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‘When I Was a Junior, I Walked Five Miles, Uphill, Barefoot, in the Snow Just to Have the Privilege of Taking My SAT…You Kids Have it Easy’ |
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By Alex Holachek
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 THE SAT (for Juniors)
SAT frenzy at George Mason and other competitive high schools has reached epic proportions. If you’re a junior, you’re no doubt feeling the heat. Perhaps you are contemplating enrolling in an SAT prep course. Or maybe you are considering refusing to take the SAT on “moral grounds.” Though I realize that a prep course or a conscientious objection may seem like great ways to make the test less threatening, I personally would advise against both. I have too many friends who spent hundreds of dollars on professional instruction only to reap lackluster dividends. I prepped for the SAT by buying a couple of well-reviewed test prep books (check Amazon.com) and doing a little bit of review each week: some new vocabulary words here, some grammar rules there. The process was pretty painless and I survived the test with my mental health mostly intact. And as for simply refusing to take the SAT, it’s a noble thought, but what would you rather do: fight oppression or get into college? I thought so.
THE SAT (for Sophomores and Freshmen)
If you are reading this section, you are prematurely stressed about the SAT. You should instead be enjoying your youth, playing games of kick-the-can or whatever you kids do for fun nowadays. But seriously, I advise freshmen and sophomores to go on collegeboard.com, read a profile of the new SAT, and forget about the test entirely until your junior year. Right now, as unglamorous as it sounds, the best prep is paying attention in math and English class. Look up words you don’t know, ask your math teacher for clarification of basic math principles, and work on concise, clear writing. This indirect preparation will serve you very well when it comes time to take the test, not to mention help you maintain your grades now.
Community Service Can Be Fun (I’m being serious)
Lots of kids are involved in community service, which is good. Most of them, though, do it for college and/or school credit, which is bad. I myself admit to occasionally having this mercenary impulse. Last year I sold used books for charity, which, to me, was the most mind-numbingly boring volunteer obligation ever. It was torture. I decided that I might like something more hands-on and found, to my astonishment, that I actually looked forward to working with ESL students. I can’t overemphasize how important it is to find a volunteer opportunity that you would do even if you weren’t getting recognition for it. Trust me, there is probably at least one out there. Things will be much more pleasant for you, which means you to it’ll be more likely to make an extended commitment and a real contribution he cause. Ninth and tenth graders, you should be trying to find your ideal community service activity now. Juniors, it’s definitely not too late…
How to Win Friends and Influence Teachers
You might think that you are the most subtly effective suck-up in the history of high school. Think again. Most teachers see right through you (they’re smarter than we give them credit for), and your sycophantic ways are probably annoying as heck to your fellow classmates. There is a middle road between suck-up and slacker, though. If you are genuinely interested in the subject being taught, your teacher will take note. I am not suggesting that you need to be slavishly devoted to every one of your classes, but it’s important to cultivate a sincere interest in a couple of classes, maybe by reading supplementary materials or thinking of interesting connections between the different material you’ve studied in class. This change in tactics will not only make good teacher recommendations extremely probable, but will also improve what you’re getting out of your education -- as well, of course, as keeping your grades up.
Stop Being So Competitive!
The minute we get any major assignment back, we students tend to try to find out the grades of as many of our classmates as possible. This tendency, while practically human nature, is also, for a lack of a better word, uncool. The next time someone asks you what you got on the midterm, say something to the effect of, “I did okay,” whether you bombed or aced it. The air of mystery that this behavior will cultivate is almost as desirable as the knowledge that you’re competing against nobody but
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