Do you remember back in elementary school when the school would give out annual awards for various accomplishments? There was the Reading Honor Roll, the Attendance Honor Roll, the Science Honor Roll, and so many more. I had long ago forgotten about honor rolls, but I guess they are back in the spotlight.

In 2010, The College Board began releasing an annual list of schools that made it’s AP Honor Roll. In order to make this honor roll, schools must increase their students access to Advanced Placement courses and coursework. However, there is more required of schools who want to make this honor roll. In addition, they must also simultaneously maintain or increase the percentage of their students who earn at least a “3″ on the exams. Schools who do this are “successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most for AP course work,” according to the College Board.

This year, 367 school districts made the list. The schools came from 45 different states in the USA and six provinces in Canada. Pennsylvania had the most districts who qualified for the list (34). New York and Massachusetts tied for second place with 30 districts each.

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Do you remember that movie, The Perfect Score? It came out in 2004 and was about six high school seniors who stole the answers to the SAT test in order to ace it and get into Princeton University. Well, I’ve often heard that life imitates art, but a new story makes this phrase seem way too real.

Seven people were arrested recently for being involved in a SAT cheating scam in Long Island, New York. Samuel Eshaghoff, 19, was the oldest student who was arrested; the other six students are minors, so their names are not being released. Eshaghoff faces felony fraud charges and the others face misdemeanor charges.

Prosecutors claim that Eshaghoff impersonated six students at Great Neck North High between 2010 and 2011. He charged each student between $1,500 and $2,500 to take the SAT test for them. He then would go to a testing center that was not the students’ own school so that authorities would not realize he was using a fake form of identification to impersonate the other students.

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Going to college is considered a rite of passage for most people. Students often can’t wait to leave home and enjoy living on their own as adults. While college is all about education, there are some life skills that are needed to make your college life bearable.

College students are known for having to live on very little funds due to their class load and being away from home. Many students don’t work so there is very little disposable income to go around. Below are some tips to make college life much more affordable. Minimizing your expenses can go a long way in having a good college experience. It will also help you avoid the temptation of borrowing money through student loans for necessities. Try out some or all of these ideas to maximize your dollar.

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As an upcoming high school senior, you may be thinking ahead to college. There are a lot of different things to do and dates to have on your calendar. For those that plan to continue their education beyond high school, several things must be done so that you are properly prepared for your freshman year of college. Making a list and prioritizing it by deadline is a helpful way to make sure that everything is taken care of in plenty of time so that you can have things lined up and enjoy your last year of high school. A little bit of planning now will ensure that you have nothing to worry about later. Below are a few things to keep in mind so that no deadlines are missed.

FAFSA: The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, for the academic year of 2012-2013 is not currently available, but it will be on January 1, 2012. You only need to file once for each academic year and filing early is always best. The deadline for the 2012-2013 academic year will be June 30, 2013. Receiving free money like government grants can truly depend on how early you file, so keep that January 1 date in mind.  Once those government grants are gone, the only options available for federally funding your education would be student loans or work study programs. When filling out the FAFSA, you will need your parents’ tax and income information for 2011 and you can choose what schools you want your award information sent to. You can pick several schools to receive this information, which is helpful if you haven’t picked your college when you start filling out your FAFSA.

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The Freshman Fifteen. We’ve all heard of it. Some of us like to think that it is just another silly rumor about college, but the sad truth is that it does exist, and if you don’t take the necessary steps to avoid it, it will get you. Scary, huh?

When I was in high school, I went to the gym every day for two hours, ate like a rabbit, and took good care of myself. When I went to college for the first time, all of my healthy habits went right out the window and I gained the Freshman 15…and then some. But is there any way to avoid this? Now that I’m way past my freshman year, I have discovered a few tricks of the trade that I will now share with you. You may want to start trying these habits on for size now, so that when your first day of college comes, you’ll be ready for it. Don’t worry, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.
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Natalie Alvarez spent roughly $2,000 preparing for the GMAT. The Graduate Management Admission Test is a standardized test used to admit students into business graduate school. Alvarez took the GMAT in 2009 and wasn’t happy with her score, so she received tutoring- rather pricy tutoring.

“I had found that I have forgotten almost all of the material I learned [as an undergraduate],” said the graduate student at Concordia University in Irvine. “It wasn’t just that I was two years removed from school, but five years removed from relevant math classes I took my freshman year. I am a firm believer that had I taken the GMAT while still in school, with material fresh in my mind, my scores would have been better.”

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Taking the the Graduate Record Examinations, better known as the GRE, is a must for many people applying to graduate school. The test was taken by about 675,000 people in 2010, and the number of business schools accepting the GRE for MBA applicants has quadrupled in the past four years.

The Educational Testing Services will be making some of the biggest changes in the GRE’s 60-year history this coming summer. The revised test will feature new kinds of questions and will be graded on a very different scoring scale. The computer-based test, which is used in the majority of testing locations around the world, will also introduce a number of features to make the experience better for test-takers. The main goal of revising the test is to better evaluate “kind of things that students are actually doing when they get into graduate school or business school,” said Dawn Piacentino, the director of communications and client services for the GRE in a phone interview with EduInReview.

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CollegeWeekLive is a free online college fair that connects students and parents with college admissions representatives and provides expert advice on everything you need to know about applying for college. Over 300 colleges will have virtual booths that highlight videos, webinars, brochures and real-time chats with admissions counselors.

There will also be live streams of keynote speakers, who will address financial and scholarships, the college application process and how to pick the school that’s the best fit for you. There will also be live chat sessions with current college students, who are available to answer any questions prospective students may have from first-hand experience.

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After announcing the premier of MTV’s reality weight-loss show, I Used to Be Fat, we have gotten many, many inquires about how to get on the show. We finally have the answer. Today, MTV announced that they are looking for high school seniors who have 40 to 100 pounds to lose to star on the second season of the docu-series. The show’s casting directors will be traveling to Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. According to our contact at 3 Ball Productions, the show’s production company, the ideal cast members will live no more than 50 miles outside of these locations.

To apply for I Used to Be Fat, interested candidates should email their name, height, weight, contact information and recent photos to hsweightloss@gmail.com. Also be sure to include a paragraph explaining why you want to be on the show and lose weight before starting college. You can also visit MTV for more information.

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YourCampus360 has launched a virtual tour app that allows you to take a tour of a college campus right from your Facebook account. Although nothing can replace the actual experience of taking a campus tour and meeting some of the students, this app may be able to give you a better glimpse before you make your travel arrangements.

I took a virtual tour of Wellesley College. The tour provides you with a “path view” and a map that shows what part of the campus you are looking at, in addition to information about the college and its facilities. There’s also a digital narrator, who will read you the commentary about each location, however, I found this to be annoying and opted to turn it off. The tour also provides you with links directly to the college’s official website and allows you to schedule a visit. The tour definitely give you a good sense of the layout and architecture of the school.

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