Articles by: Shelby Joe

2018 National Merit Semifinalists in Houston

2018 National Merit Semifinalists in Houston

SAT & ACT, Schools September 20, 2017 at 2:55 pm

  National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the semifinalists in their 63rd National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists are current high school seniors who took the PSAT in October of 2016 and scored among the top 1% in their respective states. (This list is for the Class of 2018. ForRead More

2017 National Merit Scholarship Winners in Houston

2017 National Merit Scholarship Winners in Houston

SAT & ACT May 24, 2017 at 3:03 pm

National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the Scholarship Winners in their 62nd National Merit Scholarship Program, which is arguably one of the most prestigious academic high school competitions in the United States. Scholarship Winners are current high school seniors who took the PSAT in October of 2015. In addition to theRead More

What to Do in Houston in 3 Days

What to Do in Houston in 3 Days

Travel & Culture February 17, 2017 at 10:27 am

Let me start by telling you about the Houston psyche. We’re proud of our city but not boastful. We know that we don’t have snow-capped mountains or crystal blue oceans, but we do know that this swamp is still a great place to live. According to U-Haul, Houston has placedRead More

What to Do in Houston in 3 Days – A Local’s Guide for Super Bowl Visitors

What to Do in Houston in 3 Days – A Local’s Guide for Super Bowl Visitors

Travel & Culture January 22, 2017 at 3:18 pm

Houstonians like me are excited to welcome you to the nation’s fourth largest city, our home, for Super Bowl 51. I have lived and traveled extensively throughout the US, Asia and Europe, but am proud to call Houston my home and excited to show it off to you. (Space Shuttle Endeavor andRead More

2017 National Merit Semifinalists in Houston

2017 National Merit Semifinalists in Houston

SAT & ACT, Schools September 15, 2016 at 6:13 pm

  National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the semifinalists in their 62nd National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists are current high school seniors who took the PSAT in October of 2015. To win the coveted “Semifinalist” designation, students must score in the top 1% of all students in the state.Read More

From Kirksey Architecture

Houston Private School Tuition Surpasses $19,000

Private Schools September 6, 2016 at 1:13 pm

The average private school in Houston now costs $19,079 per year regardless of grade. This amount represents a $700 hike or a 3.8% increase from last year when tuition averaged $18,380. (Photo caption – Emery Weiner school provides financial aid to nearly 40% of students) High schools topping out atRead More

edTech Houston Launches to Promote Education Technology

edTech Houston Launches to Promote Education Technology

Education News September 1, 2016 at 3:28 pm

Shelby Joe, publisher of Thesis and Co-Founder of Piqosity.com, announced the launch of edTech Houston today. edTech Houston is a group for education entrepreneurs and educators looking to implement technology into their classrooms and curriculums. As an edtech entrepreneur, Joe was looking for a supportive community but was surprised to findRead More

Prevent Summer Slide with these Tips

Prevent Summer Slide with these Tips

Resources for Parents June 9, 2016 at 5:27 pm

School’s out but that doesn’t mean learning has to stop; summer is an opportunity. Students who allow their brains to idle over summer risk a knowledge loss that leads to cumulative deficits year over year. Conversely, students who continue learning over the summer earn higher test scores and place intoRead More

Cheap Flights to Europe for Thanksgiving and Spring Break

Cheap Flights to Europe for Thanksgiving and Spring Break

Travel & Culture June 8, 2016 at 11:11 am

Attention parents, Europe is on sale from the mid $400s for travel between September 2016 and March 2017. Valid travel periods include Thanksgiving vacation (11/21 – 11/25) and Spring Break (March 13 – 17). Example fares from Houston for travel during Thanksgiving include: Berlin for $512 Frankfurt for $470 Munich forRead More

No Singing at 9/11 Memorial – Lesson is to Respect Authority?

No Singing at 9/11 Memorial – Lesson is to Respect Authority?

Education News April 27, 2016 at 3:42 pm

Middle School students from western North Carolina weren’t allowed to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan last week. Security guards told them that they weren’t allowed to but were not able to explain the reasoning. The memorial’s policy is that any public performersRead More

Celebrate Chinese New Year with these Monkey Questions for the New SAT

Celebrate Chinese New Year with these Monkey Questions for the New SAT

Standardized Tests February 8, 2016 at 6:44 pm

Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebration, also referred to as Spring Festival. This year, the two-week holiday to mark the year of the Monkey lasts from February 8 through February 22 with the celebration of the Lantern Festival. If you want to wish someone a happyRead More

Tips for Texas College Application Essays and Beyond

Tips for Texas College Application Essays and Beyond

Applying to Colleges, College August 17, 2015 at 10:41 am

It’s back to school! But for entering seniors, it’s an even more (exciting?) time as college applications are looming on the horizon. There are two, primary “common applications” which your Texas resident child should be concerned with – ApplyTexas for most Texas colleges and the Common Application for most every otherRead More

UNT Denton; image from UNT website

Most Researched Schools on Houston School Survey

Best of the Web, Schools April 16, 2015 at 5:08 pm

In the one year since its launch, over 70,000 inquisitive users have visited HoustonSchoolSurvey.com. A publication of Rice-village academic consulting firm General Academic, Houston School Survey provides expert analysis, research, school profiles, and reader-submitted reviews on more than 80 private and select public schools in the greater Houston area. Top 10Read More

Colin Powell to Speak at Rice University Commencement

Colin Powell to Speak at Rice University Commencement

Education News March 19, 2015 at 3:20 pm

Former US Secretary of State and four-star Army general Colin Powell will speak at Rice University’s commencement address on Saturday, May 16th at 8:30am. “We are deeply honored to have such a respected national leader and extraordinary public servant as our commencement speaker,” Rice President David Leebron said. “We choseRead More

Rice Reconsiders Policy on Advanced Placement (AP) Credits

Rice Reconsiders Policy on Advanced Placement (AP) Credits

College, Standardized Tests December 9, 2014 at 2:01 pm

Rice University’s Faculty Senate is reconsidering what type of credit, if any, to give to matriculating students who have scored highly on Advanced Placement Tests. In particular, the faculty is concerned that students entering Rice with more than 20 credit hours (or essentially 2 semesters) are spending significantly less timeRead More

Checklist for Preparing for Midterm Exams

Checklist for Preparing for Midterm Exams

Recommendations, Resources for Parents, Study Skills December 9, 2014 at 10:19 am

Winter break is almost here! Even if the weather doesn’t support this notion (currently 65° at General Academic’s office), students everywhere are excited about the coming break. They’d be even more excited if midterm exams didn’t come first. Having helped students prepare for midterms for nearly eleven years, we atRead More