We get tons of questions from sophomores about when to start preparing for the SAT or ACT. Most years, we advise students to hold off on any test prep until sophomore year is in the books. Why? Well, the number one indicator related to college options is grades, so taking care of grades and coursework is the priority. This year, however, the debut of the digital SAT (March 2024) has cast extra attention to the test. Does this mean that you need to drop everything to get ready for the change? Absolutely not. The digital SAT (vs paper ACT) is one factor to consider among others – factors that may carry greater importance. Probably the two most important questions you can ask yourself are: When is your brain ready for the test? And when is your schedule ready for the test?
When is your brain ready for the SAT or ACT?
Succeeding on these standardized tests depends not only on knowing your 30-60-90 triangles and your semi-colons from your colons, but also upon staying focused, keeping your cool, and making good decisions over the course of a three-hour-plus exam. One view of when to take the test is when you’ve acquired both the academic skills and the maturity to make the test easier and less stressful.
In terms of your academic skills, your reading level is what it is and you’re not likely to be learning much new grammar in school, but you are learning new math almost every day. You might recall taking the PSAT and seeing some questions about exponential functions or quadratics that you really couldn’t answer at the time. But you could totally answer them now, since you’re likely finishing up your Algebra 2 class. Or maybe you’re taking precalculus as a sophomore and were familiar with most of the material on the test. That’s an important difference, since the SAT and ACT both include almost everything learned in Algebra 2 and even incorporate some precalculus concepts. In fact, the ACT includes more precalculus than does the SAT. If you’re on an advanced math track, you’re all set, but if you’re taking Algebra 2 as a sophomore – like most students – be prepared to learn some precalculus topics on your own if you wish to test early in junior year and especially if you plan to take the ACT.
This coming summer, you might be planning to take Driver’s Ed. Exciting! Learning to drive is a major milestone you’re likely looking forward to. So why is it that 16-year-olds are allowed to drive but 15-year-olds are not? Well, 16-year-olds simply make better decisions, especially when it comes to not being unduly influenced by peers. That’s relevant for the SAT and ACT as well. These tests can be really stressful for many students, who feel that the whole rest of their lives are riding on the results, (Spoiler alert: They really aren’t.) and students get lots of social queuing from peers. “You do you,” “run your own race,” and emotional flexibility all improve with age, for everything is easier with a more mature brain.
In my experience, how happy students are with their test scores usually has less to do with whether they knew the material and more to do with whether they handled stress well, made good decisions using information they did know, and didn’t worry about what they didn’t know. Most students who correctly answer the questions they know without making any “unforced errors” will be happy with their scores. So, you should honestly ask yourself: how do you perform under stress? Do you have any relevant experience that could translate to test-taking? Are you a good pressure player on the tennis court? Nerves of steel when you perform in public? Or do you think another few months might help you handle the test better? A few months may not seem like a long time to you, but your prefrontal cortex is rapidly developing at this point in your life, and all those executive functioning skills like staying focused, regulating your emotions, cognitive flexibility and self-monitoring are improving every day.
Ideally, you’ll be able to start test prep after you’ve learned the math you need to know and have the maturity level required to navigate test day.
When is your schedule ready for the SAT or ACT?
If you’re reading this, that means you’re already planning on doing some preparation for the test. That’s great. So, you should ask yourself when do you have the time to both prepare for the test and prepare yourself to be your best self when you take the test.
Most students we work with tend to spend somewhere around three months preparing for the test. Often, that entails weekly meetings, homework, and semi-regular practice tests. That all adds up to a couple of extra hours in your week. So, when do you have the time to spare? If you’re a three-sport athlete and your time is all spoken for during the school year, taking advantage of the summer months might be your best bet, even if you do need to learn some new math. Having the first test under your belt in the early fall and retesting and (hopefully!) being finished up before winter break sounds pretty good to most students! In fact, many students choose to try to take advantage of the summer months for test prep, if they can, so that their focus during the school year can be their grades.
On the other hand, your fall might be taken up with a busy debate schedule or regattas every weekend, but you’re pretty free in the winter. That might suggest putting off your preparation until the new year, when you have time to prepare well and can benefit from another semester of schoolwork. In any case, you’ll likely want to get started before the spring of junior year. That’s going to be busy with APs, term papers, and all sorts of other demands on your time. Additionally, starting a bit early tends to take the pressure off a bit, since there are many test dates ahead of you. You might not relish the idea of taking the SAT or ACT three times, but knowing you’ve got a lot of opportunities to do well can help you relax and do your best.
In addition to finding time to do all the test prep, you should also think about when you’ll be able to prepare yourself for test day. What’s the difference? Test prep is about acquiring skills and strategies that’ll help you on test day. Preparing yourself is all about putting yourself in the position to best use those skills and strategies. Doing your best on the SAT or ACT requires you to be incredibly well rested and as relaxed as possible. Sure, you want to be able to budget time to take practice tests and do your homework, but you’ll also want to be getting lots of sleep. And, in a perfect world, you won’t be stressed about other things going on. If you know you’re going to be running up to opening night in the spring musical, don’t plan to take the SAT the week beforehand. You’ll be at rehearsal late every night, hustling to keep up with your homework, and rightly focused on other things. Are you a wrestler who cuts weight over the winter? If you’ve done that before, you know how fuzzy your thinking can be and shouldn’t even think about testing in December or February. Good test prep is essential to feeling confident heading into the test, but it’s not going to get you the results you want unless you also prepare yourself.
So what can you do now?
While I don’t often recommend sophomores start test prep in earnest, I do recommend that they make a plan. The first decision is, of course, the SAT vs. ACT. If you’ve taken the digital PSAT and did your best, those scores can be thought of as SAT scores, so you already have a baseline or “diagnostic” to kick off your digital SAT prep. Next, take a practice ACT and compare not only the scores using the published concordance but also the experiences: Which did you like better? How was time? Did one just feel easier to you? You might be like most students and do approximately equally well on both tests. If that’s the case, you should likely plan to take the ACT – the paper test won’t change all year and you’ll have prep materials and practice tests to draw upon. If you have questions related to what test and when, please schedule a time to talk about your personal plan with me.
Schedule an AppointmentA very useful skill for all of us to possess is the ability to direct our curiosity. To many of us, curiosity often appears as a spontaneous miracle: a spark that ignites, seemingly from far beyond our control, and then sweeps us away. Perhaps someone with knowledge and charisma can catch our interest in a specific topic for a period of time, but often, when we reach a satisfactory level of understanding, or after some time has passed, our curiosity fades.
However, making intentional use of our curiosity can help maintain our engagement in difficult tasks, reveal the limits of our understanding, offer insights, sustain relationships, and fuel our learning. In short, it can make high school (and work life, whether now or later) both easier and more interesting.
Rather than waiting for teachers, peers, or current events to persuade you, take responsibility for your own curiosity. If you don’t, who will? Here are some tools to develop and direct your curiosity.
1. Courageous Imperfection
In order to be curious about something, the first step is to be imperfect — to not know everything already. After all, what is there to investigate, to question, to puzzle over and wonder at, if we’ve assembled a complete understanding of the world around us? I find, even as an adult free from much of the status stresses of high school, that not knowing something that I “ought” to know is indeed embarrassing. It can be easier to spend energy avoiding embarrassment than learning new things. It takes a lot of courage to admit that we don’t know something, and we simply can’t be curious without being honest that we don’t know it all.
2. Open Expectations
We don’t want to close ourselves off from wonder by assuming that we already have all the information we need. And, we don’t want to limit our learning by bringing expectations of what we should be getting out of them. On one level, I may know with some certainty what is going to happen for the rest of my day: I’ll go for a walk, then do some homework, then eat one of my families’ weeknight dinners, and so on. On another level, each of those events could lead to a discovery: who put that monument in the local park that I walk through? Why are history assignments so compelling some days (and so not on other days)? How hard is it to make the sauce that goes with this meal and why or why don’t we use it for any other dishes? To be curious, we need to be open to surprise and avoid functional fixedness.
3. Attention
When you find yourself curious about something, pay very close attention. Sure, the overall context is part of what’s going on, whether that’s, say, a video game, something that a friend or teacher mentioned, or a song lyric, a line in a story that you happened to come across. Yes, that’s important, but that’s not the whole story. Think about what you were doing, how your body felt, whether the moment went by in a chaotic blur of ideas or if you savored each detail. As with many skills, curiosity requires both pattern recognition and engagement. In other words, you need clear information about both the details that make up a pattern and to observe your own reaction to whatever caught your attention.
4. Questions That Spark Curiosity
Asking questions is curiosity in action. Curiosity is all about the desire to learn — to go from lacking some particular skill or knowledge to mastering that skill or knowledge. Questions are how we navigate from one place — the beginning place of lacking — to another — somewhere along the journey when we achieve mastery.
We’re often told about W-questions: who, what, when, where, why (and how). Here’s a question you may not have asked about this list: which type of question is your favorite? Which one makes the hair on your neck stand up? Which one makes you lean forward, a flutter of vitality in your chest? And which one makes your eyelids heavy? If you love learning about the people who shaped the ideas or history that we learn about in school, try to see how many “who” questions you can write down in a class or during a day. The surprising thing here is that often, if you tug at one question type (“who came up with combinatorics?”), other questions will attach themselves (“what purpose could this idea possibly have served?”), and you’ll soon be exploring the world of combinatorics without ever having necessarily set out to do so!
5. Watch Your Language
One easy way to invite more curiosity into your life is simply to add some vocabulary that will provoke your brain to be curious. When you start to say “I don’t know,” perhaps just add “yet” at the end. Or “I don’t know, but I wonder” or “I don’t know, but I’d love to look it up.” Relatedly, I ripped off a great tip from author Elizabeth Gilbert, which is that whenever anything happens, rather than telling myself that it is bad or good, I simply label it as “interesting.” If I say “my weekend was boring,” and someone asks me to say more, then my mind will search what it knows for signs of boredom. If I say “my weekend was interesting” then, interesting or not, I’m going to go digging for an answer to justify my judgment. You can even use it as a response when peers share about their hobbies. I have navigated plenty of networking events and weddings — and learned a lot along the way — by saying little else other than “Interesting, tell me more!”
6. Presence and Practice
Like most skills, curiosity is a daily practice. It’s a muscle that can grow stronger or can atrophy from use or lack thereof — but it is a particularly delicate one that’s easy to injure. When you lack curiosity about someone or something in your environment, simply notice. I find that if I chastise myself for being boring and uninterested, it can be harder to find the emotional space and openness to be curious about something later. Fortunately, caring for our curiosity often makes our lives more engaging, likable, and fun, and who doesn’t love fun?
Schedule an AppointmentEarly Decision 1 and Early Action notifications will arrive soon—and will be ongoing through the month of December/January, so it’s best to prepare yourself for possible outcomes.
Keep in mind that there are many factors that go into how colleges make decisions about individual applicants, many of which are far beyond the applicant’s control. However, although it is impossible to predict the future, applicants can review possible outcomes to understand what may lie ahead. Then, when the news arrives in your inbox, you will be ready to make your strongest next step.
Many students create an application strategy that includes one, two, or even three waves of applications. A fall plan can be implemented early and confidently. Shifting your college list and overall plan may be necessary as you learn more from individual colleges throughout the fall and winter.
Come December, Early Decision 1 applicants may find an acceptance in hand, and will be ready to go! So, celebrate, and please remember to immediately withdraw all pending early action applications.
For all other college applicants, this is the time to revisit and/or continue to build your strategy, weigh your options, and stay in the game until May 1 (National Decision Day). Below are three possible outcomes that may be revealed in your application portal in December.
What acceptance means
Accepted! Congrats! You have a spot in the incoming freshman class. If you applied Early Decision (ED 1), you are done, because you have committed to attending your number one choice next fall. Check dates and deadlines related to enrollment and keep your grades up. Your college expects you to continue on the same successful path that you have demonstrated so far.
If you applied through Early Action (EA), then you have been accepted although you have not made a commitment to the college. Early action outcomes begin to arrive in December and continue through early to mid-February. Check the colleges on your list for their release dates. Remember that you have until May 1, National College Decision Day, to make your decision, so continue with the next wave of your college application plan.
Your application was rejected. Now what?
If you are rejected or redirected from your Early Decision I college, be proud for having taken a risk and going for what you wanted. Give yourself a day or two to adjust, then pivot to Plan B. Learning to pivot is an exercise that everyone practices at one time or another. The application pool was likely just too large or too competitive. Remember that there are many factors that contribute to a college’s decision to accept, deny, or defer. Your best position now is to move forward and make sure that your applications represent your strongest self and are ready for the next round of applications. This may include an Early Decision II application – and/or regular decision applications.
If you were relying on an early choice school that denied you, you’ll be grateful for having a robust second wave of applications ready to go. If, however, you feel that the decision was based on misinformation or that there were extenuating circumstances that weren’t conveyed in your application package, take note of this: some schools have an appeal process. This is something to consider, not because you’re disappointed in the decision but because you have specific evidence that your application was missing critical information about you.
What if my application was deferred?
Think of being deferred as a second chance, an opportunity to submit updated accomplishments and additional information, such as senior grades. (Again, keep those senior grades strong!) Some schools, such as Georgetown, will either accept or defer (and not reject) in the early round. If you’re deferred, it isn’t over yet!
The rates of acceptance in the regular round vary from college to college as each manages enrollment in their unique way. The University of Georgia defers and accepts many students; the University of Michigan accepts approximately 15 % but the typical admit rate of deferrals overall is 5% to 10%. Some colleges admit even less than 5 % of deferrals. Again, remember that the enrollment goals and practices of various colleges differ. There isn’t one hard and fast rule here.
So, if you’re still interested in the school that deferred you, you can share updated accomplishments or provide insight into your ongoing commitment to the school. Some schools specifically will ask you to share new information by providing a place in your student portal to upload a document, and others will suggest that you write a statement or send a letter (LOCI, Letter of Continued Interest). Keep a close eye on your deferral notification from the school and read the instructions. Remember that you submitted your application in late October, so you may have updates to report. Be thoughtful about what you have been doing with your time to see if there is anything that might offer new depth to your application.
How does Early Decision II work?
A number of schools offer both ED I and ED II. If you applied ED I and were deferred to the regular round, you can apply to another college through Early Decision II. ED II applications are a second round of committed applications – typically due January 1.
Some schools offer an Early Action (EA) plan and an Early Decision II (round 2) plan. If you were not admitted to your Early Decision I college in the fall and want to convert one of your submitted EA applications to a committed ED II, check your college portal. You may find a drop-down menu, so you can select the conversion from EA to ED II and follow the instructions. .
In Summary
The notifications you receive from your early deadline schools provide interesting data points that are useful to consider when making decisions about your next steps. If your ED I choice doesn’t work out, the next step for you is to revisit your options and create a Plan B. Ultimately, you are applying to a number of schools to which you will eventually say: “No, thank you.” At that point, you will choose one, but you’ll want to be sure that you have options – several colleges that are a good fit for you — so that, when May 1 comes around, you’ll be ready to celebrate your college choice!
If you are looking to develop a Plan B or looking to craft a college admissions plan for next year, PrepMatters has a full team of educational counselors to help your student find the right college. Schedule an appointment with our team to start the conversation.
Goodbye, Scantron sheets and #2 pencils. Hello, test-taking tablets, adaptive testing, and graphing calculators. After nearly a century as a paper-and-pencil test, the SAT is going digital in March 2024.
The Core Differences:
Headline-grabbing changes include testing on a computer, different tests for different students, and the most celebrated of changes – its shorter length. Thank you! More subtle but no less significant alterations include new test-taking tools that are embedded in the test, changes in question types, and a reduction in transparency. In short, there are a lot of changes. We’ll walk through the changes, explain what differences (if any) they make, and consider what students can do to be prepared. Let’s dig into the details.
The traditional paper-and-pencil SAT consists of four separate sections:
- Reading
- Writing
- Non-calculator math
- Calculator math.
This model will be replaced with a streamlined dSAT (digital SAT) with
- Two modules of mixed reading and writing questions
- Two modules of math.
The second module will test similar content to content in the first module but will be purposefully easier or harder than the first. This is an important difference that we further explore below.
Length of the dSAT test
First, let’s talk about the difference in length. The current paper SAT is considerably longer than any test students take in school, and this has long been an issue for students who struggle with sustained attention or stamina. It is also a logistical hassle for school-based administrations of the SAT, because three hours of content extends to a four-hour test-day experience. For students with an extra time accommodation, the total time is nearly six hours.
The dSAT will be markedly shorter; it is a 2-hour and 14-minute test – and because College Board is doing away with pretest questions and the experimental section, the total time remains close to a 2-hour 30-minute testing experience.
How did they cut so much time from the dSAT?
It’s shortened mostly by asking fewer questions. Although the paper SAT contains 96 reading and writing and 58 math questions, the dSAT shrinks that to 54 reading and writing questions and 44 math questions. Notably, the end result is that the dSAT actually increases the amount of time per question.
You may wonder how on earth a shorter test with fewer questions can accurately arrive at scores in the same way as the paper SAT. In short, it doesn’t. It arrives at accurate scores with an adaptive, not a static, test. On the paper SAT, students answer the same questions, and scoring is straightforward — based simply on the number of answers that are right or wrong. On the dSAT, however, different students see different versions of the test, and some questions matter more than others.
How dSAT adaptive scoring works
On the first Reading and Writing module, students will see a mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Students who perform well in that first module will have a second verbal module that is primarily comprised of harder questions; students who haven’t performed as well will see an easier second verbal module with mostly easy and medium questions. By giving each student questions that are targeted to their ability, the test can more quickly pinpoint an accurate score. The math modules employ the same process.
Additionally, not all questions are created equal. Their value is based on several factors, including the degree of difficulty and the extent to which it’s possible for a student to guess the right answer. What does that mean for students? Simply put, getting an easy question wrong hurts more than getting a hard one wrong, while getting a hard one right helps more than getting an easy one right.
How does the dSAT software work?
The dSAT’s testing software introduces in-test tools that mimic the experience of taking a paper test. Students can highlight text, mark questions to return to later, and track the remaining time with an embedded clock. (No more craning of necks is needed to see an inconveniently placed wall clock.) Perhaps the most important software feature is the built-in Desmos graphing calculator, a sophisticated math tool that can be used to solve a wide range of arithmetic and algebraic questions. Students may also use their personal calculators, but they would do well to practice with Desmos and explore how much it can help. (It is no exaggeration to describe it as a “game changer.”)
Although the markedly different online tools and the absence of a non-calculator math section have caught a lot of attention, it is the content changes that students, parents, and educators would do well to understand. There will be winners and losers. The math content, with a familiar mix of algebra, geometry, trigonometry and precalculus, presented in both multiple-choice and student produced response (aka “grid in”) formats, has not changed significantly. However, the content and question types on the Reading and Writing section have.
Reading and Writing Sections in the dSAT
To start, gone are long reading passages. Students will not see a wall of words to read before tackling questions but instead will see a few lines or a few sentences of text. For students, that seems like an obvious win.
College Board surely had several reasons for making this change, but one stands out: on the paper SAT, students simply were not reading the passages. Instead, many were reading the questions and then searching through the text for answers.
The new dSAT format presents students with only a paragraph or so at a time, but bite-size passages still add up to a heap of words. According to College Board, the Reading and Writing section of the digital test features 25-150 words per stimulus text. The paper SAT averages out to about 52 words of passage text per question across the Reading and Writing sections, so the actual total reading demand is similar. Also, shorter passages are not necessarily good news for everyone. Students who struggle with shifting their attention may find it easier to handle a long passage with multiple questions attached than a series of 54 brief single-question passages in a row.
New challenges Presented by the dSAT
The Reading and Writing modules of the dSAT only test a handful of skills, including vocabulary, grammar, the effective use of transitions, and the ability to read closely and make logical deductions about what you’ve read, all of which should please old-school English teachers. This is in some ways similar to the paper SAT, but in some ways not. The current paper SAT that launched in 2016 was in many ways a response to the ACT, which for a while eclipsed the SAT as the dominant college admissions test in America. Ostensibly designed to align with the Common Core, the 2016 SAT also aligned more closely with the ACT by jettisoning the last of its discrete vocabulary questions and focusing more heavily on punctuation than on the esoteric nerdy grammar that populated earlier versions of the SAT. Those changes persist. As in the ACT’s English section, the Writing questions on the digital SAT remain rooted in punctuation, with even the most challenging questions very much rule driven.
Conversely, vocabulary seems to be sneaking back into the test. In 2016, College Board president David Coleman announced that the SAT was getting rid of “SAT words,” and it mostly did. But vocabulary didn’t completely disappear from the paper SAT; the test just got more subtle about it. In place of the pre-2016 question types of antonyms, analogies, and sentence completions, vocabulary challenges were embedded into the aforementioned long(ish) reading passages. In the dSAT, vocab is back more explicitly, appearing in questions that look a lot like resurrected sentence completions. Although there may not be a rush to brush off boxes of vocabulary cards (as the words tested are not particularly obscure), the dSAT will reward students with strong vocabularies.
The biggest changes
Finally, the most significant content change on the Reading and Writing is likely the introduction of “Information and Ideas” questions, which ask students to draw inferences, strengthen or weaken arguments, or otherwise demonstrate their analytical skills. Essentially, these questions are similar to the logical reasoning questions found on the LSAT, GMAT, and GRE, and the hardest of them are a significant challenge. Unlike the old “Where’s Waldo” type questions, these require both close reading and careful logical thinking.
With all of these changes, what is staying the same?
Students who take the dSAT are still required to test at approved testing locations, generally local schools. The scoring remains on a 1600 scale: 200-800 for Reading and Writing, 200-800 for Math. Unlike in previous overhauls, College Board will not release a new concordance table to “convert” scores from one test to another as College Board has offered assurances that the two forms of the test align closely enough that none is needed. Special accommodations that existed for the paper SAT, including ezra time, will remain for the dSAT.
Accommodations such as audio versions of text will be even easier to deliver on the dSAT. Significantly, however, students who are hoping to take the test on paper, knowing or believing that they process material better on paper than on a computer screen, are out of luck. College Board has stated that a paper version of the test will be made available only to students whose disability creates an “inability to use a computer.”
Practice and Feedback from dSAT Testing are important
Finally, one last point for students to consider is this: feedback, not just practice, matters. Unlike on the paper SAT, students will not be able to see what questions they got wrong on the dSAT. The paper SAT offered a Question & Answer Service (QAS) for certain test dates, which provided students with access to the actual questions they saw on their test so that they could better analyze their performance. That service does not exist for the dSAT, so students will not be able to see what they missed and will not be able to determine why they answered incorrectly. Hard question? Foolish mistake? Who knows? That lack of transparency may be the biggest hurdle created by the dSAT.
Focus is key for success
Additionally, at least for our students who took the digital version of the PSAT, test-takers were somewhat staggered with their start times, breaks, and stop times, meaning that other students were coming and going during the test. Does that really matter? Yes. In one seminal study by the Department of Defense, 2.8-second interruptions (on a computer!) DOUBLED errors by disrupting attention — and, what’s worse, the test-takers didn’t even realize it. This means that taking practice tests in a setting that imitates the real thing is especially important for the dSAT. Taking tests at home is not the same!
The good news is that, as with every other version of the SAT (and some of us here at PrepMatters are now on our fifth version), students can get better with practice. However, the nature of the practice matters. To solve problems, it is important to understand what caused the problem in the first place – and working through practice test results and other missed questions with a trusted professional makes all the difference.
PrepMatters has provided test preparation services for over 25 years in the Washington, DC and greater DMV community. Our tutors specialize in helping kids prepare in a way that sets them up to succeed on test day and, in addition, to develop positive study and academic habits. We would welcome the opportunity to help your student.
-Ned Johnson
No matter how often we get this question, we are still perplexed. We think, “Of course they matter!” Still, it’s not unusual for an aggressively hard-working, disciplined senior to be looking for the light at the end of the tunnel after years of grinding out assignments, never missing soccer practice, all while leading the debate team or the STEM club on the side. “When can I finally just breathe?” — that’s what students are usually trying to say when they ask, “Do senior year grades matter?”
How Much Do Senior Grades Matter?
The answer is they matter a lot — but please, just keep breathing! Your senior year grades are as important as (or perhaps even more important than) your junior year grades. Yeah, junior year — “the most important year of high school!” We’ve heard it plenty. So, let’s bust that myth while we’re at it. Yes, junior year is important, as are freshman and sophomore years. In fact, whatever year you’re currently in is the most important year of high school. If you keep that policy, then you don’t have to worry about when to ramp things up or hold back. If you’re concerned about where you stand, senior year is a great time to look into college admissions counseling to make sure you’re set up for success.
This issue is important every year. But it has become even more critical since COVID started because … school was a mess for most of us for at least a whole year, right? Most students spent most of the 2020-21 school year in front of their laptops, learning virtually from a teacher also set up at home in front of a laptop. Hardly ideal. Even those students who were able to go back to school in person eventually found that school —hybrid school, COVID-safe school, whatever — was not quite the same. For some students, this learning environment might have strengthened your transcript. Maybe fewer distractions helped you focus more. Other students saw their grades torpedo lower than ever before, lacking collaboration and learning resources.
Colleges know that most students had a compromised year or more of high school. But they still need to get a sense of your academic profile, your depth of learning, and your capacity for rigor. They’re going to look at every year of grades — in fact, at every grade — with even more careful eyes this year and for several years to come.
How Colleges Use Your Senior Grades
Now let’s talk logistics. How exactly are they looking at these grades? Colleges will receive your transcript, which will cover your grades from freshman, sophomore, and junior years. Every high school prepares transcripts differently, so they may show your semester grades, your trimester grades, or your final grades for each year. If you’re curious about the details, ask your school counselor or registrar. It will also likely list your senior year courses, but with no grades attached to those because you haven’t earned them yet! Some high schools include additional information such as your GPA, rank, standardized test scores, etc.; that varies from school to school, so you’ll have to get a copy of your transcript to see what exactly appears on it.
So, if your transcript does not include senior year grades, then why do senior year grades matter so much?
Colleges will receive a set of senior year grades — often before they have to make a decision on your application. If you apply by an early deadline, many colleges will request your first “marking period” — meaning the first quarter or trimester — before they notify you of their admission decision. If your transcript is like most transcripts and includes only semester or full-year grades, then that means, in many cases, your first quarter grades from senior year are the only quarter grades a college will ever see. Even if the college does not formally request the first marking period, you will want to be positioned to send them anyway as a sign of good faith and a positive message about your academic momentum not petering out due to early-onset senioritis.
What About First Marking Period Grades?
To all colleges, whether you apply by the early or regular deadlines, your high school will submit your first semester or mid-term grades to colleges, even after you’ve been accepted. This gives colleges the assurance that you’ve kept your end of the deal and have continued to engage with rigorous coursework through your senior year. It is not uncommon for a college to contact students for an explanation if they see a drop in grades or in rigor of coursework. In most cases, a letter or phone call explaining your circumstances will assuage a college’s concern (assuming your circumstances don’t involve too much Fortnite or late-night partying). In more extreme cases, colleges can start you on academic probation or even rescind admissions altogether. On the flip side, if your previous years grades weren’t excellent, there’s still time to make a difference. Consider private tutoring if you need help pushing your GPA over the top.
Wrapping Up – Do Senior Year Grades Matter for College?
So yes, your senior grades matter, both in a practical sense for college admissions and in a more meaningful way for how you may choose to live your life. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Show colleges and yourself what it looks like when you don’t let up.
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Jeff Knox contributed to an earlier version of this article
In a test-optional environment, many families are unsure how much weight is given to test scores during the admissions process. Questions such as: should I, as a parent, encourage my student to pursue testing or, if my student is testing but isn’t getting the results they were hoping for, should they continue with further testing or stop, given that some schools are test-optional.
The short answer is this: It depends on the student and situation.
The truth is that test scores are only one part of a student’s application package, and this was true even before test-optional policies became commonplace. The test-optional movement really began to gain traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some institutions were already operating under test-optional policies, that position became much more widespread during the pandemic. As we have distanced ourselves from the pandemic, many institutions have remained test-optional, which leaves many of us questioning how important scores are to the admissions process.
When reviewing a student’s application, admissions officers are engaging in a holistic review. The most important thing to a college or university is a student’s transcript. Admissions officers review transcripts for two main things: grades and academic rigor. This means that admission officers are looking to see that students are earning high marks in their college prep coursework as this can be an indicator of success at their specific institution. When engaging in holistic review, however, schools are also looking at test scores, recommendation letters, essays, and extracurricular activities.
So, if colleges and universities are reviewing the entirety of an application package, how important is it to submit a test score? In a test-optional environment, it is often still important for students to engage in the testing process. Submitting a strong test score can validate a transcript for a university because it gives colleges and universities a way to more easily compare students who submit test scores because all students are sitting down at the same time for the same test. Additionally, a test score can improve a student’s application if their test score is stronger than their GPA. It is certainly possible, however, that the opposite is also true: a test score could reduce an otherwise positive impression of a student’s application. The increased number of schools with test optional policies are a definite win for students who are engaging in an academically rigorous course load and achieving at the highest level, but who struggle with test anxiety, because they are now able to maximize their admission chances by forgoing test score submission.
All of this is to say that, in most cases, it makes sense for students to engage in test preparation and try their best on the ACT/SAT because a strong score can make their application stand out and further demonstrate their academic prowess. Once a student has begun the testing process, the question of whether or not to submit inevitably surfaces, and the answer ultimately is a student-by-student, school-by-school decision. A student can decide what is their best course of action. They can decide to submit their test scores to all of the schools to which they apply or they can decide to submit their test scores to only a handful of schools where their scores improve their application – or they can choose to not disclose their scores at all.
College admissions has never been about a single test result. Now more than ever, college admissions is about developing a strategy that will highlight all of a student’s strengths and result in strong applications that can be submitted to specific colleges that are the right fit for the student’s long term goals.
If you and your student are looking for help in making this decision, PrepMatters has college counselors who can help. They are able to evaluate a student’s total application package (including the relative benefits of test scores) through the lens of an admissions officer, give feedback, and make an informed recommendation. Give us a call if you are ready to explore how such a relationship might benefit the choices available to you and your student.
The college essay is growing in significance these days, and this is an exciting opportunity for students. Essays are the place to highlight strengths, skills, imagination, and they give students an opportunity to inject a creative hand and make their applications come alive. Applicants can also demonstrate writing and communications skills and thereby prove their readiness for college level work. Essays add a three-dimensional quality to applications, which means that grades and activities suddenly take on a human dimension! Nevertheless, it is common for students and parents to be overwhelmed by the process. For years, I have helped guide PrepMatters’ students through this process with strategy, coaching, and accountability. The following tips are a helpful starting point if you are either approaching college essays for the first time or are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of pushing them across the finish line.
Keep in mind that a student’s academic record or transcript is of the utmost importance to colleges. Grades and GPA, together with the rigor of coursework, remain the most essential information in an applicant’s profile. In the past, college counselors considered grades, rigor of coursework, and standardized test scores to be critical aspects of an application, but the last few years have disrupted this model, and essays have become increasingly important as an increasing number of colleges have made standardized testing optional. Many colleges have gone test optional, and others have done away with the SAT and ACT altogether by choosing a test-blind policy. In addition, a Supreme Court decision, in June of 2023, ruled that it is unlawful to include race and ethnicity as a factor in college admissions. Although colleges and universities are still defining how this ruling will alter the admissions protocol of their institutions, the bottom line is this: as the importance of scores recedes, a stronger light has been cast on the college essay. At PrepMatters, we understand that essays may be the place to share diverse perspectives and experiences, address any inconsistencies that may exist in the high school record, and establish the context of one’s life.
Admission folks read essays in search of thoughtful, eager students who stand out as enthusiastic applicants. Remember that this assignment is rooted in creating an application that seeks to move applicants from high school to higher education. Need help in getting started? We have provided a few tips below for writing your college essay.
HOW TO START: UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT
A firm understanding of the assignment itself is required before beginning. Once you have reviewed the main essay prompts, you will see that the point of the essay is to provide a sketch of your life. An applicant can offer context to academic and life experiences by sharing a personal story. It is truly a unique writing assignment. For one thing, it is a totally selfish act. The writer is the main character on this stage, and others should pay only a quick visit as supporting figures. Of course, someone else can make a mad dash across a sentence or two but you must bring it back around to you. The mission of the assignment is to integrate your varied interests and pursuits into a multidimensional whole. Think of the task as a creative endeavor – the weaving of various threads of your school and life experiences into a vibrant fabric of color. The essay is your bright launch onto campus, one that uses your personal, authentic voice. Write as you speak. Be real and authentic.
What the essay is NOT is a high school paper or a report that cites sources, accomplishments, or events. It is not a school newspaper article, nor a resume, or even a journal entry. The mission of the essay is for you to differentiate yourself from other students. The essay is a request: tell us about yourself, enlighten us, help us to understand you better – in 650 words or less. Please give us a representative snippet of your life!
GATHER IDEAS
Plan ahead and stay true to yourself. Start with a list and write down your ideas. Brainstorm by looking at your activity list in order to refresh your memory and reflect on what you have done these past three years. Reach out to initiate a conversation with a PrepMatters essay specialist; we ask the right questions that will inspire ideas and help you to shape your narrative. Sharing your ideas verbally may help you to create a storyline. If you want to start with a typical interview question, you can respond to this request: “Tell me about yourself.”
Talk about your ideas with friends or parents; listen to their reflections in addition to considering what you have to say about yourself. Heads up from the start: Beware of too many cooks in the kitchen. Choose carefully when identifying your essay confidante. You want an advisor who will listen to key elements of your story and is knowledgeable about college admissions.
Keep in mind, too, that reflecting on one’s life is not an easy exercise at any age, so listen to yourself as ideas, themes, and messages begin to emerge. You will see what is important, recognize what themes resonate, and begin to distill your principal ideas. Make notes about your experiences, motivations, dreams, or challenges and describe their significance to you. What do you want a college to know about you?
Just to be clear from the start: there are a few topics to avoid! Keep in mind that the overriding objective is to show more of yourself than what we typically see in essays focused on a family loss, death of a grandparent, divorce, a sports injury, making the team, or getting a job. Also, childhood life spotlights a time when you were just too young for colleges to understand who might arrive on campus. Avoid highlighting someone else, cliches and gimmicks, along with the familiar five-paragraph essay from English class. A student should not use the essay as a platform for ranting and should steer clear of overused phrases and ideas. If you have any questions about your topic, please reach out to us at PrepMatters. We navigate the hills and valleys of the college essay every day!
CRAFT A CAPTIVATING INTRODUCTION
Know your audience, then jump right into the task. Write as you speak and grab the reader’s attention with a hook. You can use metaphors, humor, or a straightforward statement. A strong clean start is the best way to capture the reader. Engage your audience with the first sentence, and you are on your way to a good story. Take the time to reveal, with all honesty, an important part of your life by isolating an incident and exploring it in some depth. Remember to relax, be yourself and allow your personal statement to emerge. Let the colleges know that you have thought carefully about your interests and future pursuits because this will give them the opportunity to get to know you. This is a time to convey your confident side with an enthusiastic and upbeat tone. After all, you are ready, willing and on your way to a fabulous undergraduate program.
ENGAGE THE WRITING PROCESS: SHOWCASE YOUR PERSONALITY AND VALUES
Reveal your personality and character over time—which means working through revisions and drafts. It is best to start early (i.e. the summer before senior year) and be prepared to write a number of drafts. Essay writing is a building process. Write in the first person, craft an interesting narrative, check the tone and strength of your voice, and take the time to sharpen your use of grammar. As you engage with the task, you may find yourself brainstorming by sketching out ideas in your head – perhaps on the subway, while riding or driving in the car, running track, swimming, or sitting on your bed while listening to music. If you find yourself writing in this default mode, take notice. Think about the ideas swirling in your head and make notes on your phone. Go back later and develop the idea. When I am stuck, I take a walk to write a paragraph in my head. I sort it out, step by step, while on the hiking trail, before I arrive home and hit the keyboard with enthusiasm.
DEVELOP A COMPELLING NARRATIVE
Your thesis is a statement that should reveal your message of both personal reflection and analysis. Use anecdotes, interpretations and observations that are unique to your life and demonstrate how you think and write. As you develop your statement, you will want to be certain that your additions support your overall message. There are times when the writing process takes over and you are in the zone. At other times, when you write, or, when you have had second thoughts, your theme may seem to be misaligned. This is natural, so take the time to review your story and consider your overarching message. This is the revision process – one that should define and redefine your theme.
REVIEW AND REVISE: DRAFT BY DRAFT
Developing a compelling narrative is rooted in revision. Read your draft aloud to yourself. Read it to an adult or friend. Your goal shouldn’t be to impress with complex sentence structures. Skillful writing, even when describing complex topics, should communicate each point simply and clearly. Revise, as needed, with particular attention to word choice, sentence structure and flow. Write, revise, read aloud, repeat!
Good essays typically take several drafts and will require modification with each shift in voice, tone, or sentence structure. Check in with your essay specialist, teacher, or counselor for a proofread –checking for clarity of voice, message, and grammatical errors. As you take on your college essay, you’ll recognize an important truth about good writing: Achieving simplicity is extremely hard work!
CRAFT A STRONG CONCLUSION
Your final polish and review will bring it all together. Bring the conclusion back to your theme, but here’s a hint: how you are inspired to start college could be a great ending. This is the time to launch yourself onto campus and into your first year of college by sharing the vision you have for yourself in the future. Then, proofread, polish, and it’s a wrap!
MOVE FORWARD
Once your main personal statement (essay) has been written, you will be ready to tackle supplemental essays. The schools on your list may add their own prompt and ask you to perhaps—describe an activity, explain why their college is a good fit for you, or elaborate on a particular challenge. There may also be creative prompts that may just spark a fresh perspective or a new insight about yourself.
A quick note about AI-chatbots that create essay text based on your profile and prompt. Colleges (and high schools) are busy learning more about these AI tools and developing their response to this kind of assistance with the college essay. Yale, for one, shares their view on their admissions podcast. Be clear on the policies for your college list. Is it plagiarism or helpful assistance?
Investing in your college essay can be the difference between acceptance and denial. Often, students and parents benefit from working with an independent college counselor who will help to develop a strategy, maintain accountability, and provide constructive feedback along the way. For 25 years, PrepMatters has helped thousands of students gain admission to their desired colleges through our structure and proven approach – and we would welcome the opportunity to work with you.
Over the last three years, the college admissions process has been shaped by significant changes in our world which is changing how students apply to college. At PrepMatters, we stay current and informed on both the substantial and the subtle changes in order to help students create a strong admissions plan as they embrace the college application process.
Now more than ever, students and families need help with navigating the admissions process and finding the right college – which is why we developed a list of the Top 10 Reasons to Work with an Independent College Counselor, also known as an educational planner or college planner.
What has changed in recent years?
Recent shifts in admission include colleges moving to test optional or test blind standardized testing policies. A few colleges have indeed returned to requiring test scores, but test optional policies, and now test blind policies, live on. Students now need a firm plan on whether or not to share scores with schools that are test optional. In addition, a Supreme Court decision, in June of 2023, ruled that including race and ethnicity as a factor in college admissions is unlawful (Chung and Kruzel). Colleges and universities are still defining how this ruling will alter the admissions protocol of their institutions. As professional educational planners, we understand that essays and letters of recommendation may be the place to share diverse perspectives and experiences and to establish the context of one’s life.
In addition, as colleges refine their business operations and set goals for managing their enrollment, their own institutional priorities have become part of their college planning discussion. Understanding if the school has its sights set on building a stronger visual arts program, for example, and/or adding a larger cohort of engineering students can sometimes identify places of opportunity for applicants.
An unpredictable landscape
These days, admission decisions for students have become unpredictable — and students need help with creating a plan that will be relevant to their personal strengths and goals. Here at PrepMatters, our team of professional counselors know that being an informed applicant is more important than ever. Applying to college is not a simple exercise; it is a complex endeavor. We will help you to understand what colleges are looking for and will work with you to build an application that makes you stand out.
An independent college counselor or educational planning counselor can support you through the college admissions process by offering the benefit of one-on-one instruction, a tailored plan, and keen insight that will put you in the best position for selecting and being admitted to a college that is right for you. There are many reasons to team up with an educational planner, and the top ten are included below.
Top 10 Reasons to Work with an Independent College Counselor (aka College Planner):
Number 1: Counselors have years of experience
Many parents are relying on information from 20+ years ago, and most students are applying to college for the first time. An educational planning counselor has years of experience of working with thousands of students. We attend national conferences, collaborate with regional counselors, offer seminars to parents and students—all to keep active and informed. Our counselors are not outsiders; we work in the center of the mix and the current flow of college counseling. Counselors soften the parental role by listening to both student and family goals and can share pertinent and current information related to college admissions. As professionals, we can share insights on the latest trends in college admissions. We work to create options for you by suggesting a list of colleges that offers a balanced list of reach, target, and likely schools. We help manage your outcomes –of acceptance, deferral, and denial –and of the nuanced position of being on a wait list.
Number 2: Counselors plan for success through process
A focused planner listens to the personal interests and strengths of students and helps them to make good decisions in areas such as choosing extra curriculars, selecting courses, and even identifying appropriate teachers for college recommendations.
For example, our counselors begin the counseling experience with a comprehensive Counseling Assessment. This two-session process gives the counselor, student, and parents, the opportunity to discuss the plan for the remaining time in high school, courses, interests, activities and more– and helps students to build and articulate their college preferences and goals. Our discussion-based session allows us to collect information and learn about you. Then, we then think carefully and critically about your experiences and develop a Road Map (a personal plan). We focus on suggestions for moving ahead and provide a framework that highlights the milestones of college planning. The Counseling Assessment allows us to get to know the student and family so that we can provide guidance from a place of understanding and knowledge.
Number 3: Counselors are supportive listeners
A supportive listener assists students in identifying college preferences such as size, location, campus life or academic offerings in addition to developing a list of colleges that match a student’s vision. He/she encourages both reflection and research by asking students questions about their ideas and goals and inspiring them to go out, visit, and seek more information about colleges and the four-year experience they hope to have. A counselor can also assist parents by addressing their questions and concerns. As students begin to speak about their ideas, parents can share their own thoughts of support or even exercise a voice of disagreement. For example, several years ago, while talking with a family, a student announced that she would be majoring in theater while attending college. Her dad quickly added – “Not if I am paying for this!” Fortunately, there was a meeting of the minds later, but our conversation initiated an important discussion for this family.
Number 4: Counselors have mastered the art of match-making
Educational counselors practice the art of match-making by sharing insights on colleges and universities (both their culture and academic programs), takes a student’s learning style into account, and looks for a list of “best fit” schools.
The student who is looking for spirit, football games, and a robust Greek Life may find a fit in a large university rather than a small New England liberal arts college. College visits are a great way to predict a strong fit, so, if at all possible, head to campus to check out the vibe in addition to the biology lab, art studio, or computer science lab. Greenspace, Greek life, athletics, spirit, small community, or urban density, abroad opportunities –may be just a few of the points to consider because good fits come in a variety of descriptions.
Keep in mind that knowing yourself and keeping your priorities aligned is key. Wrong fits also come in different forms and can result from a misshaped plan or over-emphasis on one factor — accepting, for example, a spot offered by NYU to attend the Shanghai campus when lacking the language skills and genuine interest in attending college in China, only accepting because you were desperate to report that you will be attending NYU.
Number 5: Counselors are strategic thinkers
A strategic thinker is up to date with current Information and trends and is able to think objectively about all aspects of college admissions, including application policy strategies such as early decision, single choice early action, regular decision, or rolling policies and whether or not to send standardized test scores.
A college educational planning counselor can help suggest when an early decision application would be your strongest application – perhaps when applying to a reach school — or can assess when your reach school has moved into the unlikely category. It is also important to strategize on the timing of applications while, at the same time, applying to a wide range of schools – colleges from reach, target, and likely categories. Having an insurance program – or several likely colleges on your list — is always a wise move.
Number 6: Counselors know that myths are made to be busted
Far too often, students and families can get distracted by a large number of rumors and myths they have overheard at gatherings or from a small clip on the internet. Educational counselors bust myths by taking the stories you hear and translating them into real terms. Here are a few common myths.
Myth: Standardized test scores can make or break the chance of being accepted.
Fact: A student’s academic record and the rigor of their coursework are the most important factors when it comes to college admissions.
Myth: Teacher recommendations should come from teachers/courses where you earned an A+.
Fact: A student should ask for recommendations from teachers who will add to their narrative by speaking to the student’s character, accomplishments, and how the student interacts with others in the classroom. The best choice is the teacher who knows you well and can speak to your ability to do well and to weather storms.
Number 7: Counselors are creative partners
Educational counselors are creative partners who help brainstorm essay topics and suggest narrative themes that would help you present your strongest self. Our educational planning counselors and essay specialists are genuinely interested in your story. We are also storytellers — working one-on-one with students and opening conversations that will inspire you to expand your own tale.
At PrepMatters, we look for ways to share and develop ideas – and we offer coaching sessions, seminars and webinars to help you share insights and set you on your storytelling path.
Number 8: Counselors create safe spaces
Educational planning counselors create comfortable, safe spaces for describing one’s hopes, dreams, fears, and aspirations, which helps students talk about themselves and become comfortable with sharing information through an interview or essay.
Choosing a college is an opportunity for teens to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their goals. Supporting a student’s decision-making skills helps them to make sound decisions. Often, part of the process is talking through high school decisions with students: Is it time to leave the band? Should I take the most challenging math class next year? How do I want to spend my time this summer? Exploration and discovery are part of our plan at PrepMatters.
Number 9: Counselors are trusted advisors
Educational planning counselors become trusted advisors by having a collaborative approach and proven process that has been demonstrated through years of experience in helping thousands of students. As educational planning counselors at PrepMatters, we know that being honest and reliable is very important. We build trust with clients by being consistent, informed, and compassionate – throughout the college admission process.
Number 10: Counselors are stress reducers
The college application process requires students to navigate a series of important decisions and choices, and the transition from high school to college can become a very stressful time for students and parents. Feeling confident and in control is important as students navigate the path that lies ahead. Making the right choices for themselves, when facing the twists and turns of timelines, deadlines, essays, college lists and applications, is the key to lowered stress and a happy college choice.
Getting started with an educational planning counselor
We are here to help you through each step. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors – and parents, we’ve got this! Please contact PrepMatters today to speak to our placements team who will match you with an educational planning counselor.
Work Cited
Chung, Andrew, and John Kruzel. “US Supreme Court rejects affirmative action in university admissions.” Reuters, 29 June 2023, https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-university-race-conscious-admissions-policies-2023-06-29/. Accessed 5 September 2023.
Renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur discovered that the correct dose at the right time, enough to tax but not overwhelm, with enough time to build resistance and immunity, was the key to preparing the body against dangerous viruses. He once said, “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” The same sound logic applies to preparing for the ACT and SAT.
Choosing the right time to begin preparation
Let’s start with the end in mind: For early admission deadlines, you need excellent scores by October of your senior year, so that they are in hand by the time you apply to college. You will need scores by December of your senior year for later deadlines. You want good scores earlier for early deadlines.
Ideally, you can be finished with testing by the middle or end of junior year, in part so that you can go “shopping” over spring break, and so that your test scores can be an essential part of what colleges are in your range.
With all those considerations in mind, the summer after sophomore year is generally the right time to start prep. You will have learned most of the math you’ll need. You will have a few months until the PSAT and many opportunities to take the ACT or SAT before the end-of-the-year crunch of APs and final exams (if your school offers them).
But don’t freak out if you start test preparation at the beginning of your junior year. Lots of activity and life happens over the summer. I have been working with high school students since 1996; I get it. Often, the problem is with students wanting to prepare too early.
Avoid the pitfalls of starting too early
Starting too early can cause undue stress and harm because:
- You will face a lot of new, yet-to-be-learned material, which causes stress and an early loss of confidence.
- You may lay the foundation for a stressful environment surrounding test preparation.
I know you may have a cousin whose kid started prep in 9th grade and did great—but they likely did well despite starting early, not because of starting early.
CAVEAT for Future Athletes: Students who are recruited athletes may have pressure to share scores with coaches at the start of junior year, in which case prepping a little early may make sense. But, again, only a little early is best, as in part way through sophomore year.
Prioritizing Grades and Test Prep
Grades are the most essential criterion for college admissions, but good test prep can help raise your scores to a level as high or higher than your grades. Additionally, test prep can improve your math, grammar, and performance under the pressure of timed tests. Nevertheless, you do not want to work hard to raise scores if you lower your grades. Grades first, test prep second.
Optimal Time Investment
Generally, students do well to allot three to six months for test prep, depending on what you know and the schools on your college list. Cramming in a few weeks is a dubious approach. On the other hand, a three-year plan for test prep is not recommended because you may be using test prep to learn what you’ll naturally learn later in school.
Essential Components of Test Readiness
At a basic level, you need knowledge, skills, and a brain state that enables you to reach your peak performance. Knowledge is relatively straightforward: you must know math, grammar, punctuation, test structure, and test-taking strategies.
However, knowledge can be fleeting if not practiced regularly. Most students forget 90% of what they learn in school within three months, which may explain why so many A students are initially stunned by their first scores. It is common for students to spend time relearning material from the previous few years of school.
Building Critical Skills
Sure, you aced every math quiz in the last two years, but do you know what formula or tool to apply and when? Students often take quizzes with exponent, percentage, or quadratic problems. Usually, all three types of problems are not presented at once – until you experience the ACT and SAT. The tests are akin to final exams on three years of math, all mixed up under time pressure.
Performing well is not so much following a script as knowing how to dance – or improvise. These tests reward students who mix and match approaches, who can be creative under pressure, figure things out on the fly, and find efficient ways to solve problems, including how to use “tricks strategically ” (AKA using 8th-grade math tools to answer 11th-grade math). As students move on to higher math, they often apply the most powerful tool in their toolboxes rather than the most effective one: a chainsaw may be a powerful tool, but sometimes a bread knife can get the job done just fine. Effective test prep helps students broaden the tools they are comfortable using and teaches them how to deftly apply them.
Is three to six months enough time?!?
Yes. Students do well to allot three to six months for test preparation. It is important to remember that you are learning and practicing needed skills each day in school. We have done prep for 25+ years, and we have seen our staff work with students to achieve the desired results within this window.
Mind-Body Connection for Test Success
Focus matters. Motivation matters. Thinking under pressure matters.
Being rested matters, too, as does not having too many balls in the air or irons in the fire. Some people learn and perform better with little to no pressure. Others do better with more pressure. The ideal learning and testing state is relaxed alertness. You want enough pressure to focus but not so much pressure that you are overly stressed.
Don’t take the SAT the week that you’re rehearsing late into the evening as the lead in your school musical or take the ACT during wrestling season when you are low on both time and calories that fuel your brain. Please don’t start prep so early that there is no engagement or so late that you are freaking out. If you are overly stressed, you’re likely to bomb. Lastly, three-hour tests demand not just attention but sustained attention. To be “tournament ready,” it helps to practice under conditions that mimic the actual test.
Benefits of Professional Counselors
Test prep counselors are essential in helping students stay focused on the tasks ahead through a balance of training regime and guidance. Additionally, they take the stress load off of parents who often try to take on the dual role of parent and test prep coach, which leads to increased stress for all involved. Sadly, that usually translates to lower scores, thus repeating a vicious cycle of stress, anxiety, and poor performance.
Our team at PrepMatters has helped thousands of families over our 25 years in business. Please contact our team to schedule time to see if working with a counselor is the right fit for you and your family.
As we enter the 2023-2024 college admission year, over 1800 colleges remain test-optional. In addition, more than 80 additional colleges and universities have adopted a test-blind or test-free admissions policy for first-year applicants. Some schools, however, still require testing. It is essential to understand the testing admissions policy for each school on your list so that you can make decisions based on your performance and can build your strongest application statement.
If you are new to the college admissions process, it will help to understand that university testing policy falls in six categories: Test-Blind, Test-Optional, Test-Specific, Under Evaluation, Test Required, and Official Reporting or Self Reporting of Scores.To help you understand what each policy means and how that will impact your application, we have provided descriptions of each category in the paragraphs that follow and, at the end of this document, have also added links to examples of each policy category.
What is Test-Blind?
These schools will not consider test scores as part of an application evaluation, even if scores are submitted. They rely on GPA, grades, degree of course rigor, teacher evaluations, essays, and other details; however, standardized test scores are blocked from consideration. Test-blind universities include public schools such as the University of California system, private schools like CalTech, and liberal arts institutions including Dickinson College, among many others. If you are considering applying to any of these colleges, it is crucial to have a strategy and process in place to address all of the other application components. Additionally, keep in mind that you might be applying to colleges for whom test scores can help your application, so don’t sleep on your efforts regarding the ACT or SAT, but continue to prepare diligently for them.
How does Test-Optional work?
For these institutions, you may want to share your scores if they add positive information – or you have the option of keeping your scores private. If your scores are lower than what you believe those of the applicant pool overall to be, you have the option of not sharing them. It is essential to develop a strategy for each school on your college list and know when to share your SAT or ACT scores and when not to share your scores. The goal is always to highlight your most vital self and to have your application positively reflect your test preparation and college admissions planning.
What are Test-Specific scenarios?
Some test-optional policies have caveats or restrictions. These policies are categorized as test specific. For example, the test-optional choice may only pertain to students whose GPA is over a specified level – but test scores may be required for students interested in particular majors, scholarships, or honors programs. Additionally, homeschooled students may be required to submit ACT or SAT scores for placement purposes. So, be sure to read the standardized testing policy outlined on the website of every college and university on your list. You may find yourself in a position of needing solid scores to bolster your application.
Defining Policy Under Evaluation
Some colleges are still evaluating the impact of the test-optional policy on their program, so it’s essential to stay current and check the specific details related to each school on your list. Last December, for example, Tufts University extended its pilot program for an additional three years, thereby allowing the university to gather data that will help them better understand the impact of a change on their current policy.
What are examples of Tests Required?
Finally, of course, there are some schools (both private and public) that still require standardized tests. Three examples are MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Georgetown University, and GA Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology). Presenting your best scores in addition to other application items is the best path to successful admission to these schools.
Score Reporting: Official or Self-Reported Scores
There are two parts to this category – when and how scores are submitted. First, some schools require an official score report from the testing agency – whether College Board (SAT) or ACT – as part of their application process. It is important, therefore, to research which schools require scores to be received by the school by the application deadline and which colleges will add it to your file after the deadline. Second, some colleges accept self-reported scores that you can submit on your application. In this case, you would send your official report only if requested or if you subsequently enrolled. However, it is best practice to obtain your official score reports and accurately report them.
What does this mean for my student?
Applying to colleges and universities is different from what it was 25 years ago, and there are only so many spots at higher learning institutions. Our team at PrepMatters specializes in helping students prepare successful applications. Although we can not and do not guarantee any outcomes, we have helped thousands of students in the DMV area gain admission to competitive universities through college application planning, essay support, tutoring, and test preparation. We welcome the opportunity to work with your family and to help craft the right plan for you.
Schedule an appointment with our team to find the right path for your student.
Examples of Test-Blind Policy
University of California:
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-board-regents-unanimously-approved-changes-standardized-testing
CalTech (California Institute of Technology):
https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/standardized-tests
Dickinson College:
https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20256/apply/996/standardized_testing_information/2
Examples of Test-Optional Policy
Wake Forest University:
https://admissions.wfu.edu/apply/test-optional/
George Washington University. Optional for most (but not all) students:
https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/test-optional
Examples of Test-Specific Policy
George Washington University: Optional for most applicants, but scores required for certain categories of students:
https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/test-optional
New York University:
https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html
Examples of Test-Required Policy
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): “First-year applicants: – Tests & scores.” MIT Admissions, 2023
https://mitadmissions.org/apply/firstyear/tests-scores/
Georgetown University: “Preparation Process | Office of Undergraduate Admissions | Georgetown University.” Office of Undergraduate Admissions, 2023
https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/applying/preparation-process/#TestRequirements
GaTech (Georgia Institute of Technology): “Standardized Tests | Undergraduate Admission.” Undergraduate admission, 2023
https://admission.gatech.edu/first-year/standardized-tests
Example of Under Evaluation Policy
Tufts University. Ferguson, Laura. “Applications for the Undergraduate Class of 2027 Top 34000.” Tufts Now, 17 January 2023
https://now.tufts.edu/2023/01/17/applications-undergraduate-class-2027-top-34000