Matthew Busick is a Content Developer at Knewton.

Bicoastal: (adj.) Living or working on both the east and west coasts of the United States.

When I tell my friends that I’ve dreamed of being bicoastal, they look at me as if I’ve revealed something highly personal or inappropriate. Maybe it’s the rootlessness that they find appalling, or my refusal to pick a side in the perennial East-West wars. The truth is that both coasts are different enough to be interesting yet similar enough to make me feel right at home on either. I grew up in California, went to school in the Northeast, returned to San Francisco for three years, and am now working at Knewton in New York.

As a flip-flopping migrant, I can recognize the small quirks that make each coast unique, as well as the alarming similarities that span three thousand miles and bridge our culture together. (more…)

Nominees for the 62nd official Primetime Emmy Awards were recently announced. Whether you own a television, stream content directly into your 12″ computer screen, or scoff at the whole matter altogether, we hope that you’ll employ some sound Logical Reasoning as you reminisce about all the hours you’ve spent watching television (and, necessarily, not doing your LSAT prep).

Question:

This year, both “Mad Men” and “LOST” have been nominated for Emmy Awards in the category of Best Dramatic Television Series. Nielsen ratings, which have proven to be accurate indicators of a show’s popularity, have been compiled for each series. Although the majority of critics prefer “Mad Men” to “LOST,” “LOST” has consistently garnered higher ratings than “Mad Men” on the Nielsen scale. Since a show with a more loyal fan base is more likely to win an Emmy, we can predict with some certainty that “LOST” is more likely than “Mad Men” to receive the Award this year.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

A) presumes, without providing justification, that critics’ preferences are rarely accurate predictors of  Emmy success
B) fails to distinguish between a show’s popularity and the loyalty of its fan base
C) fails to consider whether shows with fan bases less loyal than those of their competitors have won Emmy Awards in previous years
D) takes for granted that the opinions of a majority of critics have not influenced the Nielsen ratings of either show this year
E) fails to consider the possibility that a show with a more loyal fan base is not of superior quality

Think you have it? View the full explanation after the jump.

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Knewton students attend class from all over the world, but on Thursday, August 12 they can come to us!

If you’re in the NYC area later this summer, drop by our Student Homecoming Party at the Knewton office. Past, present, and future Knewton students are welcome.

Just RSVP below so we know you’re coming. We’d love to see you there!

Knewton Homecoming Party
Thursday, August 12, 7-9:30pm EDT
19 Union Square West, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10003

Andy Huang is a content developer at Knewton.

What do Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, and Knewton have in common?

Great places to work? Check.

Brilliant people? Check.

Cutting edge technology? Check.

Ultimate Frisbee? Check.

Played on college campuses across the country, Ultimate Frisbee has long been known as a sport for techies and nerds. And as those Frisbee toting techies and nerds graduate and move into high tech companies and startups, the sport of Ultimate Frisbee has migrated along with them. On any sunny afternoon in Silicon Valley, it is not uncommon to see teams representing the cornerstones of the internet economy fighting for pride over a game of Ultimate. Facebook, the relative newcomer to the game, seems to have taken the upper hand in these contests.
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Kyle Hausmann is a Content Developer at Knewton, where he helps students with their GMAT prep.

GMAT success depends not only on getting the right answer–but on getting it fast. Time management is key to conquering the GMAT: After all, test-takers only have an average of two minutes to spend on each question. Saving time isn’t just about answering the hard questions in less time–it’s also about answering easier questions faster. Every second you save is a second you can use on a hard problem. Taking only 30 seconds instead of 60 on one question means you’ll have 25% more time for a hard question later on. And believe it or not, there ARE easy ways to save time on many types of questions–without sacrificing accuracy.

Knewton’s course covers many strategies that will help you get the right answer, and faster. Our content developers and teachers are time-saving experts. Some of the tactics we rely on are commonly known (and too-commonly forgotten!), while others are much less widely utilized. The following is a list of Knewton’s top 10 great time management tactics. The list is a combination of the physical and the psychological, everything from test strategies to typing tips. All of these guidelines will help you bank time early, give you more time to concentrate on hard questions, and ultimately increase your score.

10.   Don’t untangle complicated language unless you have to. If you come upon a few lines in a reading passage that are all “tied up,” don’t waste time untying them. Just get the gist and keep reading. If a question asks about those lines, you can always go back and figure out what is going on then; but if no question deals with them, untangling would have been a waste of time. Like all the time savers in this list, the idea is to keep moving–and go back only if you absolutely have to.
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Igor Khayet

This post comes to us from Igor Khayet, President and Founder of My Resume Shop (www.myresumeshop.com).

One of the most important components of the business school application is a professional resume. What exactly is a business school application resume, and how is it different from a resume used in applying for internships and full-time jobs, you might ask?

The business school resume is neither a history of your work experience, nor a summary of your skills.  This type of resume should be thought of as a marketing tool or advertisement that is consistent with the rest of your application package.  Keep these three points in mind when creating your business school application resume:

Think Achievements- Your resume should be filled with achievements, not responsibilities. The admissions committee is interested in the impact you had on organizations. Don’t waste precious space listing your job duties. Use action verbs to show what you did, and quantify your impact with descriptions and numbers whenever possible. (more…)

All smiles after the first win of the year

Some offices have a golf culture; others football or even—gasp—tennis. I am proud to say that we Knewtonites recreate primarily via Ultimate Frisbee, kickball, and hoops. Basketball seems to be a particular passion of many folks in the office, which is fine by me. I captained my college basketball team (DIII, but still), and I have many more chances to be alpha on the court than I would, say, on a par 72 course.

We recently decided to take our b-ball skillz to the next level and joined a weekend warrior league. Here’s a scouting report detailing our squad, found in the other team’s locker room after the first game.

Pete Miron. Day job: CTO. Strengths: Shoulders. Weaknesses: His two daughters. Free throws can be an adventure, predilection for Delay of Game warnings. Character guy.

Will Fleiss. Off the court: SEO expert. Strengths: Ball-handling, wing play. Weaknesses: Better able to find tweaks in the Google algorithm than the big man on the break. Under-sized Kevin Durant-type.

Robbie Mitchell. Earns keep as: Marketing Analyst. Strengths: Hair, spunk, defense. Weaknesses: Beard increases risk of heat stroke, dehydration. Spark-plug off the bench, general asset to any endeavor.

Brian Fitzgerald. AKA: Vice President, Product Development. Strengths: Competitiveness. Weaknesses: Short shorts. Baron Davis-like scoring point guard: Jump shooter, lefty, low center of gravity — though facial hair growth is less formidable.

Nathan “Back” Lasche. Business card reads: Product Manager. Strengths: The new guy, stamina, fresh eyes (and legs). Weaknesses: Will take 4-6 weeks just to learn our offense (har). Conclusion: At this stage, in-shape former track star wins over out-of-shape former basketball role player.

Sven Nguyen-Northcott. Until liberated by the start of game: Software Developer. Strengths: personal freedoms, cajones. Weaknesses: onion-based body odour that reminds of Prague. Conclusion: Every team needs a guy that is not afraid to shoot, and, fortunately, some of his shots go in.

Nate Burke. Parents brag that he is a: Software Developer. Strengths: “Length,” esprit de corps. Weaknesses: Meta-guards man too far away from the basket. Another character guy.

Brett Naul. By day: Software Developer. Strengths: Jumper, long arms, hoops experience. Weakness: Mark Cuban apologist. Forms a formidable back court with Fitzgerald.

Josh Anish (me): By the light of day: Senior Editor. Strengths: General skill-set (aka “being 6’7”), intimidation during lay-up lines. Weaknesses: 60 (ok, 50) hours a week at desk and nights up with toddler have taken toll on organism.

I think that pretty accurately sums it up. Don’t kid yourself, we won our first game this week. Maybe next year LeBron will announce that he’s taking his talents to Knewton.

Here at Knewton, summer’s been flying by. Mid-July? How did that happen?Did you promise yourself that this would be the summer of SAT prep? And yet—College Board blue book still unopened and collecting dust? Don’t despair.

Enter Knewton’s SAT Boot Camp!

Who needs another sunburn? Instead, spend August in Boot Camp—and learn the best ways to prepare for the SAT, as well as the rigorous college admissions process ahead. Our intensive, month-long program is designed to ensure SAT success.

The best part about Boot Camp? It’s FREE for the first 300 families to enroll.

As Knewton CEO Jose Ferreira puts it, “the idea behind SAT Boot Camp is to allow parents to take a more scientific approach to helping their kids prep for the test and the college admissions process as a whole.” Instead of relying on horror stories and homespun test tips from other parents, learn insider strategies from Knewton SAT experts—all of whom have aced the test and gone on to attend top schools.

The month-long program will feature four different webinars, during which students and parents will learn how to:

• Develop a target list of colleges
• Develop a calendar of deadlines
• Budget for college costs
• Set a study schedule for the fall

In addition to receiving free college tips and guidance, students will take practice tests and participate in “SAT workouts” to help prepare them for the big test in a more productive, time-effective way.

That’s not all. All Boot Camp participants will also receive:

• A month of Knewton’s customized online SAT classes, streamed live
• Personalized, one-on-one attention from top SAT teachers in every class
• Weekly homework assignments supporting critical SAT concepts covered in class
• Weekly webinars with inside information from college admissions experts

Don’t delay—spots are limited! Sign up today at http://www.knewton.com/satbootcamp.

Jesse Sternberg is a Content Developer at Knewton, where he helps students with their GMAT prep.

The other day, I was telling an older family member that I worked for an online test-prep company when he proceeded to launch into a Bill Cosby-style tirade against “kids today with the hippin’ and the hoppin’ and the clickin’ and the bloggin’,” and the internet’s overall uselessness as an educational tool. Undaunted, I asked him why he felt this way.

“Well,” he said, “There is simply no substitute for reading the great works of literature. Reading books helps boost students’ attention spans and allows them to build the reading comprehension skills they need. Furthermore, students must be familiar with the canon of English and American literature if they want to be taken seriously as part of an intellectual community in college and beyond.”
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By: Christina Yu

1. Suddenly Everything “Counts” Again: Miss the cool random stuff you did in high school to round out your “extracurricular profile”? Competing in the long-jump, publishing stories, running the class multicultural society, and starring in West Side Story? MBA programs select for interesting students with diverse interests (during interview season, you’re expected to name a few clubs you plan to join to help make student life more “robust”). So, if you traded in your pom-poms for pumps and power-suits and your voice lessons for Vault guides, the MBA application is an excuse to revive your inner high-schooler (just a pinch). It can also be a great reason to jump-start your involvement with a non-profit or even start one of your own. For those who don’t have leadership experience at work, there are creative ways to demonstrate management potential in your community. See a social problem out there? Now is the time to fix it.

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