Friday, December 23, 2016

Bridge Stem Program - Museum of Natural History

Our Brown Scholars program is a new 3-year intensive focused on the intersection of computer science and science. It is tuition-free thanks to a generous grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Trust.
The program has 3 components:
1) 120 hours of coursework across 3 classes: Intro to Programming, Intro to Databases, Intro to Data Visualization
  • The coursework is offered in an after-school format: two afternoons a week, 4:30-6:30 pm, October - June OR in a summer format: 5 days a week, 10 am - 4 pm for 6 weeks (July - August)
Girls who successfully complete the 120 hours of coursework are eligible for the second component:
2) a 9-month paid internship in either computational research or applied computer programming within a division at AMNH.
  • Interns will work on a team of 2-3 Brown Scholars under the mentorship of a post-bacc Helen Fellow.
  • Internships run two afternoons a week, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, September - May and culminate with presentations in the Spring.
Girls who successfully complete the internship are eligible for the third component:
3) college and career colloquium:  a series of field trips and workshops focused on the varied academic and professional opportunities in the world of computer science.
  • Field trips and workshops will be held twice a month on Friday afternoons, September - May.


Frequently Asked Questions:
Who is the Brown Scholars program for?
Girls may complete coursework during their 9th or 10th grade year OR the summer following their 9th or 10th grade year. We are unable to make exceptions to this grade requirement.
What material does the coursework cover?
You will learn to code in Python, work on real scientific data sets, and learn how data science and data visualization are important tools for scientists in all fields. You will learn about algorithms and databases while digging deep into astrophysics, biology, anthropology, and more. No coding experience necessary - we'll start from the beginning!
How do I apply?
The application process includes:  an online application including short essay questions, one letter of recommendation from a teacher or adult, a copy of your most recent transcript/report card.
Selected applicants will be invited in for an in-person interview.  Final admission decisions will be made following the interviews.
This program is incredibly competitive, and we are unable to accept all qualified applicants.
I don’t live in New York City. Can I still apply?
The Brown Scholars program is only available for students in the greater NYC area. You do not need to attend an NYC public school to apply, but you must be able to attend classes in person. Priority is given to students who are interested and able to complete all 3 components of the program.   
I’m interested in the Brown Scholars Program and SRMP at AMNH. Can I apply to both?
Students who are accepted to the Brown Scholars Program are NOT eligible to apply for After School Program Research Courses (which are prerequisites for the Science Research Mentoring Program). Students are, however, eligible to apply for ASP Exploratory courses.
Still have questions?
Email bridgeup@amnh.org

Friday, October 28, 2016

Columbia University Supplementary materials for the Common App

Kweller Suggests:Don't want until senior year to assemble this! plan from grade 9!


Hint: File should be under 500 KB and one of these types: .pdf .doc .docx .rtf .txt.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

English book list for advanced students

Recommended Reading for AP Literature & Composition
Titles from Free Response Questions* Adapted from an original list by Norma J. Wilkerson. Works referred to on the AP Literature exams since 1971 (specific years in parentheses).
A Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner (76, 00) Adam Bede by George Eliot (06) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (80, 82, 85, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 99, 05, 06, 07, 08) The Aeneid by Virgil (06) Agnes of God by John Pielmeier (00) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (97, 02, 03, 08) Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (00, 04, 08) All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (00, 02, 04, 07, 08) All My Sons by Arthur Miller (85, 90) All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (95, 96, 06, 07, 08) America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan (95) An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (81, 82, 95, 03) The American by Henry James (05, 07) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (80, 91, 99, 03, 04, 06, 08) Another Country by James Baldwin (95) Antigone by Sophocles (79, 80, 90, 94, 99, 03, 05) Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare (80, 91) Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler (94) Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer (76) As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (78, 89, 90, 94, 01, 04, 06, 07) As You Like It by William Shakespeare (92 05. 06) Atonement by Ian McEwan (07) Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (02, 05) The Awakening by Kate Chopin (87, 88, 91, 92, 95, 97, 99, 02, 04, 07)
B "The Bear" by William Faulkner (94, 06) Beloved by Toni Morrison (90, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07) A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul (03) Benito Cereno by Herman Melville (89) Billy Budd by Herman Melville (79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 99, 02, 04, 05, 07, 08) The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter (89, 97) Black Boy by Richard Wright (06, 08)
Bleak House by Charles Dickens (94, 00, 04) Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (94, 96, 97, 99, 04, 05, 06, 08) The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (07) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (95, 08) Bone: A Novel by Fae M. Ng (03) The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (06, 07) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (89, 05) Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (79) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevski (90, 08)
C Candida by George Bernard Shaw (80) Candide by Voltaire (80, 86, 87, 91, 95, 96, 04, 06) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (06) The Caretaker by Harold Pinter (85) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (82, 85, 87, 89, 94, 01, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08) The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (01, 08) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams (00) Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (94, 08) The Centaur by John Updike (81) Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (94, 96, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 06, 07) The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (71, 77, 06, 07) The Chosen by Chaim Potok (08) "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau (76) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (06, 08) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 05, 08) Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje (01) Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton (85, 87, 91, 95, 96, 07) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevski (76, 79, 80, 82, 88, 96, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05) "The Crisis" by Thomas Paine (76) The Crucible by Arthur Miller (71, 83, 86, 89, 04, 05)
D Daisy Miller by Henry James (97, 03) Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel (01) David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (78, 83, 06) "The Dead" by James Joyce (97) The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (86) Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (86, 88, 94, 03, 04, 05, 07) Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty (97) Desire under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill (81) Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler (97) The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (06)
The Diviners by Margaret Laurence (95) Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (79, 86, 99, 04) A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (71, 83, 87, 88, 95, 05) The Dollmaker by Harriet Arnot (91) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (01, 04, 06, 08) Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia (03) Dutchman by Amiri Baraka/Leroi Jones (03, 06)
E East of Eden by John Steinbeck (06) Emma by Jane Austen (96, 08) An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (76, 80, 87, 99, 01, 07) Equus by Peter Shaffer (92, 99, 00, 01, 08) Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (80, 85, 03, 05, 06, 07) The Eumenides by Aeschylus (in The Orestia) (96)
F The Fall by Albert Camus (81) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (99, 04) The Father by August Strindberg (01) Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (90) Faust by Johann Goethe (02, 03) The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton (76) Fences by August Wilson (02, 03, 05) A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (03) Fifth Business by Robertson Davis (00, 07) The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (07) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (03, 06) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (89, 00, 03, 06, 08)
G A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines (00) A Gesture Life by Chang-Rae Lee (04, 05) Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen (00, 04) The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (71, 90, 94, 97, 99, 02, 08) Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien (01, 06) The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford (00) The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (95, 03, 06) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (79, 80, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (82, 83, 88, 91, 92, 97, 00, 02, 04, 05, 07) Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (83, 88, 90, 05) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (87, 89, 01, 04, 06)
H
The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill (89) Hamlet by William Shakespeare (88, 94, 97, 99, 00) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (03) Hard Times by Charles Dickens (87, 90) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (71, 76, 91, 94, 96, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 06) The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene (71) Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (79, 92, 00, 02, 03, 05) Henry IV, Parts I and II by William Shakespeare (80, 90, 08) Henry V by William Shakespeare (02) A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (08) The Homecoming by Harold Pinter (78, 90) House Made of Dawn by N Scott Momaday (95, 06) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (04, 07) The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (89) The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (08)
I The Iliad by Homer (80) The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (06) In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien (00) In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (05) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (76, 77, 78, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 01, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08)
J Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (78, 79, 80, 88, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 00, 05, 07, 08) Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee (99) J.B. by Archibald MacLeish (81, 94) Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson (00, 04) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (97, 03) Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding (99) Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (71, 76, 80, 85, 87, 95, 04) Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (82, 97, 05, 07) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (77, 78, 82, 88, 89, 90, 96)
K Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (08) King Lear by William Shakespeare (77, 78, 82, 88, 89, 90, 96, 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseinii (07, 08)
L A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines (99) Letters from an American Farmer by de Crevecoeur (76) Light in August by William Faulkner (71, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 95, 99, 03, 06) The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman (85, 90)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (08) Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill (90, 03, 07) Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (77, 78, 82, 86, 00, 03, 07) Lord of the Flies by William Golding (85, 08) The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh (89) Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (95) "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot (85) Lysistrata by Aristophanes (87)
M Macbeth by William Shakespeare (83, 99, 03, 05) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (80, 85, 04, 05, 06) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (87) Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw (79, 96, 04, 07) Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw (81) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (03, 06) Master Harold...and the Boys by Athol Fugard (03, 08) The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (94, 99, 00, 02, 07) M. Butterfly by David Henry Wang (95) Medea by Euripides (82, 92, 95, 01, 03) The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (97, 08) The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (85, 91, 95, 02, 03) Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (78, 89) Middlemarch by George Eliot (95, 04, 05, 07) Middle Passage by V. S. Naipaul (06) A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (06) The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (90, 92, 04) The Misanthrope by Moliere (08) Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West (89) Moby Dick by Herman Melville (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 89, 94, 96, 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07) Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (76, 77, 86, 87, 95) Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao (00, 03) The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie (07) Mother Courage and Her Children by Berthold Brecht (85, 87, 06) Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (94, 97, 04, 05, 07) Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw (87, 90, 95, 02) Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (97) Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot (76, 80, 85, 95, 07) "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning (85) My Antonia by Willa Cather (03, 08) My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (03)
N Native Son by Richard Wright (79, 82, 85, 87, 95, 01, 04)
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee (99, 03, 05, 07, 08) 1984 by George Orwell (87, 94, 05) No Exit by John Paul Sartre (86) No-No Boy by John Okada (95) Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevski (89)
O Obasan by Joy Kogawa (94, 95, 04, 05, 06, 07) The Odyssey by Homer (86, 06) Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (77, 85, 88, 00, 03, 04) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (01) Old School by Tobia Wolff (08) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (05) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (89, 04) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (01) O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (06) The Optimist's Daughter by D. H. Lawrence (94) The Orestia by Aeschylus (90) Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (04) Othello by William Shakespeare (79, 85, 88, 92, 95, 03. 04, 07) Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (90) Our Town by Thornton Wilder (86, 97) Out of Africa by Isaak Dinesen (06)
P Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (01) Pamela by Samuel Richardson (86) A Passage to India by E. M. Forster (71, 77, 78, 88, 91, 92, 07) Paradise Lost by John Milton (85, 86) Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen (06) Père Goriot by Honore de Balzac (02) Persuasion by Jane Austen (90, 05, 07) Phaedre by Jean Racine (92, 03) The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (96, 99, 07, 08) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (02) The Plague by Albert Camus (02) Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov (97) Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal (02, 08) Portrait of a Lady by Henry James ( 88, 92, 96, 03, 05, 07) Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (76, 77, 80, 86, 88, 96, 99, 04, 05, 08) The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (95) Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall (96) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (83, 88, 92, 97, 08)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (90, 08) Push by Sapphire (07) Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (03, 05, 08)
R Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow (03, 07) A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (87, 90, 94, 96, 99, 07) The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope (81) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (08) Redburn by Herman Melville (87) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (00, 03) Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (08) The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (07) Richard III by William Shakespeare (79) A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (08) A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (76) A Room with a View by E. M. Forster (03) Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (90, 92, 97, 08) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (81, 94, 00, 04, 05, 06)
S Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw (95) The Sandbox by Edward Albee (1971) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (71, 77, 78, 83, 88, 91, 99, 02, 04, 05, 06) Sent for You Yesterday by John Edgar Wideman (03) A Separate Peace by John Knowles (82, 07) The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (97) Silas Marner by George Eliot (02) Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (87, 02, 04) Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (91, 04) Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (00) Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (81, 88, 96, 00, 04, 05, 06, 07) Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence (77, 90) The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (77, 86, 97, 01, 07, 08) The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (96, 04) The Stranger by Albert Camus (79, 82, 86, 04) A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (91, 92, 01, 04, 07, 08) The Street by Ann Petry (07) Sula by Toni Morrison (92, 97, 02, 04, 07, 08) Surfacing by Margaret Atwood (05) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (85, 91, 95, 96, 04, 05)
T A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (82, 91, 04, 08) Tarftuffe by Moliere (87)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare (71,78, 96, 03, 05, 07) Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (82, 91, 03, 06, 07) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zorah Neale Hurston (88, 90, 91, 96, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (91, 97, 03) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (04) A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (06) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (08) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (77, 86, 88, 08) Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (90, 00, 06, 08) Tracks by Louise Erdrich (05) The Trial by Franz Kafka (88, 89, 00) Trifles by Susan Glaspell (00) Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne (86) The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (92, 94, 00, 02, 04, 08) Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (85, 94, 96) Typical American by Gish Jen (02, 03, 05)
U Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (87)
V The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (06) Victory by Joseph Conrad (83) Volpone by Ben Jonson (83)
W Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (77, 85, 86, 89, 94, 01) The Warden by Anthony Trollope (96) Washington Square by Henry James (90) The Wasteland by T. S. Eliot (81) Watch on the Rhine by Lillian Hellman (87) The Way of the World by William Congreve (71) The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (06) We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates (07) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee (88, 94, 00, 04, 07) Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (89, 92, 05, 07, 08) The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen (78) Winter in the Blood by James Welch (95) Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (82, 89, 95, 06) Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (82, 89, 95) Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (91, 08) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (71,77, 78, 79, 83, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 96, 97, 99, 01, 06, 07, 08)
Z The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (82, 01) Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez (95)

Descriptive Essay Draft 2: My Ideal Profession:


Descriptive Essay Draft 2: My Ideal Profession:



While there are many professions one can choose from, I perhaps have a desire to pursue an atypical one. If given the opportunity to pursue any field of study, I see myself as videogame designer. I have been interested in this field since I was a child, and this is the ideal turf for me. In fact, I envision myself as a developer of advanced levels of games such as Rock Band," "Wii Fit" and "Madden Football." Thanks to my profession, people will line up to buy all the popular video games that I design. I will hear audiences of people cheer as I pass them by. Making video games requires a lot of imagination and I know that I will be able to bring my talent to life by pursuing this fascinating field.

I had my first taste of what it would be like to be a videogame designer in the second grade. My school teacher, Ms. Hanna, hosted career day for our class. Among the various speakers I encountered, the one who struck out the most was a videogame software developer. His field of study seemed so interesting—he was exactly what I wanted to be. Juxtaposed to him was a team of speakers – lawyers in stuffy dark suits and doctors in long white uncomfortable jackets. However, here amidst them was a designer in a solid grey t-shirt and jeans. He shared how he was making as much, if not more, than his tightly dressed counterparts. I wanted to be him.

As a professional videogame designer, I will have to devote myself to exploring every aspect of a game and to mastering its outcome. Videogame design is a challenging, booming business with many specialized jobs and numerous points of entry. Since I was very young, I have been passionate about this highly competitive field. I possess a variety of skills and innate abilities. The expertise largely involves training in computer graphics, animation and software design. These are areas I am extremely interested in and areas that I definitely want to study. I hope that, as a designer, I will obtain the training at credentialed programs at technical schools I will need to be successful in my career.



To summarize, I know that I will make an excellent videogame designer because I possess a very powerful imagination, which is a prerequisite in order to construct the alternative world of the game in one’s mind before creating it in cyberspace. Indubitably, I feel that, as a designer I can make a great impact in this field and bring design to life. 


Monday, September 19, 2016

2016 high school fairs

Kweller Suggests: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL 8th GRADE TO ATTEND SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOL  FAIRS!

YOU NEED EVERY MINUTE YOU HAVE TO STUDY FOR THE SHSAT. ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL FAIRS IN GRADE 7! This way you can plan your test prep schedule a solid year before the SHSAT TEST.


Brooklyn Technical High School  29 Fort Greene Place, 11217

Saturday, September 24, 2016  and  Sunday, September 25, 2016

10am–3pm 

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

About the Anderson Entrance Exam


Kweller Prep is a leader in Anderson Test Prep

2018 STATS:

800 students were invited to take the Anderson test in the 5th grade.
12 students received an acceptance offer.
4 students from Kweller Prep were accepted into Anderson middle.
4 students from Kweller Prep were also waitlisted.
4/12 students accepted to Anderson attended Kweller Prep.

NOTE: Anderson does not release its entrance exam but does share that it is a tough math test of about 20 questions with no multiple choice options. The test is above grade level and they are looking to admit those who not only answer correctly but also show work best. There is also an essay component. For years, the essay was based on a reflection of a passage compared with a poem. In 2018, the essay was a personal essay, similar to the Hunter essay.  For privacy reasons, we cannot detail more about this test. Students interested in taking the Anderson test should score high 4's on their state tests, have nearly perfect attendance, and list Anderson as their first choice on the middle school application.  Congratulations to the Kweller Prep students accepted to Anderson, one of the best middle schools in NYC! 

About Gifted and Talented Admissions Tests

About Gifted and Talented Admissions Tests
The NYC Department of Education uses two assessments to determine if a child is eligible to apply for a G&T program: nonverbal test items from the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (“NNAT”) and verbal test items from the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (“OLSAT”). Assessing children in both nonverbal and verbal domains provides a balanced look at each child’s intellectual abilities. Exams are administered by New York State certified, New York City teachers who are trained to administer both assessments. The nonverbal assessment is administered first, followed by the verbal assessment.
All items are presented in a multiple-choice format. The Nonverbal Assessment (NNAT) The nonverbal G&T assessment is designed to measure nonverbal reasoning skills and general problem solving ability without the use of language. Tasks such as completing patterns, sequencing, and connecting ideas are included because they have been shown to be a valid measure of problem-solving abilities, regardless of a student’s primary language, socioeconomic background, culture, or prior academic experience. Children will be tested on their ability to solve problems and to demonstrate an understanding of relationships.  There are four types of nonverbal test questions: Pattern Completion, Reasoning by Analogy, Serial Reasoning, and Spatial Visualization.
Kweller Prep offers after school ELA and MATH programs starting January of each year afterschool and on weekends. 

About Scholars Academy

About Scholars Academy:
 Gifted and Talented Middle and High School

Scholars Academy is a college preparatory school (grades 6-12) where students wear conservative uniforms. There are has 1300 middle and high school students. Students complete all their Regents requirements by 10th grade and move on to advanced placement classes. Scholars boasts a 100% 4-year college acceptance rate. The school address is 3-20 Beach 104th St, Rockaway Park, NY 11694.

About PS 122- Citywide Gifted and Talented Middle School

-        About P.S. 122
Citywide Gifted and Talented Middle School

P.S. 122, also known as the Academy for the Intellectually Gifted, is a district-wide Talented and Gifted program which aims to maximize the degree of academic acceleration while providing a diverse array of enrichment opportunities and an emphasis on the physical, social, and emotional well-being of the exceptional students. P.S. 122 provides a stimulating academic environment centered on students' interests. Academic content work incorporates many opportunities to engage in problem-based learning (PBL), interdisciplinary projects, and teacher as well as self/peer assessments. Additionally, students are well prepared for the academic requirements of New York City’s specialized high schools. Academic advancement opportunities include Regents classes in Earth Science and Integrated Algebra. Enrichment Classes include: Visual Art, Dance, Music (Instrumental and Vocal), Service Learning, Student Government and Civics Education.  Students will be selected based on ELA and Math Scores, attendance, lateness, and teacher comments regarding student work habits and behavior.


About Scholars Academy:
 Gifted and Talented Middle and High School

Scholars Academy is a college preparatory school (grades 6-12) where students wear conservative uniforms. There are has 1300 middle and high school students. Students complete all their Regents requirements by 10th grade and move on to advanced placement classes. Scholars boasts a 100% 4-year college acceptance rate. The school address is 3-20 Beach 104th St, Rockaway Park, NY 11694.


About Johns Hopkins CTY

About the Johns Hopkins CTY “SCAT”
Students in Grades 5 and 6 Take This Test

The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is a gifted and Talented  supplemental education program for school-age children, founded in 1979 by Dr. Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University. It was initially a research study of the rate at which gifted children can learn new material.

CTY is the first program of its kind to identify academically talented youths and provide advanced learning opportunities.

CTY offers famous fast-paced Summer Programs, which are held on many university campuses throughout the United States and serve over 9,000 students each year. CTY is an accredited school for grades 5 to 12 by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

From October to February of each year, CTY's Talent Search recruits highly-able elementary and middle school students (who have scored at or above the 95th percentile on in-grade standardized tests) to qualify for CTY's academic programs. Applicants then take a standardized test that is above their grade level, beyond the ability of most children their age.

Students in the 5th and 6th grades take the SCAT at the Intermediate and Secondary levels, respectively.

Complete the CTY Talent Search application at: http://cty.jhu.edu

Register for the SCAT exam at: www.prometric.com

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Gifted and talented admissions application

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/255DA3F4-F3F3-4B82-8C67-72E3C6E7CDF7/0/2016GTHandbookforStudentsBornin2008.pdf



Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Frances Kweller Bio

Starting out as a private tutor, with a mother who had been a NYC school teacher for over twenty years, Frances Kweller naturally took to teaching and guiding young students. With her mother’s exposure to the failures of the school system and her own students’ continuous criticism of the lack of effective college guidance, Ms. Kweller quickly realized that there was a conspicuous gap in the education system that needed to be addressed. Therefore, she chose to pursue education and law with full force, graduating from NYU Steinhardt’s School of Education, with high honors, and Hofstra Law School

Shortly after passing the New York State Bar Exam on her first try, Ms. Kweller opened “Kweller Prep,” a one-stop shop to prepare students, as young as age 10, for the challenges of competitive middle and high school entrance exam test taking and college courses. Her dream became a reality, and nearly ten years later, Kweller Prep has become a huge success, consistently placing students into the best high schools and colleges in America. The company received numerous small business awards and was featured as the New York State SBDC success story (http://www.nyssbdc.org/success/Success/success.aspx?id=282) in 2015. Frances Kweller was honored as a distinguished NYU Alumni in 2010 and her bio was featured in WE Magazine for Women in 2014. Frances Kweller’s article on Choosing a College Major(http://college.usatoday.com/2014/09/16/viewpoint-choose-your-major-before-choosing-a-college/) was published in USA Today and she is a proud member of the Tory Burch Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs. As of 2016, Kweller Prep employs nearly 40 of the brightest and best tutors in NYC. 

Kweller Prep operates in two locations, Queens and Manhattan, with an international customer base. Ms. Kweller’s organization not only provides tutoring and guidance to the students, but also offers parent workshops on the college admissions and scholarship search process. Kweller Prep offers summer tours of top colleges including Harvard, Princeton, Yale and even specialized high school. Kweller Prep is a 100% certified, women owned business (WBE) and an approved government vendor for after school, expanded learning time services throughout NYC public schools. As someone who was disappointed with how the school system was operating to help smart kids advance, she not only spoke out, but also took action, filling an urgent and unfortunate education gap with emphatic and invaluable dedication. 

As an attorney, Ms. Kweller has vast experience in helping students as their education advocate; she serves her clients with everything from securing adequate test accommodations (enforcing IEP’s and 504 Plans) to providing guidance on pre-professional and detailed course selection process as students navigate competitive high school and college admissions. She is a proud mother of two beautiful daughters (born 15 months apart), wife, dog lover, and the only child of Russian immigrants(aka: the best grandparents ever, “Baboola and Gdeda”).

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Cornell Essay Supplements

College Interest Essays The primary focus of your college interest essay should be what you intend to study at Cornell. On the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: How have your interests and related experiences influenced the major you have selected in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences? College of Architecture, Art, and Planning: Why are you excited to pursue your chosen major in AAP? What specifically about AAP and Cornell University will help you fulfill your academic and creative interests and long-term goals? College of Arts and Sciences: Describe two or three of your current intellectual interests and why they are exciting to you. Why will Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests? College of Engineering: Tell us about an engineering idea you have, or about your interest in engineering. Describe how your ideas and interests may be realized by—and linked to—specific resources within the College of Engineering. Finally, explain what a Cornell Engineering education will enable you to accomplish. School of Hotel Administration: The global hospitality industry includes hotel and foodservice management, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, and law. Describe what has influenced your decision to make the business of hospitality your academic focus. What personal qualities make you a good fit for SHA? College of Human Ecology: How have your experiences influenced you to consider the College of Human Ecology and how will your choice of major(s) impact your goals and plans for the future? School of Industrial and Labor Relations: Tell us about your intellectual interests, how they sprung from your course, service, work or life experiences, and what makes them exciting to you. Describe how ILR is the right school for you to pursue these interests.

Harvard essay supplements

2016 Harvard Essay Supplements 


- Unusual circumstances in your life
- Travel or living experiences in other countries
- What you would want your future college roommate to know about you
- An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you
- How you hope to use your college education
- A list of books you have read during the past twelve months 

Friday, January 22, 2016

Anderson Test postponed

Kweller prep will remain OPEN for all students, Saturday and Sunday, despite the snowstorm. We will offer an extension to all students who had their test postponed. Please contact us at Kweller Prep 1800-631-1757 or visit www.KwellerPrep.com 

Baccalaureate test postponed

Kweller prep will remain OPEN for all students, despite the snowstorm. We will offer an extension to all students who had their test postponed. Please contact us at Kweller Prep 1800-631-1757 or visit www.KwellerPrep.com 

SAT test cancelled

Kweller prep will remain OPEN for all students, despite the snowstorm. We will offer an extension to all students who had their test postponed. Please contact us at Kweller Prep 1800-631-1757 or visit www.KwellerPrep.com

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP)

Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP)

ABOUT
Established by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), SMDEP is a free six-week residential program for first and second year college students interested in medicine and dentistry. This program follows the former MMEP and SMEP programs.
Hosted at 12 institutions across the nation, the program aims to assist students who represent economic, geographic, cultural,  racial, and ethnic diversity in their pursuit of gaining admission to both medical and dental school.
As health care disparities continue to persist, SMDEP is committed to developing a diverse medical and dental workforce as they will be well-suited to address such gaps
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible students must:
  • Be a Freshman or Sophomore college student OR a community college student
  • Be from an economically disadvantaged background; a racial or ethnic group that has been historically underrepresented in medicine and dentistry; or a part of the country where residents have been historically underrepresented in medicine and dentistry
  • Be a US citizen or have Permanent Residency Status
  • Have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5
APPLICATION
In order to apply to the SMDEP program at Columbia University, go to www.smdep.org. Make sure to choose Columbia University as one of the sites when prompted.
All applications go through the national website and are then funneled to individual sites. If you have questions about the application, contact the SMDEP National site directly. If you have questions about the SMDEP program at Columbia University, contact the SMDEP Program Coordinator at smdep-ps@columbia.edu.
Program dates for Summer 2016: Friday, June 17 - Friday, July 29
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the SMDEP team at Columbia University:
Columbia University,
College of Physicians and Surgeons
Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
630 West 168th Street, Suite 3-401
New York, NY 10032
Phone: 212-305-4157
Email: smdep-ps@columbia.edu

About the PSAT- 10


About the PSAT- 10

Students in Grades 10 and 11 take this test

 


PSAT-10


  • Who: 10th graders
  • Where: At school
  • When: At school, between February 22 and March 4
  • Scholarships: Used by scholarship programs to look for eligible students, but not considered for the National Merit® Scholarship Program.



Saturday, January 16, 2016

2015 Kweller Brochure


Macaulay Interview Questions

Interview on campus, 2 people, one professor and one current Macaulay student, sometimes a former student

1. Why Macaulay?
2. Why Macaulay John Jay/ Hunter?
3. List the AP Classes you are currently taking and took in 11th grade:
4. What is your graduating class size? Class rank? ex: 10/964?
5. Describe your family/ background (looking for immigrant)
6. Do you have any questions?
7. Describe a time you argued w someone over something and how did you respond? (ex: being a woman in engineering)
8. What are your strengths? (asked at John Jay not at Hunter)
9. What are your weaknesses? (asked John Jay not at Hunter)