MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Remember, remember the 4th of December... for it shall be a day full of ice-skating, pizza, friends, and fun! The Official Abbey Road 2010 Alumni Reunion Event will kick off at 3:30pm at The Pond at Bryant Park and we really, really hope that you can join us!
Abbey Road’s summer staff and faculty cordially invite you to join us for ice skating and refreshments, where you can mingle with all your summer friends and staff in our private party room! After skating in Bryant Park, we will host a sit-down pizza dinner! This is a private event hosted by Abbey Road so make sure you R.S.V.P by calling 1-888-462-2239 or email info@goabbeyroad.com to confirm your attendance! Please indicate how many people will be coming from your family. R.S.V.P's must be received by November 22nd to allow adequate time for party planning.

Saturday, December 4th, 2010
The Pond at Bryant Park
41 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, (212) 661-6640
3:30pm - 5:30pm - Ice Skating in Bryant Park!
6:00pm - 7:30pm - Sit-down Pizza Dinner!

Students may participate in both events or R.S.V.P for Bryant Park exclusively. For more information and a preview of the venue visit: http://www.thepondatbryantpark.com/

ALSO...as if this event isn't exciting enough...the Official Winners of the 2010 Alumni Photo Contest will be announced at the Alumni Reunion along with prizes! We hope to see you all there! Can't wait! Cheers!

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS WORKSHOPS IN NYC!

Lead by Harvard graduate and professional College Counselor Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Abbey Road’s intensive College Admissions Prep Workshops are designed to help sophomores and juniors jump start the common application process and prepare seniors for important on-campus interviews. Generally exclusive to Abbey Road College Prep Alumni, this December 4th and 5th Abbey Road welcomes anyone interested in perfecting their college applications to take advantage of these exciting free events. RSVP is required. Interested families are encouraged to call Abbey Road immediately to inquire as to workshop availability.

Tell Me About Yourself: Cracking The College Interview
Date: Saturday December 4th, 2010
Time: 12:00 – 2:00pm
Location: Midtown Manhattan (address furnished upon RSVP)
Workshop Description: Most selective colleges require an interview in addition to the application, and it's important to prepare thoroughly and thoughtfully for this final dimension of the admissions process. Students in this course will discuss the purpose and spirit of the college interview and how to prepare for a successful conversation. In particular, this seminar will focus on how students can turn significant life experiences into engaging anecdotes that illustrate broader points about their character, their goals, and their aspirations. This seminar will feature mock interviews and extensive in-class participation.

The College Essay: How Do I Tell My Story?
Date: Sunday December 5th, 2010
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: Midtown Manhattan (address furnished upon RSVP)
Workshop Description: The Common Application asks students to evaluate a significant experience, risk they've taken, or challenge they've faced and its impact on their lives. This seminar will help students approach the college essay and discover how to translate significant life experiences into strong essays that resonate with admissions officers. Students will discuss best practices for turning their experiences into thoughtful, memorable, high-impact essays that will contribute a meaningful dimension to their college applications. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors with college still on the horizon, and it is even better suited to seniors in the throes of the college admission process. During this lecture style course, College interview questions will also be discussed in depth.

2010 ALUMNI REUNION EVENT IN NYC!

Details forthcoming! Can't Wait!

ROCK THE VOTE! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

The end is nigh!... the end of the 2010 Abbey Road Summer Alumni Photo Contest, that is! After receiving well over 200 submissions from our incredibly talented 2010 alums, we have managed to narrow down all of the photos to a very select twenty, with five images in each of the four categories.  Needless to say, this was a very difficult process- to start with so many amazing photos and boil it all down to this final round.  Now that we have made it this far in the contest, we turn to you to decide the winners of each category! Who will pluck from the plethora of prizes and harvest the grains of glory?  The choice is yours!  To cast your vote, simply look to the right and click on the name + number of the photo in each category that you think should win!  It's that easy!  We know making a selection in each category can be a very difficult process but the polls are only open for 10 days!  The polls will officially close on Tuesday, November 9th, so spread the word and rock the vote!  Good luck and thank you so much to all of the students who submitted their amazing photographs from this past summer!

BEST ACTION/CANDID SHOT:

1. Sunny Streets

2. Piggyback

3. Sunset Stroll

4. Hulkmania

5. The Pisa Hop

BEST GROUP SHOT: 

1. Paris Gals

2. Future's Too Bright - Girls in Shades

3. Kickin' it at the Acropolis

4. Urbanites, Preparing

5. Camouflage

BEST SCENIC SHOT: 

1. Monaco Panorama

2. Sepia Paris

3. French Seascape

4. Cinque Terre

5. French Port

BEST IN SHOW: 

1. Probably the Cutest Block Ever

2. AIX 4 EVA!

3. French Night Light

4. Heart Cloud

5. Firenze Afternoon

2010 ALUMNI PHOTO CONTEST IS ON!!!

Hey there Abbey Road Alumni! This year's fall photo contest is in full swing, so take a break from the books and enjoy reliving this summer's most memorable moments! Upload your photos to the 2010 Summer Photo Contest Event Album to be considered for the chance to win awesome prizes including... 100$ gift certificates to Amazon, Apple and others, iPod shuffles, Abbey Road Gear and much much more! Visit the new and improved Abbey Road Alumni Webpage to see a preview of this year's contest front-runners and take a peek at last year's finalists: http://www.goabbeyroad.com/abbey-road-summer-programs/alumni.shtml

We know you are super excited, and so are we! So, you eager beavers, HERE IS HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Visit the Abbey Road Facebook Fan page and click the link on the wall to get to the 2010 Alumni Photo Contest.  Or you can go directly to the event page by clicking HERE.  Upload your fabulous photos directly to the event fall wall no later than Monday, October 18th. Once everyone’s photos have been uploaded, the Abbey Road Summer Staff will go through and narrow down the competition. Then, you and your fellow Abbey Roaders will get to Rock the Vote on the Abbey Road Blog! Vote for your favorite pics from among the finalists and decide this year’s winners! Previous winning photos were mailed a slew of prizes,and made appearances on the Abbey Road website, blog, and even in the Abbey Road Brochure!

HERE IS HOW TO GET STARTED:

Look back over those hundreds of photos you probably took this summer. As you relish in all the amazing memories they recall, pull out your favorite images keeping in mind the following 5 categories:

Scenic/Artistic- Scenic photos taken from your amazing daytrips, photos from around town or even artistic photos assigned to you in class.

Candid Photos- Photos of you and your friends in action in and around the city. Award-winning candids can be anything from laughing over a gelato to shouting out over a bad World Cup call. Candids capture life’s spontaneous moments and are a great way to share the magic of daily life with Abbey Road.

Group Shots- Standard pictures of you and your friends- may the best “mug” win!

Experiential Learning- Abbey Road defines itself through its experiential learning process- getting you out of a standard classroom environment and into the larger community. Think about all of the incredible things you learned this summer- if you can find a picture of it, we want to see it!

Remember, photos may be uploaded until October 18th, so don’t delay, upload today!

If you have any questions about contest rules please contact Emily@goabbeyroad.com

JOIN US FOR WEEKEND BRUNCH THIS FALL!

Abbey Road hosts frequent weekend brunches throughout the country as a way for fine folks to learn about our 2011 summer enrichment programs in a relaxed and intimate setting.  We will be hosting a series of weekend brunches and afternoon tea information sessions in cities all over these fine states so be sure to check the website (www.goabbeyroad.com) , email us (info@goabbeyroad.com), or give us a ring (888 462 2239) to see when we'll be swinging through your city!  This weekend (September 25th) we will be hosting brunch in Houston and afternoon tea in Los Angeles and next weekend (October 2nd) we'll be in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco!  We can't wait to meet everyone and chat about our amazing summer programs over coffee, tea and fresh pastries!  We will post all future information sessions on this here blog to help spread the word.

THE OFFICIAL ABBEY ROAD 2010 SUMMER PHOTO CONTEST!!!

THE OFFICIAL ABBEY ROAD 2K10 SUMMER PHOTO CONTEST (ARSPC2K10) is coming up super soon so get those pictures ready!  Here at Abbey Road, we know that it is quite literally impossible for our students to emerge from an Abbey Road Summer Abroad Program without a proverbial arsenal of incredible photographs documenting their summer experience!  It would be a crying shame to keep those masterpieces hidden away in the darkest, cob-webbed crevices of your hard drive and not share some of your choice shots with the world.  But what could be better than sharing your fantastic photos for all to admire?  Being rewarded for your artistic talents by sharing your fantastic photos for all to admire.  Enter ARSPC2K10.  Across several categories, winners shall be showered with praise and awesome prizes such as gift cards to Apple, Amazon, etc.   More information coming very soon!

ONLY NINE MONTHS 'TIL SUMMER!

We hope that everyone is transitioning from a wonderful summer into a wonderful fall semester! While we miss all of our students dearly and are jumping out of our socks waiting for next summer's programs to begin, we are as busy as little bumble bees laying the groundwork for 2011! So while you're hitting the books this semester, we too will be hard at work preparing for next year and looking for ways to make our programs even better!  Work hard and kick this year in the butt!  Thanks again to everyone who participated in our 2010 programs and made it a summer for the history books!  We absolutely love what we do and couldn't do it without you!  We hope that you are enjoying being back in school, seeing your friends, and bragging non-stop about your extraordinary summer experience with Abbey Road!

THANKS FOR MAKING THIS SUMMER RADICALLY RAD!!!

As the summer comes to a triumphant close and slips pleasantly into autumn, let us all glance back on yet another glorious season of Abbey Road Programs.  This year we saw a whopping 30% increase in our student body and each program was packed to the brim with an amazing and diverse body of students from all over the planet, eager to learn about, experience, and be fully immersed into cultures other than their own. To all the students, parents, and staff involved in this past summer, we humbly and enthusiastically thank you for making this summer extraordinary and unlike any other.  We would also like to give a special shout-out to everyone involved in our newest program, our College Prep program, which proved to be a positively rip-roaring success.

Students of 2010, we know that it is virtually impossible that you made it through your summer experience without snapping oodles of phenomenal photos.  Every year, we hold a photo contest across a set of several categories with awesome prizes ranging from $100-$50 gift cards to Amazon, iTunes, etc.  More info to come shortly but keep it in mind!  We will have plenty of our own photos up on this here blog ASAP!  Stayed tuned for all the goodness that was summer 2010!  And, again...

NEW SITE LAUNCHED!

Check out the brand spankin' new ABBEY ROAD SITE!

So fresh and so clean.

SUMMER IS IN SIGHT!

Kick those finals butts!

GIGGLEMETER TO JUDGE SUBMISSIONS FOR A.R.C.M.S.C.2K10

It is the FINAL day to submit your hilarious stories to the Abbey Road 2010 Cultural Mishaps Story Contest. Prizes await those participants whom GIGGLEMETER deems to be the winners. GIGGLEMETER bases it's judgment on a complex algorithm which factors in originality, storytelling ability, and overall comedic value. Thank you to everyone who has submitted! We are LOVING what we've read so far. Winners shall be notified shortly!

UPDATE: DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR THE 2010 CULTURAL MISHAPS STORY CONTEST!

The rumors are true! There is still time to submit your funny stories to us for a chance to win some fabulous prizes! The deadline has officially been extended to MONDAY, MAY 17th at which point the stories will be rounded up, judged, and winners will be chosen. Details as follows:

We've all had that "stranger in a strange land" feeling while traveling. Maybe you used exactly the wrong vocabulary word in Paris and told your waiter, "Thank you; nice butt," instead of "Thank you very much." Maybe after several days in Spain and several attempts at ordering a veggie salad you realized that every single one of them features tuna fish as a standard ingredient, ugh. Maybe those white Capri pants you bought in Florence aren’t quite what the guys in Minnesota are wearing this Spring. We're sure you have a story. Share it with us, and you could win one of several prizes including Apple products, your choice of gift cards, and Abbey Road alumni gear! Please send your story (maximum 500 words) to INFO@GOABBEYROAD.COM no later than MONDAY, MAY 17th to be considered. We look forward to laughing WITH you (not at you). Winning stories will be published on Abbey Road’s website and here on the blog in conjunction with our upcoming redesigned website launch!

SAME AMAZING BLOG, FAB NEW LOOK!

In the words of the very wise Jack Donaghy (the character played by Alec Baldwin on NBC's 30 Rock), "Sometimes you have to change things that are perfectly good just to make them your own." So, before you have a nervous breakdown or panic attack, worried sick that the incredible Abbey Road blog has suddenly taken a drastic turn in light of its brand new look, rest assured that it is the same wonderful blog but we just felt like it was time to shake things up a bit. Think of it like facial reconstructive surgery: the outer shell may look shockingly different but underneath the skin is the same fabulous person. Worry not, friends! We're shaking up the Twitter page too but rolling with the same scheme as this here blog. Solidarity is the name of the game. Anywho, just wanted to explain the new look and assure you that the content of the Abbey Road blog will continue being nothing short of amazing and will, in fact, only get better! I hope all you Abbey Roaders are doing just swell! Summer is almost here!

FINAL WEEKEND TO SUBMIT YOUR FUNNY STORIES

This coming Monday (the 19th) is the final deadline to submit your wacky/awkward/embarrassing/downright silly stories to by judged by GIGGLEMETER (see: previous post, below), officially bringing to a close the 2010 Abbey Road Cultural Mishaps Story Contest. Winners will receive positively drool-worthy prizes. How could you possibly want to miss out on an opportunity to win some sweet gadgetry and/or gift cards simply for telling us about a funny thing that happened on the way to the market? So while you're fondly reminiscing about your absolutely amazing summer experience with Abbey Road this weekend, why not jot it down and get rewarded for your efforts? Have a wonderful weekend Abbey Roaders! Hooray for Spring!