Duke Universitys Talent Identification Program

A lot of colleges and institutions offer programs and opportunities for young kids with bright futures, especially during the summer. John Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford – the list goes on. At a young age, even saying the name of these universities gave me chills. Each of these prestigious universities houses the buildings that have seen the passing of Presidents and Nobel Peace Prize winners, walkways that have been treaded on by the most powerful men and women of our age and ages past. When Duke University first approached me in the form of a crisp, white envelope folded in with bills and advertisements, I was only in seventh grade. If high school still seemed like a hazy fever dream, college was only a myth, a fable. To apply to Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP), I took the SAT beside students many years my seniors, brow pinched as I scribbled in answers to questions over materials I’d yet to learn. Somehow I managed to qualify for their summer program. Spending three weeks of my warm summer days in college dorms, taking a rigorous college-level course was, actually, my idea of an awesome vacation. I would learn philosophy, neuropsychology, the resonating effects of the Cold War, live on my own (sort of) in a college dorm! What I didn’t expect was that I’d have so much fun. I had neglected to think about the friends I’d make: other nerdy kids who finally understood me. It was living, sleeping, learning with these new peers, whispered conversations in quiet dorm rooms after lights-out, muffling hysteric laughter into pillows that made the 3 weeks so worthwhile. Want to know more about Duke University? Unlock this package of Duke students to learn more! We refused to say goodbye, because we were going to see each other again the next year. For the next three years, no matter what we did the rest of the year, we would always come back for those three weeks. What had seemed like an innocuous opportunity to expand my academic horizons ended up being something that shaped me into the person I am today. I made friends when I was eleven that I talk to daily today, friends who fly across states, drive for hours for a few days spent together, a reminder of the summers we had that changed us irrevocably. Duke TIP was something I’ll always remember, a part of me I would never give up. It’s an experience I wish everyone could have, and one I whole-heartedly recommend to everyone who can afford it. It shaped me into a person I can be proud of, let me delve into a world of academia I could only dream of before, and allowed me to meet the future leaders of the world, people I am honored to call my friends. Interested in Dukes TIP program? For more information, you can check out the programs they offer to students in your grade. If you are still looking for summer school opportunities, you can also refer to our list of competitive summer programs.Written by an Intern.

How to Find and Use AP Score Calculators

How to Find and Use AP Score Calculators SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What is the best way to use AP score calculators? In this post we will discuss how to get the most out of them – and when you shouldn’t use them at all. Where Do I Get an AP Score Calculator? Before we talk about the best ways to use score calculators, you need to learn where to find one for your particular AP class! Each AP test uses a different scoring system. There are no â€Å"official† AP score calculators released by College Board, so teachers and test prep companies have to make their own. To get an AP score calculator, first talk to your teacher – AP teachers often have a formula they use for grading practice tests. If your teacher doesn't have one or you're self-studying, get a prep book for your AP class. Prep books written for individual tests will always have a score calculator. Finally, look online – many websites have approximate score calculators you can use for each AP class. A word of caution: all score calculators are approximations since the scaling of an AP test changes year to year to keep the difficulty level the same. For example, 100 points could be enough for a 5 one year, but in the next year it would only get a 4. We’ll talk about how to compensate for that below. Our Calculator Example: AP English Language and Composition Throughout this post we’ll be using AP English Language and Composition as an example as we talk about score calculators. It’s the most popular AP test currently. Over 500,000 students took it in 2014! There are 55 possible multiple choice points (1 point per question) worth 45% of your score, and 3 essays (worth 9 points each) for 27 possible points worth 55% of your score. This is the calculator we are using: (Multiple Choice Score x 1.23) + (Essays x 3.05) = Total Score That total score is translated to the final composite AP score of 1-5 like so: 5: 104-150 4: 92-103 3: 76-91 2: 50-75 1: 0-49 It seems a bit complicated, but once you get used to the formula it’s easy to use, and it can help you design a target score for the AP test. Using this calculator, we'll now explore the do's and don'ts of using AP score calculators. Do’s Of Using Score Calculators Grade Your Practice Exams With Them We highly recommend taking the extra step of grading any practice AP tests you take. Getting a predicted 1-5 AP score is a great way to get a snapshot of how you’re shaping up to do on the test. So instead of just getting a free response and multiple choice raw score, you can put those scores in context and get an idea of how much they need to improve before exam day. To use AP English as an example, if you took a practice exam and got a 30/55 on multiple choice and 12/27 on the essays, you might be discouraged. But using the calculator, you find you get a final score of 73 – which is just a few points away from passing! Which isn’t so shabby for a practice test. So instead of feeling disappointed, you can figure out exactly how much you need to improve to pass your next practice test. You can also get a sense of how much score improvements will help you. To use our example, you might realize â€Å"If I go from a 4 to a 6 on all my essays, I could not only pass, but get a 4 overall!† (If you got 30/55 on multiple choice and 18/27 on the essays, you would get a total score of 92, which would just barely get you a 4.) This helps you create manageable improvement goals. Remember, you don’t need to get every single point on an AP test to get a 5. And you certainly don't need every single point to pass. Come Up With a Detailed Target Score AP score calculators allow you to understand both the multiple choice and free response scores you need for certain final AP scores. This can help you decide where to focus your studying efforts. You might go for all-around improvement, or you could target your studying on just the free response or multiple choice. On AP English Language, if you’re going for a 5, you could go for near-perfect essays and have more wiggle room on multiple choice, or go for nearly-perfect multile choice and aim for middle-of-the-road essays. For example, if you get 8s on all your essays and 35/55 on multiple choice, you would get a 5 total score, which is pretty comfortably a 5. On the flipside, if you got 6s on your essays and 50/55 on multiple choice, you would also get a 5 total score. This allows you to play to your strengths on the AP exam and not overwhelm yourself trying to be perfect at everything. If you're a strong writer, you could aim for 8s on your essays and not worry about making your multiple choice score perfect. Or if you're great at taking multiple choice tests, you could aim for a 50 on multiple choice and try and make your essays decent. In short, you don't have to burn yourself out if you use a score calculator to set target scores for each section. Go For Consistency Don’t take one practice exam, calculate a 5 using the score calculator, and stop studying. Use the score calculator every time you practice, and make an effort to take at least two or three full-length practice exams before the real thing. Also try your hardest on practice free response questions and multiple choice sections your teacher may assign in class. Why? Especially when it comes to essays, you could be in trouble if you’re hit with an essay that you’re not well-equipped to answer. If you stop studying after you get a 5 on one practice test, you won't be prepared for whatever the AP test throws at you. Only by practicing consistently can you be adequately prepared or whatever questions appear on the AP test. By practicing a lot, you make sure that 5 is all-but-guaranteed, not just a fluke. In short, practice makes perfect – or at least it makes 5s! Don’ts of Using AP Score Calculators Don’t Use Them Too Early in the Year Don't worry about practicing for AP exams in the fall! There is no point in taking and grading a practice AP exam early in the year. That would be like taking a final exam for a class before winter break! You still have a lot to learn, so taking an exam early on would just stress you out. The score calculators are best used to inform you how you’re shaping up to do on the exam, so using them too early will demoralize you. You shouldn’t expect yourself to be able to tackle the AP exam before the first semester is over! Especially on the hardest exams. Wait until the first semester is over before taking practice exams and grading them. Don’t Panic If You Don’t Get the Scores You Want in Practice Even though it can be frustrating to get a 1 or 2 on a practice exam, don't despair. Remember that you’re practicing to find your weak points and improve them. Getting a low score in practice can be good because it shows you mistakes you are apt to make so you can learn from them. Think of it this way: any mistake you make while practicing is one you won’t make on the real thing as long as you study. Even if you get a 1 or a 2 on a practice exam, that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to fail on the real thing. The key is to analyze your mistakes so you can learn from them and improve for the real AP exam. Don’t Assume AP Score Calculators are 100% Accurate Simply put, they’re not! As we discussed above, they can only approximate your real score. Since AP tests are equated each year so scores are consistent, a raw score that’s good enough for a 5 on one exam could only be good enough for a 4 on another. This means when setting target scores, be generous. For example, if you’re going for a 5, don’t just practice for the lowest possible raw score that could work according to your calculator – aim for many points above that! For AP English, we would set the 5 threshold 10 points higher, 4. We would set the passing threshold (a score of 3) at 86 instead of 76. By doing this, we leave wiggle room for year-to-year test scaling differences and unexpected mistakes you might make on the exam. Bottom Line AP Calculators are an excellent tool to help you get the most out of your AP exam practice and set smart target scores. Just beware of using them too early, and don’t let them make you complacent! What’s Next? Learn more about AP: how long exams are, how they’re scored, and how many AP classes you should take. Also studying for the ACT/SAT? Get the latest tips from our expert writers on each section: SAT Math, Reading, and Writing, or ACT English, Math, Reading, and Science. Did you already take the ACT/SAT? Find out if you should retake the exam. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Political compass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political compass - Essay Example It generally emphasizes two aspects which constitute economy i.e. right and left to the horizontal and political ideology i.e. Authoritarian and Libertarian to the vertical. Political compass determine the prosperity of a country and in this era of globalization it has become the defining factor in wealth differences among states. Cultural orientation of different countries forms integral part of the chosen political compass. My political compass is Libertarian right. This political compass means that the country should be governed on the basis of human rights and freedom maximization in respect of political opinion and allowing forces of demand and supply to regulate the economy. In this wake of globalization, there is increased cultural convergence due to the sophisticated and efficient information and communication technology. In that regard, accommodation of diverse cultural backgrounds in the country means embracing libertarian political ideology. On the other hand, restriction on production by the government kills efficiency and suppresses creativity hence the need to adopt free market economy. A combined political freedom, free and open market economy therefore constitute Libertarian-right which has seen United States Prosper. The socializing agents that influence my political compass point of view include family, school and mass media. I like a society where from childhood, personal dreams are nurtured in a free social environment where parents only encourage.This boost one’s interest and perception on the society towards personal growth.