Standardized Testing
Score Optional Schools
Standardized testing is not every student’s strong suit and some students are not strategic in their planning of test dates, not allowing enough time to apply early or retest for strong scores. There are some great schools that are “score optional” schools, meaning that they do not require applicants to submit standardized testing scores to be considered for admission. Many technical and arts schools do not see the ACT and SAT as good indicators of future performance, and now many larger universities and liberal arts schools are recognizing the limitations of testing. For instance, some schools believe that using the SAT and ACT in their admissions decisions give unfair advantage to students from schools or families that can afford courses in or tutors for test preparation. Other schools believe doing away with standardized testing will help “enhance intellectual and demographic diversity,” says Bob Schaeffer from FairTest (the National Center for Fair & Open Testing), a non-profit group that supports score optional choice. From a less public-spirited standpoint, becoming score-optional may also help schools raise their rankings with such institutions as US News and World Report – presumably, if students choose not to submit scores, their scores are likely on the lower end; if those students’ scores were not counted, the school’s overall standardized test scores would be raised, which, in turn, helps to increase their rank. 32 of the top 100 colleges on the U.S. News & World Report liberal arts college list, including Bates, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Hamilton and Smith, no longer require every applicant to submit an SAT or ACT score. But, many of these score optional schools gather scores from all students after enrollment, including those who did not submit scores for admission, and submit inflated scores to US News and other organizations that don’t include scores from students who did not submit them during the admissions process. A slightly sneaky way to up their rankings?
We urge our students to send scores that are strong even to those score optional schools to which they apply. For students who do not have scores they wish to send, there are a good number of excellent schools across the country that do not penalize you for submitting an application without standardized test results. We just want to give you a complete picture of the score optional scenario – warts and all. Jay Matthews, a reporter for the Washington Post wrote an interesting piece about the topic: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2009/07/what_the_sat-optional_colleges.html. But, then again, the Washington Post owns Kaplan – one of the largest test tutoring companies. So, was Mr. Matthews incentivized to bash anyone who dared to do away with Kaplan’s bread and butter? One’s mind spins.
The following is an abridged version of the list of SAT score optional schools compiled by the FairTest website. This list includes accredited, bachelor-degree granting colleges and universities that de-emphasize the use of standardized tests by making admissions decisions about substantial numbers of applicants who recently graduated from US high schools without using the SAT or ACT. See http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/OptionalPDFHardCopy.pdf for a full list SAT score optional schools.
Bard College Ohio State Universities
Bates College Oregon State University – Corvallis
Bowdoin College Pitzer College
College of the Atlantic Rollins College
Concordia University Smith College
California State Universities South Dakota State University
Denison University Susquehanna University
Dickinson College Texas A&M
Drew University University of Alaska
Franklin and Marshall College University of Arkansas
George Mason University University of Idaho at Moscow
Gettysburg College University of Kansas at Lawrence
Goddard College University of Maine
Goucher College University of Minnesota
Hampshire College University of Mississippi
Hobart and William Smith Colleges University of Montana
Kansas State University University of Nebraska
Knox College University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Reno
Lake Forest College University of Texas
Lewis and Clark College Ursinus College
Middlebury College Wake Forest University
Mount Holyoke Washington College
Muhlenberg College Western Kentucky University
Nazareth College Wheaton College
New School Wittenberg University
Northern Arizona University Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
ACT with Writing
After the transcript, colleges give most weight to test scores. At schools like Dartmouth and Columbia, the average verbal SAT score is about 730, and the average math is 735. That’s typical at all the top schools, although Cornell and Brown can be a bit lower, and Harvard, Yale, and Princeton can be a bit higher. Clearly in order to get into this top category of schools you MUST have strong test scores. Typically on SAT Subject Tests, most students aiming for top colleges earn over 740 on three SAT Subject Tests. All the non-hooked students we have worked with who have gotten into Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale have tended to have 740 and up Critical Reading, 730 and up in Math and 730 and up in Writing.
Some schools, however, will accept the ACT with Writing in lieu of SAT Subject Tests.
We think that taking the ACT with Writing benefits the majority of applicants. Since the colleges will take your highest scores on either the SAT I or the ACT with Writing, you can let them choose your best score. Also, it can offset a weaker writing SAT I score if you take the writing section of the ACT with Writing. Since the ACT with Writing is a bit less aptitude-oriented, some students do better on it than on the SAT I. Plus, it’s shorter than the SAT I so those who have trouble concentrating for four hours have an alternative.
There is no guessing penalty, which means you can fill in every answer instead of figuring out which ones to leave blank.
Some colleges (you have to check each one individually) will accept the ACT with Writing in lieu of SAT Subject Tests, so that is often a very convenient option. In short, you have very little to lose, but could have a lot to gain by taking the ACT with Writing.
Rising Seniors
We are working this week with rising seniors in our 2nd Application Boot Camp session. You can create your own focused Boot Camp by setting aside time NOW to complete your applications. It can be an overwhelming process so take it step by step. We’re here to help.
- Need help with your essays? Lead Editor Josh Stephens is a master and will work with you via phone and internet.
- Unable to make it to Cambridge to join us this week or next? Schedule a Personal Application Boot Camp and Josh Stephens will come to you.
- Want to create your own 4 Day Boot Camp for a fraction of the cost? Check out our Self Guided Application Boot Camp.
- Need help brushing up on your October Subject Test scores so your application has the numbers you need? Genius tutor Mike Barrett gives you strategies to outsmart the tests.
Once again we are indicating samples of application options. Our newsletter last week included an outdated schedule, we apologize for our error.
Types of Applications*
| Application | Deadline* | Sample Schools |
| Rolling Nonbinding |
September onward | University of Wisconsin Penn State |
| Early Action Nonbinding |
November 1 | University of Chicago UNC MIT** Notre Dame |
| Restrictive Early Action Nonbinding but may not concurrently apply to a binding Early Decision program, although may make multiple Early Action applications. |
November 1 | Boston College Georgetown |
| Single-Choice Early Action Nonbinding but unable to apply Early Decision or Early Action to other schools |
November 1 | Yale Harvard Princeton |
| Early Decision Binding |
November 1 or November 15 | Dartmouth Bowdoin |
| Early Decision II Binding |
January 1 or January 15 | Vanderbilt Vassar |
| Regular Decision Nonbinding |
December 15-January 1 | All schools |
* Double check application deadlines as they can vary year to year
** MIT’s Early Action Program is available only to citizens and permanent residents of the United States.
More Early Explanations:
Single Choice Early Action: Means you can ONLY apply to that school early, no ED schools or other EA schools. You can, in some cases, apply to your state, public university.
1. Yale: Single Choice Early Action: http://admissions.yale.edu/faq/single-choice-early-action
2. Stanford: Restrictive Early Action (but should really be called Single Choice): http://stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/decision_process/restrictive.html
3. Harvard: Single Choice Early Action: Not up on their site yet, we have: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/02/early-action-returns/
4. Princeton: Single Choice Early Action: Not up on their site yet, we have: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S29/85/15K32/index.xml?section=topstories
Restrictive Early Action: You can apply Early Action to other schools but not Early Decision except for Stanford which calls themselves Restrictive Early Action but is really Single Choice Early Action
1.Georgetown: Restrictive Early Action http://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/applying_firstyear_earlyaction.cfm
2.Boston College: Restrictive Early Action: http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/tips/s-applyingearly.html
Early Action:
UVA is regular EA now.
Year By Year – There’s Lots You Can Do
SAMPLE Questions:
I have just finished junior year and am stressed about the whole application process and selecting schools. Do you have any services that might help me?
What should I do this summer that would help me get into a better college? I’m going to be a junior in the fall?
●The Ultimate Guide to Top High School Summer Programs
My son is a smart kid and did well his freshman year in high school, but he doesn’t have any of the high level awards other kids in his school who have gone to the Ivies received. Can you guide us?
●The Ultimate Guide to Top Contests and Awards
How can I push up my SAT scores? I have time this summer, but I’ve heard that the big company SAT prep courses in a class room aren’t customized enough and sort of waste time? Any ideas?
●SAT Tutoring with Rogue Tutor Mike Barrett
My son took the ACT with Writing and followed your newsletter advice and compared it to his SAT scores and we’ve determined the ACT is his stronger test. Now how can he take it again and do better? Can you give us more info on your tutors?
●ACT Tutoring with Steve and Amy Dulan
Pick Your SAT Subject Tests Carefully!
This week we would like to focus on the all important SAT Subject Tests (formally called SAT II’s and longer ago, achievement tests). Many students aren’t even aware that they should take these tests after completing the corresponding course work. We want to bust some Subject Test myths.
Why are Subject Tests so important for top colleges? Sure, they are yet another quantitative way to evaluate a student. 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, colleges would assume 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. Many competitive colleges require 2 Subject Tests. But read on because with many things in admissions it is not what it appears. While schools “require” 2 tests, top candidates often submit 4, 5, 6 Subject Tests.
Students should consider very carefully WHICH tests they sign up for – most students don’t even realize that the average test scores are different on every SAT Subject Test! Most assume that the mean score is 500, but that is NOT the case. See the College Board’s chart for the Class of 2010:
Take the Math Level I and the Math Level II as an example. Many students take the I thinking it’s “easier,” but the average score on that test is a 605. If you miss a handful of questions, you will not even score in the 700′s! Compare that to the Math II — the AVERAGE score is 649! 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 II are a smaller group, but a stronger group.
Then there are the tests such as the Chinese with Listening — since almost all the kids who take it actually speak Chinese, the average is very high: 761!
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 your 760 was high or low for your test. So those who get a 764 on the Korean with Listening 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, as noted above, and is actually printed on the score reports you receive back after taking SAT Subject Tests. Use them to your advantage!
Good luck with Subject Tests if you are taking them this Saturday and one final tip: TAKE PRACTICE TESTS. The practice tests available in the College Boards book: The Official Study Guide for all Subject Tests are only an hour long (the length of the test) and the results are quite true to actual results so will help you study.
Practicing for SAT Subject Tests
Several students recently have wanted to cancel their test scores on either SATs or Subject Tests.
To cancel a score at the test center, a student:
- Asks the test supervisor for a Request to Cancel Test Scores Form
- Completes and signs the form before leaving the test center
- Returns form to the test supervisor before leaving the center
Additionally students may decide to cancel their scores after leaving the test center. The request to cancel scores in writing must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Wednesday after the test date. Students cannot submit cancellation requests by phone or email—their signature is required. More information can be found on the College Board website.
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, 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 never-before-published 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 this year!
*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 recently 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 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 and then January and March their junior year if needed.
AP Exams
Ambitious students flock to AP classes, and with good reason: they are rigorous and indicative of intellectual curiosity. Many top schools expect to see transcripts laden with AP classes. Colleges look at your grades in AP classes and assume that they represent a higher level of achievement than an equivalent grade in a “regular” class, so it’s almost always an advantage to have high grades in AP classes. Many students, however, ask about the value of the AP exams themselves.
First, many colleges 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, 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.
If your school does not have AP classes or only has a few AP classes, you can always take an AP class at a neighboring school or online. You would then ask your school to order the AP test so that you could take it under their supervision. Colleges love to see students who self-studied for an AP as it clearly shows going above and beyond. Some of our students have used K12 Inc, Aventa Learning, The Center for Talented Development at Northwestern University, The Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, and the Gifted Program at the University of Missouri.
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 SATs and SAT Subject Tests, and yet, the sign up and score delivery are different. For those taking APs, 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 College Board actually gives you the option (of course this does involve, as usual, more money for them) of paying $12 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 them already, but it’s a much cleaner solution to wait until July 1 (and, again, spend an extra few dollars 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 APs 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 SATs. Head here for more info: APCentral.collegeboard.com.
ACT Registration Deadline Alert
Register online by March 4 for the April 9 administration of the ACT. Visit www.act.org to set up your account and register!
SAT Critical Reading
Mike Barrett, our Application Boot Camp Rogue Tutor gives this week’s tip on the CR section of the SAT:
Skim the passages as quickly and superficially as you can.
It may sound strange, but the best way to address SAT Critical Reading is to read each passage as little as possible the first time around. (In fact, when possible, you should do your best to skip reading the entire passage altogether.)
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.
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.
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!
Pick your SAT Subject Tests carefully!
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.
Enrichment Tutors
Your children go to school every day, where they receive a standardized, one-size-fits-all education. What happens when they come home? Enrichment Tutors is a new service offering full-time, live-in tutors to clients all over the world. The service provides each client with an Ivy League-educated tutor with teaching experience, a laundry list of references, and a proven track record of bringing students success.
Enrichment Tutors are teachers, mentors, and role models WHO continue your child’s education outside of the
classroom, working with your child to identify his or her learning style,
academic niche, and area of expertise, as well as his or her
academic gap. In addition to the other roles that your Enrichment Tutor will play, he or she will also be a live-in agent for ABC’s program, enforcing our lessons, providing the test-prep that we recommend, improving our students’ grades, and offering an all-around improvement to students’ applicants.
Contact Anthony@ApplicationBootCamp.com for more information about the Enrichment Tutors program and for pricing information and availability.
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