1. Answer the initial ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Starting from a premise of ‘sometimes’ or ‘it depends’ will require an essay that is too long to complete in the allotted time.

2. The classic 5 paragraph essay works as well as anything else.
- Give your answer, support your answer, and then reiterate your answer.

3. Support your answer with 1 or 2 complete, solid examples from history, literature, current events, etc.,. More examples are fine, but the makers of the SAT have made it a point to state that 1 or 2 well-developed examples are preferable to 3 or more undeveloped examples.

Don’t worry about making your essay perfect. The graders realize there is insufficient time to create an ideal essay. What they’re really looking for is a well-crafted first draft.

Don’t ignore the value of reading examples of well written essays. You can learn a lot from the writing of others. Compare the style to your own. What are they doing differently? What is the same? What can you do to improve? There are a lot of resources online and in the bookstore to find great examples of well-written SAT essays. Don’t ignore your English teacher as a resource as well. Another possibility, most colleges have writing labs which help students with their writing. If you went in there and explained that you needed help with your SAT essays, not many will turn you down. If you have a local college or university, it would be worthwhile to check out.

It’s never too early to start preparing. Evaluate where you are currently. Educate yourself. Practice and get some help. Some committed practice will really pay-off when the actual test date arrives.

 
This was a guest post submitted to us by Teach-nology.com
 
Teach-nology.com is The Online Teacher Resource and has been producing high quality resources for teacher and homeschoolers since 1998. They offer too many printables and worksheets to list.

When I was in college, during the pre-internet days, the only summer jobs available for college students were low paying and uninteresting. If you were really lucky, you landed a job as a lifeguard and worked on your tan. If not, you were glad to have a job mowing lawns or raking leaves. And in last place—any job that required you to learn the phrase “Would you like fries with that?” Well, not much has changed as far as summer jobs go, but for college entrepreneurs, the news is much better.
CNN Money has an interesting article on Landing That Summer Gig, which many college students will try to do as soon as school lets out. The numbers in the article are far from encouraging, and the advice for those students without work lined up is to “start looking now, be persistent and apply for as many jobs as possible.” To an entrepreneur that sounds like a horrible process just to land a job that the article states will pay you $10.20 per hour. And even worse, the columnist suggests that one “really can’t be too picky when it comes to seasonal work.” True enough. But if having a job for low pay wasn’t bad enough, how about a job you don’t even like? No thanks. However, this stark news may be a blessing in disguise since the tight job market will likely force many would-be clock punchers to take the leap and start their own businesses. Now that is a decision no college entrepreneur will regret when looking back on “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
More to the point, some entrepreneurial students are taking the next logical step and questioning the whole wisdom of going to college to find a “good job.” Fast Company Magazine asks Is College Really Worth It? using an elaborate “infographic” to frame the debate that economists have been arguing about for decades—what do students really do while in college and how does this activity translate into monetary terms upon graduation. What college entrepreneurs will appreciate about this blog entry is what is missing—no discussion about how these extra-curricular activities like “9 hours a day spent on games, cell phones, Facebook” can translate into businesses started by college students. Of course, this obsession with social media can also be turned into a positive. Interesting that the “debate” deals only with the earning power (read “median salary”) of those college graduates who go on to get the dreaded J.O.B. upon graduation. Calculating the huge payouts that many college entrepreneurs receive when selling their innovative companies or “going public” would skew the numbers so much that this upside is left to the imagination.
There’s a lesson in here, and looking back, it is that there is no better time or place in the world than college for a budding entrepreneur to succeed. Think about it—aside from attending classes on a semi-regular basis, everything else is taken care of. Hot food is provided on a regular basis, computer labs are open 24-7, libraries stocked with every book imaginable are at your fingertips, smart professors and students are everywhere, and even financially challenged students (like I was) can pay their way through with low interest student loans if family cannot help. With food, clothing and shelter out of the way, and before life’s other responsibilities get heaped on (children, mortgages, retirement planning, etc) college is the best time to start a business.
But how do you do that while majoring in Philosophy or English, like I did? Well, that’s a good question. In my day, you had to juggle the day’s required reading, and then stay up all night to work on your business. But if you know you’re an entrepreneur at heart, why not major in entrepreneuship? Sounds like a no brainer to me, and you can bet I would have been the first to sign up if my college had offered such a major. Entrepreneur Magazine has a section that helps students like this pick the right entrepreneurship program at the best colleges and universities. Each year they profile the Top 25 Graduate and Top 25 Undergrad entrepreneurial programs in the country. It used to be that you had to learn “how to” be an entrepreneur on your own, and outside of the classroom—now these top schools have majors in entrepreneurship, designed to keep the next generation’s Michael Dell and Bill Gates from dropping out.
If you’re somehow not already convinced to forgo the summer job flipping burgers to devote your time and energy into building the next great tech company, then how about some inspiration from your peers. Check out Inc Magazine’s America’s Coolest College Start-ups 2010. Inc.com profiled college student-run companies from across the United States. They are running very different businesses, and you can vote for your favorite collegiate entrepreneur and check out last year’s picks to see how their dorm room start ups have grown. Talk about inspiration—these nine student entrepreneurs took cool ideas and launched their companies while still in school, and that’s not easy. The first step was telling their parents “No, I’m not going to get a summer job. I am going to build a business and I need your support.”
After announcing your plans to become a college entrepreneur instead of a summer wage slave, you’ll need resources and support from those business owners who are your age and also balancing their schoolwork. No better place for that interaction than YoungEntrepreneur.com. The YE Blog is frequently updated with insightful articles geared toward, not surprisingly, “young entrepreneurs.” More than that, the site itself is packed full of inspiration and resources which will be useful for entrepreneurs of every age.
Matt Stout was once a college student. He is now a small business lawyer, an unrepentant serial entrepreneur and proud moderator of Biztag.com, where he blogs about entrepreneurs and the innovative companies they create. If you are an entrepreneur, he would love to hear your story.

Today things are different. Sure you can still act as I once did, and many students do just that, but the reality is that student loans are harder to come by, and the job market being what it is, everyone is struggling and will likely continue to struggle after graduation. This is why I want to share what little wisdom I have acquired during my years as a student.

It has been brought to my attention that I do not make any money from the maintenance of this blog, this is totally true. This blog exists, and We Compare Books itself was founded because I want to help students. I feel an affinity with students, and I do not want them to repeat my mistakes. On that note I would urge you to read this blog, if you are a student, and please take the advice to heart. If you are a professor who cares about your students, you can share this blog’s URL with them. If you are a parent, or know anyone who could benefit from the information here, I would urge you to spread this news. The world has changed, and we cannot afford to keep living as though it has not.

All this to say: compare prices. It is imperative that you check prices, all over the Internet and at your local bookstore. This is the only way you can be sure to get the best prices for all your books.

Check Out Online Retailers

Online retailers like Amazon.com and Abebooks.com allow individual sellers to post any book they want to sell. Often, you can search their library and compare costs to see if you can get a better deal online than you can at the college bookstore. Just be sure to read the fine print and get the same edition and features required by the course before you buy. They have both used and new books that are available for purchase. Factor in the cost of shipping too, as this will affect the final cost.

Should You Have To Buy New

If you find that you can’t get a better deal online, go and buy it at the bookstore and upon immediately finishing the course either sell it back or post it on Amazon.com as a seller. Odds are, if you take this route, you won’t have spent much more than buying it used when you factor in the money you make for reselling your book. Don’t wait too long, however, as college textbooks, in particular, are frequently updated into new editions. Even if your book comes with a CD or DVD, you can resell that or sell only the textbook version. Either way, you will be recouping some of the money you spent last semester to spend on this semesters new listing of required textbooks.

I hope that you enjoy these as much as I did!

And

…Do you hear that? That’s the sound of pennies being pinched all over America.

But while many are pinching pennies, others are getting ready to make one of the biggest investments of their lives: A College Education.

Thousands of high school seniors are graduating this month and many adults are choosing to go back to school during these tough economic times to upgrade their skills and try to wait out the recession. Almost all of these to-be college students are finding that the cost of college tuition and room and board are going up while the recession is driving their bank accounts down. This can make getting a college education and choosing the right college a little tricky.

But before you give up on college because of the cost, there are a few often-overlooked options you should consider:

1) Broaden Your College Choices: There are more than 4000 colleges in the US, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. Do some research online or consult a college counselor to broaden your list of affordable colleges [Insert http://www.myUsearch.com with the anchor text “list of affordable colleges”].

2) Apply to More Colleges: Applying to more colleges may be a good idea too. If you get accepted to several schools, you can compare their financial offers before making your final decision. Remember, you should never compare schools based on their sticker price. Wait until you have all of the financial facts before you eliminate some of your choices.

3) Community College: For a couple of years, community colleges have had higher enrollment rates than ever before. Community college tuition is often much less than the price of most universities and can be a great option for working adults that need to improve their skills or students that need to get some basic classes out of the way.

4) International Colleges: If you’re looking to get a quality education without the price tag of an American college or university, colleges outside of the US may be an alternative. Besides saving a couple bucks, it can also let you enjoy other cultures and meet new people. Just north of the border, Canadian universities offer programs of the same quality as most American universities. Dalhousie (http://www.dal.ca) in Halifax, Nova Scotia is one of the top universities in the country. The University of Prince Edward Island (http://www.upei.ca) attracts students from all over for its vet program. Big city folk might want to check out the University of Toronto (http://utoronto.ca) which is regularly ranked as one of the world’s best universities and one of the top medical schools in North America.

5) American Universities Outside the US: There are also several US-based colleges that teach full English curriculums in locations outside of the US. Ave Maria University (http://www.avemaria.edu.ni) has a campus in Nicaragua and there’s also the American University of Paris (http://www.aup.fr) and the American University of Rome (http://www.aur.edu). These programs are often far less expensive than their counterparts on American soil.

6) Financial Aid: Many students think they won’t qualify for financial aid, but often times they are dead wrong. Check out these financial aid tools (http://www.finaid.org) to help you figure out whether you would qualify and how much your Expected Family Contribution would be.

7) Apply for Scholarships!: Apply to as many scholarships as you can- even ones that you doubt you’ll get. Winning scholarships [insert: http://myusearchblog.com/scholarships-start-the-search with anchor text “winning scholarships”) is a numbers game -- you just never know. But be honest in any essays you have to write for them. Some small private schools are willing to offer more financial aid than some larger institutions, so that's worth looking into as well.

For more info on college hunting during the economic crisis, visit this article at the myUsearch blog: Should the Economy Affect Your College Search? [Insert: http://myusearchblog.com/should-the-economy-affect-your-college-search, anchor text: “Should the Economy Affect Your College Search?”]

And, of course, myUsearch is a great way to compare colleges [Insert http://www.myusearch.com with anchor text “compare colleges”). I hope this helps and please don’t get discouraged. Your future depends on it!

Author Jillianne Hamilton is a student at Holland College (http://www.hollandc.pe.ca/), the founder of The Blog of Jillianne Hamilton (http://jilliannehamilton.wordpress.com/) and student blogger for myUsearch.com

Okay, we’re not so naïve as to think that as a college student you really have time to plan a menu and cook – especially during finals week. But, we are suggesting that if you are living off campus in an apartment, you make a quick trip to the grocery store to gather provisions so you can avoid of week of frozen entrees, pizza delivery and other food choices that zap your energy.

Make a deal with your roommate, study partner or a friend to share the work and the bounty of healthy meals. So, set aside the Cup of Noodles, Mac&Cheese box and the can of spaghetti. In a little over an hour you can shop, chop, cook to create a healthy soup.

Grocery list:

Items for vegetable soup

Rotisserie chicken

Salad fixings (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, other options)

Bread (enjoy with the soup or for chicken sandwiches)

Apples (for the crunch and healthy snacking)

Dessert – your choice cookies, more fruit

Vegetable Soup

6+ servings

Based on a recipe from Jacques Pepin, the award winning French chef and TV personality, you can make this soup with all different kinds of vegetables. Mix and match is the name of the game. Feel free to use more of your favorite veggies. You also get to empty out your refrigerator before those old veggies become science experiments!
mama-iris-and-mama-lynn

Ingredients

5 cups water

1/2 zucchini, grated or chop small

1 carrot, grated or chop small

1 medium onion, diced

4 white button mushrooms, sliced

3 green onions, sliced thin

2 cups coarsely chopped greens (like kale, spinach, cabbage, etc)

3 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons instant grits or ¼ cup small pasta

1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese (optional)

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot Add all the chopped, sliced vegetables to the water with the salt. Bring back to a boil and cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until carrots are fork tender. Sprinkle the grits on top of the soup, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for another 5 – 7 minutes. To serve ladle into bowls, garnish with cheese if using.

That’s it. Voila. Finito. Done. And enough soup to last for several days. Healthy, delicious, and nutritious soup for finals week. Bon appetit.

Recipe courtesy of Lynn Epstein and Iris Feinberg, co-founders of Mama Says, who recently introduced No More Frozen Pizza! – a recipe collection for new cooks, recent college graduates, newlyweds, and those finding their way into the kitchen. Their collection includes delicious and budget conscious recipes for main and side dishes, as well as salads. For other recipe ideas join them in the kitchen at

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We look forward to reading your reviews.