4 Tips for a Strong Common App

4 Tips for a Strong Common App The following piece was written by Linda Abraham. Linda has been featured in ourAdmissions Expert seriesand is the President and Founder of Accepted.com. College applicants have you looked at your calendar today? Its already NOVEMBER! Its time to crack down, get serious, and crank out one uncommonly great Common Application. The following four tips will help you manage your apps over the next few weeks: 1. Give yourself time Well-crafted, thoughtful essaysdont just pop into existence on the eve of your deadline. Rather, they require time and attention usually in the form of multiple drafts and careful revision. The 500 words in your Common App personal statement allow you to showcase your personality and talents, and if your college doesnt request an additional essay, then those 500 words are your sole opportunity to do so. Dont rush this important process. Start now and give yourself time to polish your gem. 2.Think how others will view your application Once youve filled out your applications forms and boxes and have a good working draft of your personal statement, its time to step back and think about how the college adcom will view your data. Are all of your test scores and transcripts accurate? Are your job descriptions and extracurricular activities clear? Have you focused on achievements and not just on descriptions of responsibilities? Is your personal statement interesting and persuasive? Have you made effective use of examples? Does it provide key information about who you are? 3. Proofread, proofread, proofread! You may think youre done with your application once youve ensured that all sections are filled out and that all data is accurate. But is your personal statement well-written? Have you checked your grammar and spelling? You need to edit all sections of your application, with a strong focus on your personal statement. Read your essay aloud to listen for errors that your eyes may have missed. Ask a teacher or parent to review your writing. View the final document to ensure proper formatting. 4. Submit before the dinger Submitting your application may take more time than you realize, so waiting until the very last minute is not wise. Leave yourself time to troubleshoot as well as to avoid last minute panic and missing the deadline. Browsers crash. Servers overload. Technical glitches beyond your control happen (especially this year when the Common App website and healthcare.gov have something in common: bugs). Submit early. VisitAccepted.comor find them onFacebookandTwitter. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

10 Easy TOEFL Reading Tips to Help You Prepare for the Exam

10 Easy TOEFL Reading Tips to Help You Prepare for the Exam Getting ready to take the TOEFL? Need some help on the TOEFL reading section?TOEFL iBT has 3-5 texts. Most of these are around 700 words long. They are followed by 12-15 questions based on the text. There is 20 minutes allocated to each text/questions section.Here are ten tips to help you prepare for the TOEFL reading test. These tips, tricks and strategies will help improve your overall TOEFL score.1. You Need to Read for the TOEFL The best way to prepare for the TOEFL reading exam is to read!It might sound obvious, but the best way to practice for TOEFL reading test is to read as much as possible beforehand on as wide a variety of topics as possible.Current affairs, health, sports, it doesn’t matter. Also, cover all the media in your reading materials like  books, online texts, and magazines.This is really a great long term strategy. If you think you might take the TOEFL someday, start reading in English a little bit every day, right now!2. Keep a Vocabulary NotebookAs you read to study for the TOEFL, keep a notebook and a dictionary by your side. Every time you discover a new word, write write it in your notebook to study later.This will help you develop a strong vocabulary that should be a great help to you when you sit TOEFL’s reading test.3. Practice Past TestsYou need to always remember that TOEFL is a standardized test. This means it always follows the same format. Take TOEFL reading practice tests to help prepare. Youll be much more comfortable with the test this way.  4. Practice Staying Within The Time LimitWhen you take practice tests,  set a timer so that you can be sure youre doing each part within the 20 minutes you normally get during the test. Remember that in TOEFL iBT the software will cut you off when you reach the time limit so it is critical you learn to work within it.The first few times, you may not able to do this, but with practice it should become easy.5. Learn to SkimIn English, skimming involves reading a passage quickly and un derstanding a text by extracting the important details at a glance. This is a crucial skill for the TOEFL reading test. Practice doing this with passages as you get closer  to taking the exam.6. Practice SummarizingNever presume you know the meaning of a text while you are reading it. Always stop at the end of each paragraph and try to summarize  what you have just read (even if it have to whisper it to yourself).7. Highlight (if you need to)Highlighting important data like vocabulary, dates and places might help you relax and order your thoughts. Go ahead and do this while you are reading if it helps.8. Learn To Guess Unfamiliar WordsWhen you are faced with a new word what do you do? Panic? Consult a dictionary? Neither of these responses will help you in your exam. Learn to guess the meaning of new words from the context of a passage or the words and paragraphs which surround it. Reading will help with this.9. Learn To Pick Out PronounsWhen you speak, you know there is a big diffe rence between the pronouns he, she and it. It is the same when you are reading. Learn to pay attention to the pronouns in a text so you know to whom or what it is referring, especially if there are multiple characters in the text. This could be the difference between you answering a question correctly and incorrectly.10. RelaxIn order to really capture the meaning of a text, you need to be relaxed so that you can focus on it completely. If you are very nervous you might miss important, and maybe obvious, points. Develop relaxation techniques like deep breathing during the test or even a yoga session before it! Whatever keeps you calm and works for you should not be ignored.Did you find this blog helpful? Feel free to share it on Facebook and Twitter.Here are 10 more tips to help you with the TOEFL2 additional TOEFL test tips10 preparation tips for the TOEFL oral examPingback: Portugal fora do Ciência Sem Fronteiras e o jeitinho - Aulas de Inglês por Skype| Aprenda Inglês Online() studentnext I am also preparing for TOEFL. This blog is very useful to get good score. writing service It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that the entire guided as well as prescribed course of actions are very much functional plus professional in terms of making the mark in the exam nicely for all. No matter how hard the situations to tackle before mentioned guidelines along with the course of actions are very much precise in all the way. anni dug Reading skills require correct pronunciation and a rhythmic tone with the language. Reading tips that are described here are awesome.