In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Juniors: A Guide to Choosing Your Senior-Year Classes

Senior year isn’t like any other year of high school. Particularly for college-bound students, it comes with a unique set of challenges.

With these challenges in mind, Montgomery Educational Consulting recently described the “ideal” senior-year schedule, which . . .

• is challenging, but gives you enough time to work on your applications;
• meets all of your outstanding graduation requirements; and
• allows you to “pursue your passions.”

Click here to for more info on each of the above.

Think About Your Summer Plans

It feels ridiculously early to start thinking about summer plans. I know that. However, I also know that many of the most desirable programs and internships for high schoolers fill up early every year.

While you might think these sorts of activities aren’t for you, you won’t know for sure until you take some time to consider what you do want. The sooner you do this, the better. You don’t want to miss out on a potentially rewarding summer activity just because you waited too long to consider your options.

Totally unsure what you’d like to do? Montgomery Educational Consulting recently posted five questions you should ask yourself. Click here to check them out.

How Big a Help Is Financial Help?

Most college students would like their parents to give them more money.

In this case, should they be careful what they wish for?

A recent study found that the more money undergraduates received from their parents, the worse their grades were likely to be.

Click here to read more on the New York Times.

Why You Should Find a Mentor

A recent post on StateUniversity.com explains the many ways in which high school and college students benefit from mentorship.

If you’re unfamiliar with mentorship, it’s a professional but honest relationship with a person whom you respect. This person (a.k.a. the mentor) is someone whose life resembles the one you’d eventually like to have in one or more important ways—credentials, career accomplishments, general outlook on life, etc.

While it’s important to pick the right mentor, the focus of this relationship will be you—your progress as a student and future professional. Talking with a mentor can, among other things, help you to figure out exactly where you want your life to go, what you need to do to get there, and how to stay on track.

To learn more about the benefits of mentorship, check out this post from StateUniversity.com.

Weird Scholarship of the Week: Most Average Student

The website CollegeHumor recently announced that it will award two $5,000 scholarships to students who are “not exceptional.”

Why? According to their editors, “in these difficult economic times, it's getting harder and harder for average students like we were to get free money for no reason at all.”

To apply, submit essay of no more than 1,000 words here.

Math and Minor in Rap Music

Teacher Jake Scott—a.k.a. “2 Pi”—incorporates rap into his math lectures at Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland.

Scott says his in-class rapping helps him to build connections with students, which, in turn, helps them to learn math.

You can find out more about Scott here. Check out a video of him rapping below.

In other rap-related news, the Los Angeles Times recently reported that the University of Arizona has added a Hip-Hop Cultures concentration to its Africana Studies minor. The concentration is believed to be the first of its kind. Click here to read more.

Trouble Concentrating in Class? Your Classroom Might Need a Redesign

A U.K. study recently found that a classroom’s design—its size, shape, lighting, etc.—affects the academic performance of the students within it.

How large is this affect? According to the study's authors, a student’s classroom can influence his or her grades by as much as 25 percent—for better or for worse—over the course of a year.

Click here to read more on the Huffington Post.

More Details on How “Fiscal Cliff” Deal Affects Students

Yesterday I posted about the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012; passed on New Year’s Day, this important piece of legislation saves several key higher education programs from substantial budget cuts.

The Choice recently posted additional details on what exactly has been saved and what is still in limbo. Click here to check them out.

What Are Your Resolutions?

You might already have some New Year’s resolutions, but if none of them pertains to your academic performance or extracurricular activities, you’re missing an opportunity to become a more compelling college applicant.

Montgomery Educational Consulting recently suggested five resolutions that would benefit most high school students. Click here to check them out.

Student Programs Spared in Last-Minute “Fiscal Cliff” Deal

As its first act of the new year, Congress has passed a bill that, among other things, maintains federal funding for several key higher education programs, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. Spared programs pertain to financial aid as well as scientific research.

The bill also extends existing tax breaks for college students and their parents. Click here to read more about it on the Chronicle.