The Hidden Key to College Admissions Success Staying Organized

The Hidden Key to College Admissions Success Staying Organized ACT SAT Prep and College Admissions Blog Better organization skills can benefit almost anyone in any stage or area of their life. When some people hear the word organization their first thought is about home organization and a big box store specializing in ridiculously overpriced closet-systems. There are others who seem to find happiness in staying organized; these are the folks who are constantly making lists and crossing things off of them. For students, developing organizational skills is inherent to achieving academic success whether as a high school freshman studying for final exams for the first time, or a junior taking the first steps in the college admissions process. Applying to college can be particularly overwhelming due to the numerous requirements and deadlines. This process takes place simultaneously with taking AP Exams and working to maintain your GPA among feelings of “senioritis.” The college application process can contain ALL of the following: School Selection Visits Taking the ACT or SAT Selecting Potential Majors/Areas of Study Writing College Admissions Essays Requesting Letters of Recommendation Requesting ACT/ SAT scores be sent to Colleges Requesting Transcripts be sent to Colleges Composing a CV or Activities List Applying for Financial Aid Scholarships Accepting Admissions offers sending deposits This can be a daunting and confusing process. Remaining organized is imperative in order to successfully complete and submit college applications in a timely manner. TIMELINE MASTER TO DO LIST First, create a timeline detailing when you will tackle each task on your list. Breaking the application process into chunks like this makes the whole process more manageable and less stressful. Spring of Junior Year Summer of Junior Year Fall of Senior Year Spring of Senior Year Utilize a task management app such as Google Tasks or ToDoist to track your progress. COLLEGE LIST Which schools will you be applying to? Are they on the Common Application? Finding this out is necessary, as it will save you from unnecessary work, the Common App is a central application from which you can apply to multiple schools. You write a single essay and upload all application materials once for schools which participate in the Common App. For schools not on the Common App, you will need to visit their Admissions website and read their specific Requirements. TECHNOLOGY We are in the technology age, be sure to use tools to help keep you on track! Create a separate email, solely for College correspondence. This way, important reminders will not get lost amongst the daily advertisements and junk mail that clutters our inboxes. Separating your personal email from your professional email will ensure you do not miss any important messages! Set appointments in Google Calendar reminding you well in advance of deadlines for applications and scholarships. For extra accountability, share your calendar with a parent or mentor to help you remain on track. Create School Specific folders on your computer’s desktop or in an an online platform like Google Docs or Box, to separate essays and other information unique to each application. CHECKLIST Breakdown your Master To Do List by school, compose a Spreadsheet like the following: Application Deadline University or Program Essays (Prompt, word count) Letters of Recommendation (Accepted?) Scholarships (Require additional essays?) Test Scores Sent Transcripts Sent Be sure to check off items as you complete them, you can also use a service like Naviance, an online platform with the capability of tracking all elements of the College Admissions process. You can usually obtain an account through your school’s College Counselor.These are some tips to get you started, Good Luck! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lisa is a PhD student in History at the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Managing Tutor with MyGuru. She has helped many students navigate the college admissions process and write more compelling personal statements and application essays.

2018 Official Guide to the GMAT Review Series Problem #167 (Back solving Variable in Choices)

2018 Official Guide to the GMAT Review Series Problem #167 (Back solving Variable in Choices) GMAT MBA Admissions Blog in this series, one of our most experienced GMAT tutors, John Easter, applies useful strategies to answer questions from the 2018 Official Guide. Problem #167 of the 2018 Official Guide to the GMAT states that four extra-large sandwiches of exactly the same size were ordered for m students where m4. Three of the sandwiches were evenly divided among the students. Since 4 students did not want any of the fourth sandwich, it was evenly divided among the remaining students. If Carol ate one piece from each of the four sandwiches, the amount of sandwich that she ate would be what fraction of a whole extra-large sandwich? (A) (m+4)/(m(m-4) (B) (2m-4)/(m(m-4)) (C) (4m-4)/(m(m-4)) (D) (4m-8)/(m(m-4)) (E) (4m-12)/(m(m-4)) It's a VIC (variables in choices), and there is only one variable, so, obviously, it's time to back-solve! STEP 1: Pick a nice value for m that is greater than 4. This is our pick. Anything should work, so let's say m = 6. STEP 2: Solve the problem when m = 6. The result is our target number. So, six students divided three sandwiches equally. That means each of these students got1/6 of each of three sandwiches. Now, because 4 students didn't want any of the last sandwich is was divided equally between the other 2 students, one of whom was Carol. So, Carol ate 1/6 of each of the three sandwiches that everyone shared and1/2 of the forth sandwich. Carol ate 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/2 sandwiches. That's 1 sandwich. So, our target number is 1. STEP 3: Plug our pick into the answer choices until we find our target number. A nice thing to notice is that all of our answers have the same denominator: m(m-4). If we plug 6 into that denominator we get 12. Since our target number is 1, we only need to find an answer with a numerator equal to 12. (A) 6 + 4 = 10. Nope (B) 2(6) - 4 = 8. Nope (C) 4(6) - 4 = 20. Nope (D) 4(6) - 8 = 16. Nope (E) 4(6) - 12 = 12. Yep The correct answer is E. An important caveat - this pick worked really well, but it's always possible that more than one answer will turn your pick into your target number. It's rare, but it can happen. If it does happen, don't panic. Pick a new number and try it on the answers that produced your target number. One of them will work and the others probably won't. If, by some chance, more than one answer still produces your target number, rinse and repeat. Now you try this problem with your own pick. About the Author John Easter is one of MyGuru’s longest tenured and most experienced GMAT tutors. He is also the founder of Owl Test Prep, another great source for GMAT advice.