The $2,500 the National Merit Scholarship Corporation awards National Merit scholars is no small amount of money. However, compared to the rising tuition, fees and book costs of  most colleges and universities, it can seem like a drop in the bucket. Yes, there are additional corporate sponsorships and even school scholarships National Merit scholars qualify for, but some of these are for less than $1000 and some are one-time only gifts. So the question becomes, should students study hard for what most people consider just a preliminary SAT?

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Almost all college-bound sophomores and juniors will take a PSAT. The PSAT is the test that qualifies students for a National Merit Scholarship, and it is also considered a preliminary SAT. Many students who take the PSAT do so to get an idea of what taking the SAT is like. And, since the SAT is a very popular test here on the East Coast, it makes sense to get as much practice in as you can. However, the ACT is gaining speed, and, more importantly EVERY college that requires admissions exams in the United States accepts either the SAT or the ACT. Equally. No difference. Love ‘em both. (read more…)

In June I had the privilege of participating in the summer conference of the Association for College Counselors of Independent Schools (ACCIS). College counselors from the top schools in the country including Harvard-Westlake, Middlesex, Deerfield, Sidwell Friends, Hotchkiss, Trinity, and many others were in attendance. The theme of the conference was testing, and I was invited to participate in a 3-member panel focusing on the ins and outs of the college assessments and test prep. What do the top college counselors in the country want to know about testing? I took some time and wrote up my responses.

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The 70 plus college counselors assembled at the most heated breakout session of the ACCIS (Association for College Counselors of Independent Schools) conference didn’t know the answer to this question. Among peers they felt safe enough to plainly voice their frustrations with a system that is clearly under strain. I was the fly on the wall, the only outsider in the room. I listened intently as dozens of counselors from the top private schools in the country painted a picture of a system that seems to be buckling under the weight of an ever-rising tide of applications.

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As the theme of the Association for College Counselors of Independent Schools (ACCIS) conference was testing, two of the presenters were there to question the emphasis on testing and argue for alternative admission policies. One session was led by Joseph Soares, researcher and Associate Professor of Sociology at Wake Forest University. Soares, author of The Power of Privilege, was a vocal proponent of Wake Forest’s decision to go test optional in 2009. The other session was led by Bob Schaeffer, the driving force behind FairTest. Schaeffer has been working for decades to help American colleges and universities wean themselves off their “addiction” to high stakes admissions tests. Though Bob Schaeffer told me they had not coordinated their efforts, Soares and Schaeffer delivered a well orchestrated critique of testing and its role in the admissions process.

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I loved my college education so much that I’m still paying for it! Seriously, though, I went to Oglethorpe University, a very good, very expensive, 4-year private university in Atlanta. When I attended, tuition was about $12,000 a SEMESTER, not including room and board. The smart cookie that I am, I paid for most of my education with various scholarships, federal loans, federal grants, and work study. Additionally, for three years room and board was covered by my job as a resident assistant. I’m sure you all saw that I tried to slip federal loans in that list, hoping you wouldn’t notice. It’s true, I left school with debt just like two-thirds of my fellow graduates, according to finaid.org, an online resource for students and parents.

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Regardless of what your friends call you, when you register for the SAT or ACT to apply for colleges, please use your full, legal name. Even if it is Herbie Leslie Wilcox Jackson (no offense if this name actually belongs to a person). You will save yourself a lot of trouble. Remember, when you go to take your SAT or ACT, you have to show your picture ID. If your ID says one thing, like Herbie Leslie Wilcox Jackson, but you registered with the testing company as “Bruiser,” the officials may not let you take the test. Even worse, you might slip by on test day, but when it comes to reporting results, you may find yourself in a pickle. You might have to jump through a lot of hoops to prove that “Bruiser” and “Herbie” are one and the same. And, when it comes to college applications, most have place for you put down your nickname.

Have you always wondered what went on in those top secret college admissions committee meetings but were too scared or inflexible to hide in a filing cabinet and listen in? Well, here’s your chance. Duke University’s newspaper The Chronicle has published a three-article series detailing the process from the other side of the application.

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As the College Board’s flagship SAT product continues to lose ground to the juggernaut ACT, its AP product line has become more deeply entrenched in the world of high school academics. For better or for worse, APs have become the de facto symbols of rigor and commitment to academic excellence for high school students across America. No longer the domain of only the most ambitious, AP classes have become a staple for an increasingly broad spectrum of college-bound students. Students willing to play the admissions game know they must take AP classes. Moreover, if students are to submit their most competitive applications, they must consider not only the number of APs they will take, but also the strength of each class.

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Spotlight on the SAT and the ACT

The ACT is on the rise. Attending the National Association for College Admission Counseling annual meeting in Maryland, I could clearly see that the SAT is continuing to lose ground to its longstanding rival. During a well attended session, SAT Test Prep: Sharing What Works, as soon as one college counselor mentioned the success his students were having prepping for the ACT, heads began nodding in agreement throughout the auditorium. More and more schools, college counselors, educational consultants and tutors are shifting their energies toward this alternative to the SAT.

People love to attack the SAT, which has become a magnet for controversy. Over the years, the SAT has been blamed for many of the ills, shortcomings and inequities of the US educational system. In my research I have found dozens of critiques and analyses of the SAT, exploring its biases, lack of predictive strength and various other failings, whereas critiques of the ACT are conspicuously rare. Most educational researchers have chosen to overlook the ACT, which in turn has benefitted from the relative lack of public scrutiny.  The few researchers who have examined the ACT in the same light as the SAT have discovered that the ACT is not a corrective for the SAT; the ACT shares many of its flaws, privileging the same groups and creating the same social, racial and economic divisions as the SAT.

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