BRITTANY MASCHAL CONSULTING

What Do Teenagers Want? Potted Plant Parents

By Brittany MaschalDec 19, 2016

Many parents feel that their adolescents hardly need them anymore. Teenagers often come and go on their own schedules, sometimes rebuff our friendly questions about their days, and can give the impression that interacting with the family is an imposition that comes at the cost of connecting, digitally or otherwise, with friends.

So here’s a complaint one might not expect to hear from teenagers: They wish their parents were around more often.

Interesting read on the importance of a parent’s physical presence on adolescent health. Check it out here!

Advice, News, NYT

Text to Text: John Milton’s ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ and ‘Today’s Exhausted Superkids’

By Brittany MaschalDec 16, 2016

Right now, many students are entering the final college-application sprint. They’re wondering Are they enough? about their lists of accomplishments. Some may even be wondering Is it worth it? about college at all.

Centuries ago, the poet John Milton wondered how best to live his life as he went blind. In his sonnet “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” he contemplates his condition. While for him, the “light” he spends is literal — he was completely blind by age 42 — he uses it metaphorically to meditate on what it means to really live.

In this Text-to-Text they pair Milton’s poem with Frank Bruni’s Op-Ed “Today’s Exhausted Superkids,” which discusses the high costs of following the narrowly defined and proscribed path to an elite college.

This a thoughtful read for parents and students alike, or really, anyone working with adolescents today. Check it out here!!!

Advice, NYTcollege, college admissions, college application, college counseling, counselors, Frank Bruni, Milton, New York Times, parenting, sleep deprivation

NYT Student Contest – Write a Rap About the News of 2016

By Brittany MaschalDec 13, 2016

https://youtu.be/vomvO54P7oA

For the sixth year in a row, 13 to 19 years old anywhere in the world are invited to write a rap about the news that mattered most to them this year.

So whether you choose international or national news, politics or education, sports, science or technology, the arts or fashion, post your entry by 7 a.m. Eastern on Jan. 10, 2017. Then, the educational hip-hop experts at Flocabulary, our annual partner for this contest, will choose their favorite rhymes to publish both here and on their site.

Second Language Acquisition Can Improve How You Think

By Brittany MaschalDec 12, 2016

An oldie but goodie re-posted on the New York Times SundayReview on the advantages of bilingualism. Worth a read and just in time for the new year, when learning a second, third or fourth language could be on your to-do list!

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

Read the article here!

Advice, NYTacademic exploration, bilingual, languages, learning, New York Times

Upcoming Early Application Decision Release Dates

By Brittany MaschalDec 09, 2016

It’s that time of year again!

TODAY (FRIDAY)
(12/9) Wiliams (PM), Bowdoin (PM), UPenn (3pm ET), Stanford (3pm PT)

SATURDAY
(12/10) Wesleyan, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon

SUNDAY
(12/11) Week of 12/11: Boston College

MONDAY
(12/12) Vassar (5pm ET), Columbia (6pm ET), Colgate (mailed)

TUESDAY
(12/13) Harvard

WEDNESDAY
(12/14) Brown (7pm ET), Dartmouth, Duke (7pm ET)

THURSDAY
(12/15) MIT (6:28pm ET), NYU (5pm ET), Yale (5pm ET)

Newsadmissions, college, college admissions, college application, early action, early decision, high school

You Just Took the PSAT—Now What?

By Brittany MaschalDec 09, 2016

PSAT scores are now available online for counselors and will open to students on Monday. Compass Prep has prepared a number of resources that can help with interpretation, provide context, and illuminate where to go from here. I suggest checking them out!

–Understanding Your Score Report

–Using PSAT Scores to Compare SAT and ACT

–National Merit Semifinalist Preview: Class of 2018

–PSAT National Merit FAQ: The Road to Becoming a Finalist

Academic Resources, News, Testingadmission testing, college, college admissions, College Board, Compass Prep, PSAT, standardized testing

Poets&Quants Undergraduate Business Ranking

By Brittany MaschalDec 07, 2016

And the top spot this year goes to…WashU, Olin Business School!

Love seeing a new name at the top of the list. The usual suspects follow in spots 2-5 and include Mendoza, Wharton, McDonough and Haas.

The full article is a must-read if you are considering an undergraduate business program.

Newscollege, college application, college counseling, Olin Business School, P&Q, Poets&Quants, undergraduate business, WashU

Early Admission Plan Changes for the Class of 2021

By Brittany MaschalDec 06, 2016

More insightful data from College Kickstart!

Many colleges and universities have begun updating their websites for the Class of 2021 (Fall 2017) admission cycle. While we expect the activity to continue into the late summer, several of the changes we’ve observed are worth noting.

In particular, roughly 20 schools have introduced changes to the early admission plans available to you this fall. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority have added binding early decision options, including the University of Chicago (Early Decision 1/2), Wake Forest and Wellesley (Early Decision 2) and Tulane (replaced Single Choice Early Action with Early Decision). Several also introduced/refined their Early Action programs, including Texas A&M (a new Early Action option for engineering applicants) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (revamped). On the flip side, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo eliminated Early Decision.

Be sure to check out this College Kickstart list as it may impact how you decide to apply this fall.

NewsBrittany Maschal, college, college admissions, College Kickstart, early action, early decision

College Board Simplifies Request Process For Test Accommodations

By Brittany MaschalDec 02, 2016

College Board Announces New SAT^®Testing Supports for English Language Learners

NEW YORK—The College Board has overhauled its request process for testing accommodations, making it easier for eligible students to receive the support they need on College Board assessments.

Beginning January 1, 2017, the vast majority of students who are approved for and using testing accommodations at their school through a current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking the SAT^®, PSAT^™10, PSAT/NMSQT^®, SAT Subject Tests^™, and AP^® Exams. Most private school students with a current, formal school-based plan that meets College Board criteria will also have their current accommodations automatically approved for College Board exams. This streamlined process builds on the College Board’s August 2016 expansion of testing accommodations that can be approved directly by schools without the need for additional documentation.

Read full release here: https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2016/college-board-simplifies-request-process-for-test-ccommodations?ep_ch=PR&ep_mid=11326140&ep_rid=163330058

Academic Resources, News, Testingadmissions, AP, college admissions, college application, College Board, college counseling, PSAT, SAT, testing

The Future of SAT Subject Tests

By Brittany MaschalNov 30, 2016

Why are Subject Tests required by drastically fewer colleges than a decade ago? Is the relevance and popularity of the tests actually diminishing? Are the tests likely to survive or will they be discontinued by the College Board?

The perceived necessity of College Board’s Subject Tests has been on the decline since 2005 when the SAT II Writing test was essentially folded into the SAT. Subject Tests are explicitly required (no substitutions or exceptions) by only five U.S. colleges, about 90% fewer than just a decade ago. Read more via this helpful Compass post.

News, Testingadmissions, college admissions, college application, College Board, Compass, high school, SAT IIs, subject tests, testing