LOLSATS! OMG!

Now, I imagine that there is a correlation between dorkiness and cats. Cats are for readers, for indoor people? I don't know. But we like cats. And we're SAT people. And so you can imagine how we felt when we discovered LOLSATS. (LOLcats + SAT = LOLSATS!)

It's awesome right? Well, check it out, if you're so inclined. You can even make your own and join the illustrious LOLSAT COMMUNITY!! :)

Hooray! NEW EDITION of the Official SAT Study Guide finally out!

It's finally here! The College Board just came out with its second edition of the Official Study Guide, the big blue book of real practice tests that we've all spent so much time with. We're ordering ours today, and after we check it out, we'll let you know what we think about it.

It sure it pretty, though, isn't it? :)

Grammar Dorks of the World, Unite!

We love grammar. We can't help it. It's so logical and beautiful and wonderful.

We were just writing something and struck by the question, "Is 'none' singular or plural?" We were under the impression that any indefinite pronoun ending with "one" (anyone, no one, everyone) was singular. But there is something funny about saying something like, "None of the students is coming," right? What's the deal?

After some dedicated Googling, we stumbled upon a satisfying answer, from Patricia O'Conner, author of the fabulous book Woe Is I. Here's what she says:

Contrary to what many people think, "none" isn't precisely a contraction of "not one." Historically, its derivation is closer in meaning to "not any." The word in medieval times was "nane," so your suggestion of a contraction "nany" isn't all that far out. Most authorities have always believed that “none” is usually closer to “not any (of them)” than to “not one (of them).” What to remember: When "none" means "none of them," it’s plural. Example: "None of the cookies were eaten." When "none" means "none of it," it’s singular. Example: "None of the cake was eaten." If you really do mean “not one,” why not simply say “not one”?

Here's a link to O'Conner's blog, which is fabulous, and her site Grammarphobia. Other awesome grammar-related clickage:

• Reuters Online Style Guide. Grammar dorks across the nation felt their hearts go a-flutter when this became available to the public last week. Woohoo!
• The Deluxe Transitive Vampire. This book is amazing. If I were going to curl up and read a book about grammar for fun, this would be it.
• O'Conner's book, Woe Is I. Also immensely entertaining.
• Strunk & White, because you can't not have read this.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Aptitude

We found this interesting article in the NYTimes Magazine called "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Aptitude." Here's a bit from the first paragraph:

...Decades ago, in her late teens, Sotomayor faced another important test — the SAT, the traditional route to top-tier placement in our national meritocracy — on which, by her own admission, she didn’t do well. What exactly her test scores were she hasn’t said, but she has revealed that they “were not comparable to that of my colleagues” at Princeton University, where she was admitted as a self-styled “affirmative-action baby.” The fact that she later graduated from Princeton with highest academic honors and went on to reach the upper echelons of her chosen career, the law, speaks well of her intellect, her drive and the discernment of Princeton’s admissions office, but it doesn’t speak well, necessarily, of the conventional, test-based notions of merit that might well have stopped her, had they been strictly applied, before she even got started.

Yes, more confirmation that the SAT doesn't really tell you all that much about your academic potential, or what your future holds. Maybe one day the powers that be will find a fair and accurate way to quantify your potential. Until then, let's work the Test as hard as we can, so we can get to college, where the real learnin' happens!

Online Vocab Flashcards

I just found this--online flashcards a teacher made for his class to help them prep for the SAT. I just think they're cool because they have visuals. I love word roots when I'm learning vocabulary, because I love knowing where words come from--because it's interesting, it sticks with me. But lots of other learners benefit from associating words with pictures. (By the way, I use this site to learn word roots when I'm making flashcards...)


Here's the link if you want to check the rest out. Some of them are rather weird, but I think it's a great idea. I know a lot of students prefer to work on a computer than to make flashcards with a sharpie and a box of index cards.


So, try to make some slides of your own! And show us the Flickr folder when you're done...

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Out of State Students at Virginia Schools

Check out this recent interesting article from the Post, "Lawmakers Want to Limit Non-Va. College Students." An excerpt:


Valedictorian Phillip Wears boasted a 4.01 grade point average, served as captain of his lacrosse team and won awards for photography and television production when he graduated from South County Secondary School last year. But he still couldn't get into the University of Virginia. "He was kind of shocked more than anything," said his mother, Millie Wears of Fairfax Station. "It's a Virginia school. You have a student who has a 4.0. How can you say no?"

State legislators say they think they know the answer: An increasing number of Virginia students with top grades and impressive test scores, many from populous Northern Virginia, are losing slots at the state's premiere schools to out-of-state students.

Now, lawmakers are attempting to limit the number of out-of-state students admitted to Virginia's schools to reserve more seats for in-state students, particularly at U-Va., the College of William and Mary, Virginia Tech and James Madison University.

The General Assembly is considering providing the schools with $12.5 million in extra funds to cover the cost of the in-state enrollment growth. The schools would be required to set aside at least 70 percent of freshman slots and 80 percent of new transfer slots for in-state students.