There seems to be a growing trend of students self-studying for AP exams in order to rack up as many as possible — and I assume that the rationale is that these students think that they are positioning themselves better for highly selective admission. The truth is, it can have just the opposite effect.
Should You Use Your Free SAT Score Reports?
When students register for the SAT, they are given the option to send their scores to four colleges for free. Sounds great! Right?
Here’s why you might want to consider waiting…
If you choose to send the free score reports, you do so before you see your scores. That’s not a problem if you do well, but if you don’t perform to your potential, you may have just sent a score to a college that you’d rather not have them see. And with the growing number of colleges and universities going test-optional, you may choose not to submit scores at all!
Worried that sending scores later may be financially challenging for your family? Don’t! Students that get a fee waiver to take the SAT will still be able to send scores for free after they’ve taken the test.
Generally, our advice is to wait, review your entire test history, and only then choose which scores to send to which colleges.
How to Get Ready for the Connecticut School Day SAT
The state school day SAT will be administered online this year!
This past week, many Connecticut high school juniors were surprised by the news that, for the first time, the SAT administered in March to high school juniors in the state will be taken online.
Standardized testing being what it is — stressful — has resulted in students and families having many questions.
Q: Is this the new digital test version that is shorter and adaptive?
A: No. The March school day SAT will be the exact same test format as the paper version. The only difference is that it will be taken online.
Q: Will colleges still accept it for admission purposes?
A: Every college admission officer that we talked to said that they would consider it just as they do any other SAT test score.
Q: What can I do to prepare?
A: The best way to prepare is to familiarize yourself with the interface. The College Board has a test version here where students can walk through a shortened sample test and the functionality of the system.
Q: The sample version online has an essay section! Will there be an essay on the March test?
A: No. You can ignore that part of the mock test. It’s a leftover from a previous version.
Q: What parts of the practice site should I pay attention to?
A: Students should familiarize themselves with how to move from question to question and section to section, how to flag a question so that they can go back to it later, how to highlight portions of the test and strike out eliminated answers, and how to use the math reference section.
Q: How can I practice the reading section?
A: What is tricky about the reading section is that the passage and the question and answers are on the screen together. Students need to scroll up and down to read the passage on the left-hand side of the screen, while the right-hand side of the screen is fixed. We suggest getting a PDF of a practice test (the College Board has several here) and taking it online. If you can, put the reading passage on one screen and the answer sheet on another to simulate the scrolling you will need to do.
Q: I’m worried that I’m not going to do as well on this version as I’ve done in the past!
A: Mark Anestis of The Learning Edge in Guilford says, “Don’t panic. It’s the same test!” And, besides, if you leave the test and really feel as if you bombed it, you have the right to cancel your score. So there is absolutely no reason to be stressed. Anestis says that as long as you spend some time getting used to the digital tools, you will be ready to go. So take a deep breath, and go in there and do your best!!
Helpful Steps to Improve Your Test (and Other) Performances
We often listen to students say they are particularly anxious for important exams, games, or performances. While performance coach Dr. Ben Bernstein says some anxiousness can be beneficial for people to perform their best, being overanxious can have a significant impact on performance even when a person is totally capable of doing well.
According to Bernstein, you should think of your performance as a three-legged stool. He calls these legs the Pillars for Performance. When one leg is unstable, the whole stool becomes unstable. When all three legs are working, the stool (your performance) becomes very sturdy. The first pillar is being Calm. Have you ever noticed when you’re stressed that you get shortness of breath or even forget to keep breathing? This is your body going into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Bernstein says consistent and deliberate breathing during a performance is one of the easiest ways students can stay calm. Students should also stay grounded. Have your feet connected to the floor and let gravity push you down. We tend to tense up our bodies and our shoulders when we’re stressed instead of relaxing and staying grounded. The third way to stay calm is to do what Bernstein calls sensing. Let your eyes rest for a few seconds. Engage your other senses. You should always be using at least two of your senses so that you can tune out of your head and tune into where you are.
His second pillar is Confidence. To be confident, you first need to confide in yourself. Be honest with yourself—what is it that you’re truly feeling negative about in relation to this performance? Once your problem is out in the open, it’s time to squash your doubt. Reflect and state a true positive success that you’ve had in this area. For example, if you’re taking the SAT and feeling anxious about a particular math section, reflect on a time where you worked on these exact same problems and were successful. If you did it then, you can do it now. Now that you know you can do it, envision in your mind the small steps you’ll need to take to go from a negative state to a positive state. Envision yourself being successful and that will breed confidence.
Bernstein’s third pillar is Focus. To focus, you should have a goal or target. This goal should be yours and no one else’s. Why are you doing what you’re doing right now? What are potential distractions on the way to this goal? Envision yourself trying to reach your goal with those distractions. Ask yourself, will those distractions help you reach your goal? The answer is always no. Then stop the distractions right then and there and start listening to the voice inside you that will tell you exactly what you need to do to get on track. See yourself listening to those directions. Push yourself to take those directions that you know are good for you.
So there you have it. The three Pillars for Performance are Calm, Confidence, and Focus. If you’ve done the proper practice and preparation leading up to your performance, you can perform up to your potential. This means not only doing the practice problems/exercises/run-throughs but also practicing these three pillars again and again so it becomes natural in crunch time. These strategies can certainly help in many areas outside of testing and games to help us feel better. Remember it’s good to be a little anxious. It means you care about what you’re doing. When it gets to be too much, make sure you’re aware of that and use Bernstein’s tools to get on the right track.
Changes for the SAT: What You Need to Know
The College Board announced recently that they are eliminating the essay portion of the SAT, as well as SAT subject tests for domestic students.
Regarding subject tests: "We are no longer offering the Subject Tests in the U.S. Students in the U.S. will automatically have their registrations canceled and receive a refund. Because Subject Tests are used internationally for a wider variety of purposes, we will provide two more administrations in May and June of 2021 for students in international locations. International students can call Customer Service to cancel their registration for a full refund if they no longer want to take Subject Tests."
We will be following this closely and speaking with admissions reps to let you know how this will impact the class of 2022. Stay tuned to our blog for future announcements!
Helpful Steps to Improve Your Test (and Other) Performances
The College Matters team recently attended the virtual conference for the Independent Educational Consultants Association. The conference had dozens of interesting topics, and one that particularly stuck out to us was a lecture from performance coach Dr. Ben Bernstein on how students can curb their anxiety to perform their best. We often listen to students say they are particularly anxious for important exams, games, or performances. While Bernstein says some anxiousness can be beneficial for people to perform their best, being overanxious can have a significant impact on performance even when a person is totally capable of doing well.
According to Bernstein, you should think of your performance as a three-legged stool. He calls these legs the Pillars for Performance. When one leg is unstable, the whole stool becomes unstable. When all three legs are working, the stool (your performance) becomes very sturdy. The first pillar is being Calm. Have you ever noticed when you’re stressed that you get shortness of breath or even forget to keep breathing? This is your body going into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Bernstein says consistent and deliberate breathing during a performance is one of the easiest ways students can stay calm. Students should also stay grounded. Have your feet connected to the floor and let gravity push you down. We tend to tense up our bodies and our shoulders when we’re stressed instead of relaxing and staying grounded. The third way to stay calm is to do what Bernstein calls sensing. Let your eyes rest for a few seconds. Engage your other senses. You should always be using at least two of your senses so that you can tune out of your head and tune into where you are.
His second pillar is Confidence. To be confident, you first need to confide in yourself. Be honest with yourself—what is it that you’re truly feeling negative about in relation to this performance? Once your problem is out in the open, it’s time to squash your doubt. Reflect and state a true positive success that you’ve had in this area. For example, if you’re taking the SAT and feeling anxious about a particular math section, reflect on a time where you worked on these exact same problems and were successful. If you did it then, you can do it now. Now that you know you can do it, envision in your mind the small steps you’ll need to take to go from a negative state to a positive state. Envision yourself being successful and that will breed confidence.
Bernstein’s third pillar is Focus. To focus, you should have a goal or target. This goal should be yours and no one else’s. Why are you doing what you’re doing right now? What are potential distractions on the way to this goal? Envision yourself trying to reach your goal with those distractions. Ask yourself, will those distractions help you reach your goal? The answer is always no. Then stop the distractions right then and there and start listening to the voice inside you that will tell you exactly what you need to do to get on track. See yourself listening to those directions. Push yourself to take those directions that you know are good for you.
So there you have it. The three Pillars for Performance are Calm, Confidence, and Focus. If you’ve done the proper practice and preparation leading up to your performance, you can perform up to your potential. This means not only doing the practice problems/exercises/run-throughs but also practicing these three pillars again and again so it becomes natural in crunch time. These strategies can certainly help in many areas outside of testing and games to help us feel better. Remember it’s good to be a little anxious. It means you care about what you’re doing. When it gets to be too much, make sure you’re aware of that and use Bernstein’s tools to get on the right track.
Betsy Morgan's advice on test-optional schools featured in College Confidential
Betsy was recently interviewed by Suchi Rudra of College Confidential for her article, “Should You Apply Only to Test-Optional Schools?”
Betsy Morgan and Sarah Rickelman's advice featured in College Confidential
Betsy and Sarah were recently interviewed by Suchi Rudra of College Confidential for her article, “Superscore Is Great, But Individual Scores Are Just OK — Should You Retest?”
How to Rock Your Midterms!
You’ve got this!
It’s midterm time at many high schools, an anxious time, to be sure. What can you do now to get ready to rock them?
Alter your perspective. Students who view midterms as an opportunity, rather than fear them, tend to consistently do better on their exams. Why? The power of positive thinking.
Organize. Take the time to make sure that you have all of the materials you need. Study guide? Reading materials? Index cards?
Summarize. Take a tip from the Cornell Note-taking Method. Read through each page of your notes and summarize what is there. What is important to remember? What connects to other class material? What is likely to show up on the exam?
Recharge. Make sure that you give yourself time to refuel. Even ten minutes of a study break can help you refocus your energy.
Ask for help. Attend study sessions with your teacher, organize a study group of peers. Ask a parent or friend to quiz you on the material. It’s great to have that other perspective on the progress that you are making.
How to Interpret Your PSAT Score Report
Do PSAT scores matter? Mostly not!
PSAT scores are not used in making a college admission decision, but as an indicator of college readiness and as a predictor of SAT scores. Students will need to take an official SAT to meet standardized testing requirements.
So what is the difference?
It is important to understand that the PSAT is scored on a 160-760 scale for each section, whereas the SAT is scored on a 200-800 scale. The score ranges differ because the SAT contains additional questions of higher difficulty; it’s taken when students are older and have mastered more academic content. Because of this, a student who has scored a 450 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing on the PSAT, for example, should approximately score the same on the SAT if it was taken on the same day. It would be expected that the student’s score would improve, however, when they take the SAT in the future as they will have mastered more academic content over time.
You will also notice that percentiles are given underneath each score. These represent the student’s relative standing among all U.S. students in that grade, whether or not they have taken the PSAT. You can obtain the percentile ranking among students who took the PSAT by going to the online score report on your College Board account. Be aware that this ranking will most likely be lower as the cohort that takes the PSAT is often more competitive.
What does it count for?
The PSAT taken in the junior year is used to qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation Awards program. You will see an NMSC Selection Index Score on the 3rd page of the report. The student’s scores are used to calculate this index score, which will fall within the 48-228 range. Each state calculates the score needed to qualify for the awards program based on students’ scores from their state and this benchmark changes from year to year. The NMSC will notify students in September who are eligible to apply for the National Merit Scholarship Awards program. These students are approximately the top-scoring 1% of students who took the PSAT in their junior year nationwide.
More detailed information about the PSAT can be found by logging into your College Board account online.