Category: SAT

Often, students and parents ask admissions officers what do they prefer to see on a transcript. “Is it better to show an A in honors classes over a B in AP classes or vice versa?” The answer is ‘it depends.’

It ‘depends’ on the type of school you’re considering. While most schools, as defined by USNWR of top 30, prefer that you take the most rigorous and challenging curriculum, the answer should be quite obvious; ‘excel and get A’s in all coursework.’

This recommendation is advised in the context of the competition. If you’re applying to schools that practice highly selective admissions, where the admit rate is less than 20%, presenting your consistent performance and demonstrated success for the past three years of high school would be ideal. Consider the fact that at these schools, many enrolled students will have an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and 1500+ on their SATs. Putting your best foot forward [...]

Summer always seems to fly by faster each year. We always have such great plans to get everything done, and then next thing you know it’s September again! This month, we’re going to focus on what things students who are entering their junior year of high school should be thinking about. Junior year is one of the most important ones for the college admissions process, since it will be the last full year of grades that will be seen before decisions are made. In addition, work that students do now can lighten the load of what they need to do later on, when the pressure is higher.

First, they should make sure that they are in all the right classes for the school year. Ideally, colleges want to see students challenge themselves by taking the hardest classes that they they can thrive in. It’s a careful balance – you don’t want to overface yourself and [...]

It is hard to believe, but summer is here, and with it comes changing schedules and a break in the routine. It’s easy to let the weeks slip by, but remember that summer never seems to be as long as we expect! For rising seniors, the summer is a critical time – this is your chance to get ahead on all your college applications. Students can officially access the Common Application starting in August, however that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do before then. First off, rising seniors should make sure to check out the essay topics for this year’s Common App Essay (find them on commonapp.org). Use the summer to work on this. Keep in mind that this is a personal essay, and so it may take some time to get it right. The best essays are almost never the first draft that you write. Give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm and try [...]

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The in school SAT will take place on April 24, so I thought I would use this column to give you some quick, last minute tips.  The reality is, there is no easy fix to improving your test scores. The students that improve the most are the ones who start preparing early and put serious effort into practicing.  There’s no shortcut to hard work! Still, there are a few tips that I’ve picked up from years of tutoring that I’m going to share with you. I’m hoping at least a few of them will be new to you.

James continues a discussion from a previous episode talking to admissions officer Jackie Jewett.

The final installment of James’s interview with Jackie Jewett, brought to you by Online College Planning. Jackie gives advice for athletes, looking at applying to college.

Jackie discusses her own experience both as an admissions officer and as a parent who has experienced the process first hand.

Online College Planning gives guidance and insight to make informed decisions to students academic future. They are active in developing new and innovative solutions to help families in the college planning process.

Listen to episode 8 below:

It is staying light later, and while it may seem like it will take an eternity to get here, spring is not that far away. With spring comes standardized test season for high school juniors. In this month’s article I am going to focus on the key differences and similarities between the SAT and ACT.

First, let’s start with timing. Here is a breakdown of the length of each section, and number of questions, for both tests.

You will notice that there is much less time per question on the ACT than there is on the [...]

People say that junior year is critical for the college admission process since it is the last full year of grades that colleges will see when making the admission decision.  But that doesn’t paint the whole picture.  Students need to think about more than just good grades.  In fact, most college admission officers will tell students that from January of their junior year on it is “Full tilt towards college!” all the way.  But, what does that mean exactly?  In this article, I outline a timeline for students to follow for the remainder of their junior year of high school and highlight some of the important tasks that need to be completed.

College Visits:

If a student hasn’t visited a college yet, now is the time to do so.  The campus visit has taken on more importance than it used to.  Many colleges now look at demonstrated interest when making their admission decisions.  It also [...]

Members of the class of 2020 and 2021 will be able to access their PSAT scores online on December 9.  After seeing their son or daughter’s scores, many parents will ask the same question: What do these mean?  

Parents who have an older child may find these scores strangely unfamiliar.   The scores have gone back to the future and returned to the 1600 scale instead of the 2400 scale.  There are two scores on the test now: A math score and an evidence based reading and writing score.  Each of these is scored from 160 to 760, and those scores are combined to give you a score from 320 to 1520. A PSAT score is on the same continuum as the SAT, so your score reflects what you would achieve on the [...]