2010 POWER Application Boot Camp®

For 2010 we are excited to offer our new POWER Application Boot Camp® (link to sales page)! This is an intensive two-day program for rising seniors and is a condensed version of our SOLD OUT 6th annual Application Boot Camp® workshop. This workshop includes the Application Boot Camp® Self Guided Program to get you started on applications before the workshop, and two days of intensive work directly with Dr. Michele Hernandez and Mimi Doe to help students finish all their college application materials, optimize their odds of admission and pick target schools that are within range.

Learn more about 2010 POWER Application Boot Camp®

1. Don’t be afraid to focus in and expand upon a subject
that interests you. You do not have to cover EVERYTHING
as the admissions office will also have your complete file
when they read your application. That’s why it’s OK to
spend 20 minutes talking about your love of Greek and
Latin, especially if your interviewer happens to share that love.
If you find a common bond, follow up! There are no rules to what
must be covered.

2. Look the interviewer in the eye — it’s off-putting to stare
down at your feet.

3. Make sure you have substantive questions, not just typical
questions you could find the answers to in the view book or web
site. If the interviewer attended the school, ask pointed
questions about what he or she liked or didn’t like about the
school.

4. After the interview, write a brief thank you note (hand
written is best) and try to mention something specific that you
talked about so they remember who you are.

5. Make sure you do your research about the school BEFORE the
interview so you’re not caught asking embarrassing questions
about a program that doesn’t exist or a major that is no longer a
real program.

6. Students tend to overcompensate for how they think they should
dress for an on-campus or alumni interview and end up looking
like they are going to the prom. Others who don’t want to look
concerned about how to dress end up looking like hobos. Part of
how to dress of course depends on who you are and how you
normally dress. If we had to make the most general suggestion,
we’d suggest dressing only a standard deviation or so up or down
from how you normally dress unless you are very far from the
“normal” spectrum. If you are too dressed up (dresses for girls,
suits and ties for boys) it looks like you went way out of your
way and that draws unnecessary attention to yourself. Unless you
go to school dressed that way, avoid it. On the other hand, you
don’t want to wear ripped jeans, a tongue ring, dyed hair and
tattoos unless you really want your dress to make a statement for
you. Either extreme ends up detracting from what you actually
have to say.

You don’t have to be a boring conservative, but you
shouldn’t be ultra casual either. For boys, usually either
khaki-type pants and a neat shirt (polos are fine or collared
shirts if you feel more comfortable) with some clean shoes are
appropriate for any interview. Some sneakers might pass, but hey,
try shoes which look better with pants! Boys can also wear clean
and neat jeans instead of chino-style pants if that’s closer to
their normal style of dress (but keep the shoes). Girls have a
wider variety of options. You do not have to look “dressed up.”
Any slacks and shirt works, or a skirt and blouse if you like
that type of clothing. When in doubt, go for neat and aim to fly
under the radar. In the interview, your words should speak for
you without your clothing interfering too much in any one
direction!

If you are meeting someone for an alumni interview at an office,
however, dress accordingly. So, if you are going to a fancy law
firm, a jacket and tie might be appropriate. If, however, you
are meeting the person at Starbucks, ditch the jacket and tie.

Elite athletes aren’t just starters or team captains. They are
league MVPs. They make all-section or all-district teams. They
excel on club teams or other competitions outside of school. Some
small Division III liberal arts colleges are happy to welcome
merely serious athletes on to their teams, but to get recruited
at a Division I school, you must be elite. (This is true of every
school from USC and Penn State to Columbia and Brown.) For better
or worse, these athletes have special avenues to get into
college. (Keep in mind, the rationale is that many athletes with
lower grades have lower grades specifically because they’ve spent
so much time on sports!)

If you are a top-level high school athlete and considering being
recruited, there are a number of things you need to do junior
year. First of all, sign up on the NCAA website so you are
official. Next, identify the names and address of college
coaches at the schools which are of interest to you, they are
high level in your sport, etc. Then, you will want to contact
each coach with a letter and a resume so he/she knows you are
interested. It pays to put together a stat sheet that has all the
particulars (your height, weight, athletic awards, level of
competition) along with your GPA, test scores and any other
academic distinctions so coaches can see if you are going to be
strong enough to pursue as an official recruit.

This week we would like to focus on the all important SAT Subject Tests (formally called SAT IIs). Why are they so important for top colleges? In short, they help colleges interpret your grades and equalize grading scales from high school to high school. How does an A at school X compare to an A in school Y? Well, if one student scored a 770 on the Bio SAT Subject Test and the other scored a 580, we’d know that the first school had a much “truer” grading scale and that the competition was simply not as strong at school Y. In effect, these scores either show that a student deserved the high grades he received, or that the school simply hands out many A’s. With that being the case, students usually have to submit 2-3 SAT Subject Tests at most competitive colleges.

Students should consider very carefully WHICH tests they sign up for – most students don’t even realize that the average test scores are totally different on every SAT Subject Test! Most assume that the mean score is 500, but that is NOT the case. Take the Math IC and the Math IIC. Many students take the IC thinking it’s “easier,” but the average score on that test is a 588. If you miss a handful of questions, you will not even score in the 700’s! Compare that to the Math IIC — the AVERAGE score is 659! That means you can get a bunch wrong and still be in the 700’s(on a recent test, you could get 7 wrong and still score a perfect 800). In other words, every test has a different group of test takers — the kids who take the IIC are a smaller group, but a stronger group.  Take exams like the Chinese — since almost all the kids who take it actually speak Chinese, the average is very high: 752! Here’s another fact to keep in mind: the percentile scores do NOT get reported to colleges, only the grade. Most admissions officers don’t differentiate or even worry about if you 750 was “high” or low for your test. So those who get a 752 on the Chinese test (the highest average of all the SAT Subject Tests) score only 50%, but the score still looks strong.

The message is, it pays to study the average scores and pick tests based on your ability and the scoring curve. The average information is available on the College Board’s web site and is actually printed on the score reports you receive back after taking SAT Subject Tests. Use them to your advantage! You can study over the summer and take subject tests in October if you
missed the May/June test dates.

First, many schools give course credit or advanced standing to
students who score well on individual tests – usually you need at
least a 3, if not a 4. So that’s an obvious reason for taking the
test seriously. Even if your intended schools don’t recognize AP
credit, if you’re a junior you still want to do at least as well
on the exam as you did in the course—getting an A in the course
but a 3 on the exam will not look good! If you took an AP course
and did NOT take the corresponding exam colleges will wonder why
not?  It will raise a flag.  If you’re a senior, it might be
harder to motivate for the AP tests, but if nothing else, you
should view them as a culminating achievement and a way to
acknowledge the effort that you—and your teachers—have expended
throughout the year. 

REPORTING AP SCORES

We find that there is still much confusion about AP tests.  AP
tests are part of the College Board – the very same people who
bring you the SAT I’s and Subject Tests, and yet, the sign up and
score delivery are different. For those taking AP’s, there are a
few things to keep in mind.

If you take an AP test and you are SURE you did horribly — a 1,
maybe a 2, you have until June 15 to cancel your score BEFORE it
is scored. You must notify the College Board in writing if you
choose this option and your score will be gone forever
(interesting enough, an AP representative actually incorrectly
told us on the phone that the date was July 15 and that you COULD
see your score before deciding to cancel, but he was wrong as we
confirmed after several hours more speaking to AP supervisors –
nice to know there are those who actually work for the College
Board who have no idea what their policy is!).

But, let’s say a student ends up with a bunch of really strong AP
scores, say 4 and 5 range, and then one score of 1 or 2 — the AP
actually gives you the option (of course this does involve, as
usual, more money for them) of paying $10 per school per score to
“withhold” a score from one or all of your colleges. This is a
handy option especially for students who are thinking of taking
an AP exam in a subject they might not have had an actual class
for — it encourages students to take risks, so we like it! The
key is – and read this carefully – do NOT list any colleges in
May to send your scores to because that way it is easier to
withhold scores later. You can still withdraw a score even if you
sent then already, but it’s a much cleaner solution to wait till
July 1 (and, again, spend an extra few $ to get scores by phone),
see what your scores are and THEN pay to send you scores to
schools.  For more information go to:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd_rep.html

If you cancel a score, it is gone forever and never gets scored,
hence it does not count in your AP average for AP scholar
designations. BUT, even though you might choose to withhold a
score from a college, note that it DOES count in your AP average
and will affect AP scholar designations. In short, use this
version of “score choice” to your advantage and take some extra
AP’s that you study for on your own.

One final note: AP Information is tough to find on the
CollegeBoard.com website.  Remember, you have to request your AP
scores separately from your SAT’s.  Head here for more info:
APCentral.collegeboard.com  

SAT TUTORING PROGRAM
Need help navigating the SAT? Sign Up with our “Rogue SAT Tutors”, Mike and Patrick Barrett, for a 5-hour consultation that will show you step-by-step ways to tackle SAT questions by leveraging your existing knowledge. Register for your SAT
Tutoring Sessions NOW!
 

Please note that you can’t cancel one test only – ALL tests you
took that day will be cancelled. So, for example, if you took the
SAT Subject Test in Bio, Math II and Literature and felt you
bombed one test, you probably should NOT cancel the test as ALL
scores will be lost. The moral of the story is SAT Subject Tests
should never be a surprise. They are very content-based. If
you’re not doing well on the official practice test, don’t take
the test. Most top colleges require two or three tests.

The best preparation is to take practice tests from The Official
Study Guide for all SAT Subject Tests from the College Board and
see how you’re doing. This guide contains full-length tests and
answers for all twenty tests and an audio CD for all six
languages with listening tests.

We also want to remind you of a few things when taking
standardized tests.  And, this is from our own experience with
students over the years!!

* Bring an extra calculator, not just extra batteries.  That way if
your calculator dies, you aren’t sunk.
* Bring #2 pencils, NOT mechanical pencils as your test will NOT
be scored if the lead is too faint!
* Bring tissues.  Yes, bloody noses have happened during testing
and one of our students had no recourse other than to leave the
testing room.
* Do NOT drink a lot of liquid before testing.  Yes, you will get
bathroom breaks, but the stories of suffering and distraction due to
having to go to the bathroom are plentiful.  And, there will be long
lines during the short breaks.  You get the picture.

Students taking the SAT now are lucky as the College Board changed
their policy on score choice.  Note: Any student who has taken an SAT
prior to the policy launch (March 2009) or who registers for the SAT
after launch will be able to take advantage of this new policy. The
students who have taken tests prior to the launch can use the
score-reporting feature retroactively. Additionally, this new
score-reporting feature will be optional to students. If a student chooses
not to select their scores, all of their scores will be sent.

What this MIGHT mean is that students can take the SAT I as many times
as they like and select which test scores they want to show colleges.  For
more information head over to: 
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/scores/policy

What has happened, however, is that a few schools are saying they won’t
adhere to the new policy and will demand kids show ALL scores (to give
you an idea, a partial list of these schools are Stanford, Dartmouth, Cornell
and USC).  We guide our students, therefore, to prep before taking the SAT
once late in their sophomore year either at a test center or at home to get a
benchmark and then January and March their junior year for their official
scores. 

SAT SUBJECT TEST TUTORING

Need help navigating the SAT Subject Tests? Sign up now for a
three-hour session with our Rogue Tutor, Mike Barrett! Mike empowers
students to “break the SAT code” by leveraging your existing
knowledge. Sign up today, in time for June tests!

Many students in the competitive college pool have high
math scores on the SAT, but way fewer have high CR
scores, so that’s one way a student can stand out. We
adore Mike as he is not only brilliant at teaching kids
strategy, but he is also a great guy who loves helping
students beat the SAT. Mike also tutors for the SSAT,
LSAT, GRE and Subject Tests. We urge all of our clients
to spend at least five hours tutoring with Mike via phone.
Scores DO go up. 

There are two main reasons for this strategy: First, reading the passage
too closely is either going to bore you to sleep or distract you from
your main focus, which should be attacking the SAT in a
systematic way. Second, reading the passage is mostly a waste of
time anyway, because many SAT questions will refer you to
specific parts of the passage (often identified by line numbers)
that you will have to read again later.

Your only goal at this point is to get a rough idea of some of the
concepts that appear in the passage. That’s all. Once you’ve done
that, you move on to the first question.

2. Make sure you read questions and citations COMPLETELY.  
If you miss a word like not or because, you won’t be able to answer
the question correctly. 

3. Make sure you read the key parts of the passage.
Even if the question doesn’t ask you to, it’s usually a good idea to read
these key parts of the passage:
            the italicized introduction to the passage 
             the opening sentence of the passage 
            the closing sentence of the passage   

These parts of the passage will often contain key information that gives
you an idea of the passage, and it only takes a few seconds to read them!

THE ULTIMATE SAT GUIDE  
While nothing is a complete substitute for the skills students
can gain working with Mike in his five hour tutoring package,
he has written The Ultimate SAT Manual to help students with
their self-guided learning. Whether you’re struggling to break
500 points on a section or closing in on that elusive 800,
Mike’s advice can get you where you want to go. 

PARENTS

We are both moms. Mimi has two daughters in college and
 Michele has a daughter in 7th grade and a son in 1st grade.
We write today’s newsletter knowing how hard it is as a
parent to balance our dreams for our precious children
with the reality of their own high school journey. Plus, we
want our children to love us, not hate us for putting too
much pressure on them – how can you walk that fine line
between motivating them and over loading them? A recent
NY Times article talked about the incredible stress over
placement exams in India, a country where millions of
students compete for a small number of college slots, and
that’s only counting the spots in India, not abroad.

We talk to a lot of parents of high school students. You would
not believe how many times we hear, “My wife/husband and I have
our heart set on College X for our son/daughter…” We then have to
say something such as, “We have to warn you right up front that
it’s your CHILD who needs his/her heart set, not you, the
parent.” All the parental wishing in the world will not help a
kid get into Harvard, Princeton or Yale. Some students,
especially those from Indian, Chinese, or another Asian
backgrounds, actually have to be stronger than the other
applicants even at those schools. Why? Because they are in the
most competitive demographic applying. It’s routine for
admissions officers to see high 700s and perfect 800s on SAT
tests.

Our goal is to push kids to reach their potential, but we can’t
create an award-winning talent. For example, if a 9th grader has
no amazing skills (top French horn player, champion skater,
musician, poet…) and is taking low-level (non-honors) classes, it
is unlikely that he/she will rise to national prominence in
something in the next two years before college (you apply after
11th grade). Our job is to maximize kids’ grades, scores,
academic effort and extras to be the best they can be. Then, we
help them get into the school that is the best match at the top
end of their range – but note, range is determined by grades,
scores, national prominence in academic areas, awards, etc…. No
one can take a student in a lower range and boost them up into a
different set of schools. No matter how proud or optimistic a
parent may be, parent and students alike must understand that
they are dealing with a system over which they have no control. 

Parents are not, as much as we would often like to be, the key
players, the CHILD is the key player. We try to keep the child
central to the process as it is their interests and passions we
are trying to nurture. And again, with 40% of the spots taken for
hooked candidates who are minority, athletic recruits, or
development cases, that means for an untagged student applying to
Stanford for example, the admit rate is more like 8% and the pool
is made up of valedictorians with huge national awards, talents,
etc…. Those are stiff odds, and it’s not fair to anyone to put
pressure on a student to get into a school like that.  There are
no guarantees, and sometimes the most you can do is hope. 

Parents simply must revise their expectations to fall in line
with their child’s proclivities or it’s a recipe for disaster and
a demoralized son or daughter.

APPLICATION BOOT CAMP® SELF GUIDED PROGRAM 
 
Knowledge is power and our guides help make the admissions
process more transparent. The Application Boot Camp® Self
Guided Program  is an easy and accessible program for students
to enable them to complete all the pieces of their college applications
and present themselves in the best possible light. It is an excellent
substitute if a student is not able to travel to Cambridge, MA, for our
live Boot Camp® sessions in August.

Click here to purchase your copy of the Self Guided Program
today!
 

“My son has just been accepted early action to Stanford. He used your
Self Guided Program we purchased online and we can’t begin to thank
you for the guidance.”

— Jason (Son, Stanford 2012)