A substantial bribe. Just kidding. You should give your teacher recommenders something much more valuable for writing effective letters of recommendation: your input.

Sharing your ideas will assist your teacher in writing you an insightful and specific letter. This guide will discuss what materials you should produce, and why your "recommender's packet" can go a long way toward making your final letter outstanding.

To start, let’s review why recommendations are important to your application. If you understand what admissions officers look for, then you can make sure that your materials are useful and relevant. With this in mind, let's consider what purpose rec letters serve in the admission process.

Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, high school is a great time to try things that you haven’t done before – including volunteering.

Students may think it’s not worth their time to get involved in the community because it doesn’t pay like a normal job would. However, there are several benefits that volunteering can give you that no other job can.

Read on to find out about all the benefits of community service for you, your personal fulfillment, and practical purposes like college applications!

Community service is a great way to help others, as well give you valuable skills and experiences. There are a lot of ways to get involved in community service, and choosing the best place to volunteer your time can be difficult.

Our guide gives examples of some of the top places to do community service, as well as steps to help you decide which place is best for you.

If you think the PSAT is just a practice test, then you're missing a key part of the story. The Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, more commonly known as the PSAT/NMSQT or just the PSAT, is also essential in the competition for National Merit distinction and scholarships. Plus, it can help you figure out exactly how to study for the SAT.

This guide's dedicated to the PSAT/NMSQT, from its overall structure to how it’s scored to what kind of questions show up in each section. Before putting the test under the microscope, let’s go over the purpose of this test. What is the PSAT NMSQT for, anyway?

Applying for scholarships can be stressful and time-consuming, especially if you’re looking at really competitive awards. Wouldn’t it be nice to apply for scholarships that you knew you had a really good shot at winning?

If you want to get your hands on some easy scholarship money, you’re in the right place. First, I’ll talk a little bit about what it means to be an easy-to-win scholarship. Then, I’ll get to the good stuff by directing you to the places you should look for these awards - you might be surprised at where you can find them - and how to put together a successful application.

ACT scores are in, and now it’s time to move onto the next step - college applications! You may be wondering how to send your scores and whether you’re making the right choices about which ones you'll allow colleges to see. In this article, I’ll go through how to decide which scores to send and the way the process works overall.

As a counselor, you play a huge role in helping students along the path to college. Throughout their four years, you support them in setting goals and making plans for after high school. When it comes time to apply, you write their letters of recommendation.

Having worked as a college counselor and spent the past year as a grad student intern in a high school counseling department, I saw how much counselors do in the college planning and application process. I also saw the challenges of supporting large caseloads of students and writing hundreds of letters of recommendation, often around the same hectic time. Despite the mad rush, these counselors crafted eloquent letters customized to each and every one of their students.

Based on my observations and my own experience writing letters for my students, I've compiled what I think is the most helpful advice for writing memorable and effective recommendations. I'll go over key content, structure, and style, as well as discuss what not to include in a recommendation letter.

Since it's always good to keep your goals in sight, I'll start by going over the purpose of the counselor letter of recommendation. What are they for, and how do they differ from a teacher recommendation?

Are you struggling with ACT Science scores between 14-24? You're not alone - hundreds of thousands of other students are scoring in this range. But many don't know the best ways to break out of this score range and get 26+ on the ACT.

Here we'll discuss how to improve your ACT Science score effectively and why it's so important to do so. Put these principles to work and I'm confident you'll be able to improve your score.

If you dropped out of high school or are considering dropping out, there are other ways to earn credentials that are considered equal to a high school diploma. A High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) is one option that you might consider as an alternative to a GED or traditional high school diploma.

I'll give you the details on what a High School Equivalency Diploma is, how you can get one, and how to decide if it's the right choice for your situation.

Chances are, you've heard the phrase "rigorous course load" before. You probably even know that this is something colleges really look for in applications for admission.

So how can you ensure that your high school course load is rigorous or challenging enough? How do you balance this with getting a good GPA? How do you balance the need for rigor with your limitations, extracurricular interests, family and friends, and desire to not overwhelm yourself?

Read on for our advice on choosing between harder classes and more classes, and harder classes and better grades. We also go over how many AP classes and electives you should take.

Are you about to start college soon? Are you wondering what changes to expect? How is college different from high school? When you compare high school vs college, you'll find many differences, some of which are obvious, others less so.

It's important to understand how high school and college are different from each other so you know what to expect and can have a smoother transition when you begin college. In this guide, we explain the 15 most important differences between high school and college and give you tips to help make this major life change a bit less intimidating.

It's never too early to start planning!

When should you start preparing to apply to college? When you sign up for the SAT? The day you choose your freshman year classes? From the time you learn to read your first picture book?

This might be a matter of debate between you and your parents, but we can all agree that planning starts long before you actually start filling out applications. So to put yourself on the track for college success, should you start freshman year off by taking the PSAT?

A significant portion of the total digital SAT Math section will be word problems, meaning you'll need to create your own visuals and equations to solve for your answers. Though the actual math topics can vary, SAT word problems share a few commonalities, and we’re here to walk you through how to best solve them.

This post will be your complete guide to SAT Math word problems. We'll cover how to translate word problems into equations and diagrams, the different types of math word problems you’ll see on the test, and how to go about solving your word problems on test day.

Are you a 10th grader considering taking the SAT or ACT? Then you probably want to know what a good SAT/ACT score is for sophomores. While you might think we can simply use raw test score data from 11th graders, this information isn't totally accurate for or relevant to sophomores. Here, I'll analyze two data sets to figure out what's considered a good SAT/ACT score for 10th graders.

If you want a top SAT score, you need more than a desire to succeed. Determination and hard work are two vital ingredients for acing the SAT, but also you need to use effective study strategies to help you reach your goal.

I've helped hundreds of students prepare for the SAT, and I know the best methods to utilize to conquer this exam. In this article, I'll explain exactly how to ace the SAT, including how long you need to study, the best SAT prep strategies, and key test-taking tips.