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The last few years have brought many changes to the role of standardized testing for college admissions and scholarships. COVID-19 made it hard for testing companies to carry out their normal testing schedule; some students were unable to take the SAT or ACT at their location, so colleges felt like they needed to make the test optional.
Over the last year, with testing schedules back to normal, many selective colleges decided that they needed to receive students’ test scores to supplement what they could learn from transcripts and course grades, so quite a number of colleges have reinstated the requirement for either the SAT or ACT. I got to thinking back to my own experience taking the SAT and the benefits it brought to me. l applied to an engineering program at NC State and took the SAT. A few weeks later the phone rang and an NC State person asked if they could stop by for a visit. We arranged to meet the next afternoon at my father's store where I typically worked after school. The next day we had a visit from Mr. K. D. Raab, NC State's Director of Admissions. Mr. Raab told us that they liked what they had seen in my application and would like to invite me to attend NC State. In addition, he offered two scholarships that were funded by one of North Carolina's paper companies, money that would cover about half of my cost of attendance. After I sent in my acceptance notice, there was more exciting news: I received a letter informing me that “You are one of a limited number of prospective entering freshmen at North Carolina State whose past scholastic record and College Board scores indicate that you should have an opportunity to compete for membership in the Superior Student Program in Mathematics at State College.” This program led to my inclusion in the Engineering Honors Program. A few days later a similar letter from the English Department invited me to participate in the Honors Program in English. So, I'm convinced that all this good news - acceptance, scholarships, honors programs - came because of my SAT scores. I'm gratified now that over the last 20+ years I've been able to help other students achieve good results from their test scores.
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Ever wonder how waitlists work? Here is an article that shows how Georgetown University uses its waitlist and transfer process to get exactly the number of undergrad students it has space for.
http://www.thehoya.com/admission-yield-steady-at-47-6/ At our Higher Education Consultants Conference last week, we heard an interesting panel discussion from faculty of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music who discussed how students should plan and prepare for auditions. The three faculty were one each from instrumental, voice, and drama/musical theater. Some advice applies to all three areas; other points differ among the artistic areas.
An article published in the Washington Post Sept. 7 quoted me extensively regarding the new SAT, which will be administered starting in March, and the new PSAT, which debuted this past October.
Click here for the article: http://tinyurl.com/washpost-perry-SAT Up to now, parents interested in financial aid have had to fill out the federal FAFSA form in January of the student’s senior year using income data for the immediate prior calendar year, even though in most cases the parents had not completed their tax returns. However, for seniors who will enter college in 2017, their eligibility for need-based aid will be based on their family’s income from 2015 (the prior-prior year), rather than from the immediate prior year (2016). The new FAFSA will become available October 1. Since tax returns for 2015 will have been filed already, families can simply have the IRS data retrieval tool move their income data electronically from their tax return to the FAFSA.
 The University of Rhode Island, in Wakefield, claims to have “the most beautiful campus on the coast”. Over half of the 14,000 undergraduates are from out of state.
As with most state universities, many majors are offered. Nursing, pharmacy, and engineering are the most competitive and students need to apply early. The average GPA for pharmacy is 4.1, with average ACT 29. The ability to transfer into pharm or nursing, once enrolled, is minimal.  Salve Regina is located in posh Newport RI. Tourists come to the neighborhood to visit the mansions overlooking the bay. And Salve is located right next to one of the most famous, The Breakers. In fact, many of Salve Rigina’s campus buildings are substantial former homes that have been donated to the college.
 Students looking for a relatively small, undergrad-oriented college where they can study engineering or other technical majors do not have many options to choose from. But Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) may fill the bill. WPI has 3893 undergrads and less than 800 grad students. The college emphasizes collaborative, project-based academic work. It’s the only test-optional technical college, as of this writing.
 The Fiske Guide says about Clark: “If Clark were located an hour to the east, it would have become the hottest thing since Harvard.” Clark began in 1887 as an all-graduate university on the German model, but has evolved into a mostly-undergraduate college with 2262 undergrads and less than 900 graduate students. Clark calls itself the smallest liberal arts residential university. All professors do research. Psychology and geography, which were emphasized when the university opened are still strong and nationally renowned programs. Psychology is the largest program. The American Psychological Association was born on the Clark campus. When Sigmund Freud came to the US, he came to Clark University. The geology program has awarded more PhD’s than any other college in the US and has four members of the National Academy of Sciences.
 The College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass, is located on a steep hill overlooking the city. Students making the trek between the dining hall at the bottom to their dorm at the top will get their exercise for the day. The campus is beautiful, and registered as an arboretum.
There are 2877 students, all undergrads. Over half of students are Catholic. The college is led by the Jesuits, and the religious influence is said to be somewhat greater than at other Jesuit schools. But daily mass is not required. |
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PERRY YOUNGBLOOD TUTORING This is a time of significant change for standardized tests. Of the four tests that Perry tutors, three have rolled out new versions recently. Perry makes use of his blog to keep clients and others informed of some of these changes. Be sure to check back for his latest blog posts or drop him a note to request to be added to his email newsletter. |
