Standardization

The ACT, SAT, PSAT and SSAT are just a few of the many standardized test that are available to take. Many colleges require you to take at least the ACT or SAT and they base their admissions off of test scores. If you don't a certain score on these tests, you won't be admitted into the school.

Most of the standardized tests test our skills in the main areas. These include math, science, reading and comprehension. Also there is an essay section. The different parts of the test can tell you, and college admissions, what your strong points are. Many students will do better in certain categories. Usually categories like math and science seem easier. The hardest parts are probably reading, comprehension and vocabulary. I just recently took the SSAT and the vocabulary section was unbelievably hard. Some of the words I have never seen in my life.

While taking the test I got to thinking... Does this really reflect my true academic talents? Does knowing what words like axiom or nebulae mean really show how much I know? I think the answer is no. I really do not think that standardized test reflect the academic talent of a student in the right way. Many kids are bad test takers or are slower workers. This can be a problem especially when we are given limited time. I do believe that standardized tests are important to take but I think that they shouldn't be the deciding factor on whether you get into a school or not.

I know many talented people that don't do well on standardized test simply because they are bad test takers. This is a skill that can be practiced but it takes time. We usually only have a couple chances to take a test even though it has such an impact on where we go to school.

Overall, I think the test just need to be tweaked a little bit. I don't think there should be as much vocabulary but there should be more math and science. We live in a world that is constantly changing and being strong in math and science will help us keep up with a growing demand. I also think that they should keep an essay portion too. Hopefully these test will change by the time our children take them.  

Car Rides

Long car rides are just unenjoyable. There is barely any leg room, its always either too hot or too cold and the car rides seem like they will never end. The worst is when you start feeling car sick and there isn't anything to do about it. I have been on my fair share of car rides. Practically every weekend I am driving somewhere for hockey. Right now I am writing this as I'm on a 10 hour car ride to Ohio, on Homecoming weekend and I am here to share my advice from years of experience.

First, always bring a pillow and blanket. Its never a bad time for a nice nap. A pillow can always serve as a makeshift desk for school work and a blanket its the ultimate cuddly buddy. Also dress in layers. A car never seems to be the right temperature.

Depending on how long the drive is going to be, always bring things to do. A good book, homework, or playing cards. It is actually really easy to get homework done in the car because there isn't anything else to do. If you get car sick easily try not to read or do homework, it will make it worse! It is also good to bring a book light if you have one, then you can read on those late night car rides. Bring food and drinks, and also gum.

The one thing that is a must have for long car rides is an ipod/mp3 player. They are life savors! If your little sibs are getting annoying or your mom just won't stop talking, you can just put in the head phones and zone everything out. Before leaving for long trips it is also helpful to get some new songs to listen too. It spices up your normal playlists. Also bring a laptop or a DVD player so you can watch movies!

Number one tip: when in doubt, sleep. Sleeping is the best way to pass the time and who couldn't use an extra couple hours of beauty rest? If you can't sleep take some Nyquil and you'll be out in no time. Who knows, you might sleep all the way there!

These are just some of my tips for car rides. Long drives are always going to be frustrating but you just gotta make it through. Its all about staying entertained and trying not to think about how long you have left. I hope my words of wisdom helped! Happy car ride.  

Musical Therapy

Listening to music can really have a big impact. It can change your mood or even bring you to remember things that happened when you heard that song. I don't know about you but I like to listen to music basically any time I can. I listen to music the most when I am doing homework or just hanging out. I am in love with my mac book, its a amazing and I would totally recommend it to anyone. Well anyways, while I am doing homework on my wonderful lap top I get very bored. This is when I know I need to spice up my study experience with some music.

I usually don't like to listen to my itunes on my computer because I listen to it enough on my ipod. There are many websites that have online playlists for different genres or they can even play music to match your mood. Here are some examples of these websites:

8tracks:

www.8tracks.com/

8tracks is a really cool website that has different playlists. These playlists are categorized in many ways like by words like love, summer, or chill. Once you create an account you can like a playlist and then listen to it anytime. They have thousands and thousands of playlists and my favorite part is that these playlists are made by other users on the website.

Songza:

songza.com/

Songza is a lot like 8tracks except the playlists are made for your mood. When you first enter the website it will ask what you are doing like studying, having a dance party, or cooking. After choosing one it then asks you which genre you want like soft pop or rock. In the end you get a playlists that matches the mood and activity you are doing.

Pandora:

www.pandora.com/

Pandora is a classic. On pandora you create stations for different artist or songs. You can create as many stations as you want and if there is a song that you don't like you can dislike it and the song will never play again on your Pandora.

Well I hope these enhance your studying or hanging out experience. They become especially useful once finals come around. Happy studying!