EXCELLENT SPORTS PLAYERS - HOW CAN THIS HELP GET INTO COLLEGE?

THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION TO NAVIGATE. IF YOU ARE EXCELLENT AT A CERTAIN SPORT SUCH AS SOCCER, FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, ETC. AND YOU HAVE THE DEFINITE INTEREST OF A COLLEGE COACH THEN YOU ARE IN GOOD SHAPE. YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET THAT COACH TO SUBMIT ANY GUARANTEES HE IS GIVING YOU IN WRITING. IN THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, THE RULES HAVE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY ON WHAT TYPES OF OFFERS COACHES AND COLLEGES CAN THROW AT STUDENTS. I AM CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF RESEARCHING THIS MORE CAREFULLY AND WILL HAVE ANY NEW INFORMATION POSTED IN UPCOMING POSTS. FOR NOW THOUGH, YES FOR SURE IF YOU EXCEL AT SOMETHING THIS CAN BE A HUGE ASSET FOR GETTING INTO COLLEGE. I HAVE SEEN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO GET GOOD SPORTS PLAYERS IN, I.E. THEY LOWERED THEIR SAT AND OTHER STANDARDS TREMENDOUSLY IN LIGHT OF A STUDENTS ABILITY AT A CERTAIN SPORT. THIS IS A SITUATION WHERE HIRING AN OUTSIDE PROFESSIONAL, SUCH AS A COLLEGE COUNSELOR, IS A VERY GOOD IDEA. I HAVE HAD MANY STUDENTS IN THE PAST WHO GOT INTO INCREDIBLE SCHOOLS WITH THEIR PARTICULAR SPORTS ABILITIES THAT THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN INTO OTHERWISE. SO BE CAREFUL AND CHECK OUT ANYTHING A PROSPECTIVE SCHOOL TELLS YOU WITH YOUR PARENTS AND YOUR HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR (AND ALSO YOUR COACH AT YOUR SCHOOL). THEIR ARE MANY SPORTS OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE.

WHAT ARE THE DATES FOR THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS?

THE SAT II SUBJECT TEST DATES CAN ALL BE SEEN HERE:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html

THE DATES THAT THE SAT II SUBJECT TEST IS GIVEN ARE:

OCTOBER 6, 2007

NOVEMBER 3, 2007

DECEMBER 1, 2007

JANUARY 26, 2008

MAY 3, 2007

JUNE 3, 2007

(NOTE ON MARCH 1, 2008 ONLY THE SAT I IS GIVEN)

PLEASE NOTE THESE TESTS HAVE VERY SPECIFIC REGISTRATION DEADLINES. ALL OF THAT INFORMATION CAN BE SEEN HERE:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html

WHEN IS THE SAT I GIVEN THIS YEAR?

YOU CAN VIEW ALL DATES FOR THE SAT I AND THE SAT II AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html

BUT HERE ARE THE SAT I DATES FOR THIS YEAR AND NEXT:
OCTOBER 6, 2007
NOVEMBER 3, 2007
DECEMBER 1, 2007
JANUARY 26, 2008
MARCH 1, 2008
MAY 3, 2008
JUNE 7, 2008

PLEASE NOTE ALL OF THESE DATES HAVE SPECIFIC REGISTRATION DEAD LINES. YOU CAN VIEW ALL OF THAT AT THIS LINK:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html

WHEN IS THE ACT GIVEN THIS YEAR?

HERE ARE THE NEXT FEW ACT TEST DATES:

September 15, 2007
October 27, 2007
December 8, 2007
February 9, 2008
April 12, 2008
June 14, 2008

YOU CAN ALSO VIEW ALL THE DATES ONLINE FOR THE ACT AT THIS LINK:
http://www.actstudent.org/regist/currentdates.html

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ACT TEST DATES HAVE REGISTRATION DEAD LINES. YOU CAN VIEW THOSE AT THIS LINK:

http://www.actstudent.org/regist/currentdates.html

ACT AND SAT I ESSAY - WHAT IS A GOOD SCORE?

A GOOD SCORE ON THESE ESSAYS IS USUALLY 8-12. THE ESSAY IS GRADED BY TWO DIFFERENT READERS ON A SCALE FROM 1 TO 6. THESE TWO SCORES ARE COMBINED TO MAKE A FINAL SCORE OUT OF 12. OBVIOUSLY, THE HIGHER THE SCORE THE BETTER BUT I HAVE USUALLY NOT SEEN A SCORE OF 8-12 CAUSE ANYONE ANY PROBLEMS. THE GRADING RULES TO THE ESSAY ARE POSTED ON EACH WEBSITE. WWW.ACT.ORG FOR THE ACT, AND WWW.COLLEGEBOARD.COM FOR THE SAT I.

ACT AND SAT I ESSAY - TIPS

HERE ARE A FEW VERY CONCRETE TIPS ON THE ESSAY THAT APPEARS ON THE SAT I AND ON THE ACT WITH WRITING. REMEMBER, THIS IS NOT A SCHOOL ESSAY. THIS IS AN ESSAY ON A COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TEST. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC THINGS. BOTH THE ACT (http://www.act.org/) AND THE SAT (http://www.collegeboard.org/) WILL TELL YOU ON THEIR WEBSITES EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. HERE ARE SOME VERY GENERAL TIPS FROM ME:

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1. MAKE SURE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION! YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MANY STUDENTS DO NOT DO THIS. THEY ARE ONLY MAKING SURE THAT YOU CAN ANSWER A QUESTION AND PROVIDE A REASONABLE, ORGANIZED ESSAY TO RESPOND TO THE QUESTION.

2. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE INTRO/BODY/CONCLUSION ESSAY METHOD OR SOME OTHER ORGANIZED METHOD TO YOUR WRITING.

3. USE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT GRAMMAR DEVICES SUCH AS A SEMICOLON, A COLON, A COMPOUND SENTENCE, ETC.

4. PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF REFERENCE TO CURRENT EVENTS, A BOOK YOU READ, HISTORICAL REFERENCE, SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, ETC. TO BACK UP ANY OF YOUR STATEMENTS.

5. INJECT A LITTLE HUMOR IF POSSIBLE.

6. DO NOT GO OVER THE LENGTH GIVEN!

7. WRITE NEATLY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

8. MAKE YOUR WRITING AS CLEAR, TO THE POINT, AND AS EASY TO READ AS IS POSSIBLE. THE EASIER IT IS TO READ USUALLY THE HIGHER THE SCORE.

9. TRY TO SPELL AS BEST YOU CAN ALTHOUGH YOU CAN STILL MAKE A PERFECT SCORE WITH SOME MISPELLINGS.

10. STEER AWAY FROM ANY CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS! STAY AWAY FROM TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING THAT IS POSSIBLY CONTROVERSIAL IN YOUR ESSAY. TOPICS SUCH AS POLITICS, DEMOCRATS ARE IDIOTS, ETC. ETC. WILL NOT BE EASILY TOLERATED. TALK ABOUT NEUTRAL TOPICS PLEASE.

THESE ARE ONLY A VERY FEW TIPS. I WILL BE POSTING A FULL POST ON THIS LATER. BUT BASICALLY, REMEMBER WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS! SOME OLD RETIRED TEACHER (POSSIBLY) HAS TO SIT BACK AND READ THIS STUFF!!

ACT WITH WRITING - WHEN SHOULD I TAKE THE ACT WITH WRITING?

JUST TO BE SAFE, I WOULD ALWAYS TAKE THE ACT WITH WRITING. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ACT WITH WRITING AND THE ACT WITHOUT WRITING IS JUST ONE SINGLE ESSAY. SO, TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE, TAKE THE ACT WITH WRITING. THAT WAY, YOU ARE SAFE TO APPLY TO ALL COLLEGES. IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO MISS APPLYING TO A COLLEGE BECAUSE YOU DID NOT WRITE A 30 MINUTE ESSAY! THE ESSAY IS VERY EASY. I WILL POST SOME GUIDELINES SHORTLY.

ESSAY ON THE ACT AND SAT - HOW IMPORTANT?

I GET ASKED THIS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. THE ANSWER IS IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO A HIGHLY SELECTIVE SCHOOL (AND THOSE ARE FEW) THEN THE ESSAY IS SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT. FOR THE AVERAGE STUDENT APPLYING TO THE AVERAGE COLLEGE, THE ESSAYS ON THE ACT AND SAT ARE NOT VERY IMPORTANT. HOWEVER, SINCE IT REQUIRES SO LITTLE EFFORT TO DO WELL ON THESE ESSAYS (MOST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE QUITE GOOD AT WRITING AN ESSAY) I HAVE MY STUDENTS DO ONE OR TWO FOR PRACTICE. IT DOES NOT HURT TO LOOK YOUR BEST WHEN YOU CAN. ON THE ACT, THE ESSAY SCORE IS POSTED IN A SEPARATE SECTION AND IT IS ALSO POSTED WITH A COMBINED ESSAY/WRITING SCORE. THE SAT I GIVES YOU ALSO THE SAME. YOU GET AN ESSAY SCORE (1 TO 12 POINTS 12 BEING THE BEST) THEN THEY ALSO POST A COMBINED ESSAY/WRITING SCORE. I WOULD SAY AT THIS TIME (NOVEMBER 2007), 98% OF THE COLLEGES IN THE NATION ARE NOT USING THE SAT I WRITING SECTION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS. ONLY THE MOST SELECTIVE, LIKE THE IVY LEAGUES, SEEM TO BE USING THE SAT I WRITING SCORE. NOW AS FAR AS THE ACT GOES, YOU WOULD NEED TO CHECK WITH YOUR PARTICULAR COLLEGES. IT IS ALWAYS SAFER TO TAKE THE ACT WITH WRITING THAN WITHOUT. THE ACT WITH WRITING JUST HAS ONE SIMPLE ESSAY ADDED TO IT VS. THE REGULAR ACT.

WHAT IS A HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT?

YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT IS AN AUTHENTICATED RECORD OF ALL THE CLASSES YOU HAVE TAKEN IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THE GRADES THAT YOU MADE IN THEM. IT IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT ONLY YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAN PRODUCE, AND ONLY YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAN SEND TO COLLEGES. EVERY SINGLE COLLEGE IS GOING TO REQUEST ONE OF THESE TRANSCRIPTS. THEY MUST BE SENT FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE. GO DOWN AND GET TO KNOW YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE ADMMISSIONS COUNSELOR. MAKE SURE THEY HAVE ALL THE CORRECT INFORMATION ON FILE FOR YOU. I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY PROBLEMS GET AVERTED BY THE STUDENT GETTING INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.

HOW DOES MY HIGH SCHOOL BECOME INVOVLED IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSION PROCESS?

THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION. YOUR HIGH SCHOOL IS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN YOUR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS. THEY DO SEVERAL CRITICAL THINGS. THEY SEND YOUR LEGAL TRANSCRIPT (RECORD OF ALL YOUR HIGH SCHOOL GRADES AND SCORES) TO ALL THE COLLEGES YOU ARE APPLYING TO. COLLEGES MUST HAVE AN AUTHENTIC TRANSCRIPT ON FILE FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE THEY EVER CONSIDER ADMISSIONS. YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE WILL ALSO HELP ALL YOUR TEACHER RECOMMENDATION LETTERS GET TO THE RIGHT PLACE ON TIME. THIS IS CRUCIAL! MOST SCHOOLS WILL ASK FOR SEVERAL TEACHER RECOMMENDATION LETTERS. THESE CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOU! PICK TEACHERS THAT YOU KNOW LIKE YOU. THEY USUALLY WILL SPECIFY WHICH TEACHERS THAT THEY WANT LETTERS FROM - ONE MATH, ONE ENGLISH, AND ONE SCIENCE TEACHER ETC. SO YOU SHOULD BECOME A REGULAR FIXTURE IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE. CHECK ON THEM. MAKE SURE THEY ARE SENDING OUT YOUR PAPERS ON TIME AND AT THE RIGHT DATES. BUG THEM! DON'T WORRY ABOUT BOTHERING THEM. THEY ARE THERE TO HELP YOU! MAKE FRIENDS WITH THEM. GET TO KNOW THEM AND THE PROCESS.