Suniti's Advice Corner

The current SAT is going to be discontinued after January 2016. This is not new information. However, if you are a currently in 12th or 11th grade, you should seriously consider taking the SAT in January. Here's our advice based on which grade you are in right now:

12th Graders (Class of 2016) - Take the SAT in January if you are applying Regular Decision. Some universities will accept your January test scores! Benefits are simple: 1) a better score leads to a better chance of being considered for acceptance. 2) a better score can lead to higher scholarship amounts. 

Question: Will my university of choice accept January SAT scores? 
Answer: Many universities will. The best way to know for sure is to check on the university website. Here are a few examples of universities that accept Jan scores:

TUFTS
YALE
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
COLUMBIA
UPENN
PRINCETON
DUKE
M.I.T
→See Full List of which top 20 Colleges accept JAN SAT scores←

11th Graders (Class of 2017) - Take the SAT in January if you have previously prepared for or taken the current SAT. Don't let the work you have already done to prepare for the current SAT go to waste. If you choose to take the Redesigned SAT at a later date, you can send in whichever scores you think are best. Prepare over December break, take the January SAT (be a part of history!) and get your testing out of the way. There is no downside here. 

Question: Will universities accept current SAT scores even for the Class of 2017?
Answer: Absolutely. ALL universities will accept your current SAT scores when you apply next year. This information is openly available on all university websites. In fact, some universities have even stated that they will accept the Current SAT scores for up to 5 years from the date of the test. Don't belieave us? Here is a quote from the University of Chicago admissions website: "We will continue to accept scores from the old version of the SAT for the five years scores remain valid." 

If you've decided to take the January SAT, your test is just about a month away. If you're feeling like there isn't much you can do to prepare at this point, we are here to tell you that's not true! You can still do a lot to get the highest possible SAT score. To help you get there, we have created a 3 week prep calendar. Follow this calendar and you will be ready to rock the current SAT, one last time, in 3 weeks.

And remember, TestRocker is completely online, so you can prep for the SAT whenever you want, wherever you want. Good luck!

Click to Download the Calendar

Are you ready to rock the test? 

 Which Top 20 Colleges Accept January SAT Scores?

 You also might like:

Your Guide to SAT Test Day

Staying Calm on Test Day

5 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Your SAT Test

Are you taking the ACT on December 12th?

If yes, your test is just about 3 weeks away! If you're feeling like there isn't much you can do to prepare at this point, we are here to tell you that's not true! You can still do a lot to get the highest possible ACT score! To help you get there, we have created a 3 week prep calendar. Follow this calendar and you will be ready to rock the ACT in 3 weeks.

And remember, TestRocker is completely online, so you can prep for the ACT whenever you want, wherever you want. Good luck!

Click to Download the Calendar

Are you ready to rock the test? 

You also might like:

Your Guide to SAT Test Day

Staying Calm on Test Day

5 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Your SAT Test

Are you taking the SAT?

If yes, your test is just about 3 weeks away! To help you unlock your dream SAT score, the TestRocker ultimate private tutor, Suniti, has created a 3 week SAT prep calendar. Follow this calendar on the TestRocker program and you will be ready to rock the SAT in 3 weeks.

And remember, TestRocker is completely online, so you can prep for the SAT whenever you want, wherever you want. Good luck!

Click to Download the Calendar

Are you ready to rock the test? 

You also might like:

Your Guide to SAT Test Day

Staying Calm on Test Day

5 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Your SAT Test

Don't have a lot of time to prep for the SAT on March 9th? 

Don’t worry! Simply purchase the TestRocker program & use this calendar to work through the recommended modules, video concepts, & practice quizzes to be ready to rock the SAT on March 9th!

And remember, TestRocker is completely online, so you can prep for the SAT whenever you want, wherever you want. Good luck!

Click to download the calendar. 

Are you ready to rock the test? 

Are you taking the SAT on January 24th?

If yes, your test is only 3 weeks away! To help you unlock your dream SAT score, the TestRocker ultimate private tutor, Suniti, has created a 3 week SAT prep calendar. Follow this calendar on the TestRocker program and you will be ready to rock the SAT in 3 weeks.

And remember, TestRocker is completely online, so you can prep for the SAT whenever you want, wherever you want. Good luck!

Click to Download the Calendar

Are you ready to rock the test? 

Most students take the PSAT with little to no preparation. And they quickly forget about the test as soon as they walk out of the test room. That is, until their score arrives. Most students are taken by surprise by their results and it is the start of many conversations with their counselors and parents.

Yes, PSAT results can be discouraging if you didn't get the score you thought you would.  I too, was very disheartened when I received my PSAT score. I was disappointed when I realized that my dream school, The University of Notre Dame, would be out of reach.

After multiple spurts of hyperventilating and disbelief, my PSAT score became a lot more than just a number - it became the (not-so-) gentle push I needed to realize that the college process was around the corner, and that this was my chance to change the trajectory in which my journey to college acceptance was heading. So, I began preparing for the SAT with private tutoring, group sessions, far too many flash cards and a lot of practice tests. And eventually, I got a great SAT score, which made my application to Notre Dame even stronger. 

Moral of the story: 

DON'T be overly discouraged by your PSAT score. It really isn't the end of the world and your chance of getting in to your dream school isn't slipping out of your hands as you read this. 

DO use your score as a positive reminder and encouragement to kick-start the college process and begin working on rocking your SAT score. 

Post PSAT score emergency checklist: 

1. Start thinking of/researching the schools you want to apply to. Spend time on their undergraduate admissions websites to see what types of students (and range of test scores) they have typically accepted in the past.

2. Analyze your PSAT score report to see where you need to improve (keep in mind that unlike the SAT, the PSAT does not have an essay section - so you should plan to focus on the essay as well) 

3. Start preparing for the SAT early - this is something you can complete and be done with before all the other college application stresses start stirring. 

4. Be okay with the fact that you might take the SAT more than once. Many schools allow you to submit the best combined score of all your SAT attempts.

5. Don't panic! Stay focused. With practice, I was able to increase my SAT score by 330 points. If I can do it, so can you!

We’ll be rooting for you!

Urvashi 
COO, TestRocker 

Your PSAT score report is filled with good data on your strengths and weaknesses. Study your report in great detail to tailor your study schedule to focus on your weaknesses. TestRocker’s online SAT test prep course allows you to do so easily. Simply fill out TestRocker’s checklist using your PSAT results and we’ll create a customized study plan for you. Haven’t take the PSAT as yet? No problem, take our diagnostic test to access your customized study plan.

If someone asked you for $2 million dollars in exchange for well…just about anything, wouldn’t that raise a red flag and make you think that it might be a scam? 

The headline “Chinese Parents Sue Consultant After Sons Are Rejected By Harvard” has quickly become a cautionary tale about hiring independent educational consultants. However, this headline isn’t about hiring IECs. It is a cautionary tale about being scammed and should be not be turned into a generalization about a valuable profession. 

The TestRocker team recently attended an extremely informative presentation by members of the Independent Education Consultants Association at NACAC 2012 in Denver. Here’s what we learnt. 

“The New Admissions Reality”

Public high school counselors in America today are, for the most part, completely stretched thin. Due to limited funding and resources, they are required to play multiple rolls at school, resulting in an average of 22% of their time spent on their actual job: college counseling. To put this in perspective, this means, that on average 

Public School students in America
get 38 minutes of personal college advising during
their 4 years of High School.

The above statistic is by no means reflective of how dedicated the counselors in these high schools want to be, but of the fact that they’ve simply got too much on their plates. 9.5 minutes of college counseling in a year is obviously not sufficient for students to receive the guidance and support needed to be successful at the college application process. Students, parents and universities alike must face “the new admissions reality”, according to Executive Director of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, Mark Sklarow. 

Independent Educational Consultants can be valuable resources for students who, for whatever reason, require guidance in the college application process from an expert outside of their school.

Independent consultants typically help students short-list schools, help pick essay topics that work well for that student’s individual story, review and edit essays, review the entire application for typos, apply for scholarships etc. Their years of experience can also provide an intangible service of reducing student and parent anxiety during the college application process. 

Dispelling Myths about IECs 

Myth #1: IECs are money making machines 

Many people think that IECs charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for their services. According to Marty O’Connel, Executive Director of Colleges That Change Lives (a non-profit organization), “we [IECs] don’t charge [our customers] $120,000 a year and aren’t in this for the money.” The 2012 IECA “State of the Profession” survey results revealed that the average cost of a comprehensive college service package is $4,035.

Myth #2: IECs are not experts 

Susan Sykes, President of SS Advisor said that consultants who are affiliated with the IECA know the business. Many of them are former high school counselors or college admissions professionals who simply aren’t ready to be done helping students. Others come from the business world. She continued to say that professionals in the Independent Educational Consulting industry "love young people, education, and the desire to help students find the best school possible so that they spend 4 years in a place they love."

Myth #3: The IEC industry does not add value 

Director of admissions at Montana State University, Ronda Russell, said that many universities value IECs because they succeeded at finding a perfect fit between a student and a school. In all her years of working with IECs, she has “never had a bad or unethical experience” with a consultant. She also mentioned that students who work with IECs are 3 times more likely to attend out of state colleges because their eyes are open to options they might not have initially considered.

Additionally, the 2011 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College & University Admissions Directors shows that the majority of admissions directors at four-year colleges and universities list IECs as one of the top 5 information sources for students seeking admission to their school.  

How should you, as a parent, go about selecting an IEC?  

First, you should set an expectation for yourself – a consultant will not and should not write essays or complete the application for your child. Admission professionals can detect the voice of an adult and will dismiss the application immediately. After all, the application is an opportunity for an admissions professional to ‘get to know’ the prospective student and not their consultant. 

Here are our top 5 tips on picking the best independent consultants:

1. 

   Search for an IEC in your area on the Independent Educational Consultants Association website. The IECs who are part of this association have already been vetted.

2. Do not hire a professional who can ‘guarantee’ an admission or a scholarship.

3. Ask your friends or seniors in your child’s school for referrals

4. If you don’t know anyone who has used an IEC, ask the consultant to provide you with references so that you can get a sense of his/her working and communication style.

5. Ask for a complimentary first time session to see if your child works well with the consultant you have shortlisted.  There needs to be a meeting of the minds for the relationship to work.

Watch this quick animated video about the unique TestRocker story!  

TestRocker: Our Story 

Counselors and students alike have always had a love-hate relationship with the Common Application. At the National Association for College Admission Counseling's 2012 conference in Denver last weekend, we got a preview of the upcoming changes to the 2014 Common Application and noticed that not all changes were welcomed warmly. In fact, some high school counselors had such a strong reaction to the changes that the 2014 Common Application quickly became one of the hottest topics at the conference.

If you are wondering why there are any changes at all, accoring to the common application representatives, the current version of the common application can't handle the high volume of applications and so changes are necessary. The new version, which has been thought through by a group of people that includes high school counselors, is going to be released just in time for the class applying in 2014. 

So, what's changing? 

A Smarter System:

There will be fewer questions per screen versus the current set of 20 questions at a time. This change will make it possible for the system to ask only the relevant questions based on previous answers and save the student precious time. In addition, there will be a help sidebar for each question, address verification and screening, and at-a-glance progress checker to let the students know what part of the application they have not completed as yet.

All rainbows and bunnies so far, what else?

Logistics, simplified:

The common application will follow the same fee waiver guidelines as The College Board, ACT and NACAC. If eligible, the fee waiver will apply for all application submissions. 

Further, there will be single submission for all applications and payments. Of course, the essay can still be tweaked for each application, however the other logistical stuff will only need to be filled out once. 

Here's where the debate got heated:

To limit, or not to limit, that is the question. 

The additional information section is going to be text only. No uploads will be allowed. Some counselors found this limiting because additional information such as resumes take a more creative format than text only. Also, the art supplement will be replaced with the integration of SlideRoom. Some counselors were unclear about the point of this change.

While the essay word count of 250-500 words will remain the same, it will now be strongly enforced. One counselor's response - "Have universities look back at their favorite essays over the past few years and see if 500 words really are enough,” resulted in applause from the entire audience.

The room got really heated when the Common Application officials announced that 'topic of your choice' will no longer be an essay prompt. Instead, 4 to 5 new essay topics will be announced every year in March. Most of the room seemed unhappy about this change. Currently, according to the Common Application officials, "topic of your choice" and "signigicant experience" account for about 70% of all essay submissions.

Counselors voiced that the essay section is stressful enough for students and removing the topic of choice option will add undue stress onto their students. Further, it will limit their creativity. However, some counselors in the audience agreed with the change claiming that removing “topic of your choice” helps level the playing field between those who have assistance/guidance in essay writing and those who do not have the means.

We asked what readers thought about the Common Application changes. Here are the poll results:

 

UPDATE: The common app just released this year's essay topics. Here they are!

1. Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.