Ah, summer.  As this email hits many of your inboxes, many of you are not here in Kansas City.  You're off enjoying vacation somewhere else.  As well you should.  There will be time for all the hustle and bustle of the school year when that comes in the still distant days of August.  Oh wait.  It's July already. :-)

Summer can have its own busy-ness.  Students who have full Fall schedules are utilizing their free time now to prep for tests.  Students who are traveling a lot to camps or on vacation are putting together customized classes with a few of their friends.  Then there's jobs, internships, and everything else in between. 

As usual, since this email only comes out four times a year, I want it to be very readable and very full of information.  There are two topics in particular that I want to cover this quarter:

1.  Wake Forest's dumping of the SAT/ACT as part of their admissions process.  While Wake is the first school in the top 50 in US News Rankings to do this, what does it really mean for admissions?  I have much more to say in an article below.

2.  Fact or Fiction? Is the December test easier?  Should I take it at Center HS?  What about my ACT essay?  Is it true that they only take my composite score?  Is it true that they take the best of what I have?  These questions and more, answered below.

For those of you interested in social networking, I've enclosed a link in the sidebar to a recent radio interview I did about that topic.

There is a link in the sidebar to an interview with Michael Sokolove, author of "Warrior Girls."  It is a commentary on the injuries suffered by girls in sports but it is a broader critique of how much sports have come to dominate high school life.  He has some interesting thoughts.

We also have an article by Anne Ingersoll, an independent college counselor, about summer and its importance in admissions.

This month is our 2nd anniversary of landing in Kansas City.  We would not formally open our doors to students until January 2007, but I do want to step back and just take stock of how far you have taken us in these last 24 months.  The difference between how embryonic and tenuous our beginnings were, and how bright and exciting our future is, was and is completely dependent on how much you've helped us in this time - with your dedication, your word of mouth, and your helping to gently encourage our students to do their homework and get to class! :-)

As I watched one of our local schools' graduation ceremonies this year, I realized that 1 out of every 4 seniors who crossed stage had been through our program, and over 90% had gotten into their first-choice school.  It's a great feeling, but again, one that only came to fruition because some parents decided to give the new guy in town a try. 

Have a great summer and I'll check in again right after school starts with our Fall Quarterly and some thoughts about that PSAT/NMSQT, along with some articles written by my students who have just finished their first year at various colleges, to give you a first-hand, real insight into particular schools.

Sincerely

Stephen Heiner
Founder & President
Get Smarter Prep
The Score You Need For The School You Want