Response to Elena: there are few early birds

Posted by Dee 

Glad you sent in your question, Elena! (on the AdmitSpit post titled, “Just got a comment…“)

“What’s the point of sending SAT/ACT scores to colleges before senior year? I was trying to guess-timate the costs of applying to college, and I was guessing it’d be about $100 per college with all the tests and whatnot needed to be sent in addition to the actual app. I’ve heard that large colleges like the UCs don’t bother looking at students’ scores because they receive so many, and I’m guessing many privates hold the same policy? Do you know if colleges keep these files on record, or do you have to re-send the scores when you apply there?”

You are partially correct.

The University of California campuses (and probably also most other large public institutions) DO NOT keep your scores on record if you send them before you

Just got a comment…

Posted by Dee 

So, we just enabled a comment from Theron on the AdmitSpit post titled “Response to Theron: A-levels, SATs, and decisions, oh my!“

And, first I wanted to say, glad to be of help!

And second, I wanted to say that I’m sorry we haven’t posted for some time now — I must admit I’m sort of stuck for content ideas. Please send comments our way with any issues you have in general about the college admissions process so we can write again!

Thank you, thank you!!

Response to Theron: A-levels, SATs, and decisions, oh my!

Posted by Dee

Prepare for a long comment folks! From Theron in England:

“Hi, I’m posting because I have two worries concerning college applications, one of which concerns SAT scores.

1) In the Sat I received a score of 2220, with 800 in Writing and 800 in Critical Reading but 620 in Maths. I am planning to apply to the top colleges in America, and am therefore wondering if I should retake the SAT in the hope of receiving a higher Maths score, as I realise it’s below average for a top university. However, I don’t think it’s worth the effort to retake the entire exam for the sake of a few extra points, as this is a good reflection of my current ability in Maths (I was getting 580 in practice tests). I attend school in England, meaning I have A levels to study for and I don’t think I can devote more time for Maths, which I’m not taking at A Level. Any guidance as to whether I should retake the SAT 1 is much appreciated.

2) My second problem is the fact that the SAT 2 (subject tests) don’t really fit my abilities. I am doing Geography, Economics, Medieval History and English for A level, so I have decided to definitely do Literature as one of my subject tests, but the other three subjects aren’t offered as SAT subjects. I have to decide whether it’s worth me spending a large proportion of my time studying for the French Subject Test or Biology Subject Test when I have to revise for my A Levels between now and May as well. Although I am relatively good at French and Bio, I have looked at the preparation books for these tests and I will have to make a serious commitment to receive a high mark in the SAT tests.

Any feedback is much appreciated, and sorry my post is so long thx.”

Well, Theron, before being able to offer any guidance, I had to first decode half of your comment. Haha. No really though, what are these “A levels” of which you speak?

Apparently, A-Levels, short for Advanced Level, are optional exams taken by students in the UK in various subjects. The tests are graded A through E, with a U for a failed grade. Apparently, as compared with similar US exams, like APs, A-Levels provide more depth into each topic, but they’ve been criticized for exactly this reason in that most A-Level students will only take three, maybe four, subjects in their last year which doesn’t provide much breadth of study, especially when many students choose related topics (and compare that with the usual six to eight classes most US high school seniors take in varying subjects). But, A-Levels also come in tons of different flavors — unlike our 20 SAT Subject Tests and 37 AP courses available — totaling nearly, if not more than, 100! (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

So, now to your problem #1.

I think it’s clear you know that you should not retake the SAT exam. A 2220 is a very decent score, and believe me, I’m thoroughly impressed with your two 800 scores! Yes, your math score is low, but with your insight that you doubt it will improve plus saying you don’t really have time to make it improve drastically, I say, what’s the use in a retake? Read the post titled, “Response to Britt on SAT retakes” for the details on our thinking on that note.

So, problem #1 is solved satisfactorily I think. The overall 2220 score is totally fine, and after all, it’s not like you’re applying to be a math major! … Right?

Now onto problem #2.

Well, Theron, you’re right about this one that they definitely don’t offer three out of your four A-levels in SAT Subject Test form. So, definitely do the Literature SAT Subject test, and then from there I guess you have two options: 1.) revise your A-Levels to fit with the SAT Subject Tests — like doing French or Biology to replace

Ranking run-ins

Posted by Dee

Not unlike most years, the U.S. News and World Report 2008 college rankings are of course expected to receive controversy when published in August this year… but there’s a new something festering beneath the tidy, numerical surface this time.

Plenty have spoken out publicly against the rankings over the years, but not college administrators, who, if anything, bow down to the wondrous accuracy of the rankings in hopes of being boosted up them… I don’t call that subjective at all. But this year, it seems more college presidents are out to complain… finally!

According to an article published today in Inside Higher Ed, nearly a dozen liberal arts colleges are set to join the initiative that Sarah Lawrence College’s president, Michele Tolela Myers, began Sunday — against the revered U.S. News rankings. Apparently, Sunday Ms. Myers publicly charged the publication with making up data about Sarah Lawrence (apparently the issue is that Sarah Lawrence made the decision not to collect or use SAT scores in their admissions process so U.S. News decided to make up an average SAT score… one standard deviation lower than the SAT averages of schools similar to Sarah Lawrence!) So now, a handful

Response to Horace: if only SAT improvement could ever be proven

Posted by Aaron & Dee

Horace commented on AdmitSpit’s About page recently.

“My son who is twelve and in the 7th grade would like to attend a Ivy league school. He recently took the SAT and scored 1720, i.e. CR = 660; Math = 540; Writing = 520. Do you have any proven tools to help raise his score to acceptable Ivy league level within the next four years?”

Advice from Aaron, AdmitSpit’s newest contributor!…

First, I am assuming that your son took the SAT for a program such as the Johns Hopkin’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY).  You should know that your son is scoring above the national senior average for the SAT already, and he is only in 7th grade.

I took the SAT to qualify for this program and scored lower than your son, but still high enough to qualify. The best way to raise your son’s SAT scores is to not

Response to Edie

Posted by Dee

So, it may seem as though December was a month of abandonment for our dear AdmitSpit site, but I assure you it is temporary! Vacation’s over for us, so it’s back to responding to questions and dishing out college admissions talk as usual.

Edie commented recently on the post titled, “National Merit Semifinalist essay,” the following:

“I took the PSAT in early October and found out this week (January 4th) that I am a semifinalist. I have two concerns.

1) When I got my PSAT scores from my guidance counselor, he said that there was a possibility that I might have to take the SAT as part of the process. I got a 2310 on the real SAT in December (with which I was satisfied) and, quite honestly, I don’t want to take it again. Since I took it two months after the PSAT, do you think I will have to take it again?
2.) My GPA is around a 3.6/3.7 on an unweighted scale of 4.0. I took really challenging classes, but do you think this will eliminate me?”

So, response to question one is 2310 is a fine score and I don’t know what your guidance counselor is talking about because no, you shouldn’t have to retake the

A “duh” tip #5

Posted by Dee 

Because it may not be obvious to all, it is indeed OK to lie in your SAT essay.

Yes, the word ‘lie’ does have a negative connotation; it’s something you’re not supposed to do, right?

But for the purposes of the SAT essay, they don’t care if everything you say is 100% true; they are merely trying to measure your writing ability and score it.

So, while it’s not okay to cheat, it is okay to reflect on the time you learned a particular valuable lesson while away at summer camp in Massachusetts, even if you never have actually been. If a specific made-up story helps you get your point across to the SAT graders, then story-tell to your heart’s content!

Response to Lena on sending scores junior year

Posted by Dee

Lena commented on the post titled, “Response to Stephanie and stressed applicant on changing UC apps.” Here’s what she said:

“I’m a junior in high school currently. If I choose colleges to send SAT or AP scores to (since the tests usually allow you to submit a few free score reports to colleges), what will happen? Will the colleges just ignore the scores since you are not yet applying or is it helpful?”

Well, good news, I did some research for ya, Lena!

After calling up a bunch of colleges nationwide, I’ve determined that the answer is… it depends.

It seems that most of the big-name private schools will keep your scores if you send them junior year, but public schools will not.

I spoke with Mike from the Stanford University admissions office and he said that it’s perfectly fine to send in your scores junior year before you apply; they “index” all

Response to Ralph on applying from Canada

Posted by Dee

Ralph commented on the post titled, “Response to Stephanie and stressed applicant on changing UC apps.”

He said:

“Hi there. My question is on how big a factor test results, nationality and race are in the American admissions process.
I just took the SAT subject tests for the first time last Saterday. I think I got about 700 on the math 1, 650 on the level 2, and no idea on the chemistry, but it’s probabaly in the 500’s. How will the top schools see this, and how much difference would the fact that I’m a Canadian Indian (which legally means I’m also an American Indian) make?
Otherwise, I have a 90% grade average, and scored 88% and 85% on the two Alberta Diploma standardized tests (chem. and pure math) I’ve taken about 8 months ago. I paticipate in a volunteer organization and student government, and I’m sure I could get good teacher references and essays done.
The big question I have is: Would it be worth it to make a 10 hour drive this Saterday to the nearest ACT test center (I haven’t taken it or the SAT before) or should I just forget it? Thanks for your time.”

Here’s what I’d say:

Ralph–

I think it will help tremendously that you are an American Indian! All the US private schools love to up their diversity statistics and American Indians are very well

Response to Stephanie and stressed applicant on changing UC apps

Posted by Dee

Wow! AdmitSpit’s been getting comments galore the past few days (which we’re loving by the way!) and here’s two we received regarding changing your UC application after the due date.

Here’s Stephanie’s comment on the post titled, “Recommended SAT Subject Tests for special UC programs.”

“I just applied to 6 UC’s: Berkeley, LA, San Diego, Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, with mostly undeclared majors in biological/life sciences. I took the Math Level 2 in June 2006 and scored a 650. Since I wanted to raise my score, I took it again in December.. but I don’t think my score improved much. My Chinese SAT 2 score is 790, and my SAT score is 2080. Will my math score greatly hurt my chances of getting in? And is there any way to change what major I put on my application? Or is it pretty much set in stone…”

And, stressed applicant wrote on yesterday’s post titled, “Response to Britt on SAT retakes,” the following:

“Hello! This comment is not related to the post. I know that I can add an additional campus after I’ve submitted my application. But can I change one of the campus I’ve applied?
Thank you!”

Let us address Stephanie’s comment first: You applied for biological/life sciences-type majors and submitted a decent SAT Math Level 2 score of 650, and a very high