The New $75 SAT Fee Wednesday Blog

So it is ATI weekend and the students go crazy, but unfortunately we will have classes, as next summer there is ATI and the summer after....

Hi everyone!

The paper SAT registration forms are now available. Our 7th Day Adventist students may not register online and should come in to see us for their forms. Students without credit cards should do likewise. 7th Day Adventists should secure a letter from their pastor to signal the reason you are unable to sit the exam on a Saturday. Exam Fee has now been increased to US$75. The SAT deadline is August 18th. The new SAT website is www.sat.collegeboard.com. Check it out....

GRE/GMAT/SSAT/MCAT
All these groups should register for their exams by August 1.

SSAT

Usually, parents strive to get their children to visit the campuses of the private boarding schools they will be attending. I now have a virtual tour of the campuses scheduled for certain days online. So parents can save those few dollars and hasten to visit and talk with boarding school admissions advisors.

On October 5th from 4-10 p.m. and Sunday October 24 from 2-8 p.m. as well as December 1 from 4-10 p.m.

The site is tabs.org/virtualfairs. A promotional microsite will be available later this summer.

The College Advisor Newsletter
Versan is subscribing to this newsletter for all our clients. Annually, we will receive 10 subscriptions which we will append and release in timely fashion to all our clients.

True Holiday Weekend
It is the August 7th weekend where no classes will be held...

Classes

SAT, SSAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT are all in full progress. MCAT (for those off to US medical schools) is about to start on 7/27/10. All courses are in full throttle. Just advising students that reading maketh the man and magazines are ready for borrowing at the office as well as past paper books for practice.

Manuals
If your manual has a missing page and illegible in parts, please come to the office and have the sections substituted.

Consultations
Please set your appointments. Walk-ins are not tolerated.

PTA Meetings

What a grand outpouring of parents for the PTA meetings in Kingston and Montego Bay. We also salute our LSAT and GRE/GMAT students as well. If a parent missed the meeting, there are handouts at the office for pick up.

LSAT
You are headed to Miami for your LSAT exam. It is confirmed - book your airline tickets early.

Upcoming Event

September 17th at the Girl Guides Association is the Seminar at "Recession-Proofing Tertiary Education Locally and Internationally". Watch out for further details.

SAT Deadlines

Date Deadlines
Oct 9 August 18
Nov 6 Sep 15
Dec 4 Oct 13
Jan 22 Dec 1
May 7 Mar 16
June 4 Apr 13



Feature on a School
This week the feature is on Shattuck St. Mary's boarding school in Minneapolis. The 152 year old institution offers $3.2 million in need-based aid awarded! What is fascinating is their new biosciences program (www.ssmbioscience.org). They are the premier school for Intensive Figure Skating and host 36 states and 20 countries. Soccer for boys and girls is another strong sports area as well as ice hockey.

Happy Birthday
It is the Mandeville's Manager's birthday today. We wish Ms. Steele a wonderful and blessed day.

Welcome to our new Marketing Manager:

Shari Budram, a recent graduate of University of Technology, is our new Manager for Marketing. Just 3 days on the job and we see a diamond in the rough! She will be responsible for maintaining our social networking areas as well as our image in the media!

See you all next week!

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Back To Normal Wednesday Blog

Mandeville is off and running. I am happy to note that they started classes last Wednesday and we had a wonderful Opening Reception. The cognoscenti came out and I can promise that it was a pleasantly swanky affair!

Go Mandeville!!!!

Ms. Bramwell has a new cell number-so here goes: 2563309.

To our dear fan Moosie, we are to finish the Student Loan, do not worry!

Classes

All classes are going smoothly and we are proud of our Summer group as they are rapt and listening in classes-such a change.

Tuck Shops
In full swing, at all 3 locations-students please advise us as to items you need for sale.

Consultations

Please note if you are doing the full program, please report in and make your appointments.

Book Supplies

We are going to reorder books for SAT, SSAT, GRE and LSAT soon. So please note that we are replenishing our stocks for your orders within a week.

Keep reading. There are a lot of scholarly journals in the office for your taking-get to it!

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The Mandeville Opening Wednesday Blog

So Versan gains its fourth outpost. We are about to open tomorrow. The classes there will commence on Sunday. The teachers have been raring to go!

At 9 a.m. tomorrow, Versan will be interviewed on the Ronnie Thwaites Program. We will have in attendance JIS, a photographer from the Jamaica Observer, noted political personas in the form of Sally Porteous, MP Bunting, Senators Pearts, past parents: Marcia Chin You, Somi Chen, Mrs. Millington, a number of Mandeville Principals,our new teachers and board members, Mr. Winford Bramwell and staff members.

Catering is effected by Margaret Silvera who is baking the Versan cake, along with escoveitched fish, champagne, ackee cups and a general surprise for the staff, she claims!

The event will last one hour and then teacher training....on with the Versan show.
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Summer classes are in full swing! Ms. Pate is on her way to Montego Bay as we speak to cover SSAT, SAT and GMAT classes there. On Sundays, Ms. Bramwell will cover SAT and GRE, along with consultations.

In Kingston, GRE and GMAT are in full swing on Sundays. On Saturdays, we are happy to have SSAT, SAT groups along with LSAT en route. Study hard folks!
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We are in our third round of ordering books and we are happy to note that the SSAT, SAT and GRE books are on their third re-order. We wonder what is happening with LSAT and GMAT? The ominous signs are that they are not studying enough or practicing as their practice papers are still on the shelves? Get to it - GMAT and LSAT!
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Those who are doing consultations must get their acts in order and set their appointments every week. It is the student's responsibility to have this done...We are here to guide, not make house calls...(smile)
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Tragedy struck yesterday when an unwitting mother upbraiding her kids rear-ended our Manager Miss Steele. Thank God she suffered a minor (hopefully) whiplash and managed to walk away in one piece in what could have been a far more serious accident.

God keeps on walking with Versan and there will be no stopping us as he brought us this far and we will keep moving on. Get well Miss Steele! The good Lord was there with you and will be with us as we roll out the red carpet tomorrow!

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Late Summer Blog

Hi everyone,

So we are off to a fine start. Orientation went smoothly last week for the Kingston and Montego Bay groups. Mandeville awaits their day in the sun as construction wraps up for their grand opening.

I want to thank the teachers: Ms. Pate, Ms. Knowles-Clark, Mr. Karenga, Mr. May, Ms. McLean, Ms. Cole for being so prepared for the start of classes.

For the writers of the manuals, Ms. Steele and Ms. Pate-what a courageous undertaking and I believe one that will help many Jamaican students for some time. Bravo!

To the staff: Ms. Samuels, Ms. Myles, Mr. McKenzie, Ms. McGlashin for the late nights spent to put all the manuals together-again, staff, we need our day in the sun! What say we to a day at the beach! It's on....

As for me, I am currently picking up books in Utah, arranging a Film course for interested teenagers and visiting campuses.

I spent some time on the campus of Brigham Young University. This school is a mecca for Division I sports: Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Rugby, Basketball, Swimming and Diving, Lacrosse and American Football (though one of their weaker sports)...

Their claim to fame is Business, Mathematics and Engineering. The atmosphere is nice, hilly and prone to winter sports such as snowboarding.

I highly recommend this school for our US residents and citizens as International students will not be afforded scholarships to study, though the annual cost is quite affordable at $28,000 (not a bad deal!)

What did I think of the Mormons? It is obviously the religion of the day in Utah, but not overbearingly so. The state is predominantly white but one is not greeted hostilely. Even in small remote towns where I sojourned alone in my rental, I was greeted quite warmly and met folks happenstance who knew my Jamaican students. The three, Joelle Comrie, Nicholas Franklin and Melissa Terry attended the private boarding school of Wasatch Academy. Rumour has it that in honor of my three Jamaicans who graduated, all parents picking up their children on the last day of school played a Bob Marley tune. The symbolic act was for the joy they brought to the school and their children.

Searing heat, this state is some 5000 feet up and the elevation and desert heat is no joke! One will definitely need a car to get around, sites are far and wide apart. But crime is low, many activities to do and hey, home to the Utah Jazz!

Check out our new logo done by our New York Techie, Jevan Raymond.

WealthQuest for Teens has a wonderful project going on for those seeking extracurricular activities to bolster their academic resumes. Google the name and look at their enterprising activities for teens who wish to help those afflicted by cancer. Get to it!

See you soon guys! Read and study...it will pay off in the long run.

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