Get Your Applywise College Admission Counseling Coupon Code

Many of you will recall the ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Giveaway that I offered here at Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com not too long ago.

Parents of teens know that the competition for getting into college is tough. Today’s kids are talented, intelligent, and well rounded individuals. These teens are all competing for a limited number of spots at the nation’s top universities. In addition, the admissions process is tedious and time consuming. In a child’s already busy life, carving out time to learn and absorb the procedures is difficult. Some guidance is much appreciated.

Enter ApplyWise. Dr. Kat Cohen, the founder of ApplyWise realized that there was a need for a strong yet affordable college admissions counseling program that college bound kids could complete at their own pace on their own time. Applwise was created to address this need - you can read a full review of this excellent college admission counseling program here.

The good news for today is that I have an awesome coupon code to offer you! Now through Father’s Day- June 15 2008 the entire 12-pack ApplyWise college admission counseling program is on sale for only $99. Keep in mind that this package normally retails for $299 - so this is a $200 savings off the retail price. To take advantage of this offer, shop through this link: ApplyWise and use promo code MDFD in the shopping cart page.

Act fast - this offer disappears on June 15,2008!

Congratulations to Jane for winning the ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Giveaway!

For everyone else, visit ApplyWise.com to find out more about their College Admission Counseling offerings. This is a top notch program that will be beneficial to high school sophomores and juniors that are college bound.

Each lesson is tailored towards the success of the student in all areas from college applications, to SAT’s, to campus visits, and interviews. And the Dashboard program that is included is an excellent tool for both students and parents to keep the entire process organized.

To purchase a series of counseling sessions elsewhere would cost in the thousands. The ApplyWise program retails for only $299. And the founder of ApplyWise is Dr. Kat Cohen who is universally recognized for her work in the college admission counseling field.

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest and good luck in your collegiate endeavors!

Hasbro Introduces the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen

You know my affinity for LittlestPetShop.com. And I am not the only one. The adorable Littlest Pet Shop toys are favorites of girls everywhere.

Back in October 2007 I announced on this site the arrival of the Littlest Pet Shop VIPs. At the time these adorable stuffed animals (and their online counterparts) were only available in the New York City Metro area and at certain online retailers. Recently, Hasbro expanded their Littlest Pet Shop.com VIP line to include more interactive pets. And Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s are now available in stores across the country!

To celebrate this milestone - Hasbro has created some new and awesome Littlest Pet Shop toys, including the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen. My daughter and I have been playing with this pen all weekend and have been having a blast!

What exactly is a Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen?

I would describe the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen as a cross between a Tamogatchi, a writing instrument, and a handheld video game.

This toy is an actual pen. In fact, it comes packaged with a cute little writing tablet adorned with a few of the Littlest Pet Shop characters and logo, some little notecards for writing notes to friends, and a set of fun stickers for girls to decorate their notes with.

But far from the standard pens that you find at the office supply store, the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen has, obviously, a digital component. On the front of each pen is a screen that houses a little digital pet. When you first turn the pen on, you must enter the correct time. As the day progresses you need to feed, groom, and clean up after your pet.

• Feeding your Pet - You must feed your digital pet 3 times a day. Breakfast (between 6 am and 12 pm), lunch (between 12 pm and 4 pm) and dinner (between 4 pm and 8 pm). There is fork and spoon icon on the screen that you click to find foods to feed the pet. This keeps your pet happy and healthy enough to play games. At the beginning of each feeding time the pen will play a musical reminder. If you neglect to feed your pet and try to play one of the games on the pen, then the pet will appear on the screen and shake it’s head “no” and point to it’s mouth to indicate that it is hungry. Once your pet is fed then you can play a game.
• Grooming - Before you can play games you must also groom your pet. Click on the brush icon and your pet will be groomed and ready to play.
• Cleaning Up after your pet - Just like a real life pet, what goes into your digital pet will eventually find it’s way out (this gave me a good chuckle!). Click on the shovel and dirt icon to clean up the virtual mess.

Games

Each Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen comes with 6 games. Three are already unlocked and you can play these if you keep your pet groomed, fed, and clean. You can unlock the additional three games by feeding your pet three meals a day at the correct times.

The first three games on the pen I tried are bowling, Fish Toss, and Match the Patterns. These are fun and easy for older kids, but challenging to younger ones. If you score a certain amount of points on each game you will unlock an additional treat for your pet to eat.

Overall the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen is a cute novelty toy that is a nice addition to a Littlest Pet Shop collection.
There are 3 varieties to choose from and they are available at Amazon.com and at Hasbro Toy Shop online.

Time is running out to enter the ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Giveaway. Midnight tonight is the deadline.

So remember, if you or someone you know has a high school sophomore or junior in the house they can enter to win this fabulous College Admission Counseling package for free!

To enter go to this post: Win an ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Program! and leave a comment. Just say something simple like “I’d love to win this!”. That’s it! Easy. But hurry the contest ends today.

If your college age child is a fan of writing contests - or just a fan of prizes they may want to check out the Modern Love - College Essay Contest that is being hosted by the New York Times.

In 1,500 to 2,000 words wants to know about the current state of love and relationships from a college student’s perspective. After all, modern day love isn’t what it used to be. The internet and social networking has forever changed the meaning of a “blind date”.

Meg at Fairfield County Child sent this tidbit my way. (Thanks Meg! )While Meg’s site focuses Southern Connecticut, her excellent parenting tips - like this one are universally useful.

What parent wouldn’t beam with pride if their child won one of the New York Times writing contests? And I did mention prizes, didn’t I? The winner of the Modern Love writing contest will receive $1,000 and they will also be featured on mtvU.

Of course, the deadline is quick approaching - March 31, 2008 to be exact. The winning essay will be published in a special Modern Love section of the New York Times on May 4, 2008 and also online. I am looking forward to reading about how this generation of teens perceive the new dating scene.