ACT Prep - 5 Great Apps to You On The Go

The first of an ongoing series to brief you about how to prepare for the ACT, here’s a curated list of apps you should have on your phone.

It’s a tall order to expect oneself to prepare for a test day in and day out which is why your phone can be most useful in ensuring you are on top of your prep.

ACTStudent by ACT, Inc.

From the makers of the test itself, here’s a great iPhone app to keep you on your toes. The practise questions are completely in alignment with the actual test questions. Keep yourself updated on your registration and scores online as well.

AllenACT by Allen Resources Inc.

With over 1000 questions in its bank, this iPhone app does most of the heavy-lifting so that you only have to focus on your studying. It tracks your strengths and weaknesses as well as adapts its questions based on your performance. For comprehensive test prep, you need not look any further.

ACT for Dummies

This well-designed iPhone app keeps you ready till test day with 150 practice questions and 2 practice tests, all under timed conditions. It offers many other useful features as well with test day countdown and the capability to mark questions for review later to help you on your way. 

ACT McGraw-Hill

From the famed McGraw-Hill, a long time publisher of educational tools, here’s an iPhone app with over 10 diagnostic tests and over 1000 questions. It has tools to help you formulate your ACT study plan and offers regular analytics of your scores.

ACT Math Test Prep by Allen Resources Inc.

Reportedly designed to make sure you get a perfect score, this iPhone app has a comprehensive test bank to keep you engaged every day.

SAT Prep - 7 Apps to Help You Ace the SAT

As a school student just about to enter the 11th or 12th grade, thinking about applying for colleges abroad, you have probably had bunch of terms and conditions thrown about recklessly around you – you need to read this, you need to be able to do that and so on. If you’re applying to the U.S., you’ve been hearing a lot about the SAT, the ACT and perfect scores (2400 seems to sound better than 20/20 vision).

As part of an ongoing series aimed at helping you bridge the knowledge gap to “Ace the SAT”, as they say, we are going to be taking a look at putting technology to work for you. 
In this era of smartphones, it makes absolute sense to make your phone (yes, that font of unholy distractions) an integral part of your learning process.
Looking through the dozens of paid and free apps available on Android and iOS, here’s a list of seven apps you should have on your phone and why –

iPhone SAT Vocab Challenge by Modality – The Princeton Review

For those looking nervously at the SAT Writing or Critical Reading sections and at all the newspaper articles and editorials they are supposed to be reading, here’s an exciting way to improving your vocabulary.
Through four different timed games, it tests your knowledge of 250 commonly used SAT words – synonyms, antonyms, definitions, connotations and all.

The Official SAT Question of the Day – College Board

Well, there is not a need to say anything except that this is the official app, getting a question a day from each section to your phone straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth. How’s that for being productive every day?

SAT Up

Ranking in the top 20 of Education apps, for iPhone and iPad, this app prepares you for every section on the SAT with over 400 questions, step by step explanations and not to forget, detailed analytics. 

SAT Connect

There isn’t much to say on an app that offers 7 diagnostic tests, 4000 words, 1000 fully explained test questions end more except “ Get it now!”

Adapster: SAT Math by Empire Edge

Hailed by developers as the “next generation of study tools”, Adapster lives up to that fame remarkably, letting students create customized practice tests based on their needs.
The software makes note of errors and offers detailed instruction in problem concepts and tests them over and over.

Edupath SAT Prep & College Search

One of the most elegantly designed apps available, its UI keeps you engaged and keeps track of your study progress, sending you real time performance charts to allow you to choose which areas to focus on. It also doubles up a college search to help you find one that meets your needs.

Hangman Free HD

Did improving your vocabulary sound boring to you? Then you should give Hangman a spin. Also, the two person gameplay gives group study a whole new kick!

The "Why This College" Essay

While wading through all the essay questions - talking about your life, motivations and interests, nothing can be more confounding than writing about why you would be interested in a particular college. Although so far you may have been attempting to ‘market’ yourself, here is a question that’s clearly probing how genuine your intentions and choices are. Consequently, most student essays have great difficulty in representing their motivations accurately and not seeming quite vague.

Before you begin writing, you should think about how to narrate the story of making your choice. Your essay should be a brief walkthrough for admissions officer, of the experiences and ideas that have led you to the point of applying to that particular college.

Reading the prompt carefully should keep you focussed on what points you have to cover. You must make sure your essay is concise and is not diverging to unrelated points.

The first step then should involve keeping yourself informed regarding every aspect of that college. The college website should be read thoroughly and you should be aware of every part of the college life – academics, co-curricular activities and clubs and so on. With regards to the programme you’re applying for, try and keep yourself briefed about the faculty members, ongoing research work and the programme itself.

Differentiating yourself from countless other applicants becomes easy once you’re sufficiently aware to be specific about your interests. As they say, “The devil is in the details” and admissions officers are known to favourably remark upon a good eye for the minutest of details.
Write about how the current research work or the academic accomplishments of particular faculty members, align with your motivations in that particular field. If you have already worked out what you want to pursue later in that field, write about that as well in tandem.

Demonstrating a seamless connectivity between how you engaged with your interests in school and how you would engage with them in college is an important part of identifying yourself with a particular college. Relate your past experiences in extra-curricular activities in school – perhaps as a founding member of a club or as a creator of successful initiatives, and try to connect them with similar clubs’ activities in college.

While the architecture of the college or the city it is located in should not figure as prime factors of your choices, your appreciation of them should represent how you see yourself fitting into the daily routine.

Your excitement about being added to that college’s culture and history, should be sustained by your efforts to find points of interest in its various aspects.
Once that is clear, you can easily inset yourself within that life. Admissions officers’ are very appreciative of a personal vision being apparent.

Of course, one of the common errors one makes while writing such a descriptive essay is rambling on. You have to keep in mind that the gentleman or lady reading the essay has countless others to read and will only be irked by incoherent passages. Once you’re done with your first draft, trim it down to the briefest possible version.

Lastly, as you look over your final essay, it would be a good idea to observe how personalised it is to that particular college. If your essay seems to be suitably describe other colleges as well, then it’s obvious you have written a generic one.
Keep in mind that the college you’re applying to is already aware of all the conventional reasons for choosing it. The key to standing out then is to show them how your choice is largely independent of these conventional reasons.

To avoid being vague, be personal. Good luck!

School of the Art Institute of Chicago application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Action - 12/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 05/01/2015
• Early Action II - 02/01/2015

• Spring 2015

  First Year

• Regular Decision - 01/15/2015

Writing is a vital component of being an artist, and an extremely important part of being a student at SAIC. Tell us about you, your art-making practices, and why you are a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) undergraduate program. 

Include information about what inspires you, what does your artistic process look like, share why you are interested in and utilize certain materials, exhibitions in which you have participated, or other activities that contribute to the making of your work. If you are applying to the BFA with an Emphasis in Writing, your statement needs also to address how you imagine a studio arts environment will impact your writing practice. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 500 words.)

Rice University application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Decision - 11/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 01/01/2015

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 word limit)

With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study. (150 word limit)

If you have applied or expect to apply to other colleges or universities this year, please name them. (50 word limit)

How did you first learn about Rice University and what motivated you to apply? (250 word limit)

Each year, Rice University offers a merit scholarship to an employee dependent of Marathon Oil or one of its subsidiaries. If you are eligible, please name the parent or guardian:

In keeping with Rice’s long-standing tradition (known as “The Box”), please share an image of something that appeals to you.

To successfully upload your image, first paste it into a Word document or .pdf file, then upload your document. A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted. See Help Section for more information.

Hint: A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted.

Princeton University application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Restrictive Early Action - 11/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 01/01/2015

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (About 150 words)

Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held. (About 150 words)

Your favorite book and its author

Your favorite movie

Your favorite website

Two adjectives your friends would use to describe you

Your favorite recording

Your favorite keepsake or memento

Your favorite source of inspiration

Your favorite word

Your favorite line from a movie or book and its title

In addition to the essay you have written for the Common Application, please write an essay of about 500 words (no more than 650 words and no less than 250 words). Using one of the themes below as a starting point, write about a person, event, or experience that helped you define one of your values or in some way changed how you approach the world. Please do not repeat, in full or in part, the essay you wrote for the Common Application.

1. Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.

2. “One of the great challenges of our time is that the disparities we face today have more complex causes and point less straightforwardly to solutions.” Omar Wasow, Assistant Professor, Politics; Founder, Blackplanet.com This quote is taken from Professor Wasow's January 2014 speech at the Martin Luther King Day celebration at Princeton University.

3. “Princeton in the Nation’s Service” was the title of a speech given by Woodrow Wilson on the 150th anniversary of the University. It became the unofficial Princeton motto and was expanded for the University’s 250th anniversary to “Princeton in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.” Woodrow Wilson, Princeton Class of 1879, served on the faculty and was Princeton’s president from 1902–1910.

4. “Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful.” Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, chair of the Council of the Humanities and director of the Program in Humanistic Studies, Princeton University.

5. Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay.

Please attach a document if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.

Hint: A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted

Pitzer College application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Decision - 11/15/2014
• Regular Decision - 01/01/2015
• Early Decision II - 01/01/2015

At Pitzer College, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world's challenges. Please choose from the following prompts and answer below:

Incorporating one or more of our core values, how would you contribute to solving a local or global issue of importance to you?

Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one or more of Pitzer's core values?

Please respond to your selected prompt here (650 word limit)

Oberlin College application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Decision - 11/15/2014
• Early Decision II - 01/02/2015
• Early Admission (juniors only) - 01/15/2015
• Regular Decision - 01/15/2015

Essay (500 word maximum)
Oberlin is a place of intense energy and creativity, built on a foundation of academic, artistic, and musical excellence. With its longstanding commitments to access, diversity, and inclusion, Oberlin is the ideal laboratory in which to study and design the world we want. What does your Oberlin look like?

For Home Schooled Applicants 
Provide a copy of a recently written academic paper. Papers do not need to be lengthy, but should be a typical example of your written work. Graded copies are preferred. A recent scientific laboratory report is welcome as an example of an academic paper.

For Home Schooled Applicants
Upload a copy of your academic portfolio, a detailed syllabus that lists the subjects studied each year, the dates each subject was studied, a description of each course of study, major texts used or literature read, and evidence of science laboratory experiences.

Hint: A .pdf file under 500 KB in size will be accepted.

Macalester College application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Decision - 11/15/2014
• Early Decision II - 01/01/2015
• Regular Decision - 01/15/2015

Macalester is a community that includes people from many different backgrounds, some who have lived around the world and others who have lived in one place their entire lives. Please write an essay about how your background, experiences or outlook might add to the Mac community, academically and personally. (250-1000 words)

Additional Essay for International Students (Required): Describe a situation where you had to work or closely associate with someone from a background very different from your own. What challenges did you face and how did you resolve them? (250-1000 words).

Loyola marymount University application deadlines and supplementary essay prompts

Fall 2015

First Year

• Early Action - 11/01/2014
• Regular Decision - 01/15/2015

• Spring 2015

  First Year

• Regular Decision - 10/15/2014

Please read the three statements, which all relate to the mission and the values of Loyola Marymount University. Choose the one you find most interesting and thought provoking; then, answer the question which accompanies the statement you select. This essay, usually 500 - 1,000 words, is your chance to display your critical and creative thinking. 

Prompt 1
In his 2010 address to representatives of Jesuit universities worldwide, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, SJ, Superior General of the Jesuits, discussed imagination. He believes that exercising an imagination which grasps reality and involves “a refusal to let go until we get beneath the surface” is a crucial element of Jesuit education. In the same speech, he worried that today’s instant and global communication technologies discourage such deep reflection and engagement with the real and instead foster a “globalization of superficiality.”

Prompt 1 question: 
To Fr. Nicolas, imagination requires going to the depths of reality and recreating (re-imagining) it. Do social media and instant communication pose obstacles to such reflection and serious thinking? How can college students practice serious reflection in our always connected and instantaneous world?

Prompt 2
Speaking about education, Dr. Martin Luther King once said, ‘‘The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.’’
Prompt 2 question:
Critical thinking is a central goal of Jesuit education, and at LMU you’ll be asked to think critically and intensively in every class. Dr. King suggests that critical thinking results in our ability to inform intelligence with character, and strengthen character with intelligence. Please talk about a situation that demanded critical thinking from you, and how your choices or decisions integrated intelligence and character.

Prompt 3
A motto often associated with Jesuit and Marymount schools is ‘‘Educating men and women for others.’’ Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the former head of the Jesuits, once said that ‘‘our prime educational objective must be to form men and women for others, who believe that a love of self or of God which does not issue forth in justice for the least of their neighbors is a farce.’’ 

Prompt 3 question:
What do you think Fr. Arrupe meant when he said this? Please give an example of someone you know, other than your teachers and parents, who works for justice for the least of their neighbors.