Happy Friday and happy Fourth of July Weekend! Here’s our weekly roundup of grad school news and tips:

Leverage International Roots for U.S. Grad School Applications (U.S. News Education)

Emphasizing cultural differences is a natural way prospective international graduate students can craft unique applications.

What is an Online Graduate Class Like? (About.com Graduate School)

Online classes hold some similarities with traditional on-ground courses, but there are also many differences.

6 Important Things Nobody Tells You About Grad School (Cracked)

If you’re considering or already in postgrad work, take some helpful advice from someone who already has two and a half postgraduate degrees under his belt.

Policing Your Productivity: 7 Tools to Help You Focus (Entrepreneur)

Are you easily distracted by social media and entertainment sites? Keep your focus, especially when it’s time to study, with these helpful programs.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you’ve been reading in the comments or tweet @ManhattanPrep

Can I use POWERPREP on a Mac?  This is one of the questions most frequently asked by students calling us here at Manhattan Prep.

Well, I’m happy to say that my answer to this question is now a resounding, YES!  The long awaited introduction of ETS POWERPREP software for Mac users is here!  As of July 2013, ETS offers a Mac-compatible version of their terrific practice test software.  Mac-loving students will no longer have to worry about borrowing their roommate’s cousin’s boyfriend’s PC to take their practice GRE.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the software, POWERPREP is free practice exam available directly from ETS, the administrators of the GRE.  POWERPREP is an excellent resource, one that we recommend all of our students use.  The software includes two computer-based tests, sample Analytical Writing topics, scored sample essays and reader commentary, test-taking strategies, a math review, and test tutorials. We recommend that students save at least one POWERPEP II test until fairly close to their real exam to get a nearly exact practice run of what will happen on test day.

So, rejoice, Mac-users, POWERPREP for Mac is now available.

Some song writers really like their vocab! While you probably won’t pick up a lot of GRE words listening to Justin Beiber, here are just a couple suggestions where you might actually enjoy picking up some new vocab.

1. Tidal, Fiona Apple. A 90s classic, if you were a teenage girl in the 90s. Pop in a copy of Tidal on your drive to work and you’ll be exposed to words such as undulate, appeasing, embers, carrion, divination, acquaint, resounded, coercion, inversion, stifled, deviant, sullen, oblivion, cunning, condescend, abound, enrapture, wary, reverence, endeared, discern, oblige, covet, demeanor, contusion, adagio, intrusion, and endeavor.

2.  HMS Pinafore, Gilbert and Sullivan. Okay, seriously, any Gilbert and Sullivan you can get yourself to enjoy is going to fill you with vocab words. This show alone has got saucy, frivolous, depraved, resigned, melodious, consolation, menial, pine, gallant, eloquence, pennant, sprightly, articled, tar, dictatorial, furl, scorn, domineering, tyrant, protrude, audacious, anguish, ignoble I didn’t even make it through half of the songs. And this might be the lightest on vocab of all the Gilbert and Sullivan choices.

3. Black on Both Sides, Mos Def. If you’re a rap fan, this is a fantastic album that you probably already have in your collection. If not, you might check it out if you want the chance to pick up words such as armament, sentiment, brandish, dispossessed, rivalry, saturated, infatuate, glisten, nemesis, scrutinize, staccato, vibrantly, apparition, odyssey, treacherous, testament, beneficent, manifest, reverence, temperament, firmaments, ubiquitous, ephemera, and flagrant, to name just a few.
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