Category: SAT

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25 Things to Do After Getting Accepted Early Decision

Congratulations on your early decision acceptance. Here are 25 things to do:

Follow college’s instructions that came with your acceptance.
Stop work on any other college applications.
Withdraw any other applications you have submitted to by emailing the admissions office. Include your name, high school, and a brief note that you were accepted early decision to a binding program and you will be attending that school. 
Follow your high school’s procedure for recording your acceptance.
Thank your high school guidance counselor and those who wrote letters of recommendation for you.
Look for outside scholarships.
Get a meningococcal conjugate vaccine if you will be living in a residence hall. If you received it before their 16th birthday, you will need a booster shot for maximum protection before going to college.
Request that an official final high school transcript be sent to your early decision college. This can’t be sent until the current school year is over.
Send ACT/Sat score officially through the testing agency if it was previously only self-reported. 
Take any pre-tests required before registering for fall classes.
Determine if you can receive credit for college level work you took while in high school and submit any paperwork needed (e.g., send official AP scores or official transcript from dual enrollment courses)
Review course catalog and register for fall classes in accordance with college’s directions.
Complete financial aid verification process, if necessary. 
Accept or decline the loans you have been offered. 
Complete loan counseling online for any loans you are accepting. 
Sign master promissory note for any loans you are accepting. 
Consider finding a summer job.
Submit housing deposit and enrollment deposit.
Sign up for summer orientation.
Confirm freshmen move-in date and make your travel plans. 
Purchase items needed for college living. 
Check student portal and email daily.
If you don’t already have one, open a bank account.
Look into getting a state ID card if you don’t have one and don’t have a driver’s license. 
Consider reading a book like “The Naked Roommate” and/or “How to Survive Your Freshman Year” before college starts.
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Will I get accepted to my dream college?

Princeton University (photo by Rana Slosberg)

High school students often worry whether they will get into their first choice college or university. One way to assess their chance for admission is to use Naviance scattergrams as described in this Forbes article.

Here are three additional considerations when using Naviance scattergrams. If:

  • Very few or no students from your high school have attended the college you are interested in, there won’t be a scattergram for you to use. Don’t let that discourage you from applying. You can still assess your chances for admission by looking at data like acceptance rate, GPA distribution, and mid-50% ACT or SAT scores of accepted students. This data is generally available on the college’s website and/or or college search sites like the College Board’s Big Future (which includes it under the “Applying” tab for each college).

  • There is a Naviance scattergram with only a few points, the scattergram will be less reliable than if many students from your high school had applied to this college. You may want to use the techniques listed in 1. to better assess your chance for acceptance.

  • The college you are looking for has an acceptance rate of less than a third, the college will most likely be a reach school.
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The Changing SAT and ACT Landscape

Here are the highlights of a recent HECA webinar on testing by Jed Applerouth, founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services
SAT changes: The SAT is morphing into an ACT.  It has been changing from an aptitude test to an achievement test.  In 2016, it will undergo a major shift.  It will:
  • Drop sentence completion
  • Add more difficult math
  • Eliminate calculator use for one math section
  • Include grammar questions in the context of paragraphs
  • Add science tables, charts and graphs to verbal and math sections
  • Include evidence-based essays
  • Eliminate questions that are not aligned with the Common Core standards
  • Allow more time per question.
The math will include new topics including trigonometry, radians, equations of a circle, and congruence theorems.  There will be less geometry and there will be more algebra, requiring a deeper understanding of equations. 
Students will have twice as much time for the new essay.  “[The] essay should not explain whether you agree with [the author’s] claims, but rather explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade his audience.”
The current SAT allows more time per question than the ACT.  The new SAT will allow even more time, which will be a plus for students with slower processing speeds.
ACT changes:  The ACT changes are subtler and include:
  • Essay changes – Students will be asked to analyze a complex issue, after being provided several perspectives.
  • Extra scores/reporting – There will be four new college readiness indicators: a STEM score of math and science; an English Language Arts score of English, Reading and Writing; a Progress Towards Career Readiness score; and a Text Complexity Progress indicator.
  • Digital assessments – Computer-based tests will be introduced in some districts and states in 2015 and will be introduced more widely in 2016.
  • Reading changes – Students will be asked to compare and contrast two reading passages (as has been done in the SAT).
  • Optional constructed response subject test. – Optional 30-minute subject tests in reading, math and science, that assess whether students can justify, explain and use evidence to support claims, will be added.
Timeline: The timeline of SAT and ACT changes are as follows:
  • December 2014 – Practice PSAT released
  • March 2015 – Practice SATs released with College Board book to follow
  • Spring/Fall 2015 – Digital ACT and ACT changes
  • October 2015 – New PSAT for Class of 2017 and 2018
  • January 2016 – Final old SAT
  • March 2016 – New SAT released and first digital SAT.
The Class of 2017 (rising Sophomores) will be able to take either the old SAT or the new SAT or both.
Are you looking forward to these changes?   
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Five Things for High School Seniors To Do Now

For high school seniors, college application deadlines are just around the corner. Here are five things to do now, to be ready for fall application deadlines.

1. Finalize the college list and know the due dates. Generally, I recommend that students apply to no more than nine colleges, including stretch, match and safe schools. College application deadlines vary, and some schools have application due dates as early as October. For each school on your final college list, decide whether to apply early decision, early action or regular decision. Record the application and financial aid due dates.

2. Schedule Fall tests. If you haven’t taken the SAT or ACT, or want to take them again, check that the scores will be available by the college due dates, and then register. October is often the last test date that will be scored in time.

3. Schedule college visits. Many colleges use “enthusiasm to attend” as one of their admissions criteria. Visiting is an excellent way to demonstrate your enthusiasm and to learn more about the college. If possible, schedule an interview when you visit.  You may be able visit some colleges that are in session, before high school resumes. 

4. Get teacher recommendations. If you did not ask teachers for recommendations in the Spring, do it as soon as school starts. Notify your guidance counselor if you will be applying to schools early admission, since they also need to prepare a recommendation and get other materials ready for your applications.

5. Finish applications, including essays early. Your applications are critical and should be treated as such. Your essays will take time to write and revise.  Plan enough time to revise each essay three or four times.  Make sure to proofread your applications, including essays carefully.