Tag Archive for: ACT

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What you should know about Test Optional Policies

The typical press release from colleges who make the decision involves statements about how they recognize that students are more than a test score. That the college is committed to taking a look at the whole student. Those platitudes are noble, and in cases like the UChicago or Wake Forest or Bates,  they seem sincere. I'm not entirely convinced that the motives behind some of the recent announcements from Northern Illinois and Lourdes are quite as high-minded.

The best way to choose between the SAT or ACT

You don't have to take official SAT and ACT's to find which test is right for you. There's a better way.

About the ACT’s BIG announcement

In the excitement of how wonderful the ACT was being for students, a couple of points got glossed over, and they're particularly problematic.

5 steps to creating your test prep plan

While it might be difficult to come up with the exact plan for everyone, I have been able to develop a plan that works for most students. It also gives them a framework to build their own plan around.

How to maximize your test score

Making a test prep plan

You need to allow yourself 6-9 weeks ahead of a test date to do focused preparation, whatever that’s going to look like for you.

Picking the right test dates

You don't have to take every test until you get the score you're looking for. With a little planning, you can cut the tests down to 2, and maybe even just 1.

How to figure out which test is right for you

The old wisdom used to be that you should register to take each test once then compare your scores on focus on that test. In some ways, the old wisdom still works except now you don’t have to wait until an official test date.
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The First Step in Test Prep

The first step in planning your test prep is understanding what score you're going to need in order to get into the school you want. The key to getting accepted into a specific school has as much to do with staying out of the “No” pile as anything else. The easiest way for an admissions officer to stamp “Denied” on an application is if a student’s GPA and test scores don’t match what they’re looking for.
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Here’s the only way your SAT or ACT score is important

I get to work with a couple of hundred students every year. One of the most frequent conversations we have goes something like this. "I only got a 1260 on my SAT." "That's a great score." "But everyone else is getting better scores." No,…