Tip of the Week - August 20, 2012

For students with the graduation year of:

2008-2012: Make sure you are making note of the upcoming dates for your school’s Parent Weekend.  There are usually multiple activities that occur during this informational, fun-filled weekend.  Your parent can possibly take a class offered by the college, sit in on a session from the administration or take a tour of the college area.  Not to mention the time you can spend with your parent!

2013: Be aware that you can make alternate versions of the common application. If you have slightly different information to share with different colleges, you can create “alternate versions” of your common app. Doing this will create a copy of your original application that you can edit to make changes. You can make up to 10 alternate versions, and colleges will not know that they are not receiving your original application.

2014: Use effective time-management strategies to ensure a successful junior year.Make a "To Do" List Every Day. Put things that are most important at the top and do them first. If it's easier, use a planner to track all of your tasks. Use Spare Minutes Wisely. Get some reading done on the bus ride home from school, for example, and you'll kill two birds with one stone. It's Okay to Say "No." If your boss asks you to work on a Thursday night and you have a final exam the next morning, realize that it's okay to say no. Keep your short and long-term priorities in mind.

2015 & Above: Use memorization techniques when studying for tests. Create an acronym for a list. Associating a list or a concept with a certain word that can be used as an acronym to remember the terms which must be recalled is an effective way to commit something to memory. “Chunking” is used most often to remember long term groups of numbers. This way, the memorizer can remember from five to eight numbers at one time, which can be completed in three to four sets of a longer number which must be recalled through the memory.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Ensphere College Planning Services