​Procrastination is a problem many people face. I know that I can easily procrastinate by doing tasks like cleaning my junk drawer or browsing through the Internet’s endless offerings instead of grading final papers at the end of a semester. Of course, after years of practice, I am totally aware that I am simply avoiding something that must be done and that no one is going to grade those papers. Yet, I procrastinate because I often don’t want to face the mountains of prose that need my undivided attention. Since I teach a college course on academic success, I have studied the three basic causes: perfectionism, feeling overwhelmed, and inaccurate prioritizing.
Clearly feeling overwhelmed by the attention needed to complete the college application process and wanting it all to be perfect can cause a student to worry and procrastinate. However, some students see the many steps in the process and wait until the “day before” to accomplish the tasks. On the surface these two situations appear very different, but they can create the same outcome, which is procrastination. In either case, it definitely interferes with a student actively participating in the college application process. So here is some advice from EA on how to proceed!
If you have just completed your sophomore year in high school, you are taking your first breaths of a summer vacation as a junior. As you “put your feet up” and think about your accomplishments, you might also be thinking that your junior year is filled with lots of “stuff” that is above the usual studying, working, and participating in all sorts of extracurricular activities. And if those are your thoughts, you are absolutely correct, and you might just want to search the Internet or binge all day rather than deal with anything related to college. But unfortunately, the college application process will remain in front of you no matter how long you binge. So our EA Team suggests one more time that you take a few steps forward while you are on summer vacation. A few steps at this time, prevents you from feeling overwhelmed during your junior year.
If you are starting your senior year, and you are not working on your college application then you have truly procrastinated. AN EA ALERT: YOU NEED TO START IMMEDIATELY. You have clearly procrastinated enough that you are entering the danger zone. Run, do not walk to your Common Application Website, create a password, and begin. You need to know when the deadlines are for Early Decisions and Regular Decisions for each school. There is no time to think about doing it another day nor to be a perfectionist. (Yes, of course, you should edit and proofread each item carefully.) Begin today and you can still meet your deadlines!
If you need assistance, please reach out to the EA Team. Help is just a phone call (845.582.0017) or email (educationallyaware@gmail.com).

​Completing the Common Application can be a daunting task. First, there is the demographic section where you reveal all the facts about your family: where you live, who went to college within your family, and other personal information. If a college requires an SAT or ACT score, then you must take one of those exams and submit the score. Next, you must complete the portion of the application that indicates what activities you participate in within the school and outside your school life. Of course, the essay that is sent to all the colleges and the supplemental essays that are only sent to a specific college must be written and uploaded. And throughout the junior year, you want to meet with your guidance counselor and attend all school meetings for the college-bound student. Gathering all this information, preparing it, and inserting it into the Common App is what makes the application process difficult. Each high school will provide programs and distribute information to students and their families to learn about this process, but if you are prepared, each meeting will have a more satisfying outcome. If you are the first person in your family who is applying to college, it can be overwhelming. In fact, even if your brother or sister has done it all before, it can be intimidating since the process often changes. This summer EA is trying to help families understand how the process works and ways to prepare the information that will be needed.
If you are entering your junior year, decide in advance if you are going to take the ACT or SAT. If you are a strong science student, then the ACT might show your strengths as a student more than the SAT. Look out for the next Free EA Workshop on the difference between the SAT and ACT if you want to discover exactly how they compare.
If you are a freshman or sophomore in high school, then now is a good time to begin your activities list. On the Common App, you will be asked to indicate the number of years you have participated in an activity. It is ideal if you have done an activity for all four years of high school and have taken a leadership role. Additionally, you have done other activities for more than one year inside and outside of school. Colleges are interested in students who have contributed to their communities either as volunteers or as committed employees.
The essay that you send to all of the colleges should begin with a little research. Read the mission statements, philosophy, and history of each college so you will understand the values of the school. Then honestly ask yourself which college has the most similar values to your own. Before you begin reading about each college, many will have similar values, so look at the order they are presented, so you will know which one is valued most. Remember to always be honest when you are writing. The admissions officer can tell when you aren’t authentic. They are detectives searching for the best people to be part of their incoming class.
This summer is the time to think about the process and hopefully complete portions of the application if you are a junior. For sophomores, just think about it and write down your ideas. For juniors, begin the process. And if you are a senior, run, don’t walk, to that Common Application and start immediately.
And as always, EA is here to help. We are just a phone call or email away from the answers to all your questions. 845-582-0017 or educationallyaware@gmail.com

​Well, we have returned from our Spring Break, and it is officially Spring even though some days it feels like winter. Although the weather fluctuates, the dates do not, and this year’s opportunities to take the college entrance exams are rapidly approaching. As usual, EA will run sessions for the final SAT exams(May 7 and June 4) and ACT exams (May 6 and July 16) of this school year, but EA would like to suggest that you plan to take the SAT or the ACT in May for a variety of reasons.
May is a more desirable time of year to take the exam than June or July because students are still completely involved with their academic lives. By constant involvement in their courses, their critical thinking skills must remain sharp in order to succeed. However, many students are thinking about the prom - either with tension or joy - or their summer adventures by late May and June. They are waiting for the school year to end and don’t feel like preparing for or taking another exam. For those students who are taking AP courses, the focus should be on the AP exams since they have worked hard in those courses and are hoping to get college credit based on the exam score. (And as parents, we are very pleased to pay for one less course.) As far as taking the ACT in July, this is useful if a student doesn’t mind continuing to work on academic skills once the official school year has ended. Well now that we have stated and explained the EA opinion, we are hoping that you will take our point of view into consideration as you identify which test you will take.
Just one more thought, you want to visit colleges while the students are on campus. Without witnessing the day-to-day activities, it is difficult to really get the “vibe” of that campus. At most colleges, the midterm point has just passed and in seven weeks, students will return home. So if you can, make a list of colleges and take a family outing.
Our next six-week session for the SAT begins this Tuesday and will end on Tuesday before the SAT is given. If you want to read about our upcoming schedule or events, or just learn more about us by visiting www.eatestprep.com For any specific questions or concerns, you can reach us by email (eatestprep@gmail.com) or phone (845.582.0017).

​Yesterday, there was snow on the ground, and today it is cold. Yet, we can see the beginning of spring. Little buds sprouting against the cold and wind. Sometimes, a student feels like a spring flower trying to survive the challenges of the demands of school work and simultaneously beginning the college process. By now, many juniors are realizing that they want to take the SAT or the ACT before they finish the school year.
Today the EA Team wants to describe the major difference between reading comprehension sections one the SAT and the ACT. On the SAT, the questions are sequential, which means that each question can basically be answered as you read the selection. This is useful to a test-taker because they know where to look to find the answer within the reading. However, on the ACT, the questions are not set up sequentially, so the reader has to keep the questions in his or her mind - memory- while reading the passage. Knowing that significant difference can help you decide which test is right for you.
On either test, if the test taker needs to refer back to the text multiple times to find an answer, then it is time to skip that question. If you are wondering why a test taker should do that, it is because if the answer can’t be found easily, then the test-taker usually becomes anxious. Once a person becomes that nervous, the answer is even more difficult to find. It is best to return to it after you have answered all the questions for that passage. At that point, the answer usually pops off the page.
If you would like to learn more about taking the reading comprehension portion of the test or ways to choose the test that is right for you, please contact the EA Team. You can reach us by email (educationallyaware@gmail.com) or phone (845.582.0017). Our small classes (maximum of 6 students) for the last tests of the year are filling.
Please note that starting this Wednesday till next Monday, our team will be taking our Spring Break. We are hoping that the weather will cooperate and provide us with spring-like temperatures.
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