Kaplan's College Edge

In this issue: Admissions SAT/ACT* Tips Flash Card Campus Visit What's New at Kaptest.com		Sponsored by kaptest.com/college. Free SAT Practice Sign up today for Kaplan's free SAT QuizBank. Use this online tool—a $199 value, now FREE—to help you develop the skills and pacing you need to boost your SAT score. Sign up today and start to: Customize your own quizzes for personalized prep Choose the subject area, question type, and level of difficulty you want to practice and get the targeted preparation you need to see results. Reduce your anxiety on timed tests with over 1,000 practice questions Activate our quiz timer to practice your test-taking pace. With so many questions to choose from and 24-hour access, you'll find your optimal pace in plenty of time for Test Day. Track your improvement with instant analysis See a graphical breakdown of your score. Then review your answers to see detailed explanations and learn exclusive Kaplan strategies—and watch your scores improve! Start seeing the results that personalized prep can bring. Sign up today for your free QuizBank at kaptest.com/satquizbank. Admissions Waiting Out a Wait-list Being placed on a wait-list can be particularly frustrating, but don�t despair. You still have a chance of getting into your target school—you just have to be pro-active. But why did they wait-list you in the first place? Being wait-listed usually means that you've already qualified academically for the college, but that there are other factors in play. Your extracurriculars might be weak or the school might have had a tremendous amount of equally qualified students. The good news is that you haven't been rejected. The bad news? Well, you're not quite in yet. Learn more about how to deal with being wait-listed.   Back to Top SAT/ACT Tips Critical Reading Some people find Critical Reading passages dull or intimidating. While there is no way to jazz up a dry passage, you can try to turn Critical Reading into a game. Each passage is written for a purpose: The author wants to make a point, describe a situation, or convince you of his or her ideas. Sometimes, the short introduction to the passage will tell you what the purpose is. Sometimes you must figure it out for yourself. Recognize that each paragraph in a Critical Reading passage is composed of a big idea and supporting details. As you read, you should always ask yourself, "What is the big idea of this paragraph? What are the details? How do the paragraphs in a passage work together?" Reading while asking these kinds of questions is called "active reading." It means reading lightly, but with focus.   Back to Top peccadillo (n.) minor sin or offense. Gabriel tends to harp on his brother's peccadilloes and never lets him live them down.   Back to Top Campus Visit University of Massachusetts—Amherst Location: Amherst, MA Website: http://www.umass.edu Applied: 17,930 Enrolled: 4,222 Number of Undergraduates: 18,966 Middle SAT: Verbal 510-610 / Math 520-630 Tuition and Fees: $17,861 UMass has around 18,000 students, but don't let the big numbers fool you. The average student-to-faculty ratio is 19:1, and 70 percent of classes (including labs and discussions) have fewer than 30 students. Of course, introductory lectures can be huge, but classes grow much smaller as students progress in their majors. According to guidance counselors, UMass has "raised the bar" in recent years, making admissions "very competitive." The University has nine individual colleges (education; engineering; food and natural resources; humanities and fine arts; management; nursing; natural sciences and mathematics; and social and behavioral sciences), which collectively offer more than 90 undergraduate programs. Because UMass is part of the Five Colleges, you can take courses for credit at Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith without paying additional tuition or fees. Naturally, this huge university is located on a huge campus. The 41 residence halls are divided into five areas, each with its own ambience. Students are required to live on campus for their first two years. The university claims that approximately 80 percent of freshmen are placed in their first or second choice of residence hall.   Back to Top What's New at Kaptest.com Will bad handwriting affect your SAT/ACT essay grade? Hear the answer straight from our experts on Kaplan's College Bound Podcast. Subscribe with iTunes or download the latest installment from kaptest.com/collegeboundpodcast. You'll also hear answers to additional questions from students across the country, including: "What's the best way to prepare for a college interview?" "If I have a tough teacher who doesn't believe in giving out A's, will a college admissions committee understand?" "How can I get a perfect score on the SAT/ACT essay?" The answers could help you get into the college of your dreams. Download this episode of the College Bound Podcast today at kaptest.com/collegeboundpodcast or subscribe on iTunes with this feed: http://www.kaptest.com/podcasts/college-bound.xml. Have questions of your own? Send them to us at collegeboundpodcast@kaplan.com, then listen for the answers on future editions of Kaplan's College Bound Podcast.   Back to Top Making Subscription Changes: You are receiving this email newsletter from Kaplan because you are currently a subscriber. 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