Debbie Stier's Blog, page 7

How To Pay For College (An Interview)

I was interviewed by Celest Horton for her podcast, How to Pay for College.  You can listen to the interview by downloading it on iTunes or on Stitcher (Episode 15).

Celest and I covered a lot of territory, including:

How my son and I raised our SAT scores (by hundreds of points each)
How to pick a good test location and other test day tips
How to get a high score on the essay
Motivation variables
Why I love Lynn O’Shaughnessy's books

Celeste has 4 children, three of whom will be in college at the same time -- so she asked very good questions!

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I wrote a book about the SAT journey I took with my son, which includes everything I learned from a total immersion into test prep, the exam itself, and how to motivate a teenager. The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT will be published on February 25, 2014.

If you are inclined to buy the book, it would be a big help to me if you pre-ordered it now (which I realize sounds crazy, since the book doesn't come out until February, but I'm told that "pre-orders" are more important to the success of a book than ever before).

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis.

Have You Ever Heard of This Before?

 

I love my book index.  Obsessed.

That's weird, right? I can't explain it, but I can't get enough of the book index, which just arrived. I keep having this urge to flip through it (over and over and over again).

Maybe it represents all the work love (sweat and tears) that went into the book? I don't know.

Have you ever heard of this kind of thing before?  Here it is: Index

What do you think? It is beautiful, right?

The book will come out on February 25, 2014 -- and you can pre-order it now, which I encourage you to do (haha).

I spent last week reading the audio book. So. Much. Fun. They told me to wear "comfy clothes," so I took them at their word. Darling daughter Daisy accompanied me (and corrected me, which I appreciated).

Here's a little keepsake.  (And do me the favor of ignoring the messy hair/no makeup look -- it was that kind of week.  When I show up for interviews and speeches, I dress "appropriately," I promise.  Ask anyone....)

 

The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT will be published on February 25, 2014 and is available for pre-order now.

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis.

 

Unexpected SAT Performance Gaps

According to Adam Alter's book, Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, daylight savings time can wreak havoc on body clocks, resulting in all sorts of negative consequences.

[snip]

When the researcher compared the SAT scores of students in Indiana counties that observe daylight saving time, he found that they scored sixteen fewer points than their fellow students in counties that chose to observe standard time all year long.  Indiana is one of the few states where students who attend schools separated by county lines, no more than a few miles apart, spend seven months a year living in different time zones.  Education policymakers devote millions of dollars each year to closing small SAT performance gaps that unfairly disadvantage one group of students relative to another, and these results suggest that eliminating daylight saving time might offer one relatively inexpensive solution.

File under who knew.

The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT will be published on February 25, 2014 and is available for pre-order now.

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis.