Everything College Admissions

2010-11-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Girls Achieve Rare SAT Scores

2009-11-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

While the average reading and math scores on the SAT fell again this year, the test results showed a new gain for girls.

For the first time in a generation, girls outperformed boys on one section of the exam, edging them out by 11 points on the writing portion of the test. The results raise new questions about gender, learning and a test that has become an American rite of passage.

"Since the '70s, we haven't seen women score better than men on the SAT, so that is dramatic … absolutely," said Drew Deutsch, a vice president at Princeton Review, which offers preparation courses for the test.

The test results released Tuesday were the first batch of SAT scores since the exam was revamped to include a graded 25-minute essay. High school junior Ana Merida, who is studying for the test now, said she believes the new test plays to her strengths.

"I can look at the question I am being asked and put my own knowledge and thoughts in the essay, rather than … filling out a bubble," Merida said.

And the essay may be something that may benefit all girls. Neuroscientists say, in general, that girls' brains may be better wired for the demands of open-ended essay questions than those of their male counterparts.

"They tend to have better attention spans, and that is something that the essay question demands," said Dr. Jay Selman at the Columbia University Medical Center. "The essay question also demands a lot of organizational skills -- these arise in large part from the frontal lobe."

And girls tend to perform better on tasks that use that part of the brain.

"Placed in a situation where they have to make a decision, they are going to think about the possibilities and ruminate a little bit more than boys," Deutsch said.

But these qualities are not necessarily an advantage on the rest of the SAT, which brings a barrage of multiple-choice questions for which there is little time to ruminate. And despite the gain for girls this year on one part of the test, boys still score 26 points higher overall.

Ironically, the SAT was designed to help predict how students would do in college. But while boys still score higher on the tests, girls get better college grades.

Free SAT Prep Materials

2009-10-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

The Official SAT Practice Test From the College Board

Official SAT Question of the Day

SAT Vocab Practice

Unofficial Free Practice Test from Barron's Test Prep

Free Custom Diagnostic SAT from Parliament Tutors

Unofficial SAT Question of the Day

Private, In-home Tutoring & Test Preparation

The College Insider: Admissions Freak Out Countdown #3: The Squeeze Play - Early Decision, Budget Cuts, And No Vacancy Signs Read more at: http://ww

2009-10-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

-Karen Stabiner

Early decision: A senior applies to a pie-in-the-sky school in November and gets an answer before Christmas, while everyone else is still filing applications. "Yes" means that the second half senior year will be more fun than the pervasive nervous breakdown. "No," or a deferral, means joining the rest of the class in the purgatory known as waiting for regular admissions notices in the spring. Or for wait-lists after that. Hanging on until April is hard enough, but with the common app encouraging students to apply to more schools that ever before, those schools are having a terrible time guesstimating how many of their applicants will actually show up. They hedge their bets; they put so many kids on wait lists that there's essentially a second round of acceptances in early summer.

Anyone in their right mind would want to avoid that kind of cliffhanger, which explains the enduring appeal of early apps - but as power struggles go, this one favors the schools. If you get accepted you have to attend, which does wonders for a school's yield, the percentage of applicants who choose to attend. Early action is slightly kinder to the applicant, because it allows a senior to apply to other schools and delay a decision until the spring, but c'mon: A first choice can afford to be generous because it's a first choice, and if a kid is waffly enough to change his or her mind, well, who wants kids who don't know what they want?

Decision or action, the allure is obvious to anyone who can manage simple math (and if you can't, perhaps early is not for you): Early applicants take up as much as 25 percent of an incoming class. If you're the kind of person who buys movie tickets on-line so you can choose the best seat, you know that the later it gets, the fewer options you have. But high stakes are high stakes. Traditionally, public universities are part of the safety-net scenario; Star students across the country can always find a welcome home within their state system, which is there, after all, to educate state residents.

Not so much, these days. Fees at private schools seem immune to the economy, but public institutions of higher learning are definitely feeling the pinch. The headline consequence of the recession is higher state fees and accompanying protests. The stealth side effect is going to be fewer acceptances. In the old days of fully-staffed newspapers and a healthy economy, there was a story every spring about Berkeley turning down California high-school valedictorians. In the new order, even UC campuses with less marquee value are going to start channeling Nancy Reagan and just say no.

The standard narrative - I bet the house on Harvard because I can always go to UCLA, or Michigan, or whatever my state school is - isn't the lock it used to be, and the next fall back position doesn't look so healthy anymore, either. Community college applications have been on the rise, but they, too, have been hamstrung by funding cuts, and it looks like they're going to embrace the same less-is-more approach as their four-year relatives.

Scared yet? Let's channel the lesson of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, about seeing things in a new way, and reconsider regular admissions. Maybe it's not the consolation prize for the slightly less than fabulous; maybe it's a smarter place to be. Early-decision skews toward the illustrious, so a terrific student with the occasional B, or a test score below 700, might not show to advantage. Put that same kid in the regular-decision pool and suddenly he or she looks like a star. Goldfish among the earlies; orca among the regulars. And regular applicants can comparison shop their financial-aid offers, while earlies pretty much have to take what they get.

Besides, educators are starting to wonder if decisions made at the beginning of senior year are as satisfying as decisions made six months later, and the answer seems to be, maybe not.

The long good-bye starts to sound better and better - but if you're determined to get this out of the way before the holidays, how about looking for a school you like that's less of a leap? There have to be at least three of them out there. Maybe more. You still have a couple of weeks to find one.

College Admissions Must be Watertight

2009-10-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

Posted Sunday, October 18 2009 at 19:01 at http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Editorial/-/440804/673972/-/phsqfoz/-/

Admission to secondary schools and tertiary colleges attract attention because of scarcity of places. For every one available vacancy, there are at least three qualifiers, making the exercise quite competitive.

Due to the stiff competition, temptations is high for applicants to seek shortcuts, including bribing or using family, ethnic or political connections.

Universities have fairly watertight procedures that largely guarantee that only the best candidates get the few available places. At the secondary level, a computer system introduced about five years ago has streamlined selection. But influences still determine those joining Form One in the best schools.

But an area that is quite porous is the tertiary level, where admission procedures have not been tightened, especially teacher training and medical colleges. Last week, we reported about investigations being carried out over suspicious admissions to teacher training colleges. Although the colleges completed admissions a month ago, students continue to bombard institutions with all sorts of letters purportedly issued by the Ministry of Education.

Allowing unqualified candidates to join the colleges is fraught with risks. Among others, it dilutes the quality of training and undermines the profession. Moreover, it raises fundamental issues about governance and integrity. The ministry has been rather guarded over the matter, but speaking broadly, there is reason to expeditiously investigate the claims.

What is even more critical is to establish an effective system for selection. The current devolved system that involves local education officials, though promoting equity, is prone to manipulation and abuse. Even if it is to be retained given that devolution is the way of the future, it must be fine-tuned with safeguards to eliminate corrupt dealings.

Perhaps we may need to think about setting up a national agency to coordinate admission to all tertiary institutions to ensure quality and standards.

SAT Prep, The Good, The Bad, and The Goofy

2009-09-28T08:44:00.001-07:00

Karen Stabiner

It's fall. Normal happy people watch the leaves change color, but parents of seniors care only for the stark black and white landscape of inked circles on bubble grids. Adults whose SAT prep involved two sharpened number two pencils and a good breakfast invest in test prep because we're terrified not to. If the test-prep czars ran the automotive industry, we'd all be out buying cars; they're that good at creating desire.

Just days before the first Super Saturday of the fall test season, seniors are finishing up weeks if not months of prep classes, private tutoring, guide books, on-line classes, or any combination of the above. Juniors are already underway; I know eighth-graders who take sample tests. Sometimes it feels as though standardized test prep is going to knock juice-and-nap time off the kindergarten itinerary.

How much are we betting? While thousands of students protested University of California system-wide tuition hikes that brought this year's tuition and fees to about $8700, a test-prep quotes $7599 for one high-end package and won't even publish the total cost of the more expensive and extensive Global Elite Tutoring. Power to the people, indeed.

On the theory that it's never too late to save a little money, I suggest we try to deconstruct the process and look for cheaper ways to achieve results:

• Test-taking strategies: If there's a consensus on anything, it's that your child doesn't want to spend valuable time reading the instructions for the first time on the day of the test. Before you pay for sample tests in a room at a prep center, or proctored by a tutor, consider a few free sample tests at home. If a student's reading comprehension isn't strong enough to make sense of the instructions, test-prep is probably not going to turn him into a star.

• Success, SAT math: A wildfire one-word chant, "Sudoku," went up when my daughter was in high school. No hard research but lots of enthusiasm among parents who saw a link between the obsessive working of Japanese number puzzles and good math scores. If your kid can't work even the easy puzzles, then you can always consider prep or find a school that no longer requires standardized tests.

• Success, SAT verbal: This strategy really should be put into play before the training wheels come off, but it's never too late to start: Encourage your child to read when he doesn't have to for school. Reading helps with tests that require you to, yep, read. Compare the cost of a library card to a stint in Global Prep.

Parents in the Bellevue, Washington school district endorse the test-prep equivalent of home-cooking, a lonely but comforting voice in the for-profit test-prep wilderness. Are you brave enough to try it?

Nah, at this point we all want results; we want our kids to be at the high end of the advertised score hikes. But test-prep carries risk, like any investment, so let me share a couple of potential odds-busters, to take junior off the hook if the score report is south of what you'd hoped for:

• Finger length: Hormone levels in utero affect brain development - and finger length. Ring finger longer than index finger, innately greater math abilities. Index finger longer than ring finger, stronger verbal skills. And yes, researchers see a correlation in SAT scores.

• Menstrual cycles: Scientists say there's no significant relationship between test performance and a girl's cycle - and yet a prominent educational psychologist advises parents to make sure girls schedule the SAT to avoid the last four days of their cycles and the first four days of their periods.

• Personal psychology: Put one kid in a class with seven other students and he will be inspired to competitive excellence by all the ambitious energy in the room. Put another kid in the same room and the ambient anxiety sticks to him like H1N1 germs on a doorknob. You may not find out which type you have until it's too late.

Still, the two-generation peer pressure can be enormous; I'm only trying to provide a safety valve so you can get some needed rest before the exam. And for no charge whatsoever, I'm going to toss in one sophisticated tidbit that surfaced when the new essay section of the SAT was introduced a few years ago:

"Write big."

That's it. Readers slog through stacks and stacks of blue books for hours on end, and the word is that some of them get a wee bit testy, and quite possibly start to confuse volume with effort. If an essay covers a lot of pages, it must be serious; if it doesn't require the reader to turn the page, perhaps the student is blowing off the test. Big writing, it seems, matters as much as big ideas.

I have witnesses. Honest.

Admission dean reflects on college years

2009-09-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Gregory Peck said that as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but the words of the favorite actor could very well be Richard Shaw’s personal motto.

As Stanford’s dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid, Shaw is the man with the power to make or break the dreams of thousands of high school students vying for admission at the Farm. But not so long ago, he was the one feverishly applying to schools and going through orientation.

***

In 1968, Shaw was a bright-eyed theater buff fretting over his college admission essay.

“I was so afraid of not getting in somewhere,” he told The Daily, repeating the words he’s heard from thousands of applicants. “I think it’s pretty normal.”

Shaw was grappling with his admission topic: Who was one of the great people of the 20th century who influenced you?

“Those are hard questions because you weren’t too sure of answering the way that you thought the admission officers wanted to hear or telling the truth about who was important to you during that time of your life,” he said. “That’s true today — students try to develop a strategy in which they try to game the system and tell us what they think we want to hear, rather than talking about what’s really important to them.”

Shaw decided to bite the bullet. He wrote about Jimmy Stewart.

“I wrote an essay that nobody would ever write,” he admitted. “I said the person who was important to me at that time was James Stewart. I wrote about his acting and his characters and the impact he had on me, and that was really odd. That was an odd choice because at that time, people would have said Winston Churchill or Martin Luther King. I’m hoping that it helped, but even if it didn’t, I told the truth, and that was important.”

It worked. In 1968, Shaw entered his father’s old stomping ground and began as a freshman at Dartmouth.

“I was terrified,” Shaw remembered. “I wondered in some ways whether I was a mistake — I think we all feel that way when you start to meet others in the class and say, ‘Oh my gosh, you did that?’”

Shaw says that a dear-old Dartmouth tradition didn’t exactly ease his move into college. Until the late ‘60s, Dartmouth required its freshmen to don floppy bright green beanies to identify them as tyros. The 19-year-old Shaw wasn’t too keen on gamboling about campus with Dartmouth’s equivalent of a freshman red-nametag.

“I was really offended when Dartmouth made me wear a beanie,” he chuckled. “I was so offended by that that I sort of sat around in my room — I was angry at them. I frankly think orientations are much better today.”

Dartmouth took the playful freshman hazing avenue of welcoming students in Shaw’s day, but he said that now, the administration takes a hats-off approach (literally) to opening its doors warmly to freshmen.

“My hope is that in these orientations and transition, there is a high level of comfort,” Shaw said. “I think the experience will be a little daunting, but tremendously awesome.”

***

Shaw’s world was upended when he got into college — a culture shock from the Ozzie and Harriet homogeneity he knew from his childhood in Colorado and Vermont. America was embroiled in civil rights unrest at home and trying to disentangle itself from the disaster of Vietnam abroad.

“Growing up, I was pretty sheltered and probably I was pretty clueless about what was going on around me,” Shaw said.
He woke up when he got to college.

“I’ve never seen student activism like it was then,” he remembered. “I saw students lying down prone on the highway. I saw actions of the Spartacist League [a far-left student movement] defending the Weathermen in Washington, submachine gun nests on the top of federal buildings pointed down at the crowd. Pretty interesting times.”

***

Just three days before the May 4 Massacre at Ohio’s Kent State, Shaw found himself in Washington, D.C. for the May Day protests, decrying America’s invasion of Cambodia. It was 1970.

“That had a tremendous impact on my perceptions of the world in which we live and the challenges and issues — issues around access and opportunity and for populations to be enfranchised,” he said.

“I came from a very conservative family,” he said ruefully, “so it resulted in having some pretty interesting conflicts within my own family.” Shaw’s involvement didn’t stretch to the peripheries of radicalism, but his activism irreparably damaged his relationship with his father, the then-Republican state chairman of Colorado, who disowned him.

“A lot of that period was not so much being swept up in radicalism as it was learning,” he said. “So, from my vantage point, it was all-night conversations for weeks about issues that were of concern to us — not just war but concerns over the nature of society and the opportunities that people did or did not have. There were political debates going on all the time.”

***

Shaw didn’t come to California until 1983, after nabbing the post of associate director of admissions and records at the University of California-Berkeley.

“I was really blown away by how incredibly diverse and representative it was,” he remembered. “It had huge influence on me in terms of my career.”
Shaw went back to the East Coast as Yale’s dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid officer for 12 years until he returned to California and signed on with Stanford in 2005.

Fast-forward to now. Shaw is a bit grayer than when he entered the hallowed ivy-covered halls as a freshman, but every bit as passionate.

“I’m with young people who have dreams and hopes for what is possible,” he said. “To me, why not be at a place like that, a place where your dreams are always ahead? At college, you don’t get stuck in a viewpoint. That’s what it’s all about.”

Forty-one years ago, he was sitting slumped on his new college bed with a green beanie flopped on his head, discussing politics. Now, as he beams out over the 1,700 new freshmen at Convocation, Dean Shaw will be speaking as much to the Class of 2013 as to himself at 19 years-old — college is going to be a great run.

By: Amy Julia Harris

14 Best Interview Tips from College Admissions Counselors

2009-09-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

By Hannah Watson

Interviews

These tips will help you ace your college admissions interview.

Be on time: It’s simple-show your responsibility by coming to the interview on time.
Have a positive attitude: Bring a positive, friendly attitude to your interviews.
Dress neatly: Avoid wearing anything that might be considered inappropriate.
Show your personality: Let the admissions counselor know what you’re bringing by showing off your personality.
Take business cards: Take the business cards of people you meet with so that you can follow up with a call or email if you have questions.
Ask questions: The interview isn’t just a time for you to be assessed-get your essential questions answered, too.
Be ready to talk about yourself: Keep in mind community service, activities, and other information your interviewer may want to know about.
Avoid offending the interviewer: Stay away from swearing or expressing extreme beliefs.
Don’t just answer yes or no: Offer thoughtful answers to questions.
Show you’re interested: Make it clear that you want to be a part of the college you’re interviewing with.
Prepare in advance: Get familiar with the college before your interview.
Know why you’re visiting the college: You will probably be asked why you want to attend the college-so be prepared to answer this question.
Send thank you notes: Stand out by sending a thank you note after you meet with an admissions counselor.
Have documents ready: Show that you’re serious and ready by bringing your important documents with you.

19 Best Tips for Writing the Essay from College Admissions Counselors

2009-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Hannah Watson

Essays

These tips will help you write the perfect college admission essay.

Don’t use the same essay: Using one essay for several applications may save you time, but it’s more effective to write each one from scratch, or at the very least, tailor each essay to the college.
Consider your audience: Entertain the college admissions officers.
Have an interesting opener: Catch the eye of the admissions counselor with a stunning introduction.
Discuss what’s important to you: Discuss what’s most important to you in your essay.
Put yourself as the focus: Even if your prompt is about someone else, always be sure to bring it back to you.
Be brief: You don’t need a 10-page autobiography to be effective.
Review your essay after a few days: Leave your first draft to sit, then pick it up again after some time.
Tell a story: Consider the beginning, middle, and end of your story.
Answer the question: Don’t just submit what you think colleges want to read, actually answer the question they have given you.
Do not have your parents write your essay: Admissions advisors read lots of essays-it’s obvious when they are written by parents.
Show your motivation: Demonstrate that you’re motivated to do well in college.
Use your personal voice: Don’t take on a different voice in your writing for college essays-let yourself shine through.
Don’t buy an essay on the Internet: College admission officers can spot an online essay a mile away.
Go beyond the superficial: Communicate what you care about deeply.
Don’t trust spell check: Watch for typos and grammar issues that spell check won’t catch.
Ask others to read your essay: Have your parents, English teacher, and mentors read your essay.
Be interesting: Counselors will read many applications each day-you want to be interesting enough to get passed around.
Send the right essay to the right college: Avoid accidentally referring to another college in an essay that you send.
Save time for editing: Be sure to edit your essay once you’ve written it, taking into consideration opinions from people who have read it and any fine tuning you’d like to do.

25 Best Tips for High Schoolers from College Admissions Counselors

2009-09-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

These are some of the things you can do to ensure acceptance while you’re still in high school.

Challenge yourself: Be sure you take challenging courses your last year of high school.
Attend a quality high school: If you want to make it into an Ivy League school, go to a feeder high school that sends many students to Ivy League schools every year.
Take AP or honors courses: Get prepared for college and show that you can work hard by taking advanced courses.
Have a strong GPA: It seems like a no brainer, but having a good GPA will help you get in to your chosen school.
Don’t join clubs to fill your resume: Although quality clubs and activities are important, avoid taking on too much in your final year just for your resume.
Be well rounded: Be a good student, but also participate in a handful of clubs and activities, and have an officer position so you can really stand out.
Get help with classes: If you’re having trouble achieving the GPA you want, get help from your parents, tutors, or study groups.
Don’t slack off: Your colleges will see your final grades even after you’re accepted.
Get into an organized competition: Become a part of a national academic quiz bowl, international science fair, or other events that can show how you stack up against students outside of your community.
Test more than once: If you don’t get the score you’re looking for in the beginning, test over again until you get it.
Take the PSAT: Prepare for the SAT by taking the SAT as a sophomore.

Choosing a School

These are some tips for finding the right school for you.

Look for a college with a wide variety of offerings: You may have plans for art school, but it’s best to stick with a college that has options just in case you change majors down the road.
Find out the student/faculty ratio: If you want a more engaging college experience, find a school with a smaller ratio of students to faculty.
Attend college fairs: Get a feel for colleges by attending college fairs.
Consider whether the Ivy League is right for you: Don’t automatically shoot for the stars and try to get into an Ivy League school if it’s not the right fit for you.
Start thinking about schools by the end of your junior year: Consider what kind of school you want in your junior year so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready.
Check out college guides: The US News and World Report, Princeton Review, College Board and other sites can help you find the school for you.
Check out the alcohol policy: Find out if your college is a party school or not by researching its alcohol policy.
Consider the level of academic challenge: Think about whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond.
Research the freshman retention rate: Find out how many people enjoyed their college experience enough to come back.
Look up safety statistics: You can find out how safe your potential college campus is by looking up statistics for safety and security.
Make your choice as an individual: Don’t make your decision based on your parents, or where your best friend is going-make the right choice for you.
Find extracurricular activities: Find out what the most popular activities are on campus.

SAT Scores and Family Income

2009-09-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

By CATHERINE RAMPELL

Much has been written about the relationship between SAT scores and test-takers’ family income. Generally speaking, the wealthier a student’s family is, the higher the SAT score.

Let’s take a look at how income correlated with scores this year. About two-thirds of test-takers voluntarily report their family incomes when they sit down to take the SAT. Using this information, the College Board breaks down the average scores for 10 income groups, each in a $20,000 range.

First, here are the individual test sections:

Source: College Board

Here are all three test sections next to each other (zoomed in on the vertical axis, so you can see the variation among income groups a little more clearly):

Source: College Board

A few observations:

There’s a very strong positive correlation between income and test scores. (For the math geeks out there, the R² for each test average/income range chart is about 0.95.)
On every test section, moving up an income category was associated with an average score boost of over 12 points.
Moving from the second-highest income group and the highest income group seemed to show the biggest score boost. However, keep in mind the top income category is uncapped, so it includes a much broader spectrum of families by wealth.

Are My SAT Scores Good Enough?

2009-09-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

What are good SAT scores? Do you have the SAT scores you need to get into your top choice schools? This article explains the relationship between college admissions and SAT scores. You can also check out these SAT links (or ACT links):

Answer: SAT scores are just one of many criteria used by colleges to make admissions decisions. Nevertheless, their importance shouldn’t be underestimated. As much as admissions officers say they take an open-minded and holistic approach to their decisions, SAT scores can make or break an application. And let’s face it -- it’s easier to compare numerical data than it is to decide whether a semester in France should be ranked higher than a state soccer championship.

Also, schools usually make their SAT data public, and they know that their reputations depend upon high numbers. A college won’t be considered “highly selective” or “elite” if its students have an average SAT math score of 470.

So what is a good SAT score? The exam consists of three parts: Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. The scores from each section can range from 200 to 800, so the best possible total score is 2400. The average score for each section is roughly 500, so the average total score is about 1500.

Very few students get a perfect SAT score, even those at the country’s top colleges. The list below shows the middle range of SAT scores for different schools. The middle 50% of admitted students fell within these numbers. Keep in mind that 25% of students who were admitted scored below the lower numbers listed here.

Finally, you'll see that some of the school profiles include the critical reading and math scores, but not the writing scores. This is because the writing part of the exam is still new, and many schools do not yet use it in their admissions decisions. We're likely to see that change in the next couple years as colleges figure out the relationship between the writing score and academic success.

Click on the school names to see the full profiles.

Auburn (Main Campus)

Critical Reading: 520 - 620
Mathematics: 550 - 650
Writing: 520 - 620

Carleton

Critical Reading: 670 - 750
Mathematics: 660 - 740
Writing: 640 - 740

Duke

Critical Reading: 690 - 770
Mathematics: 690 - 790
Writing: 680 - 780

Harvard

Critical Reading: 690 - 800
Mathematics: 700 - 790
Writing: 690 - 780

MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Critical Reading: 660 - 760
Mathematics: 720 - 800
Writing: 660 - 750

Middlebury

Critical Reading: 630 - 740
Mathematics: 640 - 740
Writing: 630 - 740

Pomona

Critical Reading: 690 - 760
Mathematics: 680 - 760
Writing: 680 - 760

Stanford

Critical Reading: 660 - 760
Mathematics: 680 - 780
Writing: 670 - 770

UCLA

Critical Reading: 570 - 680
Mathematics: 610 - 720
Writing: 580 - 690

By Allen Grove, About.com

College Admissions Negative 101

2009-09-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here's some news that will help ease the guilt of all you parents who desperately want to give your children a leg up on the stiff competition that faces them on their journey to institutes of higher education.

So you occasionally help out with your student's science projects or you maybe drafted a few of his research papers and had him pass it off as his own. Not good. But, definitely not as bad as what Caroline Maria McNeal did to help increase her daughter's chance of getting into the college of her choice.

The overzealous mom, who used to be employed as a high school secretary, recently admitted to changing her daughter's SAT scores--on more than one occasion.

McNeal reportedly confessed that she used the school's computer to tamper with students' tests scores. In one case she allegedly changed her daughter's SAT scores from 1370 to 1730. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Police, who arrested the score-tampering mom, claim that McNeal spent the last two years consistently changing other students' grades as well, in an effort to improve her daughter's class ranking. All tolled school officials estimate that McNeal changed more than 200 test scores or grades.

The tech savvy mom is now facing criminal charges, including 29 felony counts of unlawful use of a computer and tampering with pubic records. McNeal was also fired from her job. In addition, her daughter, who graduated from high school in 2008, says she has become the target of outraged former classmates, and is completely humiliated by her mom's poor decisions.

Meanwhile, McNeal maintains that she was only trying to help her daughter "get ahead."

Oh, her daughter has gotten ahead all right; she's way out there... far, far away from the embarrassment she once called "mom."

What do you make of McNeal's decision to make her daughter look smart? Pretty dumb, huh?

Michele Cheplic

The New SAT Explained

2009-09-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

For parents who took the SAT 30 years ago, the new “perfect score” of 2400 may seem confusing. The SAT used to be comprised of two sections: critical reading, commonly called the verbal section, and mathematics. Each section yielded a range of scores from 200 to 800. This meant a “perfect score” on the SAT was a 1600 for many decades.

In 2005, a new section was added to the test. Taken from what was once the SAT II exam, the writing section is divided into short answer and essay portions. The section is additionally now worth anywhere from 200 to 800 points.

Today, the SAT is longer than it used to be. The critical reading portion is broken into sections totaling 70 minutes. Mathematics also totals 70 minutes. The writing portion of the exam is only allotted 60 minutes.

Once common area of confusion is how this portion of the exam is scored. It is hand-graded by a board of graders who compare the answers to others given that day. The answers are compared in areas such as logic, organization and strength of thesis. Smaller errors such as grammar and spelling are not graded, although usage and vocabulary should be appropriate. The graders will compare all the essays submitted and give the best essays highest scores. This means the same essay may be assessed at a different level on two different days.

While this may seem unfair, the SAT score has always been a comparative score. Depending on the average score received in a particular day, you may generate a different score for the same number of right answers. This is because the test questions vary tremendously. To protect a student from losing points because a particular test was harder than another, all students are graded on a scale compared to individuals taking the same test.

Some Colleges Opting Out of the SAT ‘Score Choice’ Option

2009-09-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

I recently answered the question "should I cancel my SAT score?" with information regarding the upcoming Score Choice option on the SAT. To refresh, the SAT used to require that all scores from every test administration be sent to colleges. With Score Choice, students are permitted to send only the scores of their choosing to colleges. In other words, they may choose to send only their top combined score, and the university would never see the lower scores.

However, this idealism seems to have changed.

It has now become clear that colleges can opt out of Score Choice, and require that applicants report every SAT score. Newsweek has indicated that Stanford, Cornell, Pomona, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California will demand all scores. Other schools, including Harvard and the University of Chicago, say they will honor Score Choice. Many more, such as Yale and Princeton, say they have yet to decide.

http://acceptedtocollege.com/blog/

This may be disappointing news for several students who believed Score Choice to be the cure of test taking anxiety. However, remember that the playing field has not really changed. Just because certain schools are requiring all reports does not mean that having lower scores will necessarily preclude you from admission; colleges still view the entire application -- scores included -- in totality. All this means is that when you decide to take the SAT, you should be ready for it.

Reader Question: Will One Bad Semester Kill Me?

2009-09-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Reader and high school senior Gigi has submitted a college admissions question likely shared by many students in her position:

during my senior year in high school (last year), my parents decided that they wanna move to bakersfield, [California]... and that decision pretty much just ruined my senior year in high school... my grades dropped... my GPA was, i think, about 2.0... or even lower... not sure...
i was a complete stranger in a new school, with no friends whatsoever... it really affected my life and grades...
i'm wondering if i'm even eligible for college...

Terrific question, Gigi.

Remember that college admissions committees are not full of robots. They are real people who genuinely want to work with you to help you succeed. Since you had a tough senior year in high school, that is something you will want to address in your personal statement. Talk about the difficulties associated with moving to a new place, and then explain that you feel that you are ready to return to your academics and excel again. If you discuss your situation exactly as you have in your letter, the admissions officers will understand.

Remember that it's not about making excuses or casting blame, but rather persuading the admissions officers to believe that one semester or one year of grades does not accurately reflect your abilities as a student. Then, tell your story and why you believe you're ready to overcome the difficulties you had.

If you are not able to get accepted by any of your preferred California state colleges, remember that community college is always a viable option. If you finish two years, and do reasonably well, you could transfer to a California State University without having to take the SAT or ACT. You could also look into some of the admissions programs offered by the Universities of California (UCs) including the Transfer Admissions Guarantees of UCs Davis, Irvine, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, or the similar Transfer Alliance Program of UCLA. Each offer either guaranteed admission or priority consideration if you transfer from a participating community college. Many other states have similar transfer programs as well.

Best of all, you'll save money (community colleges are way cheaper than universities) and in the end, it won't be any different than if you had gotten into your college of choice in the first place. Your diploma will say only the school you transferred to.

The most important thing is to stay calm and keep perspective. Just because you had one less-than-stellar year does not mean your opportunities are lost forever. I would recommend calling a few local community colleges to ask about their transfer programs. They will be able to make some recommendations for what you should look into initially.

Good luck!

http://acceptedtocollege.com/blog/

Is My SAT Score "Good?"

2009-09-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

When it comes to SAT scores, “good” and “bad” are relative terms, depending on where you’re applying.

There are lots of places where you can see the SAT norms for all schools on your current roster. The College View site is one of them. Click on the “Name” tab and type in a college that interests you. Then hit “Search.” Choose the college’s name on the list on the next screen. (Depending on the school you pick, it could be the only name on that list.)

You’ll see a tab that says, “Admissions.” There you’ll find test score ranges (the middle 50 percent) and you can see where (or if) your 630 falls within that range. For instance, if you look up “University of Hartford,” you’ll know that their middle range for math is 480 - 590. So your 630 would be considered a very good score there. On the other hand, if you look up Duke University, you’ll find a median range of 680 - 790. So your 630 is not a “good” score by Duke standards.

Most colleges put more weight on test scores than their admission officials are willing to admit. However, don’t assess your admission chances strictly by the numbers. If your test results are below a college median, ask yourself if you have other traits that will be attractive to that school (e.g., Are you a recruited athlete? An underrepresented minority? Do you come from a disadvantaged or very unusual background? Do you have any unique talents?) If you answered “No” to all these questions with test results at the low end of the range as well, then your admission odds may not be so hot . But if you responded affirmatively, you may still be in the running, even when your SAT scores aren’t especially “good.”

--Post taken from College Confidential

Quintessential Questions: Wake Forest’s Admission Director Gives Insight into the Interview Process

2009-09-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

During the winter months in the Admissions Office, Fridays are dedicated to “Committee.” We gather with stacks of applications, discuss them, argue about them, eat lunch over them, plead for them, and then eventually vote as to whether or not they should be offered invitations to join our academic community.

Summer Fridays are different. With the incoming class already set and next year’s applications yet to arrive (except for the most zealous of the early decision) we have time to plan, to look ahead and to discuss the activity which consumes the bulk of our summer days—interviewing. We share insights, interview questions that have proven effective and yes, I admit, stories that are shared with us by interviewees about alien abductions the ability to communicate with animals, or details of the plot of the Transformer movie.

Since the decision to make SAT scores optional at Wake Forest, we have strongly encouraged our applicants to interview with us, either on campus, via webcam through Skype or if all else fails, through an on-line interview format. The interviews have proven invaluable as we evaluate applicants and have sometimes been so revealing that we have questioned how we ever made admissions decisions before the interview!

It’s important to note that the Admissions Officers who conduct interviews are not all the same. Some of us are fresh from the commencement line while others have just sent our own children away to college. We are musicians, historians, science geeks and bibliophiles. Some of us are the first in our families to have graduated from college. Others have descended from generations of academics. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, our faces resemble those of the community around us. It is our happy task to spend thirty minutes with prospective students and in that time to draw from them information to help us decide whether or no they are a “fit” for our institution.

Do we have a common set of questions that can be rehearsed and prepared for? No. Do we often delve into areas of current events, high school classes, reading, or extra-curricular talents? Yes. Are there expected responses that we hope each question will elicit? Absolutely not. We like to be surprised. What we hope for most of all with the interview is insight into who the applicant really is at age 17, what ideas interest her, what experiences have shaped him, what are her hopes for the future and his concerns about the present. How open is her mind, how curious is his spirit? Is there kindness and humanity somewhere in there?

We seek a class of debaters and dancers, African drummers, mathematicians, zoologists and poets. The questions that we ask of our prospective students are thus broad and provocative. “Who are you?” asked with a warm smile is often how I begin my interview. ‘How do you hope your college years will be different from high school?” “What’s the best class you’ve ever taken?” “If you had a ‘do over button’ when would you have used it?”” Do you think your life will be easier than your parents’?” “Tell me about a book that everyone should read.” “If you had a day all to yourself, how would you spend it?” “Where do you get your news and what news has been most concerning to you of late?” Depending on the student the conversation can drift into European politics, techno music, sustainability, or conflicted teenage vampires. I love the drift. Just in case I have missed something critical I always conclude with, “Is there something which you hoped I would ask you that I have not?” Well, yes, there was the alien abduction.

We are admissions officers because we love college , we love college aged people and we love conversation. We don’t expect interviewees to be professional conversationalists, or mini-50 year olds, we want to talk with fresh, edgy, interesting teenagers. Theirs is the energy that makes a college campus a crucible of ideas. Come as you are to the interview and be ready to share. That’s how the match is made.

By Martha Allman

Applications to Colleges Are Breaking Records

2009-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Applications to selective colleges and universities are reaching new heights this year, promising another season of high rejection rates and dashed hopes for many more students.

Harvard said Wednesday that it had received a record number of applicants — 27,278 — for its next freshman class, a 19 percent increase over last year. Other campuses reporting double-digit increases included theUniversity of Chicago (18 percent), Amherst College (17 percent), Northwestern University (14 percent) and Dartmouth (10 percent).

Officials said the trend was a result of demographics, aggressive recruiting, the ease of online applications and more students applying to ever more colleges as a safety net. The swelling population of 18-year-olds is not supposed to peak until 2009, when the largest group of high school seniors in the nation’s history, 3.2 million, are to graduate. The rise in applications at three universities — Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia — came about as they ended early admissions policies, which had allowed students to receive decisions by mid-December, months ahead of others. The universities said early admissions benefited more affluent and sophisticated students and required students to commit without being able to compare financial aid offerings from various colleges.

The application figures suggested that the end of early admissions did not hurt. Princeton received a record 20,118 applicants, up 6 percent. The University of Virginia received 18,776 applications, a 4 percent increase. Like other campuses, Virginia said its final count was likely to increase slightly, because applications were still trickling in.

Scott White, the director of guidance at Montclair High School in New Jersey, said the school’s college counselors found students tenser than ever.

“There is a pure level of panic and frenzy like they’ve never seen before,” Mr. White said Wednesday. “There are some people who say that with some schools having ended early admissions, the frenzy must be subsiding. I don’t think that’s so.”

Even at colleges, there was surprise over the surges, in part because they followed strong gains in previous years.

“These are amazing numbers,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, speaking of his university’s flood of applications.

He said Harvard’s announcement in December that it was sharply increasing financial aid even for families earning up to $180,000 probably spurred applications, but, he said, the rise was visible even before that.

He said that the elimination of early admissions encouraged more interest, too, and that joint information sessions by Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia drew “astonishing crowds. ”

The reasons for the swelling numbers — not all colleges have reported yet — go beyond the growth in the college age population and the preoccupation with name-brand schools. Recruiting by elite colleges among low- and middle-income students and in new regions are bringing in more applications.

California, for example, has become a bigger source of applicants for Cornell since the upstate New York university created a West Coast regional office in Los Angeles several years ago.

“Ten years ago, California was not among our top eight feeder states,” said Doris Davis, an associate provost at Cornell. “Now it is among our top five.” Cornell applications rose 8 percent.

At the University of Chicago, international applicants grew 23 percent, to 1,826, and early admissions applicants rose 46 percent, to 4,430, Theodore A. O’Neill, dean of admissions, said.

Janet Rapelye, dean of admission at Princeton, attributed some growth to outreach “to more students from many backgrounds, including lower socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Some of the application increases undoubtedly come, too, from students applying to ever more colleges, in hopes of increasing their chances.

“There was a time when kids applied to three or four schools, then to six or seven schools, and now, 10 or more is not uncommon,” said John Maguire, a higher education consultant.

Mary Beth Fry, director of college counseling at the Savannah Country Day School, a private school in Savannah, Ga., said she had held the average number of college applications at her school to five last year, but expected the number to climb this year because students were so nervous.

Michael E. Mills, associate provost at Northwestern University in Illinois, said the 14 percent growth this year had sent the number of applications to more than 25,000. To help it winnow the field, he said, it hired a new admissions dean, Christopher Watson, from Princeton, who was accustomed to rejecting many good applicants.

“We anticipated having to go down the path of having to make more difficult choices,” Mr. Mills said, adding that Mr. Watson helped with “making very fine distinctions among very similar applicants.”

By KAREN W. ARENSON

Stanford Rejects SAT Score Choice

2009-09-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

January 07, 2009 02:36 PM ET

Stanford has rejected the College Board's new Score Choice program, which would allow students to pick which SAT scores to send to colleges, the Stanford Daily reports. Stanford said it will not participate in the program and will continue to consider all of an applicant's SAT scores.

"We want to discourage students from taking the SAT more than once or twice and believe that programs like Score Choice encourage applicants with resources to take the SAT excessively to improve their scores," the admissions director said.

SAT Scores Drop, Gaps Grow

2009-09-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

August 26, 2009

Average SAT scores dropped slightly for those who graduated from high school this year, as many more students and a more diverse group of students than in the past took the exam. While College Board materials stressed those increases in participation, the data released also included news that may concern many educators: gaps in scores -- both by race and ethnicity, and by family wealth -- grew this year.

College Board officials generally play down (and did again so this year) slight variations in average scores, saying that movement of a point or so doesn't mean much. But this year's averages -- 501 for critical reading, 515 for mathematics and 493 for writing -- continue a period of small declines or stagnant scores.

SAT Averages, 2005-9

	Critical Reading	Mathematics	Writing
2005	508	520	n/a
2006	503	518	497
2007	502	515	494
2008	502	515	494
2009	501	515	493

Data on the breakdowns by race and ethnicity show a widening gap between Asian American test takers and other groups. Adding all three portions of the SAT, Asian Americans gained 13 points, while American Indians gained 2 points and all others lost. Last year, Asian Americans led only with the mathematics average, but this year their average score overtook that of white students on writing, too.

These ethnic gaps are crucial for both educational reasons and political ones. Many of the growing number of colleges that are going SAT-optional have expressed discomfort with tests on which there are such stark -- and growing -- differences in averages by race and ethnicity.

SAT Scores by Race and Ethnicity, 2009

Group	Critical Reading Score	1-Year Change, Reading	Math Score	1-Year Change, Math	Writing Score	1-Year Change, Writing	Total 1-Year Change
American Indian	486	+1	493	+2	469	-1	+2
Asian American	516	+3	587	+6	520	+4	+13
Black	429	-1	426	+0	421	-3	-4

[Click to view full table]

The growing gaps are even more visible when examined by income level. As in past years, there is a fairly direct pattern: the more money a student's family earns, the higher the SAT scores. But this year's figures show not only the gap, but its growth. The following table shows that for those at the low end of the income scale, SAT gains this year were quite modest. For those from wealthy families, the gains were significant.

SAT Scores by Family Income, 2009

Income Level	Critical Reading Score	1-Year Change, Reading	Math Score	1-Year Change, Math	Writing Score	1-Year Change, Writing	Total 1-Year Change
0-$20,000	434	+0	457	+1	430	+0	+1
$20,000-$40,000	462	+0	475	+2	453	+0	+2
$40,000-$60,000	488	+0	497	+1	476	-1	+0

[Click to view full table]

Laurence Bunin, senior vice president of the SAT Program at the College Board, said that this year's totals continued a gradual trend in which slightly more students are taking the SAT only once. While College Board officials say that it is understandable that many students may want to take the test twice, they say that they discourage taking the test more than that. (Critics of the College Board say that its recent shift to allowing students to select the scores to send to colleges, possibly hiding the number of times that they took the SAT, sends the opposite message.)

In 2009, 48.2 percent of students took the SAT only once, up from 46.5 three years earlier. Bunin said he did not have data to distinguish between those who took the SAT twice (within what the College Board recommends) and three or more times.

— Scott Jaschik

2009 Best Test Prep Rankings

2009-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

The new school year is right around the corner, which means it is time for our annual “Best Test Prep” wrap-up. There are six categories: SAT Prep, ACT Prep, LSAT Prep, GRE Prep, GMAT Prep, and MCAT Prep!

Every year, BestTestPrep.Blogspot releases a ranking of the nation’s best private tutoring and test prep services. These rankings are an independent survey based on internet discussion, ratings and reviews, prep materials, presentation, and interviews and surveys.

SAT Prep

ACT Prep

1. Kaplan
2. Barron’s Test Prep
3. Princeton Review

LSAT Prep

1. Kaplan
2. Princeton Review
3. Parliament Tutors

GRE Prep

1. Manhattan Review
2. Kaplan
Princeton Review

GMAT Prep
GMAT MBA Prep
Princeton Review

MCAT Prep

1. Kaplan
2. Princeton Review
3. Crown Tutoring

2009 Inspiration Awards Go to Schools in California, Mississippi and Texas

2009-08-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK — Three exceptional high schools have been named College Board 2009 Inspiration Award winners for improving their academic environment and helping underserved students achieve equitable access to higher education. Each winning school will receive a $25,000 award, and each of the two honorable mention schools will receive $1,000 to apply toward programs that encourage students to attend college.

Remarking on today’s announcement, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “At a time when higher standards and increased college readiness have become critical to our nation’s future, it is encouraging to know that these Inspiration schools provide a wonderful example for all of us as we work to reform our education system. Congratulations to these schools, their principals, their teachers and their students for this tremendous success. They show us what is possible.”

The 2009 Inspiration Award-winning schools are:

Hidalgo Early College High School, Hidalgo, Texas
Riverdale High School, Riverdale, Calif.
William B. Murrah High School, Jackson, Miss.

The College Board will honor each of the schools at special inspirational assemblies attended by administrators, faculty, students and parents. On May 6, College Board Senior Vice President Peter Negroni will present a 2009 Inspiration Award to Hidalgo Early College High School. On May 12, he will present an award to Riverdale High School. Then on May 14, College Board President Gaston Caperton will present the third Inspiration Award to William B. Murrah High School.

The Inspiration Awards celebrate America’s most improved high schools. These schools create a culture in which success in the classroom is “cool”; they help their students acquire self-confidence and the skills necessary not only to gain admission to college but to succeed on campus. Winning secondary schools demonstrate significant and consistent growth across the entire student population in the number of students taking rigorous courses and the percentage of graduates accepted to institutions of higher education.

In announcing the winners, College Board President Gaston Caperton said, “We are delighted to honor the 2009 Inspiration Award schools. They have made a difference in their communities and in the lives of their students. Because of the unique programs they have created, teachers, parents, community organizations and local businesses have come together to help students graduate from high school and go on to college.”

SAT Reading and Math Scores Show Decline

2009-08-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

The average score on the reading and math portions of the newly expanded SAT showed the largest decline in 31 years, according to a report released yesterday by theCollege Board on the performance of the high school class of 2006.

The drop confirmed earlier reports from puzzled college officials that they were seeing lower scores from applicants. The average score on the critical reading portion of the SAT, formerly known as the verbal test, fell 5 points, to 503, out of a maximum possible score of 800. The average math score fell 2 points, to 518. Together they amounted to the lowest combined score since 2002.

Officials of the College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers the SAT, dismissed suggestions by numerous high school guidance counselors that students were getting tired out by the new three-part test which now runs three and three-quarters hours, rather than three.

“Fatigue is not a factor,” Wayne Camara, vice president for research and analysis at the College Board said at a news conference. “We are not trying to say that students are not tired. But it is not affecting, on the whole, student performance.”

Instead, the officials attributed the drop to a decline in the number of students who took the exam more than once. The board said 47 percent of this year’s students took the test only once, up from 44 percent last year. The number taking the test three times fell to less than 13 percent from nearly 15 percent.

Students typically gain 14 points a section when they take the test a second time, and another 10 or 11 points a section on the third try.

The SAT writing test includes a 25-minute essay, which counts for about 30 percent of the writing score, and 49 multiple-choice questions on grammar and usage, which count for the rest. The average score on the writing section was 497 out of a possible 800, the board said.

Girls performed better than boys on this section of the exam, averaging 502 versus 491 for boys. That partly offset girls’ lower scores on math and reading, but did not close the longstanding score gap between boy and girls.

Gaston Caperton, the president of the College Board, pointed out that the decline in scores represented less than one-half of a test question in reading and one-fifth of one test question in math. Still it was the largest year to year decline since 1975, and officials expressed concerns about the overall performance of American students.

“The data does suggest that as a nation, critical reading and writing are lagging behind the progress we are making in math,” Mr. Camara said.

The SAT score decline contrasted with the increase in scores on the ACT exam, the other primary college admissions test. This month, ACT reported its biggest score increase in 20 years. The ACT also has a writing section, but it is optional.

Seppy Basili, senior vice president at Kaplan Inc., the education and test preparation company, said the new SAT test undoubtedly affected scores because students were less familiar with it and because fewer students repeated it. But Mr. Basili said he thought the length played a greater role than the College Board acknowledged.

“It is not just that the test is 3 hours and 45 minutes,” he said. “It is that the whole experience is five hours or more,” he said, factoring in things like breaks.

Most states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, saw scores decline in reading and math. In New York, average reading scores fell 4 points to 493 and math scores 1 point to 510. In Connecticut, reading was down 5 points to 512 and math 1 point to 516. In New Jersey, reading fell 7 points to 496 and math 2 points to 515.

In New York City, Joel I. Klein, the chancellor of the education department, said, “My only reaction is, it shows that we have to continue to work harder.”

The number of students taking the SAT nationally fell slightly, by about 10,000 students, to just under 1.5 million, or about 48 percent of more than 3 million students who graduated from high school this year.

At a time when many elite colleges have expressed interest in recruiting more low-income students, the number of students from families earning $30,000 or less who took the SAT fell by more than 13 percent, to 183,317, while the number from families earning $100,000 or more rose 8 percent, to 225,869.

Mr. Camara said that of the information collected about students, the income data was the least reliable. He said he did not know what accounted for the decrease in low-income students taking the test.

Counselors in high schools where the SAT has long dominated, said more of their students were taking the ACT. Some have said that in the wake of the College Board’s disclosure this spring that it had mis-scored more than 5,000 exams, they have urged their students to consider the ACT.

PRINCETON REVIEW'S ANNUAL COLLEGE RANKINGS

2009-08-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, July 27, 2009 — According to a survey by The Princeton Review that asked 122,000 students at 371 top colleges to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences, the best professors are at Davidson College (NC). However, the college at which students are happiest with their financial aid – the issue many parents care most about – is Swarthmore College (PA). Colgate University (NY) takes top honors as the most beautiful campus while Virginia Tech serves the best campus food and Smith College (MA) has the best dorms.

The Princeton Review, an education services company, reports the top 20 colleges in these categories and over 50 others in the 2010 edition of its annual college guide "The Best 371 Colleges" (Random House / Princeton Review, $22.99), on sale tomorrow. Other student survey-based ranking lists in the book reveal the schools at which students most highly rated their administrators, campus career centers, and athletic facilities.

The book also has unique ratings – scores from 60 to 99 – on each college's profile in eight categories including Financial Aid, Fire Safety, and Green: a rating based on the schools' environmental commitments. The book's ranking lists and school profiles with ratings will post on www.princetonreview.com today.

"Each of our 371 'best' colleges offers great academics," says Robert Franek, author of the book and V.P. / Publisher, The Princeton Review. "However, we don't rank schools academically because our goal is to help students find and get into the best school for them. Instead, we tally 62 ranking lists based how students at these schools rated their campus experiences, plus ratings based on institutional data we collect on issues important to applicants. It's all about the fit."

Other ranking lists in the book and #1 colleges on them are:

· Best Career Services – University of Florida
· Best Classroom Experience – Pomona College (CA)
· Most Accessible Profs – U.S. Military Academy (NY)
· Most Conservative Students – Texas A&M University
· Most Liberal Students – Warren Wilson College (NC)
· Most Politically Active Students – George Washington University (DC)
· Least Religious Students – Bennington College (VT)
· Race / Class Relations Friendliest – University of Miami (FL)
· Gay Community Most Accepted – New York University
· Top Party Schools – Pennsylvania State University
· Top Stone-Cold Sober Schools – Brigham Young University (UT)
· Everyone Plays Intramural Sports – University of Notre Dame (IN)
· Best Athletic Facilities – University of Maryland at College Park
· Best Town-Gown Relations – Clemson University (SC)

Rock The Test Getting ready to Prepare High School Students

2009-08-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

EAST SETAUKET, NY, March 02, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "For 25 years I wrote test materials for The College Board's SAT and other tests and have seen all the available aids for students preparing for college admissions tests. Nothing else is as simple, direct and comprehensive as SAT: Rock The Test."- Dr. D. Bruce Lockerbie, PAIDEIA, Inc (NY)

Written by experienced teachers from the prestigious Stony Brook School in New York, Michael Hickey and Thom Brownorth have combined practical test taking methods and combined them with proven techniques that have raised their students' SAT scores by an average of 240 points.

Rock The Test gives solutions to problem areas and is packed with verbal and math examples as well as reading and writing practices. It is also the only solutions manual on the market that provides the solutions for all 8 official practice tests from The College Board's Official SAT Study Guide which Rock The Test is an ideal companion.

Available March 1, 2009 just in time for SAT's, Rock The Test is will be available by emailing support@RockTheTest.com or visiting the Rock The Test website.

NY Governor Announces Plan for Homeless Youth Education and Relief

2009-08-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

New York State Governor David A. Paterson and the New York State Education Department announced today that 28 school districts are being awarded a total of $6.1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to support eligible activities under the federal McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Act.

Governor Paterson said, "Homeless children face many barriers to success. By helping them, we increase their chances for success in education and in life. By increasing their opportunities to become productive citizens, we invest in a stronger future for New York. I thank the Obama Administration and the New York Congressional delegation for ensuring that New York has funding for these important projects."

Recipients may use McKinney-Vento AARA funds to improve the identification of homeless children and youth and to assist them in enrolling, attending and succeeding in school. Some examples of how the funding may be used include:

Educational services (including tutoring),
Expedited evaluations,
Awareness training,
Health services,
Excess cost of transportation,
Early childhood programs,
Record keeping,
Parent programs,
Coordinating services,
Violence prevention, and
Providing supplies, services and learning environments at shelters and other temporary housing facilities.

Based on the numbers of homeless students reported to the Education Department, the New York City Department of Education will receive $4.9 million, with the remaining $1.2 being allocated to districts throughout the state, including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers, Albany, Hempstead, Wyandanch, Kingston, and others. A complete list of districts receiving funds is available at:

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/nclb/programs/homeless/

Princeton Review Launches SAT Parent Challenge

2009-08-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, Aug 10, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- To help parents of college-bound students better understand the challenges of the high-stakes SAT college entrance exam, The Princeton Review, Inc. (Nasdaq: REVU), announced today the official launch of its SAT Parent Challenge.

Providing a small sample of the kind of questions students will encounter when taking the SAT, the 12-question online quiz is intended to not only give parents the opportunity to test their academic acumen, but experience -- if only for 15 minutes -- some of the challenges their kids will face when they take the actual, nearly four-hour SAT exam.

Available at http://inquiry.princetonreview.com/ugrad/satparentchallenge, the SAT Parent Challenge features questions from each of the three sections of the exam: Critical Reading, Math, and Essay Writing. After completing the quiz, parents will receive their results from The Princeton Review, as well as examples of techniques that may have helped them correctly answer specific questions.

"Not only is today's SAT much harder than it used to be, but many colleges and universities have increased their average score requirements for first-year students," says Robert Franek, Vice President/Publisher at The Princeton Review. "There's also a growing reliance on college entrance exams to determine eligibility for grants and scholarships due to the dramatic increase in requests for financial aid this year. Given all of this, there's no question that parents and students must take these tests seriously and really prepare for them."

Franek noted that according to The Princeton Review's 2009 "College Hopes and Worries Survey," when asked to gauge their stress level about the college application process, student respondents indicated higher levels than their parents. Additionally, stress levels were the highest since The Princeton Review began the survey in 2003.

"Much of this stress can be eliminated if you understand that it's not always about learning more -- or even remembering what you've learned -- but knowing how to approach a question on a standardized test. Bottom line: the right attitude and preparation for taking these tests can be an extremely important influence and play a key role in helping a student achieve the college test score they need and deserve."

As added incentive, parents who take the SAT Parent Challenge between July 3 and August 31, 2009 will be automatically entered into the Parent Challenge Sweepstakes, with three first place winners receiving a Princeton Review SAT Classroom Preparatory Course, valued at over $1,000.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for more than 25 years through college and graduate school test preparation and private tutoring. With more than 165 print and digital publications and a free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, the Company provides students and their parents with the resources to research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for higher education. The Princeton Review also partners with schools and guidance counselors throughout the U.S. to assist in college readiness, test preparation and career planning services, helping more students pursue postsecondary education.

College Board Brief Highlights Patterns in Student Debt

2009-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK —Although student debt increased rapidly for students in some sectors of higher education during the last four years, the amount of debt accumulated by graduates of public and private four-year colleges grew relatively slowly from 2003-04 to 2007-08. Still, a growing minority graduate with excessive debt. This information and other insights are the focus of a policy brief released today by the College Board based on new data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS).

“How Much Are College Students Borrowing?” analyzes information in NPSAS, which reveals that among all students who completed a degree — associate, bachelor’s or a certificate — in the 2007-08 academic year, 41 percent graduated with no debt. Among all students, those completing any undergraduate degree with education debt increased from 54 percent in 2003-04 to 59 percent in 2007-08. The most rapid increases were within the for-profit sector and for all students earning certificates and two-year degrees.

College Board President Gaston Caperton said, “The analyses in ‘How Much Are College Students Borrowing?’ examine the borrowing decisions students and families are making. We are committed to working with our member colleges and universities and policymakers to create a financial aid system that will help a new generation of students, especially low- and middle-income students, pay for college without unmanageable debt.”

The median debt level of 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients at public four-year colleges was $17,700, a 4 percent ($710) increase in inflation-adjusted dollars over five years. The median debt level of 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients at private four-year institutions was $22,375, which is a 5 percent ($1,137) increase in inflation-adjusted dollars over five years.

“Many students borrow at some point in their college careers, but not every year,” said Sandy Baum, coauthor of the policy brief and senior policy analyst at the College Board. “Borrowing moderately is a responsible way to pay for college, but students should consider how much they can expect to earn when they graduate and whether they will be able to afford the required monthly payments.”

In 2007-08, 39 percent of all students and 54 percent of all full-time students took out an education loan.

Bachelor's degree recipients were more likely than other graduates to have relied on education loans. In 2007-08, 66 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with debt, including 62 percent who had federal loans and 33 percent who had borrowed from nonfederal sources. A much larger fraction of graduates of for-profit institutions relied on private loans.

Increases in Debt Largest Among Students in For-Profit Sector

Much of the growth in borrowing evident in 2007-08 occurred in the private nonfederal loan market. These loans are less desirable than federal loans, which have interest rates limited by law and provisions for economic hardship. Federal loans also are eligible for the new Income-Based Repayment plan. The IBR plan ensures that federal education debt payments never exceed 15 percent of the borrower’s discretionary income and that any remaining debt is forgiven after 25 years.

Patricia Steele, coauthor of the policy brief and an analyst at the College Board, said, “There is reason to be concerned about those who borrow far more than the average amount. Students who complete a degree with excessive debt face burdensome repayment obligations.”

About 10 percent of all bachelor’s degree recipients in 2007-08 borrowed $40,000 or more and the proportions were much higher at private and for-profit institutions.

Among students earning associate degrees, the share of students borrowing increased 8 percentage points in both the public two-year and for-profit sectors between 2003-04 and 2007-08. For students who completed a certificate, the percent who borrow increased from 18 to 30 percent in the public two-year sector, and from 85 to 90 percent in the for-profit sector.

In addition to reporting the average debt of undergraduate borrowers, the policy brief focuses on the distribution of debt levels among all — borrowing and nonborrowing — college graduates. It also examines annual borrowing patterns among college students.

“How Much Are College Students Borrowing?” is available online at http://professionals.collegeboard.com/policy-advocacy/affordability/policy-briefs.

The College Board

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,600 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness, college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com.

Contact

Nancy Viggiano, The College Board, (212) 713-8052, communications@collegeboard.org

Ivy League Tutors

2009-08-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

TTP's Opinion:
Pros: Personable Tutors
Cons: Out-dated strategies, Amateur

Our tutors are beyond qualified and go through an intense interview process to ensure that they are (1) experts in their respective subjects, and (2) are able to present and convey complicated information in a clear fashion. Most importantly, however, our tutors connect with children on a level that older adults and parents are not always able to access. Most of our September-June tutors are enrolled in Columbia University as students. In Summer, these tutors are often replaced by other Ivy League students who come home for the Summer break. High School students who are college bound profit from the college experiences their tutors are able to share with them.

Academic Advantage

2009-08-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

TTP's Opinion:

Pros: Real Test Taking Scenarios

Cons: Overpriced, Out-dated Strategies

The Academic Advantage was created with one simple objective: To offer highly effective one-on-one instruction in the convenience of your own home, focusing on academic improvement and building confidence. We offer a powerful tutoring program comprised of highly educated instructors who cultivate academic minds through the power of one-on-one interaction with the students. With this in mind, The Academic Advantage has become one of the nation’s most respected in-home tutoring program.

Princeton Review

2009-08-12T09:55:00.001-07:00

TTP's Opinion:

Pros: Great Reputation, Reliable, Great Lesson Plan

Cons: Bureaucratic Structure, Impersonable

The Princeton Review helps students, parents, and educators achieve the best results at every stage of their educational careers. By focusing on preparation and practice, we help students improve their performance in the classroom and on standardized tests. Through our website, we help parents, teachers, students and schools navigate the complexities of school admissions.

Parliament Tutors

2009-08-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

BTP's Opinion:

Pros: Best Value, Great Diagnostic Exams, Distinguished Tutors

Parliament Tutors is committed to helping students meet their academic and career goals. We offer first-rate academic enrichment at the start of any student’s education and we stay with our students until the very end of their academic careers, tutoring in all subjects from kindergarten through the MCAT.

Each lesson with Parliament Tutors draws upon an individualized lesson plan, geared to meet the particular needs of each student. Parliament Tutors sharpens students’ learning skills and teaches them how to solve new problems independently, leaving students with the abilities and the confidence they need to succeed.

Parliament Tutors selects only the most passionate, well-trained and distinguished tutors. They use approaches that make sense and teach strategies that work. They take advantage of every minute and never stop listening, learning and improving.

http://www.ParliamentTutors.com

Kaplan

2009-08-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

TTP's Opinion:

Pros: Experienced, Great Lesson Plan

Cons: Expensive, cookie-cut strategies

With 70 years of experience, Kaplan is the world leader in test prep and has helped more than 3 million students prepare to take the tests necessary to achieve their education and career goals.

Kaplan offers complete preparation for entrance exams for secondary school, college, graduate school as well as English language and professional licensing exams.

Kaplan also provides private tutoring and admissions consulting services, as well as K-12 programs for school districts.

Finding the Best Test Prep Company

2009-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

The SAT and ACT, complimented by SAT II Subject Tests and Advanced Placement (AP) Exams, may be the most important components in the college application process.

Learning on your own and giving yourself assignments is sometimes the most effective preparation method.

However, qualified tutors, capable of identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses, and building lessons accordingly, can greatly improve one's score.

This blog is dedicated to identifying the best (and the worst) tutoring and test prep companies in New York City.