Category: SAT

The holiday season has come and gone, and now that your student is settled back into this next phase of junior year it is time to get through some more college preparation steps.

  1. Plan and/or Finalize Plans for College Visits: The mid-winter and spring breaks during junior year are an ideal time to visit colleges that your student might be interested in attending. Now is the time to finalize those plans. Check here for helpful college admissions interview tips, important questions to ask, and more.
  2. Register for an Early Test Date: Springtime is fast approaching, and it’s important for your son or daughter to register for an early SAT or ACT exam date. If the first set of test scores isn’t representative of your child’s abilities, there will be plenty of time to retake the test later in the spring if necessary. If the initial score is high enough, then he or she can use the remainder of junior year to concentrate on achieving strong grades and preparing for AP exams or SAT Subject tests. The next SAT test date is March 8, and the ACT is offered on April 12.
  3. Take a Test Prep Course: If your student is planning to take the March SAT, he or she should register for our test prep course, which started last weekend. There is still time to sign up and get registered for the class, and take a make-up class to cover the session your student missed. There is also plenty of time to prepare by doing individual tutoring. For the April ACT, your student should register now for the course beginning February 15th or 16th.

In our experience, it’s important to aim for the early spring test dates instead of waiting until May or June to take the exam for the first time. We hope that all of our students score well enough on their first attempt to make this unnecessary, but it’s only prudent to make plans for a retake anyway.

Remember, scores from the May exam don’t come back until the end of that month, which leaves only about a week to 10 days to address weaker areas and retake the exam in June. We don’t consider 7-10 days to be a sufficient amount of time to prepare well enough to retake the test and achieve a better score. If your student takes the exam for the first time in May, and needs to retake it, he or she will probably have to wait until next October, which means studying over the summer and working extra hard to avoid losing momentum.

At Sandweiss Test Prep, we are strong believers in trying to complete all standardized testing by the end of junior year, so that kids can focus on their college applications in the fall of senior year and not have to worry about more tests.

Good luck!

Featured photo from Flickr User Steven S.

Last month, we published a list of helpful college preparation tips. At the top of that list was our suggestion to take a diagnostic test to determine whether the ACT or SAT is a better test for your child. Now is the critical time to bring your child in for a FREE diagnostic test. We are open most days during the Winter Holiday break for diagnostic testing.

As a reminder, our ACT test preparation courses for the February 8th, 2014 exam begin in the first week of January. These courses can be taken on Saturdays beginning January 4th in Bellevue, or Sundays starting January 5th in Seattle.

If the diagnostic test reveals that the SAT is a better exam for your student, he or she can prepare for that test with Sandweiss Test Prep in our SAT prep courses. We have courses to prepare for both the January 25th exam and the March 8th exam.

  • The courses for the January 25th exam are condensed, due to the quickly approaching test date. These can be taken by Seattle students starting on January 4th, and Bellevue students begin on January 5th.
  • For the March 8th exam, your students can begin the full-length SAT prep course starting on January 11th in Seattle, or beginning January 12th in Bellevue.

If you have not yet scheduled a diagnostic test to determine the best college entrance exam for your student, now is the time to do so! Here are the next steps toward successful test preparation:

  1. Register for the February ACT, or for either the January or March SAT.
  2. Get your student registered for his or her test preparation courses with Sandweiss Test Prep. Also keep in mind that we offer both individual and small group tutoring if your child needs more targeted preparation help or if the course schedules don’t work with your availability.
  3. Finalize your college visit list. Last month, we recommended that you and your child plan college visits – have you started that list? It’s time to get those trips on the calendar! Mid-winter break and spring break are usually excellent times to visit campuses.

Check back here on our blog for more college preparation and testing tips in the future. We hope to help guide your student smoothly through the testing and college prep process.

Happy holidays from Sandweiss Test Prep!

Is your high school junior on schedule with the necessary college preparation steps? Now that your son or daughter is settled into the school year, winter break is an optimal time to determine which big college entrance test your child should take.

It’s important to keep in mind that all colleges will accept either the SAT or ACT. We offer free diagnostic testing for both exams in order to determine which test is best suited for your child. In addition, we will provide a recommendation about the appropriate preparation options, how long the process will take, and the approximate cost.

Here’s a list of to-dos and helpful college preparation tips to get your student ready for a productive junior year.

  • Take a diagnostic test. Now is the time to take diagnostic exams to determine whether the ACT or SAT is the better test for your student. If your child took the PSAT in October, you will not receive results until January, which is too late to begin our courses to prepare for late winter test dates.
  • Based on the diagnostic results and our recommendations, register for either the February or April SAT, or the March ACT. This will allow sufficient time to re-take either exam later in the spring if necessary.
  • Think about college visits. Winter break or mid-winter break are the ideal times to plan college visits, since classes will be in session and your student will get the best sense of campus life. Begin thinking about a list of colleges that your son or daughter might be interested in applying to. Click here for College Board’s interactive college search tool. As you plan your child’s college visits, consider visiting different kinds of schools in the area. Your child can get an idea of what his or her experience might be like at a school with or without fraternities/sororities, a private school vs. a public school, an inter-urban school vs. a rural school, etc.
  • Now is the time to get as much information about colleges as you can. Visit your local public library (or our Sandweiss Test Prep office!) to look at college guidebooks. Check your high school counselor’s office and/or their newsletters to learn about college representatives who might be visiting your high school. You should be ‘window shopping’ for colleges as you and your child put together the list of places he or she might be interested in attending.

Stay tuned for more college preparation tips here on our blog. Remember that while test prep is important, colleges put more emphasis on grades! Study hard and focus on keeping your junior year grades at their best.

Greetings Students and Parents,

This newsletter is being sent to all high school juniors who have participated in a Sandweiss Test Prep class or lesson. We want to help you get the most out of your junior year and stay on track for college.
Here are a couple important and/or interesting topics for you to consider.

Testing

 

Many of you are planning to take the ACT or SAT in the next few months. With all the pressure to perform you may be looking for some fool-proof test taking hints or tips. Don’t be too eager believe everything you hear though. Take the article below, for example.

 

The Huffington Post – Research Debunks Common Standardized Test Taking Strategies

It is true that some test taking strategies are simply not helpful, like choosing C if you’re unsure of the answer. But unlike the author of this article, we’re less eager to dismiss strategies like underlining and taking notes. A lot of students have trouble concentrating on the reading passages. Underlining or taking notes forces them to engage. It is beneficial for holding their attention and provides a visual reference when they are answering the questions. We also recommend summarizing to identify key points and the author’s purpose or tone. This is a strategy many students find helpful.

 

The article also addresses the fact that test takers are often reluctant to go back and check their answers. This is something you will learn with practice, but it really depends on the type of question. It is important to notice the patterns. If your first instinct is typically correct on vocabulary questions, for example, then you should trust the answer choice that feels right to you. But if your first answer choice on questions requiring you to identify the main topic or purpose of a reading passage often turns out to be incorrect, then don’t be afraid to go back and consider changing your answer on that type of question.

 

There is a lot of debate around effective test taking strategies. Students are looking for miracle solutions that will improve their scores without much effort, but as this article correctly states, the best, most proven strategy is practice. Taking practice tests and reviewing those tests is the best way to implement what you learn in your tutoring session or in your class lessons. It may take some time, but it is probably the only thing that works well for every student.

For more advice see: Timing Tips for the ACT and SAT from The New York Times.

 

The Washington Post – College Board markets midweek SAT testing to schools

Last year more US students took the ACT than the SAT for the first time in history. We like to advocate the ACT as an equal alternative to the SAT, so this is good news for us.

 

The College Board, on the other hand, is understandably not enthused to hear that the ACT is now more popular than its test. Fewer SAT test takers means less money. The College Board has started to push mid-week SAT testing in schools (the SAT and ACT had previously only been administered on Saturdays). Not only that, but the SAT is being offered at a discounted rate or even for free in some areas. The College Board wants the SAT name to be synonymous with college-readiness, especially in the untapped lower income, lower achieving areas (a market where the ACT has been especially successful).

 

How does this all affect you and your family? Well, more competition between the SAT and ACT could be good for test-takers, if it leads to better tests, lower fees, and more exam dates.

 

Choosing a College

 

Juniors, just in case you didn’t already have enough on your plates this year with getting impressive grades, becoming more involved in your extracurricular activities, taking the ACT or SAT, SAT Subject Tests and AP Exams, it’s also time to start seriously thinking about where you want to go to college.

 

You should emphasize finding the right fit above all else. As Frank Bruni says in his op-ed piece for The New York Times, “How to Choose a College”,

 

“[I worry about] secondary-school students who […] possess the economic and intellectual good fortune — and the hard-won transcripts — to entertain a wealth of alternatives, because I think we let them get too distracted by rankings, ratings, brands. We don’t point them toward assessments and dynamics that are arguably more meaningful.”

 

Keep this in mind when navigating through college guides and college matching websites. Just because a school has a strong “brand name”  doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right choice for you.

 

If you’re ready to do some research, read the following article that is packed with some awesome links, advice and other resources:

Sevens Steps to Putting Together a Great College List

 

If you put together a solid college list now, you should be able to visit some of your favorites during Spring Break. Related reading: Juniors: Start your Planning for College Visits.

 

Also, check out the White House College Scorecard.

We offer more than just test prep. We can be your partner through all aspects of your decision making process

Let us give you some free, low-hassle advice. If you have a quick comment or question about your college application process just post it on the Sandweiss Test Prep Facebook page and we’ll respond ASAP.
If you’ve ever received a service from Sandweiss Test Prep please share your opinion: Review Us on Yelp!
Has your family visited a college recently? Help us build a dynamic, social database where students can interact, share stories and give each other tips, recommendations or warnings about different colleges.
Do you have feedback on this newsletter? Please let us know if you’d like to be taken off the mailing list, or if you have any other feedback.
Susie Coffaro

Over at the New York Times’ college admissions blog “The Choice,” the deans of admission at Penn and Michigan reveal how they consider test scores on a college application.

The Takeaway:

  • SAT and ACT scores aren’t everything, though they are important. Admissions counselors go over scores quickly, and there are no minimum cutoff points.
  • In order for your application to be competitive, you’ll want to aim for the scores of a college class’s middle 50 percent test range.
  • Academic grades are as, if not more important than test scores.

The New York Times reports that although the percentage of high school students completing a rigorous curriculum rose from 5 percent in 1990 to 13 percent in 2009, test scores have remained about the same from year to year.

What does this suggest? Probably that many of those advanced courses are not as advanced as they claim. There is no evidence that students are mastering more content than previously. One of the main culprits, unsurprisingly? The College Board’s Advanced Placement program, in which more students than ever before now participate, and in which more students than ever before fail the A.P. test.

 

Some of you who applied to college via early decision or action programs may currently be living in the purgatory known as “deferral.” When colleges can’t decide yet whether to accept or reject students, they defer them. What this basically means is that they’d like a little more information about them before making a final decision. Here’s how to help yourself on the journey to that decision:

1. Don’t freak out or slack off.

2. Contact admissions for information on how to boost your application.

3. Update your application with a recent grade report, as well as a cover letter stating your intention to attend if accepted.

4. Consider a campus visit.

5. Send another recommendation from someone who knows you well.

6. Try retaking the SAT or ACT if your scores may have been a barrier to your admission.

7. Work as hard as you can at academics.

8. Step up community or school involvement to show colleges that your commitment to service doesn’t end when your application is submitted.

9. Add any recent accomplishments to your mid-year report.

10. Get excited about the other schools you’ve applied to! Remain open-minded about the future.

December 2, 2011

How to Prepare for a College Admissions Interview

Filed under: College admissions — Sandweiss @ 9:01 pm

Lee Bierer at The Charlotte Observer offers these tips for a successful college interview:

Do your homework. Demonstrate how well you know the college. Research the website thoroughly, including possible majors of interest, study abroad programs, extracurricular activities, etc.

Be yourself, but don’t be shy. Allow your personality to shine, but if you are a natural introvert, use this as an exercise to try coming out of your shell.

Make it a conversation and not an interrogation. Change up the pace and rhythm of your responses. The more you can make it a two-way street discussion with questions for the interviewer, the better off you’ll be.

Share new information, but not too much information. Don’t restate your application, don’t blame teachers and don’t talk about boyfriends/girlfriends or conflicts with your parents.

Don’t sound rehearsed. You want your responses to be fresh and not sound as if you’re reading off a teleprompter.

Come prepared with questions. You can count on the interviewer leaving time for your questions. Make sure your questions are ones that can’t be answered on the college website.

Dress for success. Use your common sense. Boys don’t need to wear a suit, but everyone should look neat and professional.

Remember the basics. Arrive early, bring a copy of your resume, thank the interviewer and go it alone. Parents should not be seen or heard from in alumni interviews.

Be prepared for a variety of questions. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes alumni want to “test” applicants and will ask questions such as “If you were a color, which one would you be and why?” Practice thinking on your feet in a mock-interview with your parents.

Stay in touch. Be sure to send a thank you note. Handwritten and delivered via postal mail is the best, but email will suffice.

November 23, 2011

What You Don’t Learn in Law School: How to Be a Lawyer

Filed under: Uncategorized — Sandweiss @ 8:35 pm
The New York Times has an interesting article, to the effect that law school doesn’t prepare law students to be lawyers.

Law schools have long emphasized the theoretical over the useful, with classes that are often overstuffed with antiquated distinctions, like the variety of property law in post-feudal England … “The fundamental issue is that law schools are producing people who are not capable of being counselors,” says Jeffrey W. Carr, the general counsel of FMC Technologies, a Houston company that makes oil drilling equipment. “They are lawyers in the sense that they have law degrees, but they aren’t ready to be a provider of services.”

 

Because law schools don’t teach the ins and outs of lawyering, law firms have to train new associates on the client’s time. Clients have begun to complain about seeing the names of first- and second-year associates on their bills.
So what’s the final analysis? Law school grads “will need to know less about Contracts and more about contracts.” Change to law school curriculum will be slow, but it is inevitable.

 

Greetings Students and Parents,

This newsletter is being sent to all high school juniors who have participated in a Sandweiss Test Prep class or lesson. We want to help you get the most out of your junior year and stay on track for college.
If you’re wondering what you can work on during winter break, here are some ideas.
Make a list of your top colleges
 

Now is the ideal time to seriously think about where you want to go to college. It may seem like you have plenty of time, but before you know it you’ll be working on your application packets and writing your admissions essays. Keep in mind that your final decision is just over a year away. Remember: consider all your options, and be aware of any misconceptions you might have about choosing a college. Picking a college is all about finding the right fit.

 

Right now you should be soaking in as much information as possible. Ask everyone for advice, talk to your teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, family friends, distant relatives, etc. And don’t be shy about it. People love giving advice to high school students. The more opinions you get, the more information you’ll have and the easier it will be to make the decision that is best for you.

 

US News – Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Offers Advice on Choosing the Right College

 

Also, request information from any colleges you’re considering. Collect pamphlets and info packets, consult guidebooks and college comparison sites. Your school’s guidance office can be a great resource if you don’t know where to start.

 

For a detailed and comprehensive online college guide visit College Confidential.
 
Plan your campus visits
 

The most popular time to tour college campuses is during spring break. Do your family a favor and start planning that trip now. Most college tours do not require reservations this far in advance, but there’s a lot of demand for spring break tours and it never hurts to sign up early. You can also start looking at campus tour calendars (here’s the UW calendar for example) to start planning your own itinerary.

You should also think about booking hotels and flights in advance. This will not only offer you discounted prices, but it will also save you the stress of trying to plan last minute.

Use spring break to visit out of state colleges. You can tour local colleges over long weekends or during winter break.

 

The Choice Blog – How to Make the Most of a College Visit

 
 
Register and prepare for the ACT or SAT
 
By now you’ve probably decided whether you’re taking the ACT or SAT. Remember, colleges will accept either test; neither is better or more impressive than the other.

Here at Sandweiss Test Prep we recommend you take the ACT no later than February or  April, and SAT no later than March. This will leave you enough time to retake the exam in June if needed. You don’t want to end up in a position where you need to take the ACT or SAT again during the fall of your senior year when you really should be thinking about your college applications.

If you haven’t already registered, here are the upcoming ACT and SAT test dates:
ACT Test Date         Registration Deadline

February 9th                 January 11th

 April 13th                      March 8th
 June 8th                        May 17th
Sandweiss ACT Class
Starting February 9th or 10th for the April 13th exam
SAT Test Date         Registration Deadline

January 26th               December 28th

 March 9th                   February 8th
 May 4th                      April 5th
 June 1st                     May 2nd
 
Sandweiss SAT Class
Starting mid January for the March 9th exam
 
Get good grades
 
When you submit your college applications, admissions officers are going to pay close attention to the classes you took and the grades you got during your junior year. It’s the most important year of your high school career. That means you should be taking AP and honors classes, getting good grades, and being generally impressive. Don’t take on more than you can handle, but colleges want to see that you’re pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.
If you feel like your course load is too easy, you still might be able to sign up for a second semester AP or honors course. AP Government and AP Environmental Science, for example, are sometimes offered starting mid-year.
 
 
 
Prepare for AP exams and SAT Subject Tests
Since you’re probably already taking one (or a few) AP classes, you know AP exams are coming up at the end of the year. You may just be taking an AP class for the GPA boost, or because it looks good on your transcript. Maybe getting a 5 on the exam is not your top priority, but as you probably know, many colleges will exchange AP exam scores for college credits, and the most selective schools only accept the highest scores.
Even though it might seem like a lot of work to study hard for AP exams on top of all your course work, consider the fact that earning college credit could literally save you and your family thousands of dollars. So pay attention in your AP classes and study hard for your AP exams.

Students taking advanced classes should also consider taking SAT Subject Tests. We encourage you to take the SAT Subject Test of any AP class you’re already taking (ie if you’re taking AP Chemistry, take the Chemistry subject test as well). If you’re unsure how the AP exams and SAT Subject tests compare, explore the official College Board site. Sandweiss Test Prep also offers free diagnostic tests for SAT Subject Tests allowing you to see what the real test would be like.

A handful of schools now consider SAT Subject Test scores as part of your application. You can show off your knowledge in one or two of your best subjects, which is helpful if your SAT or ACT scores are low or average. Additionally, many selective colleges now require any two subject test scores along with your traditional SAT or ACT scores. Other schools will allow you to submit your scores from two of the following tests: SAT, ACT or SAT Subject Test. For a fairly up to date list of colleges that require, recommend and consider SAT Subject Tests, check out this link from Compass Prep.

Remember, Sandweiss Test Prep offers individual tutoring and practice exams for all SAT Subject Tests and AP exams. Now is the perfect time to start studying!

For more reading: December College Checklist for Juniors from The New York Times The Choice Blog

We offer more than just test prep. We can be your partner through all aspects of your decision making process

Let us give you some free, low-hassle advice. If you have a quick comment or question about your college application process just post it on the Sandweiss Test Prep Facebook page and we’ll respond ASAP.
If you’ve ever received a service from Sandweiss Test Prep please share your opinion: Review Us on Yelp!
Has your family visited a college recently? Help us build a dynamic, social database where students can interact, share stories and give each other tips, recommendations or warnings about different colleges.
Do you have feedback on this newsletter? We’re planning on starting a semi-monthly newsletter of this sort. Please let us know if you’d like to be taken off the mailing list, or if you have any other feedback.
Susie Coffaro
Sandweiss Test Prep