Grateful for an Opportunity to Compete
As we approach another Thanksgiving, thoughts naturally turn to what we feel grateful for. Another way to celebrate is to deeply consider why we should be grateful for those things in life we have to deal with, regardless of how much we like them. Few teens look forward to tests like the SAT and ACT; fewer still actually enjoy them. But do these exams represent a necessary evil or a golden opportunity? Imagine yourself as a high school student eager to attend selective institutions, access prestigious honors programs, or earn enough merit scholarship to defray the ever-rising cost of college. Now think about how you’d feel about your prospects if any or all of the following applied to you: your grades don’t reflect your ability. you suffered some academic setbacks along the way. your excellent grades are undermined by your school’s academic reputation. you couldn’t find enough ways to demonstrate…
How The Super Bowl is Like The SAT and ACT
Ah, the Super Bowl is upon us once more, and an entire world awaits epic entertainment from NFL athletes and advertisers alike. Not everyone loves football as much as I do, or considers Super Bowl Sunday one of the year’s finest holidays. But everybody, even the most ardent opponent of this sometimes-reviled sport, understands that every football player and coach that will be facing off in the big game reached the championship through massive expenditures of talent, skill, and commitment. Basically, you don’t get here… …without countless hours here… …and here. Every professional sporting event highlights competitors exerting themselves against challenges, challengers, and the limitations of the human body and mind. The SAT and ACT share much in common with even the highest-stakes game. Test takers must achieve their highest levels of performance just as the pressure is greatest, which means that nobody earns their very best scores without massive…