Regarding testing/subject matter tests, D’s honors chemistry teacher encouraged her to take the AP chem test this month but she declined. It’s a shame as she is really good in chemistry (96) but does not like STEM apparently. She said she is doing well in chemistry because of the math but doesn’t like the subject matter, huh? When you guys have teenagers figured out please let me know lol…
^^FYI, it was the SAT subject test.
@3scoutsmom, since D will most likely follow your sons’ journey. And boy after reading what McDermott requires…no way is she going to apply for that. She is just going to focus on SAT/PSAT, no SAT II, NO ECs other than Debate and Academic Decathlon. No NHS (she has no interest). What do you think?
I thinks that a good plan, I would not worry about NHS at all. Debate and Academic Decathlon are great EC’s and are much more important than NHS.
I wonder if someone could help me with a question: So with the ACT, is the optional writing portion something the students all sit for? I understand that it is optional but that many schools require it. I assume you can take it once with the writing portion and again without? My S will likely just take the ACT not the SAT.
@Octagon while one CAN take it once with and once without the writing portion, I don’t think that’s wise. The reason being that some schools will not “super score” and will only consider the scores from all parts that were from one sitting. So if the student got a better grade on the second sitting of the ACT but hadn’t done the writing portion on that sitting, I don’t know if all schools would consider that second better ACT if they require a writing portion. Someone correct me if I’m wrong!
DS is at school doing the free Kaplan sat/act assessment test. Hope this is a good indicator for upcoming June tests. Maybe rescheduling is to be considered after today.
I have a similar question about the writing part. DS hasn’t done any practice there and the tests are in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions for quick tips?
As I am catching up on many posts it has been mentioned about summer not being a good time to tour. About half of the schools my D18 toured she did so during the summer because that was the only time she could ( was in an exchange program during February vacation of junior year and in a school production during April vacation of junior year). She had a lot of schools on her list that were too far to get in a long weekend so we did them in the summer. She still got a great feel for the school and was able to show demonstrated interest. This past February and March we went back to her top four acceptances to revisit during accepted student events. Three of these we had only seen in the summer. Two she loved even more (one is where she is going) and one moved her list. Long story short…better to get to that campus in the summer than not at all. Watched many parents in the 2018 thread and many of my daughters friends with lots of stress visiting lots of schools this past winter/spring and it is hard to squeeze them in with the senior schedule. Many days of school were lost because of this. Even with our careful planning she had to miss two days of school because the only flight we could get home was the Monday after February vacation for one school and the other because the accepted student event was a Friday/Saturday.
@socaldad2002 here are my thoughts on your post after completing the whole college application/admission process with D18:
a) Possibly agree. Depends how student did on PSAT, if they do very well taking the SATs soon after would be ok. Would wait for PSAT results.Recommended that they not be taken more than three times. Earliest I would take would be December if PSAT was good.
b) Disagree. Taking the SATs second semester of junior year is a good plan as you have had time to go over PSAT results and strengthen areas that needed. Also the students will have that much more under their belts from their classes (especially math). Would take them for the first time in March and then again in May if needed (unless they were taken in December due to high scores on the PSAT). If May is too much due AP then June would be the other date. If need be that August date before senior year is perfect for the third time. Can prep over the summer and have one more shot before application season goes into full swing.
Agree. The summer is the time to do prep the application (getting ECs down to 150 characters is a great challenge LOL, and work on the main essay. Would not do all the essays…maybe would do first drafts…of supplementals. It was amazing how much better my daughter’s voice became in her essays from that summer of junior year until this spring of senior year when she was writing scholarship and honor college essays. I think focusing on the main one is great for the summer but then taking the time with each of those supplementals and really nailing them individually one by one while applying to the school in the fall/winter is very important.
c)COMPLETELY agree! My daughter applied to several EA…the first one that came in was in early November so from that point on she knew she had a place a to go and that took so much of stress off her back. She was the first in her school to get in to a college so she felt on top instead of behind even which is how she had felt up to then as she had a challenging AP schedule and played a fall sport. By Christmas she had 6 EA acceptances including the school she is now attending. The only thing I caution here is some schools are very careful with their EA acceptances and if they think the student is doing it as a back up ( because their grades and scores would make this school a potential back up) they will defer the student to RD. Make sure to visit the EA schools your student is applying to for demonstrated interest and to really be able to give great reasons why he/she wants that school on the supplements.
@CAtransplant Thanks for the feedback. That makes sense. I guess there is no cutting corners!
I agree that testing too early is a bad idea for many students (but fine for some who are very advanced and great test takers). Mine was a one and done 35 in Feb of junior year. So glad there were no wasted Saturdays. They learn alot junior year and it was good to get results back from PSAT and other official practice tests. there is really no need to sit for the real one “as practice”. Better to recreate the test at home under strict real conditions.
Regarding taking SAT/ACT early, per a private counselor, their argument was that D having just finished H Algebra 2 as sophomore would be a good time to take the actual test as this is the highest math needed to do well on the exams.
Also this summer is a great time to study for the exam before junior year which will be tough with 4 AP, 1 honors class, varsity sport, student body plus ECs.
The other point is that we are not necessarily chasing merit (even though it would be nice) and I don’t see her taking the SAT and/or ACT more than maybe twice. I guess her actual scores will dictate taking additional exams.
We have another meeting with a different PC and will see what their thoughts are on testing dates?
@socaldad2002 I agree with you for kids that are in advanced math the longer you wait the more math you have to “refresh” for the test. There’s no one best time for everyone to test, you really need to look at each individual’s readiness and what other demands they have on their time. My kids could never do summer test dates becuase they have other commitments and May is AP’s and finals.
I agree it depends on the kid, which is why I said partially agree to the first point. If a student is in advanced math and does very well on the PSAT then the earlier would be ok for the first real one.
Not every student is advanced though and that is why I think in general January/February junior year to August/September (depending on the first tests) is a good option for most kids. It is a case by case basis.
As far as APs and so forth in spring of junior year, yes it may be challenging for the AP kids to study and take SATs, though there is also June. Again not every kid is AP, my D20 is not. My D18 was so I have seen this both ways. Also the schools that are looking for subject tests ( which are fewer and fewer each year) are the highly selective ones which most of the AP students are interested in the best time to take the subject test if it is the same subject as the AP is right after the student completes the AP class as they have already studied for that exam.
If a student has stellar test scores out of the gate than the summer/fall tests are moot but for many, many kids taking that senior year August or September test senior year gave them the score ( or component of super score) needed to get in. I would encourage everyone to look at the common data sets for this past year once they become available. If your student is not in the upper part of the 50% for scores they will really need to improve that. Also if you look at the threads here on CC with regards to the college decisions this year I think you will be surprised at some of the scores that did not get in.
Also there is something to be said for the more schooling a student has and just in general how much growth they go through from now (summer into junior year) until the end of junior year.
Sometimes I feel that test scores are important and, the higher the better. You need perfect or close to perfect scores to be a contender for competitive scholarships. But on the other hand, I feel, sometime the perfect score seems detrimental to the student, as it give impression of a test taking machine, especially when you take the test more than once. Am I wrong to think this way?
Have been off CC for a couple of weeks and many catchup to do.
One more week for S20 to finish his sophomore year! Can’t believe it.
He has done his APUSH and AP Stat exams, all his APUSH classmates thought the history exam was pretty easy, hope the results will indicate them to be correct. Lol. Their APUSH teacher asked them all to take the subject US history test on 5/5 so they all did that too, S20 got his result back today, 750. He was a bit disappointed but I think it is good enough.
We toured Duke this week and both S20 and I LOVE it. Beautiful campus, happy students, vibrant region (I often have to remind myself that I was in the South while dining in the triangle area, the quality and variety are quite satisfying), and charming AO who did the presentation (sold Duke really well!) — a couple of take home messages:
- ED is highly highly encouraged!
- course rigors are school-specific and number of APs or AP scores are not important
We are planning to do SAT math II this August along with SAT. Hoping to get good enough results so that we can move on from standardized testing! Wishful thinking?! Lol
@whataboutcollege
I don’t have personal experience as S20 will be my first college-bound kid, but I know some anecdotal cases where not perfect SAT/ACT got the kids into TT schools (not recruited athletes). My thinking is these tests are just one aspect of the students’ profiles, perfect scores are good to have, but should be balanced with time-committed and there are many other worthy things to spend time on than trying to get that 1600/36, imho.
@makemesmart I totally agree with you!
DS took the free Kaplan condensed version of the ACT/SAT combo test offered by school yesterday and his scores are all over the place. He is really at a lose how to interpret the scores. For example, SAT writing is 95% ( 1 wrong), but ACT English ( SAT writing equivalent?) is a 28. Then ACT Math is 36, but 730 on SAT. I guess the condensed version is very hard to predict anything accurately. I regretted a little letting him take this free assessment. It definitely impacted his confidence! On the other hand, maybe he will be a little bit more motivated to pick up those official practice tests (printed and neatly resting on his desk) before the real tests come along in a couple of weeks. Albeit, he has been preparing for the test a couple of hours a week, but didn’t appear doing any full length official test simulations.
@whataboutcollege We debated about whether D should take this condensed version as well and had asked her CC her thoughts and she said it wouldn’t be very helpful and she was the one that sent out the test details to all the HS students!
My recommendation is to take some timed SAT practice exams to get a feel for what areas need more attention. If you are not happy with the scores after taking the actual SAT/PSAT then look in to studying for and taking the ACT.
@socaldad2002 thanks for the advice! It didn’t occur to me to consult the counselor who emailed everyone. She is a new hire to the school as the previous beloved counselor passed away due to illness. I doubt she is up to speed yet.