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​

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TESTING

​

Standardized Testing Night

SAT/ACT

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Wellesley High School

​

​

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ADMISSION FACTORS – HOLISTIC REVIEW

Academic

  • Grades
  • Strength of the curriculum
  • Standardized testing scores (SAT, ACT, AP)

​

Non-academic

  • Application essays
  • Counselor & teacher recommendations
  • Extracurricular activities & work experience

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  • Many colleges and universities have continued their test optional policies

​

  • Some exceptions: Harvard, Cornell, Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Caltech, Georgetown, University of FL, University of GA, University of TX-Austin, military academies

​

  • Encourage students to see the tests as a chance to show-off and have an everything to win, nothing to lose mindset

TEST OPTIONAL SCHOOLS

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  • Applying to the more selective colleges

​

  • Recruited athletes

​

  • Consideration for Merit Scholarship Awards

CAVEATS FOR TEST OPTIONAL

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STRATEGIC SUBMISSION OF TEST SCORES

Strategic Submission now much more common.

​

  • Pre-pandemic only about 4% of students were classified as strategic submitters

​

  • For the 2020 admissions cycle, 24% of students chose to submit to some schools and not others

​

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  • Which tests should I take?
  • How and when should I prepare for them?
  • When should I take them?

CREATE A TESTING PLAN

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THE NEW DIGITAL ADAPTIVE PSAT/SAT

https://bluebook.app.collegeboard.org/

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LOOK AND FEEL OF THE DIGITAL PSAT/SAT

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LOOK AND FEEL OF THE DIGITAL PSAT/SAT

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120

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

PSAT 8/9 (120-720)

SAT (200-800)

PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT (160-760)

PSAT scores show what you would have scored on the SAT on that same day.

PSAT IS PRACTICE FOR THE SAT

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ACT STRUCTURE / DIGITAL SAT STRUCTURE

Reading & Writing

(32 min)

Math

(35 min)

DIGITAL SAT (2 hours, 14 minutes)

200 - 800

200 - 800

Reading & Writing

(32 min)

Math

(35 min)

English

(35 min)

Math

(50 min)

Reading

(40 min)

Science

(40 min)

Writing

(40 min)

ACT (2 hours 5 minutes, 2 hours 45 minutes, or 3 hours 25 minutes)

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optional

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1 - 36

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DIGITAL ADAPTIVE SAT STRUCTURE

~450-800

200 - low 600s

Don’t worry about it.

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DIGITAL SAT - READING & WRITING

SAT Writing tests more transitions, commas, and verb tense.

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9

ACT ENGLISH

ACT English has longer passages and a wider variety of questions.

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DIGITAL SAT - READING & WRITING

SAT Reading tests more vocabulary and rhetorical analysis.

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The passage points to which of the following as a characteristic of trap-jaw ants’ mandibles that prevents the ants from harming themselves with their powerful bite?

  1. A hinge prevents the mandibles from snapping together forcefully.
  2. Mandibles with cushioned inner edges provide a buffer when the mandibles snap shut.
  3. A latch mechanism prevents the mandibles from closing completely.
  4. The mandibles begin to decelerate before they meet

ACT READING

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If two lines in the standard (x, y) coordinate plane are perpendicular and the slope of one of the lines is 3, what is the slope of the other line?

  1. –3
  2. –1
  3. –1/3
  4. 1/3

ACT

dSAT

The graph of the linear function f has intercepts at (a, 0) and (0, b) in the xy-plane. If a + b = 0 and a ≠ b, which of the following is true about the slope of the graph of f ?

A) It is positive.

B) It is negative.

C) It equals zero.

  1. It is undefined.

​

Digital SAT MATH/ACT MATH

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Inner Core

Outer Core

12.7–13.0

9.9–12.1

3.3–3.5

3.0 oceanic crust

2.7 continental crust

DENSITY (g/cm3)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

DEPTH (km)

TEMPERATURE (°C)

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

According to Figure 1, the temperature of the Outer Core is approximately between:

A. 1000º C and 2500º C

B. 2500º C and 5000º C

C. 4800º C and 6300º C

D. 6200º C and 6500º C

Outer Core

TRENCH

CASCADES

PACIFIC OCEAN

CRUST

MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE

ATLANTIC OCEAN

NORTH AMERICA

Stiffer Mantle

ASTHENO-SPHERE

(Plastic Mantle)

LITHOSPHERE

(Crust + Rigid Mantle)

Rigid Mantle

Inner Core

ACT SCIENCE

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SAT Questions

More challenging

Require deep understanding

Narrower focus of skills

More time per question

ACT Questions

Straightforward

Require instant recognition

Broader scope of skills

Require constant, rapid pace

COMPARING THE SAT AND ACT

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CHOOSING SAT or ACT

We were originally thinking SAT, but then Noah’s admissions advisor told us left-handed students born on Tuesdays do better on the ACT.

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The best way to make this decision is by taking each one

and comparing scores using a Concordance Table.

CHOOSING SAT or ACT

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CONCORDANCE TABLES

SAT

ACT

1600

36

1590*

1580

1570

1560

35

1550

1540*

1530

1520

34

1510

1500*

1490

1480

33

1470

1460*

1450

1440

32

1430*

1420

1410

31

1400*

1390

1380

30

1370*

1360

1350

29

SAT

ACT

1340*

29

1330

1320

28

1310*

1300

1290

27

1280*

1270

1260

1250

26

1240*

1230

1220

25

1210*

1200

1190

24

1180*

1170

1160

1150

23

1140*

1130

1120

22

1110*

1100

1090

21

1080*

1070

1060

SAT

ACT

1050

20

1040*

1030

1020

19

1010*

1000

990

980

18

970*

960

950

17

940

930*

920

910

16

900

890*

880

870

15

860

850*

840

830

820

14

810

SAT

ACT

800*

14

790

780

770

13

760*

750

740

730

720

12

710*

700

690

680

11

670*

660

650

640

10

630*

620

610

09

600

590*

580

N/A

570

N/A

560

N/A

SAT

ACT

1380

30

1370*

1360

SAT

ACT

1190

24

1180*

1170

1160

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When should I take them?

CREATE A TESTING PLAN

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THE TESTS

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SAT

SAT

TEST PREPARATION

REVIEW

MAY JUN JUL AUG

SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY

JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT

SAMPLE TESTING PLAN

AP

PSAT

SAT

Practice

SAT & ACT

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PSAT

ACT

TEST PREPARATION

MAY JUN JUL AUG

SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY

JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT

ACT

AP

SAMPLE TESTING PLAN

REVIEW

ACT

Practice

SAT & ACT

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March

Reading & Writing

Math

580

570

1150

May

Reading & Writing

Math

580

650

1230

August

Reading & Writing

Math

640

620

1260

Superscore

Reading & Writing

Math

​

​

​

1290

650

640

SUPERSCORING – SAT

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NEW SUPERSCORING – ACT

​

FEB

JUNE

SEPT

SUPERSCORE

ENGLISH

28

32

30

​

MATH

27

28

30

​

READING

33

29

28

​

​

​

​

​

​

COMPOSITE

29

30

29

​

32

30

33

32

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How and when should I prepare for them?

CREATE A TESTING PLAN

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Test prep should allow for at least 6-15 weeks of study and practice before the official test date.

CHOOSE A START DATE

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Content

Mastery

Strategy

Practice

Tests

ELEMENTS OF TEST PREPARATION

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A good testing plan prioritizes school work over test prep. Testing early and often is generally not sensible.

Take a practice SAT and ACT for a baseline score and also to choose a path.

Encourage students to view the test with an ‘everything to gain, nothing to lose’ mindset.

Many schools on your final list will be test optional. You can decide which schools you submit scores to and which ones you do not.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

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Maintain perspective.

It’s just a test.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

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(800) MY TUTOR MYTUTOR.COM

SUMMIT EDUCATIONAL GROUP

Grades 4-12 Test Preparation�and Academic Support

​

  • One-on-One, In-Home and Online Test Prep and Academic Tutoring
  • Practice SAT and ACT tests
  • 1-1 AP Tutoring

info@mytutor.com