SAT and ACT: Info & Prep

ACT & SAT
Many colleges require standardized testing for admission. All colleges take both exams, the ACT and the SAT, and show no preference for either exam. The optional essay is eliminated as of Spring 2021.

Want to Participate in College Athletics?

Those who intend to play sports in college have additional work to do. Some extra tasks are:

Weekly Newsletter for Parents of Juniors-Winter 2020-2021

March 2, 2021 newsletter

Basic Facts & Assumptions-read this first!

GRADES ARE #1
Grades are always the #1 thing colleges examine for admissibility. #2 is the rigor of courses you are enrolled in: college prep, honors and AP courses. If you are easily earning As in college prep courses, colleges expect you to move up. #3 are test scores (ACT or SAT). Are your scores consistent with your grades? A student with a 3.9 GPA and 550 SAT scores indicates a terrific work ethic that is overcompensating for average test scores. A student with 640 SAT scores and a 2.8 GPA is an underachiever: the test scores say the student is far more talented than the B- average he or she is earning in high school. At most colleges, scores and GPA must be commensurate. Students with the high GPA and so-so test scores should consider test-optional colleges, and students with the B average & high test scores need to work on their grades as much as possible, especially junior & senior year. Use collegeboard.org & Naviance to see which colleges are a good match for you.

How Can I Afford College?

There is a million dollar difference between a high school graduate and college graduate, over their lifetime of earnings. What could be a better investment than a college degree?

Summer Plans?

What are your summer plans? Colleges are interested in how you are spending your summers. They don't rank "working a job" lower than "an expensive summer program on Harvard's campus". In fact, they don't rank summer plans at all, but expect that you do something. Colleges learn a lot about you as a person by how you spend your free time. It does not have to cost you any money. Be sure to check WHO is sponsoring the (expensive?) program. Often, for-profit companies rent out elite campuses to run summer programs, and advertise them to you and might lead you to believe it will help in getting into that college. You might assume that the admissions departments are running them. Check the fine print. 

Take a Summer or College Course

Summer Internships for students interested in STEM 
http://www.msgc.org/students/internships/highschool/

Preview a College Course
Yale and MIT provide free and open access to a selection of courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars. Before applying to either college, may I suggest you preview a course? It will make you a more informed applicant. Highly selective places like Yale & MIT would expect that you are involved in learning outside the Cheverus classroom. Have you explored Khan Academy? (free!) Check out Engineer4Free which offers college-level math, science & engineering classes.

What's a Gap Year?

Gap Year: take a break from schooling, and enjoy travel, paid work, training or volunteer work. Consider these well-know options: 

Photo Collage - Drexel, Bucknell, Skidmore, Villanova, UConn, Fairfield, Scranton, Vassar, Dickinson, Ithaca, LeMoyne, Syracuse

 A wonderful Cheverus mom made these collages when her daughters toured campuses. Enjoy!

Purdue University - visit report

 I spent a week at Purdue University, in West Lafayette Indiana in July 2009. I returned in April 2010 for a long weekend.

Weekly Newsletter for Parents of Seniors - 2020-2021

March 1 2021 newsletter

Boston & Boston Area Colleges - visit reports

 In September 2017 I visited Suffolk University in the heart of Boston. What a cool location for someone looking for an urban experience! This is the view from one of the high-rise dorms.

Junior Kick Off

Juniors & their Families - College Advising Kick Off - annually in late August

Handout 1: what to do 1st semester to become a more competitive applicant
Handout 2: Tulane University tips specifically for juniors
Timeline of College Advising events

Next up: look for an email from Ms Coddaire in December to set up your 30 minute family meeting.

Find the 2020 hour-long recording of the program on the College Advising YouTube channel.

Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida campus tour

I visited Lynn in January 2020 and was so impressed by their friendly community and obvious care for students. Ask me about Lynn & their unique facilities like their own airport!