30-Second Summary What's Happening Since 2020, many colleges have made the SAT/ACT "optional" for admission. However, at competitive "test-optional" colleges, most students still submit SAT/ACT scores—and are admitted at higher rates. Why It Matters Families need to understand how to navigate test-optional policies given their individual goals and circumstances. The Main Takeaway All students should take a practice SAT and ACT. Most students should take the official SAT or ACT. Prepare for the SAT/ACT if your baseline scores are below the norms at your colleges of interest (or below the cut-off for your scholarships of interest). For each college you apply to, decide strategically whether to submit your official scores. What You'll Learn in This Article This article defines key test-optional terms and walks through a step-by-step approach to navigating practice testing, official testing, and score submission based on your goals. Read On
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Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
12th Grade - Seniors,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
30-Second Summary What's Happening The new digital SAT is arriving in March 2024—and the last ever administration of the existing paper SAT will be in December 2023. Why It Matters Many 11th graders (Class of 2024), and some 10th graders (Class of 2025), should take the existing paper SAT before it's gone for good. What You'll Learn in This Article This article provides a step-by-step approach for 10th and 11th graders to develop your SAT/ACT testing strategy with the digital SAT in mind. Read On
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Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
12th Grade - Seniors,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
While everyone hopes they'll be able to take the SAT or ACT just once and be done with the process, the reality is that about half of all students take the official test again—even if they had completed an SAT/ACT prep program before their initial testing attempt. If you’ve taken the official SAT or ACT, and your score has left you wondering whether you should retake the test, what should you do next? We'll help you answer that question in this post.
"When Anna got a great practice test score after her prep class, then her real test was a drop from that score, yes, it was a little disappointing. But you have to know that you could have a bad test day any given day, right? There's no downside to retaking the test...so just keep [trying] until you've got a good test [score]." -Ransom J., parent of student at West Anchorage High School who
- took the official ACT three times, ultimately earning a 94th percentile score
- is matriculating at Washington and Lee University
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Note: This article is for students who have already taken the official SAT/ACT at least once. If you haven’t taken the official SAT/ACT yet, see this blog post:
When to Prepare for and Take the SAT/ACT: 3 Questions to Help You Decide.
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Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
12th Grade - Seniors,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
Of everything you do in high school, the activities you undertake during your junior year will have the among most significant impact on your competitiveness for college admissions and scholarships. As a rising junior, how can you set yourself up for success? In this post, we’ll walk through a checklist for rising juniors to review before school starts. Specifically, we’ll show you how to tackle each of the following five priorities with free tools and resources developed specifically for Alaska students:
- Determine whether you should prepare for the PSAT—something you should do before or during August)
- Craft your SAT/ACT strategy to maximize your scores and efficiency
- Get serious about your GPA: Depending on when you submit applications, the next two semesters will comprise the final grades colleges see.
- Start developing your college list—the single most important factor upon which nearly all of your other decisions over the next 12-18 months will depend
- Determine whether and when you will need to take SAT Subject Tests
Let’s get to work!
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Topics:
SAT Subject Tests,
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Excel Academically,
11th Grade - Juniors,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
"What I really liked about working with you the most was the essay refining part because it kept me on track. And I like to say that I would have been able to stay on track, but I definitely would not have because there were times when I would sit down on the weekend and be like, 'Okay, I'm meeting with Kimberly on Monday. I have to write this essay or I'm not going to have anything to show her.' So that in the moment kind of sucked. But looking back it was really good for me. Otherwise it would have not been good. I was also really happy about this feedback that you were able to give me with my essay and how I was able to make it as good as it could be."
-Anja L., graduate of Dimond High School
Anja L. is a Dimond High School graduate. During spring of her junior year, Anja began working with us in a college admissions consulting program. We began working together to build her college list, enabling her to visit colleges during the summer. In addition to college research and list building, I also assisted Anja planning and developing of some of her college essays (including her main Common Application essay) and optimizing her SAT testing plans. Anja concurrently completed a 12-hour SAT Individual Prep program and received one-on-one academic tutoring in her precalculus class. Over the course of her SAT prep program, Anja increased her SAT superscore to 1450 (97th percentile). Anja was accepted Middlebury College, Colorado College, University of Vermont, and Montana State University, where she was awarded a $46,000 scholarship, for which eligibility criteria generally include 95th+ percentile SAT/ACT scores, 3.8+ GPA, track record of leadership/honors/high-impact extracurriculars, and essay application.
In this post, I share excerpts from an interview with Anja, during which we discussed the college list-building process (including some of the tools she used), essay development, and her SAT preparation experience at Frontier Tutoring. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Use the links below to jump to the questions you're curious about.
-Kimberly Hewitt, Business Unit Manager - College Admissions Consulting
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Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Excel Academically,
College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
College Admissions: Apply Right,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage,
Interviews
"It's nice to have a third party saying, 'What are your goals? Okay, then this is what you have to do to get there.' So it's not just parents going, 'You need to get good grades, you need to do this, you need to do that.' You’re helping the [students] figure out what they want to do and how to get there."
-Bhree R., parent of Emma F., 11th grader at West Anchorage High School
Emma F., a junior at West Anchorage High School, is one of my current college admissions consulting (CAC) students at Frontier Tutoring. In this post, I share excerpts from an interview with Emma and her mom, Bhree, about why they chose to start college admissions consulting during Emma's junior year, rather than waiting until senior year. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Use the links below to jump to the questions you're curious about.
-Kimberly Hewitt, Business Unit Manager - College Admissions Consulting
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Topics:
College Admissions,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Excel Academically,
College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
College Admissions: Apply Right,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
"Starting DURING junior year allows you to improve your COMPETITIVENESS. Starting AFTER junior year limits you to improving your NARRATIVE."
-Kimberly Hewitt, Business Unit Manager - College Admissions Consulting
Many high school students and families I meet with wait until fall of senior year to think critically about their college list or applications—but for best results, students should begin planning for college admissions during junior year—the earlier, the better. Why? If you start planning for college admissions during 11th grade, you will have time to improve your profile and competitiveness (for example, by adjusting your coursework selection, improving your grades and test scores, initiating or enhancing your involvement in specific extracurriculars, identifying and deepening relationships with potential recommendation writers, etc.). On the other hand, if you wait until after junior year to begin thinking about college admissions in earnest, you will be limited to expressing the most compelling narrative about the profile you already have. To be clear, optimizing the way you tell your story and express your goals on college applications is critical—but you'll be even better positioned if your profile is more competitive to begin with. In this post, I'll walk you through six specific, high-leverage areas I work with on students when they start a college admissions consulting (CAC) program during their junior year.
"It's nice to have a third party saying, 'What are your goals? What are your objectives? Okay, then this is what you have to do to get there.' Also, I like the structure and the timing [of your CAC program]. For example, are we on time, or are we behind, and do I need to be stressing? I like not having to worry about that piece in particular." -Bhree R., parent of 11th grader at West Anchorage High School READ MORE: Interview with a West HS Student & Parent: Starting College Admissions Consulting During 11th Grade |
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Topics:
College Admissions,
AP® Exams,
ACT,
SAT,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Excel Academically,
College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
College Admissions: Apply Right,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
Matt F. is a 2017 graduate of South Anchorage High School who completed a College Admissions Consulting program with Frontier Tutoring during the 2016/17 school year. He also improved his ACT score by four points after taking our ACT Prep Class during his junior year. Matt is now a freshman at Penn, where admitted applicants have an average high school GPA of 3.84 and SAT score of 1520/ACT score of 34.
In this second installment of our How I Did It series, we're giving you a first-hand account of what it's like to go through the college admissions process with a professional advisor. Now, let's hear from Matt, along with his mom, Melissa, as they tell us about their experiences working with Frontier Tutoring in a College Admissions Consulting program.
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Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
12th Grade - Seniors,
College Admissions: Apply Right,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
Topics:
College Admissions,
ACT,
SAT,
College Admissions: Explore Early,
College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets,
11th Grade - Juniors,
10th Grade - Sophomores,
12th Grade - Seniors,
College Admissions: Apply Right,
College Admissions: Test Well,
Anchorage
