Guidance with SAT or ACT prep and tests for my junior year DS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd love advice on how to help DS prepare for the SATs and/or ACTs.
The "New SAT" will be administered in the new year and I have heard that most schools will only consider the New SAT scores, so I thought it would be best to take a prep class on the new SAT and have DS take the test this spring. I've also considered letting DS skip the SAT and just focus on ACT as the SAT seems to be in this transition period and it's a big unknown on how the students will do. DS is my oldest so I have no idea how to help guide him on these tests, I've recently heard that many juniors have already started taking the tests.

Questions that I have for anyone who can share some advice are:
1. Is it beneficial to take both SAT and ACT or just focus on one?
2. Do the test prep classes help? Anyone in particular? Or a private tutor?
3. Has anyone's child taken the on-line, self-paced test prep classes that are offered?
4. Any tips on how DS can get his best possible score?

DS is a good student and has around a 3.8 GPA without a large amount of effort. He does retain knowledge pretty well. He'd like to go to a large school (VT, Penn, UMD, etc...).

The advice I've seen on College Confidential and elsewhere is to focus on either the SAT or the ACT and not do both. People recommend that you have your child try a practice version of each of the two under timed, test conditions and see which they are more comfortable with, then prep for that test.

[Anonymous]

This thread has already been so helpful for me. Please keep the advice and recs for prep classes coming!

For what its worth, 2 places I have called so far have said the tests are now so similar that they advise prepping for one of the tests but taking both.

[Anonymous]

What about Capital Educators? They seem to be who Maret, GDS, WIS push. It is an 8 week groups class. Anyone used them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Capital Educators? They seem to be who Maret, GDS, WIS push. It is an 8 week groups class. Anyone used them?

Yes--my junior daughter used them to prep for the November SAT, and we were very happy. She ended up with an excellent score despite not always being the very best standardized test taker, so she is one and done. It took a tremendous amount of pressure off of this unpleasantly pressure-filled year. Is the course really 8 weeks? I was the poster above who was indignant that people were recommending taking the tests cold. I was thinking it was a 5 or 6 week course. Regardless, they offer a variety of schedule options (my DD did Sunday nights to ensure there were no sports conflicts), so I still say it shouldn't interfere with ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor who gives advice on these boards from time to time:

-Totally disagree with the advice not to waste time on test prep. I tell parents that if they are going to spend one dollar on this whole process, it should go to test prep (not me! I'm valuable too but test prep is even more valuable). I gain nothing by saying this, I just really believe it. I can tell you from sitting on a highly selective admissions committee that the "few extra points" can make a HUGE difference.

-I like Educational Connections the best for test prep. Another good option is Landon Zee. My clients have had REALLY mixed results with Prep Matters and so I would not recommend them, but if you are dead set on it, I think SunHee is the best tutor they have.

-Only focus on the SAT or ACT. I am having all of my clients take the ACT this year because of all of the issues associated with the new SAT. Most years I would have them compare two diagnostics and go with whichever is highest.

-If you can't afford test prep, have your son take a full length practice test every Saturday morning under normal testing conditions. Then have him spend an hour each evening that week studying from his mistakes - learning what he did wrong and why he made the mistake. Then repeat. A committed student who does that will do very well.

-I have all of my clients finish all of their testing during junior year. It makes things so much easier that way in the long term and they can finish their apps over the summer knowing exactly where they will stand. It is really hard to complete a college list over the summer when you are guessing what the student's final standardized test score will be. Senior fall should be devoted to making the best grades possible - every top school will call the school counselor to hear about initial senior grades before making a decision, whether the student applies early or not.

I think that's it.. let me know if you have any other questions!

NP: Thank you, this is so helpful. For Educational Consultants, is there someone you would recommend or would anyone there be good? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not every kid needs test prep. Lots of time and money is wasted on prep for kids who would get essentially the same scores with or without test prep. If a kid has a high GPA and usually does well on standardized tests, he doesn't really need SAT/ACT prep. His time would be better spent on leadership, sports, arts, whatever EC that he loves and will set him apart as a candidate.

Some kids have trouble taking tests and need prep, but many kids just don't need it. By this age, parents know their kids and have seen how they do on many standardized tests over the years. Once you're over 2200 or 32, colleges don't care if a kid has a "perfect" score.

There are lots of free and low cost ways to get familiar with the questions and directions ahead of time, so there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on test prep. I would save my money and put it away for college or retirement.

Most kids benefit significantly from test prep, and I don't think it's very responsible to suggest otherwise. I agree that you don't need to spend a lot of money for it; the ACT and SAT prep board at College Confidential has very good advice for low-cost DIY options. It also doesn't take a significant amount of time to prep, whether you do it with a prep company or on your own. A focused course of study will take no more than 4-6 hours per week for 3-6 weeks. It will not interfere with any ECs your child is doing or may want to add.

With respect to your comment on scores, 2200 for the SAT and 32 for the Act are good scores. But top colleges will certainly look more favorably at a 2350+ or a 35 or 36 except in cases where the child is being recruited for a non-academic reason, and higher scores can make merit awards for kids who also have great grades. Parents and kids should look at the 25/75% averages for colleges to help figure what sorts of scores will make a particular school a reach, match, or safety.

Some kids benefit from test prep, not every kid does. Some kids will get high scores no matter what. Studies show that scores go up upon taking the test a second time even without any prep in between test administrations. Many test prep places give kids a tough sample test which gives them a lower score to start off with, so that they can seem to get a higher return on their test prep dollar. One of my kids took a free test at his school. I actually laughed when I saw the score, because it bore no relationship to the score I would expect from this child from his previous performance on the many standardized tests given during school. He took the real test about six months later with no additional prep in between and got the scores I would have expected. If your kid does well on standardized tests, you know that by the time they're juniors in high school. It would have been a waste of money for our kid to do test prep.

We've talked to a lot of college admissions officials and they all say once you're over 2200, you are wasting time and money if you keep retaking the SAT. They just don't differentiate after that level, they are looking at lots of other aspects of the application. Test scores are only one piece of the application and not even the most important piece.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Capital Educators? They seem to be who Maret, GDS, WIS push. It is an 8 week groups class. Anyone used them?

We used them and had mixed results, and found that they definitely overstate the score increases. The course is helpful in that it provides a foundation and basic structure, but my dc's scores went up dramatically after some private tutoring which zeroed in on weaker areas (CR). We did not use PrepMatters ($$$) - you can find a reasonably priced, effective tutor if you ask around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Some kids benefit from test prep, not every kid does. Some kids will get high scores no matter what. Studies show that scores go up upon taking the test a second time even without any prep in between test administrations. Many test prep places give kids a tough sample test which gives them a lower score to start off with, so that they can seem to get a higher return on their test prep dollar. One of my kids took a free test at his school. I actually laughed when I saw the score, because it bore no relationship to the score I would expect from this child from his previous performance on the many standardized tests given during school. He took the real test about six months later with no additional prep in between and got the scores I would have expected. If your kid does well on standardized tests, you know that by the time they're juniors in high school. It would have been a waste of money for our kid to do test prep.

We've talked to a lot of college admissions officials and they all say once you're over 2200, you are wasting time and money if you keep retaking the SAT. They just don't differentiate after that level, they are looking at lots of other aspects of the application. Test scores are only one piece of the application and not even the most important piece.

If your point is simply that there is a subset of kids who will do fine without test prep because they will ace the tests no matter what, then I don't disagree. I'm just not sure how that's a particularly helpful point to raise in response to a thread asking for guidance about how to help a junior prepare for the SAT and ACT. Presumably if the OP's child has a history of performing brilliantly on every standardized test attempted, then OP wouldn't be asking this question. Also, I'm not sure how many parents are in a position to predict how their child will do on a standardized test. Unless you count the MSAs, which test knowledge and are nothing like the SATs, I don't think my daughter took a standardized test prior to the practice PSAT sophomore year.

With respect to your comments on a 2200 score, I'm also not sure how that's responsive to OPs question. Sure, if you get a 2200 your first go, you can feel pretty comfortable thinking that score is good enough to make you a reasonable candidate for almost all schools, though it would be below the average for accepted students at the top ones. But the question isn't whether to retake a test if you get a decent score, it's how to prepare for the test in the first place. Most top schools require you to send all your test scores, so you don't want to have a poor first outing if those are your target schools. If you want to increase your chances of doing well the first time, it would be in your best interests to prep for the test either on your own or using a service.

[Anonymous]

Please name names here! We had a bad tutor from prep matters and would love to hear about some good ones around town.

[Anonymous]

I'm actually really interested in the Montgomery College prep course! I had no idea they offered something like this.

any other feedback on that course?

[Anonymous]

If you have decided to take both the ACT and New SAT and only specifically prep for one, does it matter which one you prep for? I used to hear it is better to prep for the ACT because of the science, but is that still true? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that taking ACT will give you the benefit of skipping SAT subject tests at some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm actually really interested in the Montgomery College prep course! I had no idea they offered something like this.

any other feedback on that course?

I haven't taken the course but I spoke with the woman who runs it and she was really nice and super helpful about answering my questions. She even said that she has a high school junior this year too and was sympathizing with me about the stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that taking ACT will give you the benefit of skipping SAT subject tests at some schools.

Yes, this was a surprise to me. Note that it has to be the ACT with writing. A school's Common Data Set will indicate what the school requires or recommends in terms of subject tests.