SAT vs sports? Ivy League

Applying to College
1

<p>I found a very good teacher for SAT preparation. However, she has a full year program which I will have to start from next month. I was originally in line with 40 other people trying to get into her classes, but miraculously my friend let me join her group so now I am kind of enrolled in her class. There are conflicts with my schedule though. I’ll be able to attend her classes until August, but when autumn is here, I’ll have to commit to soccer. I’ve been on the varsity squad for 2 years (will be 4 since I’m a sophomore) and I want to look good in front of the coach to become captain my senior year-even though I just moved and might not have a bigger chance than 2 of my other sophomore varsity players. Thursdays I have games and my teacher wants to have the weekly classes starting from august on that day. I don’t know which one to fully commit to. I want to go to Columbia or other ivy league colleges, but I don’t know whether its better to be captain of the soccer team or to have a good SAT score…</p>

<p>Your opinions please!
P.S. - Everyone who has taken her class receives 2300+ and have recommended everyone to her class. Hint- 40 people still waiting in line to get tutored by her.</p>

2

<p>I can’t judge your ability to hit 2300+ but if that fact is true, I’d push you to get the SAT over the hazy potentiality of captaining your soccer team any day. If you were my kid, that’s what I’d advise. 2300 opens many doors. Soccer captain (if you even get it) opens only a few.</p>

3

<p>A mini-course or focused tutoring on a given weak spot is one thing, but a year-long class just to get a better score on the SAT seems really out of whack to me.</p>

4

<p>I’ve heard that many Ivy League colleges want to see leadership. I’m currently involved in Model UN, Robotics, and Art. All of which I have started this year because of the move. I have yet to win big awards in any of them, but I’m planning to work hard to obtain them. I am Robotics electrical leader right now, and I do have a chance at becoming the president of the club, but this other girl has a better chance because all she is devoted to after school is robotics.</p>

5

<p>If I were your parent I would advice you …</p>

<p>1) I would NEVER recommend dropping an EC to study for exams (unless it was an “extra” EC)</p>

<p>2) I also would not recommend picking ECs because of what my child might think colleges are interested in.</p>

<p>Our advice to our kids is pretty simple … take hard courses, do well, and keep busy after school trying/doing things that interest you.</p>

<p>Of course YMMV.</p>

<p>PS - if you want to improve SAT scores do some practice tests and spend all that time you’d be in SAT class reading books and magazines</p>

6

<p>Not knowing this particular SAT instructor’s program, or the sort of students who enroll (for example,they may be the kind who would score over 2000 with no studying at all) I can’t speak to whether or not the course is worth it to you and whoever is paying for it.</p>

<p>But I certainly would not let my child tie up a year of his or her life preparing for the SAT. That is ridiculous. Most of what you need to do to prep for that exam (if indeed you do need to prep for it at all) can be done at home on your own. Read up on it here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Unless you are attending a small private school where the guidance counselor has the ear of the admissions officers at the Ivy colleges (and I don’t know if that kind of school even exists any more), there is no guarantee whatsoever that you will get into an Ivy even with a perfect SAT and four years of varsity sports. You need to sit down with your parents and find out how much they can afford to pay for your education, and you need to work out a list of institutions that are likely to admit you and that you can afford to attend. Don’t be the author of one of the “I didn’t get in anywhere that I like and can afford even though I got an XXXX on my SAT” threads two years from now.</p>

7

<p>I mean, I’m passionate about soccer, but I know grades come first before any extra curriculars. I don’t want colleges to think that I just padded my resume either.</p>

8

<p>You will learn valuable life lessons and skills, and make good friends by playing on the team. </p>

<p>All you will learn from SAT tutoring is how to take one test that you will never take again in your life.</p>

9

<p>for the most selective schools, leadership is probably going to be more important than a standardized test score. gpa matters a lot more than sat, so if soccer was really hurting your grades then you might want to consider dropping it, but if you’re capable of getting a 2300+ through her class, you really should be able to get a 2200+ on your own if you put your mind to it; i studied the princeton review book casually for about a month before the test and got a competitive test score so you can definitely do well preparing on your own or getting some less extensive tutoring. dropping an important EC for maybe a hundred points on one test is not in any way worth it. drop the class.</p>

10

<p>Look, I am Indian and got into an Ivy League school with a 2140 single sitting and a 2240 super score. These are good scores, but they clearly are not perfect. What is more important is the activities you participate in and the passion you show for them. Scores are just not that important. So if taking that class is the difference between say a 2150-2250 and a 2250-2350 i would play soccer. If you feel you need the class just to get above a 2100, then i would say do it.</p>