"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."   John Adams, December, 1770

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION!
It's time for high school students to start thinking about what they might want to do this summer. Colleges expect that summers shall have been spent productively. There are a wide range of good options. Examples include working, volunteering or taking courses. Many colleges offer summer programs for high school students. One such example is the University of Delaware. They offer a five week residential program for high school juniors. These students take two courses (for college credit) and get a taste of college life. Go to www.udel.edu/summercollege/ for more information. Stevens Institute of Technology lets high school juniors and seniors earn college credit through The Euclid Program, an online program of Physics, Computer Science and Math courses. Go to www.stevens.edu/undergrad/precollege.html

COLLEGE READINESS BEGINS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
"Many of America's middle and high school students need more help from schools to effectively plan for the future, according to a recent study by ACT. The study suggests that many students don't start thinking about their post-high school plans early enough, and that those who do may not be taking the right classes to prepare to meet their goals."
Read more: From The Pen Weekly NewsBlast

THE NATION'S ELITE SCHOOLS GROW MORE SELECTIVE
"Meanwhile, schools across the Ancient Eight reported that the qualifications of their accepted students broke virtually every record in the books, including SAT scores so high that the test may have lost significance in decisions." From The Dartmouth Online

ADMISSION VOICES
At a recent IECA conference Kevin L. MacLennan, Director of Admissions at the University of Colorado at Boulder said, that colleges, just like students are looking for a good fit-the right match, academically and socially. "We want students to thrive on our campus…not just survive." He went on to say, "We're looking for good students and good citizens. We are looking for students who are capable, competitive and compelling. We are looking for students who will contribute to the broader society."

SPRING RETURNS… (MORE) RECORD NUMBERS (from College Bound, Vol.19 No.9)
"In Maine, Bowdoin C. set a new application record in 2005 with 5,026 students applying, the first time the school received more that 5,000 applications. Of those, 1221 students or 24 percent were offered a place in the Bowdoin Class of 2009, which is expected to total 480 students."
"Application numbers were through the roof," said Sharon Alston, Director of Admissions at American University. AU had 13,877 freshman applications, 11.4 percent ahead of the same time last year.
"According to John M. Corona, Associate Dean of Admission, Colgate U. received 8,007 applications, a 22 percent increase over last year, and broke the previous application record of 6,848."

TESTING
ACT OPTIONAL WRITING TEST
Some colleges and universities will require the writing test for students taking the ACT and applying for college beginning in the fall 2006. Check with the colleges you are considering to see if this will affect you.
PERFECT 2400
"The perfect SAT score is no longer 1600. With the addition of the writing section, the bar has been raised to 2400. That didn't stop 107 students among the 300,000 who took the new test on March 12 from scoring a perfect 2400. This is about half as many who posted perfect scores on the old SAT." From College Bound, Vol.19 No 9

TESTING CALENDAR
ACT registration information for the 2005-2006 test cycle is available after June 11 at www.actstudent.org.

High schools will administer the PSAT on either Wednesday, October 12, 2005 or Saturday, October 15, 2005.

SAT and SUBJECT TEST dates from the CollegeBoard.com:

TEST DATE Oct 8, 2005 Nov 5, 2005 Dec 3, 2005	TEST SAT & SUBJECT SAT & SUBJECT** SAT & SUBJECT	REGISTER DEADLINES* US Reg / US Late / Internat'l Sep 7 / Sep 14 / Sep 7 Sep 30 / Oct 12 / Sep 30 Oct 28 / Nov 9 / Oct 28
* U.S. dates are postmark dates. International dates are receipt dates. ** Language tests with listening are offered in November only

FINANCIAL AID
"FastWEB is the largest online scholarship search available, with 600,000 scholarships representing over one billion in scholarship dollars. It provides students with accurate, regularly updated information on scholarships, grants, and fellowships suited to their goals and qualifications, all at no cost to the student. Students should be advised that FastWEB collects and sells student information (such as name, address, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and country citizenship) collected through their site." - From The Pen Weekly NewsBlast
Visit FastWEB at www.fastweb.com

Given the nature of the admissions process and the selectivity of many educational institutions, we cannot guarantee admission to any institution.