College Admissions: What Your PSAT Scores Really Mean

PSAT scores will arrive for anxious high school students this week. These scores mark the time when sophomores and juniors can begin to target colleges that are in range. Realistically, there are only 5

months left for juniors to visit colleges before campuses empty out in the first week of May. In the fall, early action dates begin a few weeks after school opens, and many colleges are filling 30-70% of their seats in that round. So, starting your visits in junior year is critical. If your school is slow about handing out scores, you may want to go online and get them. Then, how do you interpret your PSAT scores and use them to launch your college search?Estimating SAT scores

If you add a zero to end of each PSAT score, that would be your SAT score. Your percentiles indicate how well you did vs. other students in your grade taking the PSAT. You are not measured against 11th graders, if you are in 10th grade. If you scored in the 85th percentile, you did better than 84 out of 100 students in your grade nationally. Because of additional math coursework, you will most likely see your math score increase from your sophomore to junior PSAT. If you elect to do test prep, you will probably see a bigger increase. Most students who prep will go up 60-180 total points (across all 3 sections) from the junior PSAT to the SAT. Many families believe their child will jump 300 points or more with test prep. That kind of an increase is rare, and choosing colleges according to that hope will get you into trouble.

Low scores should NOT be ignored

For students who are getting A's or B's in school, PSAT scores below 40 can often be an indicator of an undiagnosed learning disability (LD) or anxiety during testing. Talk to a neuro-psychologist or college counselor about options for educational testing.  If you are diagnosed with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD or other learning differences, you may qualify for extended time on test day. It is best to do evaluations by 10th grade since the standards for extended SAT time have been getting more stringent. Those with scores in the 40s-50s who are aiming for a competitive college should begin test prep early and be very diligent about studying each week on their own. Students should also consider taking the ACT. It can often be a better test for students who are high achievers in school or who don't do well with vocabulary.

What colleges care about

Colleges DO NOT see your PSAT scores. PSAT scores are intended as practice for the SAT and allow you to determine areas where you may need help. The only situation in which they may affect your admission is if you are a National Merit Semi-Finalist or Winner. Only juniors are considered for this award, and the cutoff varies, but you usually have to have a total score of 210 or better. If you are a finalist, it is viewed as a very prestigious honor by colleges and there may be scholarship money to follow.

Test Prep is a MUST

Most students should begin SAT prep in the fall or winter of their junior year, and spend 10-12 weeks studying before they take the test. However, some students with lower scores or those aiming for highly competitive colleges, may want to begin prep as early as sophomore year. The type of study program you select depends on your budget and needs. Some high school based programs are free, but many are relatively weak. It depends on the curriculum and instructor. The major test prep companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review do a very good job of screening teachers and training them, but the group courses will not usually help you with content review (geometry, algebra, grammar). They typically focus on test taking strategy. A well-trained and qualified private SAT tutor will teach strategy and address individual needs to learn the relevant math, vocabulary and writing skills-but the cost is a bit higher. For families who cannot afford courses or tutors, there are terrific SAT prep books on the market, and some highly motivated students can achieve top scores with disciplined self-study.

SAT Alternatives

If you have tried the SAT and ACT, done test prep, and still can't achieve competitive scores-then it is time to consider "Test Optional" colleges. Today, there are more than 800 in the U.S., and they include prestigious liberal arts colleges like Middlebury, Bowdoin and Bates. Catholic colleges are also jumping on the bandwagon, including Providence College, St. Michael's and De Paul. What you won't find on the list are the primary campuses of state universities or the Ivy League.

Written by Cristiana Quinn

Posted by Lindy Kahn, M.A., CEP for Kahn Educational Group, LLC

Online Application Woes Make Students Anxious and Put Colleges Behind Schedule

With early admission deadlines looming for hundreds of thousands of students, the new version of the online Common Application shared by more than 500 colleges and universities has been plagued by numerous malfunctions, alarming students and parents and putting admissions offices weeks behind schedule.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Jason C. Locke, associate vice provost for enrollment at Cornell University. “I’ve been a supporter of the Common App, but in this case, they’ve really fallen down.”

Colleges around the country have posted notices on their admissions Web sites, warning of potential problems in processing applications. Some Minnesota colleges have created an optional partial application. The Georgia Institute of Technology has one of the earliest fall application deadlines, Oct. 15, but it was not able to start reviewing applications on a large scale until last week and has postponed the deadline for some supporting paperwork until Nov. 1/

The problems have sown worry among students like Lily Geiger, a 12th grader at the Rudolf Steiner School in Manhattan, increasing the stress level in an already stressful experience. When she entered her essays into the application, what appeared on her computer screen was a garbled mess. Some words were mashed together; others were split in two by random spaces; there were swaths of blank space where text should have been; paragraph indentations were missing.

“I was completely freaked out,” she said. “I spent the whole weekend trying to fix it, and I kept thinking, what if I can’t fix everything by the deadline, or what if I missed something?”

For the nonprofit company, also called the Common Application, that creates the form, it has been a summer and fall of frantic repair work, cataloged on its Web site, and frequent mea culpas.

In an interview, Rob Killion, the executive director, readily acknowledged a wide range of failings. But he said that they were being fixed and that the number of applications was up more than 20 percent from last year, indicating that students were successfully navigating the system.

Problems became evident as soon as the application was released in August, including some confusing wording that was later changed. Students who thought they had finished the application found that it was incomplete because questions had been added after its release. As changes were made, some who had started their applications early found themselves locked out of the system.

A function that allows students to preview applications and print them sometimes just shows blank pages — a problem that may be linked to which Web browsers they use. And, as Ms. Geiger discovered, the system often does not properly format essays that are copied and pasted from another program, like Microsoft Word.

When a user pays an application fee with a credit card, the system produces a “signature page,” where the card holder’s name must be typed to confirm the charge. But that page can take a day or more to show up, leading some users to try to pay multiple times. Worse yet, guidance and admissions counselors say that those who do not immediately see the signature page may be unaware of its existence and may never check back — in other words, they may think they have submitted college applications when they have not.

“This software needed beta testing and needed vetting, and it probably needed to wait a year,” said Nancy Griesemer, a college admissions consultant based in Fairfax, Va.

Hundreds of colleges use software from the Common Application that automatically delivers a daily batch of new applications directly to their computers. That software is usually delivered in mid-September, but this year’s version arrived at the start of October. Many colleges are still testing it and have not yet put it to use, and most of those schools have Nov. 1 or Nov. 15 early admission deadlines.

The Common Application also had trouble meshing with software called Naviance, which high schools use to send documents like transcripts, recommendations and early-admission agreements to colleges. Until this month, colleges could not view any of that material on their computers, and some forms are still not accessible to them.

The Common Application, which began in the 1970s, allows a student to fill out a single application for multiple colleges. The number of schools accepting it has more than doubled in the last decade and includes nearly all of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. The company now processes well over one million applications yearly.

This year’s application was an unusually big piece of engineering — the first in six years to be designed and built from scratch, in ways that were supposed to make it simpler to use, with a newly standardized supplemental form that can be adapted to each college.

The recent problems mean that college admission offices will have to work overtime to go through applications, and some plan to take on temporary extra staff. But they say they still intend to send out acceptance and rejection notices on time in mid-December.

With the kinks being worked out, they expect the larger regular round of applications — usually submitted by January deadlines, with replies sent in the spring — to go more smoothly.

“Any time you roll something out, there’s going to be glitches, but this is the worst year by far,” said Katy Murphy, the president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the director of college counseling at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Calif.

“We’re still in the first half of October, so we’re trying to keep everyone calm,” she said. “I think it will all be fixed by Nov. 1, but if it’s not, we’re in a world of hurt.”

Written by Richard Perez-Pena

Posted by Lindy Kahn, M.A., CEP for Kahn Educational Group, LLC

4 Reasons to Start Your College Applications Now

For many rising seniors, college still seems far away—but it isn’t. Deadlines for early action and early decision arrive just a few weeks after students return to school in the fall. That means that summer is the best time to do applications and avoid stress later. Still not convinced? Here are some reasons to think again.

1. Early Action and Early Decision deadlines fall in November at most schools, but some have now moved to October

The reality is that many colleges are filling 25-75% of their freshman class during early admissions. So, the early bird catches the worm. Also, senior year is fraught with AP classes, campus visits, college interviews, sports, extra-curricular activities and social engagements. The last thing you need to do is add applications to that stressful schedule in September/October. A few hours a week this summer will pay off in spades next year.

2. There isn’t just one app to fill out

While the Common Application is accepted at over 400 colleges, there are still supplements and supplemental essays. And remember that many colleges, particularly state universities, are not on the Common App. Don’t underestimate the amount of hours that will be required to fill out documents and write all the essays.

3. Polish makes a difference

The biggest complaint admissions officers have about applications is that they often display signs of being rushed. Students make grammar and spelling mistakes, they fail to choose essay topics that showcase their unique attributes, and they don’t demonstrate why they will be an asset to the college. Great essays require at least 5 revisions, and it is important that you showcase all your activities and awards in a strategic manner on your applications. College applications and essays are some of the most important pieces you will ever author—treat them that way!

4. Supplements should not be generic

When a college asks you to write extra essays just for them, they do it for a reason. They are assessing your critical thinking, your compatibility with the school, and your interest level. Too many admissions officers at Boston University cringe each year when they receive an essay that begins with “The reason I want to go to Boston College is…..”. Writing a supplemental essay is like answering the question “Why did you ask me to the prom?” No one wants to hear that it’s because you have blonde hair, are nice, and were available. You should have very specific points in your supplemental essays that reflect the individuality of that school, why you are a good match, and show that you have done your homework.

Written by Cristiana Quinn

Posted by Lindy Kahn, M.A., CEP for Kahn Educational Group, LLC