1) Six Pairs of Jeans – Make four of them in a style you know and love, then toss in three new cuts or colors: skinny? high-waisted? cuffed? There are plenty of new looks to experiment with.

2) The Tried and True – Pare your collection of essentials and classics down to a manageable number. Our complete packing list includes Ts, tanks, hoodies, button-down shirts, sweaters, skirts, flat shoes, sandals, sneakers, simple and reliable jewelry.

3) Get Ready for the Cold – A couple of jackets for the first touch of fall, and then two heavier coats – one in plaid, perhaps?

4) Be Prepared to Dress Up – A few cute dresses, some for day, some for night (and one must be your perfect little black dress).

5) A Handful of Great Accessories – Fringy scarves, puffy boots, a big bag, a bold necklaces, tights of many hues, a vest or two are good for starters.

6) Nice Pants and Cute Tops – One pair of dress pants and a pair of cute tops for them should be on your must-have list.

7) Be Comfy, But Not Tacky – Have some soft and slouchy (but cute) stuff for the dorm, from sweats to robes to PJs to, yes, even underwear.

For more details about the trends, and lots of suggestions on where to find them, read the story, or go to Shopperati’s complete back-to-school guide.

1. Some schools take your highest GMAT score; some average scores. Be prepared whenever you take the test!

2. Some business schools will waive application fees for students with high GMAT scores.

3. The average GMAT score at the top 10 schools, according to the 1997 US News and World Report business school survey, was over 665.

4. The survey also reveals that graduates of higher-ranked business schools usually get the highest starting salaries.

5. The GMAT is now offered only as a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT).

6. The earlier you apply, the better your chances of acceptance at many schools.

7. With the CAT, you’ll get your scores the same day that you take the test.

8. On the GMAT CAT, you’ll type two essays — one analyzing an issue and one analyzing an argument.

9. The GMAT tests both your knowledge of content (math/grammar) and test-taking skills.

10. You can take the CAT during regular business hours, up to 6 days a week, 3 weeks per month. There is a waiting period before you can retake the test.

For more information, visit Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.

Source: Kaplan, Inc.

Choosing your courses is one of your first—and probably most important—tasks as you head off to college. It will affect every aspect of your academic and social life while you’re at school.  Here are some guiding principles to keep in mind as you plan your semester from Kaptest.com:

The Course Catalog is Your Friend — Although about as exciting as the phone book, your school’s course catalog is your roadmap to a successful first semester. The typical course catalog provides information on core requirements and major requirements, lists courses, course descriptions, professors, and meeting times. Within the department listings, courses are probably numbered according to difficulty, beginning with introductory-level courses and prerequisites and ending with more advanced seminars or individual readings. Pore through the course catalog and mark off possibilities.

Use Your Academic Advisor — Most colleges assign you a freshman academic advisor, probably a faculty member chosen randomly, or based on the prospective major you put on your application. By your sophomore year, as your interests develop and you get to know faculty members, you’ll probably get to choose your advisor. But for now, it’s hit or miss. Take the initial steps—be aggressive, make appointments, and ask questions. If your advisor isn’t helpful, your academic dean, other freshmen, and older students might be.

Cut to the Core — Core requirements typically mandate that you take one or more courses in each of several subjects or areas, such as philosophy, the fine arts, the social sciences, mathematics, and the laboratory sciences. Whatever your situation, get the darn things out of the way early. You don’t want to be stuck taking three science classes in your final semester or dealing with a foreign language requirement when you’d rather be deciding on or taking classes for your major. Take the requirements for what they’re meant to be: An opportunity to experiment, to add breadth to your education, and to take courses that just might spark your interest.

Take placement exams and find out if Advanced Placement credit can get you out of a particular requirement. Maybe the five years of swimming lessons your mom railroaded you into can spare you a term of ballroom dancing to meet your gym requirement.

Be the Master of Your Schedule — As a general rule, you don’t want to overload your schedule with either too many humanities classes or too many math and science classes. Literature, history, and humanities-type classes tend to lay the reading and papers on thick, while science, math, or econ professors may bombard you with time-consuming and intensive weekly problem sets. Five problem sets due in one week versus five papers—it’s hard to decide which is worse. Save yourself the anguish of finding out by keeping your schedule fairly balanced, both in terms of subject areas and course requirements.

Consider Your Personality and Habits — Don’t schedule an 8:00 a.m. biology lab if you know you never see the light of day until 10:00 a.m. Also, consider the social life. An 8:30 p.m. Thursday philosophy class may not be so attractive if all your friends generally go out Thursday nights. No, we’re not saying put your social schedule ahead of your academic one. We’re just being realistic. If the temptation to skip is even moderate, chances are you’ll skip. This could present big problems later on. You know yourself best. Schedule accordingly.

Experiment — College, especially your first year, is a time to experiment. If your school has a pass/fail option, take advantage of it to explore courses you’ve had no exposure to. But whatever you do, if something in the course catalog catches your eye, don’t avoid it simply because you know little about the subject. That random course in cultural anthropology could turn into one of the best classes you ever take. It could even turn into your major.

For more information, go to Kaptest.com.

Source: Kaplan, Inc.

Related lists:

• Top 10 best value public colleges for 2009
• Top 10 best value private colleges for 2009
• Top Public Colleges
• Top college entrepreneurship programs
• U.S. News best colleges
• 10 things you should know about the GMAT CAT
• How to evaluate colleges

Between all the unsolicited mail you’re getting from Noidea U., college fairs, and everyone you know offering their opinions, how do you evaluate which school would be best for you? Kaptest.com offers these 10 guidelines to follow to avoid common pitfalls and make the right decision:

10. Pay little (if any) attention to school rankings. There are as many ranked lists of colleges out there as there are colleges themselves. You shouldn’t put much credence in these — they’re way too subjective to give you any valuable insight into a particular college or university. And they change drastically year by year.

9. Also, ignore the student/faculty ratio. Trust —it’s not going to matter whether there are 4 or 400 students in your biology lecture class. Generally, the student/faculty ratio reported by campuses is meaningless; it’s an average: there are going to be far more students in an intro level lecture than in, say, a freshman writing workshop. (But do pay attention to what percentage of classes are taught by grad students — if it’s high, be wary).

8. Some stats are worth noting. Namely, you’ll want to know a school’s freshman year retention rate (should be 93% or better) and the alumni giving rate (should be around 60%). These both reflect how students feel about the school — whether they like it enough to stay, and then whether they remember it fondly enough to give money back in the future. If you’re applying for financial aid, check the average percentage of demonstrated need met — it will tell you more than just the dollar amount of the average aid package.

7. Comfort matters. This is where you will be living for at least 4 years. Is the food edible? Does the school guarantee housing? How are the dorms? Are the bathrooms clean? If you don’t think you’d be able to live there, you probably shouldn’t try. This is why campus visits are so important.

6. Ask about other colleges. This is a question for an admissions officer. You should ask, “What other colleges would I be interested in?” It’s not necessarily something to bring up at an admissions interview, but on a standard campus visit, it’s a good way to gauge the type of school this college sees itself as being, as well as a good way to expand your list of target schools.

5. Check campus crime statistics. New federal legislation requires colleges to produce and report campus crime stats. Try to read between the lines on this one — if you are in love with a school that has a “high” crime rate, do some investigating — that rate could be attributed to nothing more than a rash of bike thefts. Don’t hesitate to contact campus security on your own to discuss this.

4. Talk to alumni from your high school. Or contact someone from your high school who’s currently attending a particular college or university. Asking just any student at a college their opinion of the school can be helpful, but it doesn’t offer the same insight as would someone who comes from the same town, same school, etc.

3. How wired is the campus? This goes beyond the number of computers in the school’s computer lab. Is there a T1 connection in all dorm rooms?

2. Check that price again. A state school at first glance may seem a fraction of the cost of a private college or university. But do students at state schools generally graduate in four years? As a rule, not many do. Check that state school’s four-year graduation rate before choosing it over a private school for cost reasons.

1. Identify the 3 most important attributes of the ideal school. You should spend time thinking about the “must-haves” of a college. For some, location is an important factor. For others, size (big or small) is a consideration. Some students don’t mind if their school doesn’t focus on athletics if students seem to have a strong interest in intramurals.

For more information, go to www.kaptest.com.

Source: Kaplan, Inc.

Related lists:

• Top 10 best value public colleges for 2009
• Top 10 best value private colleges for 2009
• Top Public Colleges
• Top college entrepreneurship programs
• U.S. News best colleges
• 10 things you should know about the GMAT CAT
• How to choose college courses

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The list is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990. For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.

2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.

3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.

4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.

5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.

6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.

7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”

9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.

10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.

For the complete list, go to the Beloit College web site.

Source: Beloit College

With the fall term about to start, college students are looking for the perfect car for parents to “subsidize” — or to drive off to college along with parents’ furniture, computer and life savings. And while it doesn’t take an economics major to find a great car for college — it does take a little research to find one with high marks for reliability, fuel economy, safety and of course, a reasonable price. TheCarConnection.com’s editors have studied 2008 models available for sale in the U.S., from crash-test scores to gas mileage. Of all the new cars driven and researched by TheCarConnection.com’s editors, these eight stand out:

• Ford Focus– The Ford Focus is a roomy entry-level car-and a music lover’s dream thanks to its SYNC system, a voice-activated, hands-free communications and entertainment interface that links the car to all manner of phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and portable storage devices.
• Honda Fit — The 2008 Honda Fit is a subcompact five-door hatchback with entertaining road manners and frugal fuel economy. The Fit gets 34 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city, and does it with a light touch in its controls and a roomy interior with a folding “Magic Seat” that opens a cargo area big enough for a standard-sized bicycle.
• Hyundai Elantra — The 2008 Hyundai Elantra is a recent winner of a compact-car comparison from Consumer Reports. Fuel economy is as good as 25/33 mpg. The interior is outfitted with power windows, power heated rearview mirrors, power door
  locks, remote keyless entry, and a tilt steering wheel. Options include a Bluetooth hands-free system, leather, a power sunroof and a 220-watt premium audio system with an iPod jack.
• Mitsubishi Lancer x — The Lancer is Mitsubishi’s smallest sedan and lowest-priced car in the U.S. lineup. Base versions have power windows and a CD sound system, but upscale versions can be outfitted with Bluetooth, automatic climate control, a 650-watt Rockford-Fosgate sound system, and a navigation system that includes a 30-gigabyte hard-drive music server.
• Pontiac Vibe — The five-door Vibe returns with a new body style, a pair of engines and all-wheel drive as an option. Pick from a 158-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder or stick with the base 1.8-liter four, making 132 horsepower. Both can be teamed to a manual or automatic transmission. Fuel efficiency is good and the rear seats fold flat to expand the cargo area. A 320-watt Monsoon sound system is among the options.
• Saturn Astra — The new 2008 Astra is a European-bred car from GM’s Saturn brand. It comes in two flavors — two-door hatchback and four-door hatchback. The sweet-revving four-cylinder teams well with a five-speed manual that offers a light-touch clutch; there’s a four-speed automatic offered as well. The Astra has features not often found at this price point, like steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and express-up power windows.
• Scion xB — The 2008 Scion xB is the second generation of the popular four-door hatchback sold by Toyota’s youth-oriented brand. Fuel economy is 22/28 mpg. There’s room for four or cargo room to move most of a dorm room in one trip (minus the flat-screen TV and MicroFridge).
• Suzuki SX4 Sport — The SX4 Sport is a small crossover vehicle with a wagon body, an upscale interior and plenty of driving fun. The government rates the SX4 Sport at 21/28 mpg with the manual transmission. Six airbags are standard, as are anti-lock brakes and a seven-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

For more details on finding the right new car for college, go to TheCarConnection.com.

Source: TheCarConnection.com

Ask colleges about their celebrated feuds with other colleges and they brush them off as irrelevant in an age of national unity, writes Contributing Editor Jay Mathews of Newsweek. In academia, such seeming hatreds are no longer fashionable. But intense competition between high-quality institutions — what most people would call rivalry — still has importance in college admissions, Mathews writes in an excerpt of the Newsweek-Kaplan “How to Get Into College Guide” (on newsstands Monday, Aug. 11). These rivals (OK, pick a friendlier word: counterparts?) are continually trying to differentiate themselves for applicants who wonder which of similar, elite schools might be best.

We picked 11 pairs and one trio of colleges whose strengths are so great and resemblances so compelling that careful comparison is necessary to sort out which work best for which applicants.

The top 12 rivalries at U.S. colleges:

• Old Ivies: Harvard vs. Yale
• Science Magnets: Caltech vs. MIT
• Bay Area Giants: UC Berkeley vs. Stanford
• Big Hoosiers: Indiana vs. Purdue
• American Warriors: Annapolis vs. West Point
• Midwest Stars: Michigan vs. Ohio  State
• For Women Only: Smith vs. Wellesley
• Historically Black: Howard vs. Morehouse and Spelman
• Social Activists: Guilford vs. Oberlin
• Cinematic Enclaves: NYU Tisch vs. USC Film School
• Catholic Powers: Boston College vs. Notre Dame
• Consortium Jewels: Amherst vs. Pomona

For more, go to Newsweek’s 25 Hot Rivalries.

Source: Newsweek

Here are six simple steps you can take to help your college-age child learn and maintain responsible money habits:

1. Figure out what spending you can control, and what you can’t. Before leaving for school, sit down with your student and add up the large, fixed expenses you’ll need to cover – like tuition and books – and then agree on a total budget to cover the rest. If your student is contributing to that total, be clear on where that money will come from: savings from a summer job, or from part-time work at school.

2. Agree on where you can save money on the largest, discretionary expenses. These typically include your choices for housing and food.

3. Set budgets and share what you’ve learned. Mint automatically calculates budgets, and can show you what others spend on gas, groceries, restaurants, movies and music. Use this information to quickly settle any arguments on what makes for a reasonable budget! Use this conversation to pass along your best money-stretching tips: where you find and use coupons, where you choose to shop, even favorite family recipes that make your grocery dollar go farther.

4. Share the savings. Once you’ve agreed on ways to tighten your belt, offer to share some of those savings with your now frugal student.

5. Choose the right credit card. It’s not inevitable that sending your child off to college with a credit card means trouble. On the contrary, they’ll be better able to handle any emergencies. Used wisely, credit cards can help build a credit history. When your child demonstrates that they can pay off their balance each month, rewards cards become a good option. The best card is one that gives them things you’d otherwise be paying for – like miles for flights home – or 1-3% cash back on everything they buy.

6. Stay on top of spending.

For more information, view this video from Mint.com.

Source: PR Newswire

Here’s Windmeyer’s top 20 in alphabetical order:

• American University
• Duke University
• Indiana University
• New York University
• Oberlin College
• Ohio State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Princeton University
• Stanford University
• Tufts University
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, Santa Cruz
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• University of Michigan
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• University of Oregon
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Puget Sound
• University of Southern California