a temporary condition that affected them only for a few minutes at the beginning of the test, or are making excuses for themselves. They may well have blanked out because they didn’t know or understand well enough the things they needed to know, or didn’t have the required facts and ideas sufficiently at their fingertips. And usually they didn’t know what they needed to know because they didn’t study enough. I have many times gone over exam papers informally with students who believed that their problem on the exam was anxiety, only to find that they still couldn’t answer the questions they got wrong.
• Before you assume that anxiety is your problem, see if there is some other explanation, such as ineffective learning or studying. Real cases of anxiety interfering seriously with exam performance are not as common as people think, but of course they do exist.

Timing

• It’s important to spread your effort evenly over the whole test. Novice exam-takers often end up not having enough time even to attempt certain questions properly, thus losing a number of marks. On many test questions the first 50 per cent of the marks are a lot easier to get than the second. It is worth making a reasonable attempt at every question you are supposed to answer.
• Allow yourself time for questions strictly in proportion to the marks allotted for each question. If your exam paper tells you how much each question is worth, with a total of 100 marks, for instance, divide the total time allowed by 100 and multiply by the marks allowed for each question. For example, in a 2 hour exam (120 minutes, divided by 100 marks) you have 1.2 minutes per mark. A question worth 10 marks should take you 1.2 x 10 = 12 minutes. In practice you will probably want to allow less time than this, so that you have time for checking at the end or returning to answers that you didn’t feel satisfied with.
• If you do run out of time on the last question, see if you can make a brief outline of how you would answer the rest of the question or finish the solution of the problem. Don’t waste time on little notes to your teacher explaining the obvious fact that you ran out of time.

Reading instructions and questions carefully

• Read the general instructions carefully. Make sure you know clearly how many questions you must do, and from which sections (if you have a choice). When people are a bit tense they sometimes read carelessly, missing out words, and make crucial mistakes about what they have to do.
• This problem shows up in the reading of individual questions too. Students sometimes rush ahead with their answer before they’ve considered what the question is really asking them to do.
• You are usually being asked to think something through carefully, not just react with an instant answer.

Essay tests

• Because essay answers take longer to write than other kinds, teachers who want to get good coverage of course material in their exams often set comparison questions which require you to deal with two or three topics – plays, political theories, sociological phenomena, or whatever – in the same question.
• Pacing yourself is especially important in essay exams, where people sometimes get wildly behind the clock in their enthusiasm for displaying their knowledge and ideas about a particular topic. A question that you know you can answer well is an opportunity for you to produce an answer fast and then move on to questions that will take you longer to think about.

Answering the question

• Another common problem on essay exams is not directly answering the question that is being asked. Questions don’t usually ask you simply to reproduce knowledge. You are expected to think about an issue, and make up your mind about it, using the information and understanding that you have accumulated in the course.
• Some students just note that a question is about a certain topic, and then rush ahead and produce a ready-made answer that they have prepared in their minds, or simply write down all kinds of things they know about the subject, without really thinking about whether they’re answering the question that was asked. If, for example, the question asks you to explain why Alexander the Great was able to conquer so much territory, it’s no good simply to describe all his conquests, however much detail you go into.

Plan your essay answers

• It’s important to write legibly, to express yourself with as much care and precision as possible, and above all to organize your answer clearly into separate sections. Check over your answers carefully, and correct mistakes, even if the corrections make your answer look a bit untidy. Some students believe that as long as there is some information that the marker is looking for buried somewhere in the essay the fact that it’s disorganized won’t matter. This is not usually true.
• Don’t be reluctant to spend several minutes planning your answer before beginning an exam essay question. If you feel anxious and your mind seems to have gone blank, try jotting down any old ideas that come to you on the sheet for rough work. Gradually you should see a plan for an answer emerging: an overall response to the question, and a series of paragraphs needed to back it up.
• It’s much better to spend time at the beginning planning an answer than to start writing straightaway and find half-way through that you should have organized it differently, or decide that you need to make so many changes to your answer that you need to rewrite it in the little time that is left.
• Don’t worry that while you are planning your answer other people seem to be racing ahead filling sheets of paper. Quality, not quantity, is what counts.
• Begin each answer in an essay exam with a direct statement of the main points you want to make. There’s not enough time to write an elaborate introduction. Then support and explain your points, using a new paragraph for each one.

Learning from your results

• One of the main purposes of tests and exams that are held part-way through a course is to give you detailed feedback about how good a job you are doing of learning the subject. If your results are disappointing, that is precisely the time when you need to be doing a thorough analysis of what went wrong by going carefully through your test paper. Why couldn’t you answer that question? What should the right answer have been? What does your performance tell you about how you should be studying this subject? These are the questions you should be asking yourself.
• Many students just look at the mark on a test, and if they’re not pleased try to put the whole subject out of their minds. I have often talked to students who, knowing that they had done poorly on a test, didn’t even show up to class to get their papers back and hear an explanation of what the right answers were. This is understandable but not very sensible.

By EILENE ZIMMERMAN , The New York Times

Q. What, if anything, can parents of high-school-age children do to guide them toward their true professional calling?

A. Some parents are apt to put pressure on their children about choosing a first career, thinking that it will determine the course of their lives. Yet as adults, we often reinvent ourselves more than once, moving among professions. So whatever your children choose now won’t necessarily define their future.

“I see many teens who jump on the first career track that someone recommends just to avoid being directionless, only to find themselves miserable a few years later,” said Tamar E. Chansky, a child-and-adolescent psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and author of “Freeing Your Child From Anxiety.”

Ms. Chansky says it’s best to have conversations with teenagers about their strengths and interests, rather than a specific career, and then to listen to what they have to say. “If the parent is putting out all the ideas, you wind up with the parent’s dream, not the kid’s,” she said.

You may feel compelled to give career advice because you see particular talents in your child, but parents are more limited by their own experience than they think, said Steve Langerud, director of career services at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. As well-meaning as the advice might be, it “doesn’t take into account what’s going to be available to your child in the future,” he said.

“The market is changing so fast there may be careers that exist when a student gets out of college that simply didn’t exist when they started,” he added.

It can be more effective to have children look at themselves functionally. Rather than asking, “What do you want to be?,” pose these questions: “What skills do you have? What kinds of people do you like to work with? In what kind of environment?” This is a way to think about a career without necessarily naming it, Mr. Langerud said. “You describe yourself in a functional way and then figure out what that’s called and if people get paid to do it,” he said.

So what are the ACT and the SAT?

First, let’s take a look at the history behind each test to see if we can determine the origins of each. The SAT, once known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (now just referred to as the SAT reasoning test), was originally developed in the early 1900’s by Carl Brigham. It was developed for use in several north-eastern states to allow students from any socioeconomic background a chance to get into a college (before the test students were only allowed into colleges based on their parent’s status in college!) The SAT became more formal in the middle of the century as it was picked up for use by more and more colleges as a way to determine a student’s intelligence. Its name and structure would change a bit over time to bring us the SAT we know and love today.

The ACT, on the other hand, didn’t surface until the late 1950’s. The American College Testing program introduced it’s testing assessment to enable students to decide on which colleges they should attend while providing colleges with information on how to properly teach the student. The ACT would prove to be a favorite of Midwestern and southern states, with those on the coasts generally prefer the SAT. Much has changed for each test over the years as the battle waged on, and now both tests have become accepted nationwide at most four-year colleges with no predominant bias.

Structure and content of the SAT and ACT

A good way to discuss the differences of each test is to look into how each is structured. We’ll start with the SAT, which can be broken up into 3 “mini” tests which focus on different elements. The first part of the SAT is the math assessment test, which consists of a combination of multiple choice and “grid-in” questions that span various math principles. These include numbers and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, and finally data analysis, statistics, and probability. The math section of the SAT is designed to be standard with that of a tenth grade student. The second part of the SAT is the critical reading assessment, which includes sentence completion multiple choice questions along with longer passage type questions. The third installment of the SAT that was just recently introduced (to further compete with the ACT) is the writing section. This involves writing a short essay based on an assigned topic.

The ACT, however, is structured a little differently and involves different content. While the SAT contains three sections, the ACT is divided into four multiple choice tests, with an optional fifth writing essay (which was also added after the SAT’s addition of an essay). The first section is reserved for English, focusing on mechanics and rhetoric skills. The mathematics test focuses on beginning algebra skills through more advanced trigonometry questions not found on the SAT. The reading section asks questions related to arts and literature and finally the science section deals with evaluation and problem solving. The optional essay is very similar to the SAT in terms of length and writing ability. The ACT acts to ask for more information about different topics while the SAT is more focused on more specific areas.

How the SAT and ACT are scored

Major differences in how these tests are scored are a big reason for much of the discussion over which test is better than the other. We already know that the SAT is split into 3 different parts; each part of the test is worth up to 800 points, for a total combined score potential of 2400 points. For each correct answer you get on the SAT, you’ll receive one point towards your final score. However, for each answer you get wrong (not that our smart students will be getting any wrong!), you’ll have one point detracted from your score. Answers left blank are not counted at all (which means you will not get penalized for leaving an answer blank but your total will be less than 800).

The ACT, on the other hand, is graded just a little differently. Each of the four separate tests is graded on a scale of 1 to 36. The optional essay can add points to your score, and unlike the SAT, no points are detracted for wrong answers. The tests also provide sub scores for three of the four tests that do not relate to the final score, but provide some extra analysis of a student’s strength or weakness. It’s probably a good idea to compare the SAT and ACT tests side by side to really get a good idea of how the different scores compare to each other. While it may seem the ACT is better because of the lack of wrong answer penalty, it really doesn’t make your chances of getting a better score any easier.

Taking the SAT and ACT

Deciding on which test to take has become more of a recent debate then it was in the past. For years the two tests were separated by their geographical affiliations, but as each test has changed and become more competitive over the years, combined with the outcry by supports from both sides, the two assessments have become widely accepted by every college. This has obviously forced an issue upon high school students that many did have to decide on in the past. “Which is the better test to take?” It’s really not a question that can be answered completely, and will constantly be one of debate because of it’s subjective nature. I have read one author who has made his own decision based on what each test seems to stand for.  He feels the SAT is designed more for documenting a student’s ability and knowledge in how to take a test while the ACT is more of an observation of what you have learned while in high school. Based on that, it seems if you have the book smarts and do a great job in class, then shoot for the ACT. If you’re the type who picks up fast and can take a test without too much studying, then the SAT has your name on it. Think about which skill set you want to show to colleges and make your decision; the bottom line is what kind of intelligence you think you have.

The search for the right college can be overwhelming. So many guides, so many rankings. There is one thing none of them will tell you: which universities are making sure their students learn what they need to know.

This free resource does just that, focusing on seven key areas of knowledge. It’s designed to help you decide whether the colleges you’re considering prepare their graduates to succeed after graduation.

College Admissions in the US has become increasingly competitive. The process has become a mystery that has bamboozled parents, frustrated students and captivated the media. College admission has become the talk of the cocktail circuit. Parents are often comparing notes as to how their child’s application has been handled, or mishandled by the admitting school. Admissions departments, their officers and their methods have intrigued parents and students for years. It seems as if the whole admissions process has become equivalent to reading tea leaves. The media too, has made a sensation out of college admissions. Stories have been written by leading publications as if they were determined to expose the marketing hype of higher education. The end result has been personal stories of mystery, torment, sadness and joy for many families.

Torment?  Media exposés?  Mysteries to be solved? How on earth did it get to this?

Perhaps a little background history will put into perspective the realities around the current college admissions process south of our border.

In the 1980’s, the college admissions pool began to shrink in the US. This shrinkage was largely due to a declining demographic of college aged students in the US. US colleges saw their financial stability jeopardized. As a response, they began marketing strategies to increase the number of applicants that would apply to their schools. Colleges were faced with fewer applicants and a fixed number of seats they needed to fill. As a result, less rigid admissions standards became the norm. Colleges countered this trend by marketing their product like trips, or experiences that were unique, world class and exclusive opportunities not be missed.

Fundraising took on added interest. Corporate sponsorship became increasingly significant. Building campaigns took off, and amenities were designed and built to attract the best and the brightest students. Admissions and retention campaigns were established to ensure school sustainability and stability. The bottom line… it worked.  College was the place to go, the place to be and the place to be trained for the new world economy.

All of this activity converged with a massive demographic shift about 15-20 years ago.  Generation Y (the echo-boomers) has started entering their college years and both they, and their parents, came to expect the very best for themselves. An undergraduate education became the minimum education expectation in the new world economy. As a result, a greater number of students started applying for the same supply of seats.

Spin off industry’s started to benefit. College Preparation courses flourished. SAT and ACT prep programmes became a new expectation for serious applicants.  College application camps, overseas experiential programmes and, Private secondary schools expanded. An unprecedented growth in private school options and credit earning opportunities emerged.  Parents and students were looking for an edge and the market made it available to them.

In the media, a small sub-industry of college rankings and promotional material became the de facto source for information.  Controversial rankings of our universities by leading publishers became “must read” items for prospective students.   Some observers have even cynically accused the colleges of encouraging more applicants to apply to their schools so the colleges could reject more. As a result, more applications to colleges resulted in more rejections, and the perception of greater selectivity grew. These statistics helped colleges increase their rankings in publications such as US News and World Report. Even in Canada, publishers such as The Globe and Mail and Maclean’s have got into the rankings game. The frenzy has started feeding the frenzy. Top tier schools such as Yale, Duke, Harvard and Stanford have seen unprecedented growth in application numbers. For some, applying to these schools has become more important than finding the “right” college. To some this whole process has come to be viewed as a marketing racket.

Let’s step back from this frenzy, and try to make sense of this all.

There are no guarantees, but you can be pretty certain that there is a college/ university that will be the right fit for you. While it is true that the post secondary applicant pool will be increasing until 2018, there has never been a time where so many options have been available to such a broad range of students. It is expected that enrollment will reach 20 million U.S. students by 2015 – up 15% from today. Of these applicants, more students from under-represented groups will be admitted. The Ivy League schools will likely maintain their 10% admission rate. Conversely, 85% of the other 3000 schools have admission rates of 50% or more. That still leaves a lot of choice to get admitted to some excellent schools. You do not have to be Einstein to get into a good college. Marks are an important predictor of success, but all colleges will be looking at a variety of elements when deciding who they will admit.  I will blog about that later.

There is still the matter of finding that college or program that is right for you.  With so much to choose from, how do you begin to know?  If you recall reading Hamlet back in high school, there is a lesson we learned when Polonius prepares his son Laertes for travel abroad; “to thine own self be true”. Sage advice.   The high school experience should not only be about academic skills development and personal management development. The high school experience should also be about learning who you are as a person and an opportunity to explore your  interests and  passions.

Ask yourself – what am I passionate about – what do I like doing – what are my core values – what is important to me – what is my passion?  As students experience “life” and discover their passions, they will be well on their way to finding the right college fit as their prize.

I thoroughly enjoy reading the New York Times, particularly on a Sunday. More often than not, I come across a thought provoking article worth sharing. This is particularly true this time of year, as newspapers fill their editions with contemplative advice to students, teachers and parents about back to school information.

Today’s NYT Sunday edition has yet, another gem; a suitable reminder for a student entering high school, a freshman at university or even an adult who will use his or her intellect and powers of persuasion in the workplace; four simple bullets to help us make sense of our confusing world of ideas, opinions, and contradictions.