Blog Roundup: A Guide to College Admissions

Patch bloggers take time out of their busy days to let you know about some things going on in their neck of the woods. Here, we've gathered what a few of them from around the area had to say. (If you'd like to start your own blog on Patch, click on the Blogs tab at the top of this page and then click on "Start your own Blog")

Putting your best credentials forward -- a guide to college admissions

When is a strong student (good GPA, high SAT scores and good extra-curricular activities) told that his/her longed-for college is a "distant reach"?  When he/she has been complacent in grades 7-11. So while this IS meant to scare the people who've been complacent, its highest use is to give ALL students in 7th– 9th grade a start to putting their best credentials forward.  

First, college admission has become even more competitive. This is due to the value of a college degree being even higher then ever before. Right or wrong, the college experience is perceived as the best training ground for almost any job requiring intellect.  Top students know this.  Thus, even though the population of American 17 year-olds peaked in 2008, and even with the worst economy since the 1930s, applications to U.S. 4-year colleges continued to rise in 2009 and again 2010. 

Declan Byrne in Off-Broadway’s McGoldrick’s Thread

Huntington High School junior Declan Byrne is in the cast of the Off-Broadway production of McGoldrick’s Thread at Theatre 80 at 80 Saint Marks Place in Manhattan. The teenager was cast as an actor/dancer.

The show is a musical that features remarkable Irish step dancing. It earned a positive review from The New York Times. “If I had anything harsh to say about McGoldrick’s Thread, I probably wouldn’t say it,” wrote Ken Jaworowski in his theater review. “This charming musical, featuring a troupe of talented teenage and pre-teenage dancers, wants nothing more than to show you a nice time, and it does. Anyone criticizing it sharply should be branded a sourpuss.”

 Supervisor Petrone and Councilman Mark Cuthbertson have kept taxes in check, reduced the debt and maintained Huntington’s AAA bond rating, the highest of any municipality in New York.  And now they need Tracy Edward in town hall to use her experience as a business executive to help continue their record of fiscal responsibility.