THE ADMISSIONS TESTING BLOG: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Blog will ultimately contain thousands of commonly asked questions with answers regarding the College & Private School admissions process and the tests required. The ACT & SAT are covered, as is the GMAT & GRE for graduate school. The ISEE & SSAT are covered also (private school admissions). My entire intent is to provide this priceless information & insider "secrets" a parent would need to get their child into a superb, competitive College or Private School in the USA.

THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS POSTED HERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RUN INTO IN THE PAST 30 SOME ODD YEARS OF RUNNING MY EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING/PROFESSIONAL TUTORING BUSINESS WHICH I OPENED IN 1981. MAINLY THE BLOG COVERS THE COLLEGE AND PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROCESS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IT ALSO COVERS IN GREAT DETAIL THE MANY TESTS USED FOR ADMISSIONS TO COLLEGES AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE USA. THE ACT, PLAN, SAT, AND PSAT ARE THE TESTS MAINLY USED FOR ACCEPTANCE TO A 4 YEAR COLLEGE. THE GRE AND GMAT ARE TESTS USED TO GET INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL (AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED A 4 YEAR COLLEGE), AND THE ISEE AND SSAT ARE PRIMARILY TESTS USED TO GET INTO PRIVATE GRADE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE US. I AM ADDING NEW MATERIAL ALL THE TIME. I TRY TO EXPLAIN AS QUICKLY, SUCCINCTLY, AND AS EASILY AS I CAN THE ANSWERS TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS FACING PARENTS AND STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN GAINING ADMISSIONS TO A GOOD, SOLID COMPETITIVE COLLEGE OR PRIVATE SCHOOL. WE WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU EMAIL TO US (COOKTUTORING@AOL.COM), AND WE WILL POST THE QUESTION WITH ANSWERS.

SPECIFICALLY THE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS ARE DERIVED FROM MY DAILY CONSULTING EXPERIENCE SINCE 1981. THEY ARE THE TYPE OF QUESTIONS PEOPLE DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW. THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION CANNOT BE FOUND EASILY ANYWHERE ELSE TO MY KNOWLEDGE. IN OTHER WORDS, I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU THE "SECRET INSIDER" INFORMATION - HINTS - STRATEGIES - TIPS, ETC. THAT COULD SERIOUSLY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN GETTING INTO THE COLLEGE OR PRIVATE SCHOOL OF YOUR CHOICE! THESE ARE QUESTIONS I GET ASKED ON A DAILY BASIS FROM MY ACTUAL CLIENTS.

THE BLOG ALSO HAS MANY EXCELLENT RESOURCES REGARDING COLLEGE AND PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS AND THE TESTING NEEDED. I HAVE LINKS, THE BEST BOOKS YOU CAN BUY ON THIS TOPIC, ETC. ANYTHING I SUGGEST ON THIS BLOG IS SOMETHING THAT I USE IN THE DAILY OPERATION OF MY EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING/TUTORING BUSINESS.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THIS ENTIRE WEBSITE INTO YOUR LANGUAGE? JUST SELECT YOUR LANGUAGE FROM THE MENU BELOW.

¿QUIERES CAMBIAR ESTA PÁGINA WEB ENTERA EN SU IDIOMA? SÓLO TIENES QUE SELECCIONAR EL IDIOMA EN EL MENÚ INFERIOR.

VOULEZ-VOUS CHANGER CE SITE WEB ENTIER DANS VOTRE LANGUE? IL SUFFIT DE SÉLECTIONNER VOTRE LANGUE DANS LE MENU CI-DESSOUS.

WOLLEN SIE DIESE GESAMTE WEBSITE IN IHRE SPRACHE ÄNDERN? WÄHLEN SIE EINFACH IHRE SPRACHE AUS DEM MENÜ UNTEN.

你想变成你的语言这整个网站？只需选择您从下面的菜单中的语言。

あなたはあなたの言語にこのWEBサイト全体を変更しますか？ちょうど下のメニューから言語を選択します。

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLOG'S AUTHOR

I AM THE OWNER OF CHRISTOPHER C. COOK & ASSOCIATES IN DALLAS, TX. WE (MY MOTHER (SUE COOK) AND I ARE THE ONLY EMPLOYEES) HAVE BEEN IN CONTINUOUS, DAILY OPERATION SINCE 1981. WE TUTOR A VARIETY OF ACADEMIC SUBJECTS (ENGLISH, ALL MATH UP TO CALCULUS 3, BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, SPANISH, LITERATURE, AND MUCH MORE) AND MANY ADMISSIONS TESTS. THE TESTS WE TUTOR INCLUDE THE ACT, PLAN, SAT 1, SAT 2 SUBJECT TESTS, PSAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, ISEE, SSAT, AND A FEW MORE. MY MOTHER IS A FORMER ENGLISH TEACHER AT HOCKADAY, URSULINE ACADEMY, HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL, AND BROOKHAVEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ALL IN DALLAS. SHE HAS OVER 40 YEARS TEACHING AND TUTORING EXPERIENCE. SHE HAS A BA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS. I, CHRIS, AM A FORMER CIVIL/STRUCTURAL ENGINEER AND HAVE TAUGHT IN COLLEGE. I HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND A MASTER'S DEGREE IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND APPLIED MECHANICS; I ALSO HAVE A MINOR IN SPANISH & SPEAK SPANISH FLUENTLY. I HAVE OVER 30 YEARS DAILY EXPERIENCE IN TUTORING AND EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING. THAT IS 30 YEARS OF TEACHING AND TUTORING STUDENTS DAILY IN THE ACT, SAT, ETC. IF YOU LIVE IN THE DALLAS FORTH WORTH AREA IN TEXAS AND ARE INTERESTED IN HIRING US PLEASE EMAIL US AT COOKTUTORING@AOL.COM.

I ALSO OFFER WHAT I CALL "ACADEMIC RETRAINING". THAT IS WHERE I CAN TAKE A STUDENT AND TEACH THEM APPROPRIATE STUDY SKILLS AND TEST TAKING SKILLS AND APPLY THAT TO THEIR CURRENT ACADEMIC MATERIAL. I CAN EVENTUALLY ENABLE A STUDENT TO BE ABLE TO STUDY AND DO WELL ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT NEEDING CONSTANT TUTORING! I HAVE EXTREMELY GOOD RESULTS DOING THIS,AND I HAVE SEVERAL HUNDRED LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION FROM PAST CLIENTS THAT I CAN SHOW YOU.

I HAVE INTIMATE, PERSONAL, WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE COLLEGE AND PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROCESSES AND THE TESTS USED THEREIN. I AM ABLE TO VIEW THESE ISSUES FROM A UNIQUE VIEWPOINT - MY DAILY EXPERIENCE OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS!

SMU: SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

SMU: SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY (SMU) DALLAS, TX (MY ALMA MATER)!

SITE MAP

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRANSLATE THIS WEBSITE INTBUTTO YOUR LANGUAGE? JUST PRESS THE BUTTON BELOW

IF YOU NEED TUTORING:

IF YOU NEED TUTORING:
BUSINESS CARD FOR CHRISTOPHER C. COOK, OWNER

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

WHAT IF I NEED TO CONTACT THE ACT OR SAT AND TALK TO A REAL PERSON?

GOOD QUESTION. IF YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE ACT OR SAT AND TALK TO A REAL PERSON HERE ARE THE TELEPHONE NUMBERS THAT YOU HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF REACHING A REAL LIVE HUMAN BEING!


FOR THE ACT:

1-319-337-1270


FOR THE SAT:

1-866-756-7346


REMEMBER IF YOU ARE DIALING FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES YOU WILL HAVE TO USE THE APPROPRIATE COUNTRY CODE AND APPROPRIATE INTERNATIONAL DIALING SEQUENCE FROM YOUR COUNTRY.
Labels: ,

HOW FAST CAN YOU GET YOUR ACT OR SAT SCORES?

THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY AND FASTEST WAY TO GET YOUR SCORES IS TO CHECK THEM ONLINE. USUALLY SCORES (EXCLUDING THE ESSAYS) ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE APPROXIMATELY 2.5 WEEKS OR MORE AFTER YOU TOOK THE TEST. THE ESSAY SCORES COME ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER THE ORIGINAL SCORES.


AGAIN, THE WEBSITES ARE:


ACT:



SAT:

Labels:

CAN YOU REGISTER FOR THE ACT, SAT I, AND SAT II'S ONLINE?

YOU BET YOU CAN! YOU CAN DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ONLINE FOR THE SAT AND THE ACT BY GOING TO THEIR WEBSITES:


FOR THE ACT:

WWW.ACT.ORG


FOR THE SAT I AND SAT II:

WWW.COLLEGEBOARD.COM
Labels: ,

HOW MANY TIMES EACH YEAR IS THE SAT I AND SAT II OFFERED?

THERE ARE 7 DATES FOR YOU TO TAKE THE SAT I PER YEAR. THERE ARE 6 DATES THAT YOU CAN TAKE THE SAT II. YOU CANNOT TAKE THE SAT I AND THE SAT II'S ON THE SAME DATE.



PLEASE SEE THIS LINK BELOW FOR ALL DATES, PRICES, DEADLINES, ETC.

http://sat.collegeboard.com/register/sat-dates
Labels:

HOW MANY TIMES EACH YEAR IS THE ACT OFFERED?

THE ACT IS OFFERED EACH YEAR APPROXIMATELY SIX TIMES. HERE ARE THE CURRENT LISTINGS AS OF 2011:

SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
OCTOBER 23, 2010
DECEMBER 11, 2010
FEBRUARY 12, 2011
APRIL 9, 2011
JUNE 11, 2011

IF YOU NEED TO CHECK THE REGISTRATION DEADLINES, LATE REGISTRATION DEADLINES, PRICE FOR THE TESTS, ETC. PLEASE GOTO: WWW.ACTSTUDENT.ORG/REGIST/DATES.HTML
0 comments
Labels:

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TAKE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS?

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TAKE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS?


I HEAR THIS OFTEN. THERE ARE TWO MAIN POINTS REGARDING THIS TOPIC:


1) IT IS BETTER TO GET MOST OF YOUR ACT AND SAT I TESTING DONE BEFORE DEVOTING MAJOR TIME TO THESE. REMEMBER, ACT AND SAT I SCORES ARE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO GETTING INTO COLLEGE THAN SUBJECT TESTS.


2) HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE TAKING A COURSE THAT ENDS NEAR AN SAT II SUBJECT TEST DATE THEN IT WOULD BE BEST TO TAKE THE SUBJECT TEST ON THAT TOPIC AS CLOSE TO THE FINAL EXAM OR AFTER THE FINAL EXAM FOR THAT COURSE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU ARE TAKING US WORLD HISTORY YOUR JUNIOR YEAR AND YOU ARE TAKING YOUR FINAL EXAM OR AP EXAM IN MAY OF YOUR JUNIOR YEAR FOR THIS COURSE THEN IT WOULD BE A SUPERB IDEA TO TAKE THE MAY OR JUNE SAT II SUBJECT TEST IN THIS TOPIC.


3) YOU CAN TAKE UP TO THREE (3) SUBJECT TESTS IN ONE SITTING. YOU CANNOT TAKE THE SAT I AND THEN TAKE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AT THE SAME SITTING. IDEALLY, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU ONLY TAKE TWO SUBJECT TESTS ON A DATE RATHER THAN 3. 3 SUBJECT TESTS IS VERY DEMANDING FOR THE SAME DAY.



ALL SUBJECT TESTS ARE ONE HOUR LONG AND THEY ARE GRADED OUT OF 800 POINTS JUST LIKE THE SAT I. THEY ARE GRADED ON A MUCH MORE LIBERAL SCALE THAN THE SAT I (IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN MISS A LOT MORE QUESTIONS AND STILL GET A GOOD SCORE). A VERY GOOD SCORE WOULD BE CONSIDERED AROUND 600. IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE COLLEGE YOU WOULD NEED A SCORE AROUND 700. MANY COLLEGES JUST "REQUIRE" THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AND SUPPOSEDLY DON'T USE THEM FOR ADMISSIONS PURPOSES. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT - ESPECIALLY FOR MORE COMPETITIVE COLLEGES. MOREOVER, IF A COLLEGE REQUIRES OR RECOMMENDS OR SUGGESTS YOU TAKE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS YOU SHOULD TAKE THEM!!
Labels:

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

DO ALL COLLEGES TAKE THE ACT?

GOSH YES! ALMOST EVERY SINGLE COLLEGE IN THE USA TAKES BOTH THE ACT AND THE SAT. YOU MIGHT FIND AN EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE, BUT I HAVE YET IN 30 YEARS TO FIND ANY COLLEGE THAT DOES NOT TAKE THE ACT. IT IS A TOTAL FALSEHOOD THAT COLLEGES WON'T TAKE THE ACT. THEY RESPECT BOTH TESTS EQUALLY, AND IN FACT MANY ADMISSIONS PERSONS THAT I HAVE PERSONALLY SPOKEN WITH OFF THE RECORD TELL ME THAT THEY PREFER THE ACT BECAUSE IT REFLECTS MORE ACCURATELY WHAT THE STUDENT HAS LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL!! THEY VERY WELL KNOW THAT THE SAT I HAS ALL SORTS OF TRICKERY ON IT AND IS TOO LONG.
Labels:

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE SAYING THAT THE ACT IS EASIER THAN THE SAT?

GOSH I HEAR THAT ALMOST EVERY DAY IN MY TUTORING BUSINESS FROM STUDENTS AND PARENTS. THEY ARE SAYING THAT BECAUSE IT IS QUITE FRANKLY TRUE RIGHT NOW AS OF JANUARY 2011. IT HAS BEEN TRUE SINCE MARCH 2005 THAT THE ACT IS "EASIER" THAN THE SAT.
THE ACT IS A MUCH SHORTER TEST THAN THE SAT AND HAS MUCH LESS TRICKERY ON IT. IT ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS READING ON IT THAN THE SAT. IT IS EASIER FOR ME TO GET A STUDENT A GREAT GRADE ON THE ACT IN LESS TIME THAN IT TAKES FOR THE SAT. THE ACT ALSO HAS NO GUESSING PENALTY ON IT LIKE THE SAT. HAVING NO GUESSING PENALTY AUTOMATICALLY GIVES YOU A 20-25% CHANCE OF GUESSING A QUESTION CORRECTLY! SO YOU HAVE A BUILT IN CURVE OF 20-25% ON THE ACT. THE ACT ALSO AVERAGES ALL 4 SECTIONS OF THE TEST FOR ONE FINAL SCORE WHEREAS THE SAT SHOWS THREE SEPERATE SCORES (SO ON THE ACT LET'S SAY IF YOU ARE POOR IN READING IT IS MUCH EASIER TO HIDE THAT FACT VS THE SAT).
Labels:

DO COLLEGES READ THE ESSAYS ON THE ACT AND SAT?

YES! COLLEGES DO RECEIVE YOUR ACT AND OR SAT ESSAYS AND THEY ABSOLUTELY DO READ THEM. THEY CONSIDER THE ESSAYS ON THE ACT AND OR SAT TO BE "UNPOLLUTED", THAT MEANS THAT NO ONE CAN COACH YOU ON THOSE ESSAYS SINCE YOU ARE DOING THEM DURING THE ACT OR SAT; THE ESSAYS ARE PURELY FROM YOU. SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO TAKE THESE ESSAYS SERIOUSLY AS COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PERSONNEL DO READ THEM. ALSO, ON THE SAT I THE ESSAY CAN HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT ON YOUR OVERALL WRITING SCORE. SO YOU REALLY NEED TO DO YOUR BEST ON THE ESSAY ON THE SAT AND ACT. THE ESSAY ON THE ACT IS HANDLED A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY GRADING WISE; THEY REPORT THE ESSAY SCORE AND THEN A COMBINED ENGLISH/ESSAY SCORE. COLLEGES DO SEE ALL OF THE SCORES FOR THE ESSAYS.
Labels:

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARHIP PROGRAM?

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM?



I GET ASKED THIS ALL THE TIME. IN A NUTSHELL, IT IS A SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED FOR STUDENTS WHO SCORE INCREDIBLY WELL ON THE PSAT. THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RECOGNITION OFFERED SUCH AS FINALIST, SEMIFINALIST, ETC. YOU CAN EASILY GOTO WWW.NATIONALMERIT.ORG AND THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION AT THEIR WEBSITE.
ONE GREAT THING TO KNOW IS THAT THE PSAT AND THE NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP HAVE NO BEARING ON GETTING INTO COLLEGE. ALL COLLEGES WILL USE YOUR SAT OR ACT SCORES; THEY DO NOT USE YOUR PSAT OR PLAN SCORES. NOW IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT HURT AT ALL TO DO WELL ON THE PSAT AND GET THIS SCHOLARSHIP OR SOME TYPE OF RECOGNITION - SURELY COLLEGES WILL NOTICE THAT AND IT COULD HELP. HOWEVER, DOING VERY WELL ON THE ACT OR SAT CAN EVEN PRODUCE MUCH BIGGER SCHOLARSHIPS FROM COLLEGES. IN OTHER WORDS, COLLEGES ABSOLUTELY DEPEND UPON YOUR SAT OR ACT SCORES, NOT PSAT SCORES OR PLAN SCORES. AS POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE, APPROXIMATELY 8,400 STUDENTS WILL GET SOME TYPE OF SCHOLARSHIP. PLEASE SEE THEIR WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
I WANT TO MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY CLEAR THAT EVEN IF YOU DO A PERFECT SCORE ON THE PSAT AND GET A NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP YOU STILL MUST TAKE THE ACT OR SAT OR BOTH AND DO VERY WELL ON THOSE TO ASSURE ADMISSIONS TO YOUR PARTICULAR COLLEGE. MANY STUDENTS FALSELY THINK THAT IF THEY DO WELL ON THE PSAT THEN ALL IS DONE. NO.
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

University of Texas at Arlington - New Engineering School

University of Texas at Arlington - New Engineering School
I received my Master's Degree in Civil/Structural Engineering & Applied Mechanics from the University of Texas at Arlington (& also was a course Instructor)