• There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

The ACT Is Changing, Too. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Posted by Kimberly Hewitt on Monday, August 31, 2015

For nearly the last 18 months, the College Board has dominated the conversation about standardized testing changes with news about the Redesigned SAT launching in March 2016.  But did you know that ACT, Inc. has been phasing in changes of its own?  While some of these changes are for the benefit of data collection and are fairly insignificant from a test-taking perspective, one major change is the essay—it has been completely overhauled and will debut in its new format during the September 12, 2015 test administration.

 

Let’s take look at these changes and talk about what you need to know if you're preparing for the ACT. We’ll examine these changes in order of significance, first discussing the biggest change (the essay) and ending our post by touching on the newly formatted score report.

 

 

Read More

Topics: ACT, Mat-Su Valley, 11th Grade - Juniors, 10th Grade - Sophomores, 12th Grade - Seniors, College Admissions: Test Well, Anchorage

The Redesigned SAT: What 11th & 12th Graders Should Know (And Do)

Posted by Kimberly Hewitt on Monday, August 31, 2015

 

NOTE: This blog post contains guidance that was valid only though December 2015.  Now that your test options are either the redesigned SAT or the ACT, check out our newly updated post, Redesigned SAT vs. ACT: How 11th Graders Should Choose, for the latest guidance on what to do next.

 


 

 

You’ve probably heard a lot of talk regarding the Redesigned SAT (a.k.a. the “New SAT”), which launches in March 2016. But how, exactly, does the new test affect you? In this post, we’ll break down what’s changing, compare the Redesigned SAT to the Existing SAT and ACT—and explain what 11th graders need to do ASAP to determine which test is right for them.

 

Read More

Topics: ACT, Redesigned SAT, SAT, Mat-Su Valley, 11th Grade - Juniors, 10th Grade - Sophomores, 12th Grade - Seniors, College Admissions: Test Well, Anchorage

Strategy for Extracurriculars—An Important Part of Your Applicant Profile

Posted by Kimberly Hewitt on Monday, July 13, 2015

You probably know that getting into the college of your choice involves more than just good grades and test scores.  In fact, according to NACAC's 2014 "State of College Admission" report, over 50% of colleges attribute at least "moderate importance" to extracurricular activities in their admission decisions, and over 1 in 5 highly competitive colleges regard extracurriculars as an area of "considerable importance" when evaluating applicants.

Read More

Topics: Extracurriculars, Mat-Su Valley, 9th Grade - Freshmen, College Admissions: Build Your Application Assets, 11th Grade - Juniors, 10th Grade - Sophomores, 12th Grade - Seniors, Anchorage