Cbass proves my point!

Posted by Dee

The AdmitSpit blog just received its first comment today! Embarrassingly enough, apparently I left Brown University off of the list of Ivy League schools in the post “Ivy Leagues are not created equal,” and incidentally added Duke instead. (My apologizes!)

I went through all the previous blog posts to fact check and it should all be fine, but I do believe Cbass’s comment proves that comments are not only useful for me, but for all readers too. I am not an expert at this college admissions “stuff;” just a freshman in college who, while “succeeding” at the “college game” in the conventional sense, wished I would’ve had an informal channel for information about people’s experiences with regards to all aspects of college admissions.

So, whether it’s a post idea, correction, discussion point, suggestion, question, or something other, I hope to see more comments in the future!

The College Board is out to conquer the student world, again

Posted by Dee

News flash: the College Board now has its own public schools.

According to the College Board Web site, public schools in New York (specifically in NYC, and soon to be popping up in Buffalo and Rochester too) for grades 6-12 are being developed by the College Board in conjunction with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

Apparently, the first two “College Board Schools” opened up in 2004, with three following in 2005. Up to six more will be added this fall.

The goal: “to prepare students for access to and success in college.”

How? By using the beloved College Board programs of course! APs, SATs, PSATs, SpringBoard, etc. A program poised for true academic success? Perhaps. A plug for College Board’s own company products? Perhaps.

This should be an interesting experiment.

Some words about the PSAT/NMSQT scoring

Posted by Dee

When you get your PSAT/NMSQT scores back, don’t get confused as to why you don’t have even close to a 2400. The PSAT is scored on a 240 point scale. (They recommend adding a zero onto the end of your scores for an idea of how you’d do on the real SAT.)

Out of the nearly 1.3 million people who take the PSAT/NMSQT test, how do they choose who’s a semi-finalist?

They add up your scores on each of the three sections of the exam (reading, math, and writing), and call this your “Selection Index.” Then, they designate a Selection Index cutoff. (Obviously, the highest Selection Index possible is 240, but the cutoff is usually somewhere between 214 and 220, depending on the year.)

So, the students who score at, or above, the cutoff Selection Index number make it to the semi-finalist round. It’s usually around 50,000 people.

Quick interview note #2

Posted by Dee

Most times, you’re going to be doing your college interview in a cafe, coffee shop, restaurant, etc. (Sometimes it’ll take place at your house or your interviewer’s house, but I’m not sure that’s too common… at least not where I’m from, but leave a comment if the norm is different where you live.)

Most likely before your interview starts you’ll order food or drink. Do not order messy food! Your task at this interview is not to eat; it’s to be interviewed — so do not make yourself distracted with food. Order something basic (personally, tea is always a good way to go because it doesn’t leave you with coffee-breath, it’s cheaper than most other beverages, and it’s simple). If you’re having lunch, or dinner (probably pretty rare to have your interview over dinner though), I’d recommend a salad (hold the dressing because it can splash all over, stain your shirt, and be otherwise a messy dish).

Ivy Leagues are not created equal

Posted by Dee

There are eight Ivy Leagues: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, UPenn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown.

While they share many similarities, they are nowhere near the identical in terms of their academic and extracurricular programs. Be careful during your interviews, through essays, and in overall application not to overlook nuances. For example, some of the Ivy’s may allow double majors while others do not; so you may have to alter your application to accomodate for these differences. Afterall, you don’t want to look ignorant about the school you are applying to; it will be an immediate flag for an adcom if you suggest you’d like to pursue something their school doesn’t even offer.

It is important to be knowledgeable about every school you apply to, but I raise this issue in particular with the Ivy’s because there’s often the misconception that because they’re grouped together, they have similar policies, academics, activites, and opportunities, which may not always be the case.

Quick interview note #1

Posted by Dee

Just a quick note about interviews… make sure to bring money with you to your college interview!

Usually interviews take place at a local cafe or coffee shop or restaurant, and oftentimes your interviewer will pay for you, but sometimes they expect you to pay for your own food or drink, so make sure to bring some cash — you do not want to be giving your interviewer an IOU.

ACT coastal

Posted by Dee

For years and year, the only testing I’d ever heard of is the SAT. Then, in my sophomore year of high school, I discovered that the ACT was another testing option. Apparently, the SAT is wildly more popular on the East and West Coasts whereas the ACT is popular throughout the rest of the US.

I personally did well on the ACT with minimal preparation, and the percentile I received on the ACT and SAT were comparable, but I found that the science section was the most difficult to get used to — especially since I had done a lot more practice with the SAT, which has no science section.

When trying to decide which to take, the SAT vs. the ACT, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. ACT doesn’t take points off for wrong answers, unlike the SAT… so it’s to your advantage to guess.

2. In the ACT, the writing part is at the end of the test whereas on the SAT, you write your essay first. (Some people prefer doing essay writing first… I’m not one of those people, but I did fine anyways. I’ll write a blog with some essay tips for exams later on.)

3. Sending scores works differently on the SAT and ACT. Personally, the SAT website is a lot easier to use to sign up for the test and send scores than for the ACT, but apparently on the ACT you can choose which score you want sent… not like it matters anyways because every top school takes the highest of your SAT scores anyways.

PSAT is not just practice anymore

Posted by Dee

There was a time when the PSAT was just considered a pre-SAT; but nowadays, you need to pay attention to the full name of this test… PSAT/NMSQT.

What is this acronym gibberish? The PSAT part is still the pre-SAT part (to help you prepare for the real thing), but the NMSQT part is now becoming more and more important (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test).

Do not just show up to the test thinking that it doesn’t matter for anything! True, colleges won’t see your score on this exam, but it is extremely invaluable to list as one of your awards or honors that you were a National Merit semi-finalist or finalist.

Make those 2-ish hours worth your while… this test is by far easier than the real SAT and much shorter. Aim for getting in the top percentiles so that you can snag the National Merit titles. Plus, if you do really well, you might get some money, who knows?