If you’re trying to decide between the ACT vs SAT, you’re not alone. One of the most common questions parents ask is: “Which test is better?” On the East Coast, the SAT often feels like the default. It’s the brand name most parents know, and it’s what many of us grew up taking. Because of…
For high school students across the country, the fall of junior year often feels like the official start of the college admissions marathon. At the center of this season is the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). But with the rise of test-optional policies and the popularity of the ACT®, many families are asking:…
Recent Trends in College Admissions Testing In the past several weeks, we’ve seen a number of high-profile colleges and universities announce plans to reinstate standardized testing requirements in the admissions process, including Cal Tech, Dartmouth College, Yale University, Brown University, and the University of Texas-Austin. This is a 180-degree change from the status quo of…
Why does everything have to be so darn complicated? There’s some good news and some bad news. Bad news first? As with so many other things schools all set application dates separately and many seem determined to come up with their own lingo to talk about it. I’ve seen more combinations of the word “Early”…
If you’re a New Jersey parent with a high schooler, you’ve likely spent years funding and “watering” your 529 plan, meticulously watching it grow. Many parents look at their account and plan to use it for just one thing: a massive tuition check to a college or university. But here is the insider secret that…
Every year, AP exams loom on the calendar for May. Busy students who are trying to survive a packed semester think to themselves, I still have time, I’ll start reviewing material closer to the date. Then boom, test day arrives and students are scrambling to remember what they learned all the way back in September….
As seniors trudge through submission season this year, I’ve found some questions that have surprised me. Those of us shepherding families through their college applications, myself included, can mistakenly start “talking shop” with the assumption that parents and students are following along. Acronyms start flying around and we get into our groove, not realizing we’ve… Read more »
Currently in the US, the vast majority of colleges are test optional. That means that the SAT and ACT® do not have to be submitted to most schools around the country. This is a policy that was implemented during the worst of the pandemic when no students were able to take the tests because they… Read more »
