Uncategorized

Direct Hits Education “Scores”!

 

direct hits education
Direct Hits Education’s rockin’ new website

Any time I find a resource that I can recommend to parents, I like to showcase them on my blog. Direct Hits Education is one of those resources. I would say, hands down, it’s the BEST Vocabulary test prep available. Their books, classes and blog give students the ability to understand vocabulary words and know them when taking the PSAT/SAT/ACT tests.

The books: written the way teens talk

Direct Hits Publishing offers two of the most effective SAT preparation guides on the market: Direct Hits Core Vocabulary of the SAT and Direct Hits Toughest Vocabulary of the SAT. Together, the two volumes have been the best-performing books on the SAT and PSAT for most tests since August of 2008, when the books were first published. Students who have used the books have been able to achieve impressive gains on their Critical Reading scores, in many cases raising their scores by 100 to 200 points.

A great list of words is important, but it is just the first step. Since many SAT words are difficult, it is essential to illustrate them with vivid, relevant examples. Vividness is closely related to retention. We remember memorable and relevant experiences, forgetting boring experiences more quickly.

Direct Hits’ vocabulary is defined with vivid pop culture and academic examples drawn from movies, television programs, historical events, and books that students are currently studying in school. Students remember a word because they can remember the context. This makes Direct Hits one of the most effective learning tools for SAT preparation.

The classes

Direct Hits Education has a proven system for achieving higher SAT, PSAT and ACT scores. When students begin the Direct Hits program, their scores run the gamut, but by utilizing the knowledge and strategies presented by our teachers, they consistently make impressive gains on the SAT, PSAT and ACT. Each year Direct Hits students are admitted to top colleges and universities, often qualifying for merit scholarships. One group of students was even featured as the “Person of the Week” on ABC Nightly news.

The blog

The blog is an excellent place to see relevant content using key vocabulary words. Here are just a few examples:

  • SAT Test Dates and the Oscars
  • Up Your SAT Vocabulary Game with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
  • Learning Great SAT Vocabulary the The Great Gatsby

It’s easy to see why Direct Hits Education “scores” high on my list of standardized test prep. Check them out and tell them The Parent College Coach sent you!

 

 

admissions, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: The College Power Shift

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy Daivd-Gaines and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from  http://www.parentingforcollege.com/ to http://www.pocsmom.com and vice versa.

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power shiftMost parents feel that the college process is frustrating, because when it comes right down to it, they feel powerless. Either their student will be ecstatic at the end, or feel utter disappointment and rejection. It’s all in the colleges’ hands—or is it?

Steer clear of the fear

There’s nothing to be afraid of. Especially since you know that even the worst outcomes can be transformed into the best decisions. It’s not about whether or not college A or college B offers admission to your student. It’s about the education they will receive at “a” college. Teenagers can’t see the forest for the trees sometimes and they will pick up on your angst immediately. Make the process fun—like choosing a new car or buying a new house. It’s all about the journey.

Control is fleeting

If the colleges are in control, it’s only for a short time. The only time in which they have the power is at decision time. They look over your student’s application with a discerning eye and decide where to place your student: deferred, accepted, rejected or waitlisted. The process is completely subjective and while you make think there are bona fide reasons for your son or daughter to be accepted, it’s up to the college to decide whether he or she is a good fit. Translated—that means there are no “true” rejections, only a decision that it wasn’t the best match.

Get back into the driver’s seat

After the short time of waiting for the colleges’ decisions, you get to get back in the driver’s seat. You now have the power over the colleges. You are the consumer making a large purchase and it’s up to them to convince you. If they don’t back their offer of admission up with money, it might be time for you to put “them” in the rejection pile. And trust me, it feels GREAT!

Here’s the simple truth about the college process—you are ALWAYS in control. If you market your student properly, do your homework with the college choices, and realize that no matter what happens the final outcome will be what’s best for your student, it can help make the process enjoyable. Yes, I said enjoyable.

Interested in learning more about the power shift?

On #CampusChat tonight, Wednesday March 26 at 9pm ET/6pm PT, hosted by Wednesday’s Parent Wendy and me, Jeannie will share her tips to empower students and parents during each phase of the college process. Follow Jeannie @JeannieBorin, me @SuzanneShaffer and Wendy @pocsmom as we discuss the Student-College power shift with our wonderful #CampusChat buddies. Please join the conversation with your questions and comments.

Jeannie Borin is recognized by media, clientele and colleagues globally as a leader in college admissions consulting and new media. She is a Fr/ NYC and a Juilliard School of Music alumna, holds a Masters Degree in psychology, education and counseling, and is President of College Connections http://college-connections.com . She is a member of several prestigious educational organizations including the IECA, HECA, WACAC and NACAC.

Read this to learn how to join the chat.

Read Wendy’s blog for more info about the Student-College power shift.

twitter chats

Wednesday’s Parent joins #CampusChat

 

#campuschatAt the beginning of my Twitter journey, I made a connection with Kelly Queijo, founder of Smart College Visit (@collegevisit), an award winning college search and travel planning resource for college-bound students and their parents. We became supporters of one another and college prep colleagues.

Since then, I’ve been a supporter of Smart College Visit’s  #CampusChat—a weekly Twitter chat on Wednesday’s at 9PM ET, and one of the longest running education-related chats. This chat has covered all topics related to college prep, often focusing on the college visit and reaching out to parents of college-bound teens.

I’m excited to share with you that Wendy David-Gaines (@pocsmom) and I (@suzanneshaffer) will be hosting the #CampusChat Twitter chat on the fourth Wednesday of each month, starting March 26, at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

I hope you will join us on March 26th and the fourth Wednesday of each month at 9pm ET/6pm PT for Smart College Visit’s #CampusChat with Wednesday’s Parent as we share tips for parents of the college-bound from our #CampusChat buddies and expert guests.  College focused Twitter chats are an excellent way to learn from the experts and meet other parents.Come chat with us and bring your questions and comments!

twitter chatsHere are some simple instructions to join a Twitter chat:

1.  Sign-in to Twitter or sign-up for a free Twitter account here. https://twitter.com

2.  When it is time for the chat to start, type “#CampusChat” into the search bar at the top right of your screen.

3.  Click on “All” to see all the #CampusChat tweets.

4.  When the chat starts, you will now be able to see the whole #CampusChat conversation, ask a question, respond, and participate on whatever level you are comfortable with. Be sure to use the hashtag #CampusChat to tweet during the chat. That way everyone participating in the chat will be able to see your tweet.

5.  There are free sites like Hootsuite, TweetChat and TweetDeck that you may also use to more easily manage your social media interactions.

I hope to see you every Wednesday night at 9pm ET/6pm PT for Smart College Visit’s #CampusChat, with Wednesday’s Parent being the subject the fourth Wednesday of each month. Let’s chat!

mom approved tips, parenting

Mom-Approved Tips: Practice Tough Love

 

tough loveParenting is easy if you give into your child’s every whim, never be consistent with discipline, or simply don’t pay attention. Parenting children who strive for excellence in everything requires some tough love. And tough love is not easy; especially when it comes to the raising a motivated, educated, and successful student.

How do you, as a parent, raise a child that’s motivated to strive for excellence where their education is concerned?

Practice tough love by doing the following:

Set guidelines and rules and stick to them

When they are young, set rules about homework and study time. If they are older, it’s not too late to get started. Insist that homework is a priority before any after school activities. Limit technology because it can be a distraction.

Be prepared, however, there is going to be dissent; but don’t cave. Don’t give in to their whining and complaining. Years down the road with they graduate with honors, attend college, and secure a career, they will thank you for practicing tough love.

Praise achievement (not mediocrity)

Society is so afraid of hurt feelings, they have made it impossible to praise achievement. Awards are given for participation, and not excellence. When this practice becomes common, your children expect to be rewarded and praised for mediocrity. They learn to expect praise for tasks that should be common practice. Set expectations and when they are exceeded, praise them.

Teach them to take responsibility for their own actions

Teens love to play the blame game. You know the drill: it’s always someone else’s fault for bad behavior. Someone either coaxed them, coerced them, or talked them into doing something. It’s never their fault. It’s always the other persons: the teacher, the principal, another student. Learning to take responsibility for your own actions is one character trait that will follow them through high school and into college.

Step back and let them fail

Don’t rescue them from every difficult situation. You know the term–helicopter parenting. It’s important for them to make messes, get hurt, feel disappointment, and fail at tasks.This helps them develop life skills, achieve happiness, and be successful–the things we so desperately want to give them.

One parent summed it up well:

The reality is, we can’t “give” our children happiness and success anyway. It has to be earned. And earning things of such high value means our children will have to pay a price. We can either “love” our children into big grown up babies, still living at home at age 30 expecting mommy to swoop in and solve all their problems, or we can love them into a life of competent self-confidence by letting them experience pain, failure, disappointment, self-denial, and good old fashioned hard work.

Isn’t that what tough love is all about? Love your children so much you set rules, provide clear expectations, and allow them to fail so they can learn.

parenting, social networks

Using Twitter Chats for College Prep

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twitter chatsTwitter chats offer a goldmine of information for parents. Any question you need answered or advice you need to hear related to college prep and higher education can be answered in a Twitter chat. College admissions officers, financial aid officers, college counselors, parents, parent advocates and college experts congregate in Twitter chats.

For those of you who are novices to Twitter chats and hashtracking, I’m going to answer your basic questions and offer some guidance. If you have additional questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will respond.

What’s a Twitter Chat?

A Twitter chat is a group of like-minded people gathering on a specific time to chat on Twitter. It’s just like a chat room, without the room. Tweets to one another are recognized by using a hashtag (#beforethename) that indicates you are participating in the chat. Others will be able to easily see your tweets by using the specific hashtag.

Most Twitter chats have moderators and guests that answer basic questions. You are encouraged to participate by asking your own questions and offering any advice you might have on the topic.

How do I participate?

Simply use the hashtag (#twitterchat) and read those who use the same tag. You can tweet to them, retweet their tweets and participate in the conversation.

What tools do I need to participate?

You can use any Twitter program to follow the tweets. Some suggestions are Hootsuite, TweetChat, and TweetDeck. All you need to do is do a search for the specific hashtag and follow the thread.

Can you recommend some chats that would be helpful?

Following is a list of chats that will help college-bound parents navigate the college prep process:

  • #CampusChat 9PM ET weekly on Wednesdays
  • #CollegeChat 9PM ET weekly on Tuesdays
  • #CollegeCash 8PM ET weekly on Thursdays
  • #EdChat 7PM ET on Tuesdays

If you have any others you would recommend, please add them in a comment.

 

parenting, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: Spring Fever and Your Teen

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Sign up for my FREE parent tips email and get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from pocsmom.com to parentingforcollege and vice versa.

__________________

spring feverFor some of us (especially those of us in the South), spring has peeked it’s head out for a few days and spring fever has arrived. You know the feeling—restlessness creeps in, a desire to play instead of work, and a lack of motivation. If you have a teen, they struggle to get back into the swing of things, especially after their break.

Why do these feelings crop up, especially during a time of year when the dreariness of winter is lifting and the promise of warmer weather and sunshine should bring a positive attitude? There may be many causes:

  • It’s prom season. Need I say more?
  • Seniors are feeling the stress of college decisions and being on their own.
  • It’s also a time when parents may verbalize their own fears about the future, such as, “Do you know how much college costs?” making it a concern for the entire family.
  • Some parents don’t ask their kids if they even want to go to college, causing kids to feel pressured and panicked about the future.
  • Spring means midterms. Midterms bring pressure, especially with seniors who worry about graduating if they fail.
  • Parents are also tense wondering what kids will do to stay busy in the summer. Working parents wonder how they’ll keep the children from getting into trouble.
  • Parents of seniors begin to realize that the inevitable will happen: they will eventually have an empty nest and it’s a frightening feeling.

This is a time when tension rises and you hear parents say, “Just three more months, and you’re out of here!” Imagine the impact those harsh words have on kids already acting out because they are scared about leaving home.

Recognizing the symptoms of spring fever should help you weather the next few months with minimal upheaval and conflict. In addition, being open to communication from your children, can go far in your own awareness of your child’s particular situation so that you can stay ahead of more serious issues such as depression. And don’t forget to stop and smell the roses!

For some tips on how to deal with spring fever, read Wendy’s post on the

6 Antidotes for Spring Fever.

admissions, college guidance, how to

How to Sift Through College Information

 

college informationCollege prep overload. If you’re a parent of a college-bound teen, you’ve got it . . . big time. The high schools bombard you with information (which is usually very little concrete advice). The colleges bombard your student with beautiful brochures and promises of academic success if you attend their college. You are bombarded with tough financial choices when choosing the colleges that make the final cut on your student’s list.

How do you sift through all that college information without losing your mind?

Find a handful of good sources and go to them for answers.

You’ll go crazy if you try to read, watch and listen to every source available on the college prep process. How do you find the good sources? Glad you asked! I’ve compiled a list of resources in just about every category pertaining to the college prep process, along with a list of Twitter accounts to follow and a list of 50+ college info websites. Follow them on twitter, subscribe to their blogs and look for them on Facebook and Pinterest. By doing so, you won’t miss a thing and the amount of information you receive just got smaller.

Use Pinterest to save information on boards.

Pinterest is a great place to save and catalog all the information you find for future reference. It’s simple and easy to use, especially if you already have an account. You can set up boards for scholarships, financial aid, college admissions, college prep, and test prep. Once you set up the boards, start pinning!

Create a filing system that works for you.

All the information you collect won’t always be online. Create some sort of filing system for relevant college information and be vigilant in keeping it organized. Piles of papers and brochures create clutter and frustration when you’re looking for that flyer from the school on college parent night or a financial aid seminar. If you use a smartphone, there are multiple apps to help with organizing and remembering dates and deadlines.

Toss out ALL information that doesn’t apply to you or your college-bound teen.

If it’s not pertinent, don’t keep it. If you get a brochure from a college that doesn’t interest your student and never will, toss it. It’s just taking up space and adding clutter. Once you’ve cataloged information, toss the hard copy if you can.

 

 

admissions, mom approved tips

Mom-Approved Tips: Listen to College Podcasts

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college podcastsEvery day I grab my trusty iPod and head to the mall to do my 2.5 miles of walking. I hate walking. To me, it’s boring and a waste of my time. However, it’s critical to my health and every day I tell myself it’s just something I have to grin and bear.

But then I discovered podcasts. Not only are they great when exercising, you can listen when you’re cooking dinner, commuting to work on public transportation, eating your lunch, or any other time that you are performing daily tasks and want to make them more productive.

Why college podcasts?

When I say “college podcasts” I’m not suggesting you listen to podcasts from the colleges themselves; although many of them have excellent podcasts providing good information to prospective and current students. The podcasts I am recommending have to do with higher education and the college admission process.

The information you will glean from these podcasts will blow your mind. You can learn about everything from how to pay for college, to admission tips, to how colleges look at applicants, to how to find scholarships, and the list goes on. If you subscribe to podcasts, you are automatically notified when a new one is posted. And it will automatically be added to your podcast directory for you to listen to at your convenience.

Don’t have an iPhone or Apple device? Many are also available for android on Google Play. A quick search on Google can get your hooked up and ready to listen.

Where do you find these podcasts?

As luck would have it, I’m going to give you some incredible podcast links for you to begin with. If you need more you can do a google search for “higher education podcasts” or search within iTunes and  Google Play. The links I’m providing are for iTunes and some site specific podcasts. But most, if available on iTunes, are also available online through other podcast listening channels.

Following are my favorites and you can start with these.

How to Pay for College HQ

The How to Pay for College HQ Podcast will provide inspiration and guidelines to help parents and students learn what preparation and steps can be taken to earn a degree debt free without the assistance of loans. Each week, Celest Horton, interviews guests from all facets of the college prep business in the hope that what you learn will help you finance your college-bound teen’s college education.

College Cash Man

From the Author of Free Ca$h for College and CollegeMoneyMan.com, Jose “JR” Vazquez (AKA The College Money Man™) gives real advice from someone who knows what it takes to find the money you need to pay for college. With real stories from listeners, interviews with experts, and answers to listener questions, JR explains financial aid comments in a way that makes sense.

Chronicle of Higher Education

This podcast provides interviews with prominent researchers, college leaders, and Chronicle reporters about pressing news and big ideas in higher education. What better way to learn about admissions than from those in the field of higher education?

American Radioworks

American Public Media’s American RadioWorks creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet. They offer good information and data about higher education. You can pick and choose the podcasts that interest you.

NPR Education Podcasts

You can listen to NPR’s podcasts related to education on their website. Great content and interesting debates over the cost of college and all things college prep.

The College-Bound Chronicles Podcast

This podcast offers advice for parents on the college admissions process; hosted by expert/psychologist Dr. Nancy Berk and broadcaster Lian Dolan. It’s information, advice and empathy in a light-hearted format.

Every parent knows that knowledge about the college prep process is half the battle. These podcasts will help educate and inform, while providing good solid advice to help you navigate the college maze.

Do you know of or listen to others? Leave a comment here and we’ll add them to the list.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: ScholarshipExperts.com Scholarships

 

scholarshipexpertsEach year, ScholarshipExperts.com funds several unique scholarship programs for high school students, college students, grad students and non-traditional adult learners. To make it easy, they have listed their scholarships and the application links on for each of them.

 

 

Here’s a list of available scholarships:

financial aid, how to

How to Decipher the Financial Aid Award Letter

 

financial aidAs the offers of admission arrive, the financial aid award letters will follow. If you’re a novice to the award letters, as most first time college parents are, they can be confusing and vague. Added to the confusion is that every award letter is different, making it hard to easily compare them side by side.

Thankfully, there are tools available and information to help you look at these letters for what they are: the college’s pitch for your student to accept their offer of admission. You are in control of this process and you hold the cards. It’s your decision to accept or reject their offer based on the amount of aid they are willing to give your student. Money, in this situation, is everything.

If a college wants your student to attend, they will back it up with money. No money, means their offer is probably based on filling a quota and them expecting you will decline to attend. And you should. Who wants to attend a college that doesn’t place value in your student?

But before you accept, reject, or negotiate with the college, you need to understand the award letter and its components.

Want to know more? Read an article I wrote for TeenLife:

How to Break Down the Financial Aid Award Letter

 

 

Helping parents navigate the college maze