STUDENT-CENTERED SOLUTIONS FOR COLLEGE PLANNING

Editor’s note: I am happy to post a guest blog by Peter Farrell, Dean of Admission, Fordham University.

We have now worked through our first wave of admission activity with Score Choice in play. Without a doubt, this new wrinkle in the admission process had made the work of admission officers at Fordham more complicated.

The first wave of difficulty we experienced was a lag in the receipt of students’ scores. In early November, we had thousands of fewer SAT’s on file than the same point last year. With a deluge of scores at the end of the first week in November, it became clear that students had held off on sending scores until they had viewed their October SAT results. This delayed the onset of our early action review by nearly a week.

The second wave of difficulty came with many more high schools not sending testing on their transcripts. While this is totally understandable as students exercise their rights of ownership with regard to test results, something was clearly lost in translation with students. Much more follow-up was required to remind students to get their scores to us from the testing services. Again, a delay in reviewing many applications ensued.

The third wave of difficulty with Score Choice resulted from students opting not to share their testing plans on their applications. Seemingly, the advice students were given was to not share any testing information on applications: no test results, no planned test dates, no nothing! Obviously, this complicates our lives as we wrestle with how to handle individual applicant’s early action decisions. Should we defer a candidate with the hope they might be planning on taking a December SAT or ACT? In the past, students had told us their plans, which helped make these decisions clearer. Now, we’re just left to guess.

All of this is especially troubling in light of the fact that ours is one of the many colleges that clearly tell students they will only be reviewed on the basis of their strongest testing profile. The fact is that sharing a mixed record of testing with us formally, or just on the application itself, will not work against a student in our review.

As the college application process picks up steam, no credential sparks more consternation among applicants than standardized testing. Over the last several months, I have posted blogs that address testing including guest blogs regarding the advantages of test optional strategies and the Score Choice option offered for both the ACT and the SAT. The following are a few additional tips to consider as you get ready to apply for admission.

1. Review your testing experience to determine which scores (SAT, ACT or both) you want to send to each school. Colleges will receive both the SAT and the ACT, so submit the set of results that puts you in the most competitive light.

2. Decide which tests you will take later this fall. If you have already taken the SAT two times and are disappointed by the results, you may be facing a point of diminishing returns. You might be better off turning your attention to the ACT. Achieving a respectable score on the ACT means that admission officers have options with regard to the test results they might use to rationalize offering you a place in their respective classes.

3. Colleges strongly prefer to receive test results (SAT, ACT) directly from the testing services. Make arrangements with the appropriate testing service to have your results sent directly to the colleges to which you are applying.

4. Given the Score Choice option, remember to designate the scores you want to have sent to each school. While you can’t mix and match subscores, you can designate the results from specific testing date for submission. If you are taking tests this fall, you may want to wait until you have seen the results before deciding to have official score reports sent to colleges.

5. Remember that admission officers will look at the best combination of scores. If you have taken the SAT 2-3 times, your best Critical Reading score might have come on your third test while your best Math might have come on your second test. In order for colleges to pull results from different test administrations, you will need to submit scores from each.

6. Don’t hold off on submitting your applications for admission until you have all of your results from tests taken this fall or to be taken this winter. You shouldn’t have to report actual scores on your applications. As long as you register with the testing service to have your scores sent to the colleges in question, the results will be forwarded automatically within 3-4 weeks.

7. Consider the “test optional” opportunities that might exist among the colleges to which you are applying. Compare your results with the range of scores reported for each test optional college. If your scores fall in the bottom 50% of the score ranges, logic would suggest that you elect not to submit your scores, as they will do nothing to enhance your application. A complete list of test optional colleges can be found at www.FairTest.org.

8. Make sure you are choosing colleges at which your testing profile is a good fit. Remember, colleges are fond of reporting high scores for their entering classes. The further your scores fall below the mid-point of the reported range of scores at a college, the less likely you will be admitted at that college.

I have written chapters for both students and parents in my book, Winning the College Admission Game, that provide insight into how/where testing fits in the admission process. In addition, my Straight Talk About College Admission conversation (The Role of Testing and the Value of Test Prep) with testing expert, Rusty Haynes, adds excellent perspective into what tests measure and how they should be factored into the application process. The book and my conversation with Rusty (mp3 download) are available at the TAG Bookstore.

The following is the testing schedule through February 2010. For more information about test registration and score submission, go to www.collegeboard.com and www.ACT.org.

Guest blog by Nancy Griesemer

After advising students to check directly with colleges concerning individual positions on SAT Score Choices, I decided to do a little research on my own. This is what I found: it’s not easy to discover school policies on testing. In fact, it’s a real headache.

It may be that most colleges and universities don’t recognize how confusing the new Score Choice policy is and haven’t addressed it yet on their websites. They’ll find out once students start trying to submit scores through the College Board and a link appears reading, “Help me choose test scores” and a dialogue box flashes that reads in part, “You’ve chosen not to send a test score that was recommended in this college’s or scholarship program’s SAT score-use practice.”� Say what?

At least one website I reviewed had not been updated on the matter of standardized testing since 2006. More forward thinking schools have separate web pages dedicated to Score Choice. For example, Georgetown University sternly advises:

“Georgetown University does not participate in the Score Choice option available through the College Board or the similar program through Educational Testing Service (ETS). Georgetown requires that you submit scores from all test sittings of the SAT, ACT or SAT Subject Tests. Georgetown evaluates thousands of competitive applicants each year for admission; access to your full testing profile enables the admissions committee to fully and fairly assess your individual strengths in comparison to the entire applicant pool.”

Appearing to leave the decision to students, Washington and Lee University also provides guidance:

“Beginning with the March 2009 administration of the SAT, students will have the option of participating in the new Score Choice program, or they may choose to have all their SAT results sent to W&L. Washington and Lee recommends students NOT participate in Score Choice. This will mean that all SAT results will be sent to us, ensuring that our Admission Committee has access to a student’s best scores.”

But, unfortunately, goes on to confuse the situation by seeming to suggest that Score Choice may be employed for more than one sitting:

“Students who decide to exercise the Score Choice option for reporting SAT scores to W&L must be very careful to specify that we receive the results of each SAT administration representing that student’s highest score for each section of the test.”

After evidently receiving a number of inquiries, UV’s Dean J recently created a separate post labeled Score Choice on the Notes from Peabody blog:

“When we read your files, we are only interested in seeing your very best scores. We set up our system to pluck the best composite ACT score (we don’t recombine the sections) and the best of each section of the SAT (sometimes called super scoring). If you take the SAT more than once, we will only see your best score from each of the three sections. I’m really not interested in anything but the best scores. Just send your reports through the official channels and the application system will make sure we see the highest scores.”

While not referring to the program, the College of William and Mary indirectly suggests that multiple sets of test scores are perfectly acceptable:

“If an applicant submits multiple test scores, we use the best overall combination of the highest scores achieved on each section when reviewing the application.”

James Madison University politely”asks” that students submit all scores but does not appear to make it a requirement:

“JMU accepts and recognizes both the SAT and ACT, [sic] we ask that you send all of your scores. When reviewing test scores we use the highest individual verbal and highest individual math scores from the SAT. For the ACT we use your single highest composite score.”

The University of Pennsylvania, on the other hand, “requires:”

“Penn requires that applicants submit all testing results from each administration of the ACT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests. We evaluate only the highest of your ACT Composite scores, the highest score on each section of the SAT, or the highest single testing result from multiple sittings of any SAT Subject Test.”

And Stanford will put up with no “hiding:”

“Applicants must self-report and submit all SAT scores or all ACT scores and cannot elect to ‘hide’ any scores with either testing agency.”

Finally, the most humorous and factual take on Score Choice comes from Dean Andrew Flagel, of George Mason University:

“I don’t really have any problem with the policy, but you should know two things. First, it’s unlikely to make ANY difference to your admission. As I’ve written many times, colleges and universities will use your best scores, and use the best portions from different sittings (so English section from one time, Math from another, to get your best total score). Also, the few schools that really care about seeing all of your scores are STILL MAKING YOU SEND THEM ALL.

In other words, there are [sic] a group of schools that won’t let you use score choice, so it really doesn’t matter. For the sake of simplicity I call these the “So incredibly uptight universities that if we placed coal under their seats we’d all have diamonds” or SIUUTIWPCUTSWAHD schools, or “annoying” for short.

At the other end of the spectrum you have schools that know that you’re more than a test score, many of which not only embrace score choice (despite the reality that it’s largely meaningless) but even go so far to offer score optional admissions. We can call these the “Schools that actually care” institutions or “George Mason University” for short.”

Nancy Griesemer is an independent college counselor practicing in Oakton, Virginia. In addition, she posts a regular blog at collegeexplorations.blogspot.com.

(Editor’s note: This week I’m happy to have Terry Cowdrey, Dean of Admission at St. Lawrence University, post her examination of her institution’s decision to make standardized tests optional.)

At St. Lawrence University, we have used a test-optional admissions process for four years. When students return to campus in the fall, all of them will have had the choice of whether or not to have SAT or ACT test scores considered in the application process. Why did we make the decision and what have we learned? In thinking back, it seems strange that the tests were ever a requirement.

Why did we consider going test-optional?
At the time, the test was changing and surrounded by controversy—we would have been irresponsible to not evaluate how useful a tool it was in making good admissions decisions. We already used a holistic review process, and test scores rarely figured prominently in admission decisions so why were we still asking for them? It seemed inconsistent to tell students that scores were not very important in the process but then still have them as a required part of the application.

How did we make the decision?
We needed to test whether the scores were an important predictor of grades students earned at St. Lawrence. We studied test scores, high school grade point averages, and other data points to evaluate how predictive SAT and ACT scores were. The results were clear: the test scores had some predictive value, but it was far outstripped by the predictive value of the high school GPA. We believe one of the reasons for this result is that, in the classroom at St. Lawrence, students are not “tested” in ways that mimic the SAT and ACT. Multiple-choice exams are rare, students almost always write multiple drafts of essays and papers, and they are tested on—and writing about—subjects in which they have specific interest. (The SAT or ACT may be more predictive at colleges that use multiple-choice exams.)

How did our admissions process change?
We altered our review of high school transcripts to give us a clear understanding of the number and rigor of the courses taken in the core academic subject year by year. We pay close attention to the trend of the grades earned from ninth grade through the middle of the senior year. We read letters of recommendation from teachers with greater scrutiny. All of this is done regardless of whether a student has chosen to submit test scores.

For us, test scores have become like interviews—students have the choice of whether or not to submit their scores just as they have the choice of whether or not to have a personal interview. If the score report or interview report are included in the application folder, we know the student wants us to consider that information as part of our holistic review.

What have we learned?
Students choose not to submit scores for a number of reasons. Some know their scores are below the profile of students we admitted in recent years. Others have scores well within the St. Lawrence profile but not as high as they think they should be given how well she or he has done in high school. Some students choose not to submit scores because they are philosophically opposed to standardized test scores—and to being judged based on the results of their work on a couple of Saturday mornings. (It is interesting how many valedictorians choose not to submit scores!)

We also learned that SAT and ACT scores are particularly poor predictors of academic performance at St. Lawrence for students who have attended rigorous high schools or prep schools. Those students come to St. Lawrence with experience writing multiple drafts of long papers of the sort we require. They are used to the expectations of lively class discussion and have experience with active learning in lab and studio classes.

Reflections
In the winter of 2004, our staff had an extended debate about one of our candidates. The young man in question ranked first in his class of more than 150 students at a school from which we had not seen applications in the past. He had strong letters of recommendation and was very involved in extracurricular activities, and we were certain he would add much to our campus. The issue? His SAT (verbal and math) score, 770, fell well below the middle 50% score profile (1060-1250) for the previous year’s entering class.

It was hard to reconcile such a low score with such strong high school performance. We talked at length about the pros and cons of offering him admission, wondering if his low test scores really meant that he would struggle to meet the demands of our classes. In the end, we admitted him with some trepidation. Four years later he graduated from St. Lawrence with a GPA above 3.0 in a double major, having completed independent research and having been a valuable and visible contributor to campus life.

What a loss it would have been for us if we had let his SAT score prevent our community from benefiting from his presence on our campus! Now, with a test-optional admissions process, we worry far less about excluding a student based on SAT or ACT test scores, even when the student has lower scores and still chooses to submit them. Our admissions process allows us—in fact, it requires us—to look beyond the quick signal we may get when we see test scores—low or high.

Terry Cowdrey is the vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at St. Lawrence University. Her career in college admissions spans three decades and includes experience at Vanderbilt University, the University of New Hampshire, and Wesleyan University.

During the Best College Fit “Web-Side Chat” earlier this week, a question was raised about the new Score Choice option being offered to SAT test takers by the College Board. Score Choice gives students the opportunity to determine which of their SAT results they would like to send to colleges and is similar to the long-standing score reporting option offered to test-takers by the ACT. Prior to Score Choice, the student’s entire record of SAT results was included in any report sent to a college.

This change in policy regarding score reporting options for the SAT will take effect with the March 2009 test for students in the high school class of 2010. For more information about the SAT Score Choice, go to http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/scores/policy.

On the surface, Score Choice, whether it involves the SAT or the ACT, would seem to be a good thing as you, the test taker, can exercise some control over which results are forwarded to colleges. The test makers argue that this will ease the stress you feel on the day of the test which will in turn help you relax and perform at a higher level. As logical as that assessment seems, I have not seen published research that demonstrates that higher scores will result.

While nearly 20% of the four-year colleges and universities in this country (778) offer optional test submission policies of some sort (check out http://www.FairTest.org to see the list), it is not likely that you will be able to escape having to take the SAT or ACT entirely. Somewhere along the line, you’ll need to submit test results with a college application. As a result, make sure you are aware of your testing options as well as the implications that come with them.

The following are a few observations relative to Score Choice.

1. You can’t mix and match subscores. Score Choice for both the SAT and the ACT allows you to choose from among different sets of test results those that you want to forward to colleges. It does not allow you to put a Critical Reading score from one test administration together with the Math result from a separate test and the Writing from yet another. While it is common for admission officers to combine the best subscores in their assessments of candidates, you cannot make such determinations through Score Choice.
2. If you want to take advantage of Score Choice, be careful when you register to take the SAT that you do not provide names of schools to be recipients of your results. If you do, those schools will automatically see results that, had you been able to see them in advance, you might have elected to withhold. I recommend waiting until early in your senior year when you have identified your short list of colleges to order score reports. At that point, you can determine which scores should be sent to each college.
3. Not all colleges observe the Score Choice option. In fact, a handful of institutions require their applicants to submit all of their test results. That said, they have no way of knowing how many times you have taken the tests—you’re on your honor to convey the necessary information. Check with the schools that interest you to find out what they require.
4. Resist the temptation to take the SAT over and over until you get the scores you want to submit. Not only is there a point of diminishing return with score improvement on multiple test administrations, obsessing on tests and test results will detract from your ability to do the other things you enjoy in life. You only have one shot at being a teenager. Don’t give it up to the pursuit of higher test scores! Focus on the test (SAT or ACT) with which you are most comfortable and limit yourself to three testing opportunities.
5. Finally, ownership is the essence of Score Choice. You own your test results. You control who sees them. Nobody, other than your counselor (on a need-to-know basis), should see your test results unless you give your consent. Moreover, your results should not arbitrarily appear on your high school transcript without your permission.

Regardless of your college aspirations, standardized tests are going to loom large in your life as you engage in the competition for admission. Take the time now to make sure you understand your testing/reporting options and then develop a plan that will enable you to put your best foot forward.

Correction: In the December 14, 2008 blog (Life After the PSAT), I offered a basic formula for using PSAT results to help you arrive at a short list of colleges at which your scores will be competitive. In that formula, I indicated that you could multiply your PSAT result by 10 and then add 60 to reflect typical score improvement to approximate your SAT result. However, to illustrate my point I suggested “a PSAT Critical Reading result could become an SAT score of 630 down the road.” That is incorrect. The likely 60-point improvement should be attributed to the combined Critical Reading and Math score rather than each of the subscores.

Note: The next Web-Side Chat, “Choose Courses Wisely,” will take place at 7PM ET on January 26, 2009. To register, go to: https://www.theadmissiongame.com/members/subscribe_introduction.

The middle of December is a time of important revelations for many young people as they apply to college. If you are a high school Junior, the chances are you will learn your PSAT results in the next few days. As momentous as this event (the unveiling of your scores) might seem, you need to keep it in perspective.

The results you receive are probably the first, official scores that define your opportunities as a college applicant. Despite everything you’ve done to post the highest possible score—pre-tests, test prep and practice tests—this one is real. If you like what you see, congratulations! You’re off to a good start. And if your numbers don’t measure up to you expectations, relax—your life isn’t over.

As a matter of fact, the last thing you want to do is jump to conclusions that either, “Wow! Look at that score! I’ll be able to get in wherever I want to go!” or “I might as well forget it—I’ll never get into a ‘good’ school.” I have talked with families whose students posted amazing scores that attracted a lot of unsolicited attention from colleges—and considerable advice from anyone who had an opinion about where their kids should be looking. And I have heard from families lamenting low scores and wondering, “What can we do next?”

However you feel about your scores, don’t let them change you. Big scores are no more a guarantee of admission and scholarships than modest scores are a limitation of opportunity. Use what you learn from the results to help yourself. Stay focused on your priorities. Do what you do as well as you can. And look for colleges that value you for what you do well.

And now a few words of caution for students with high PSAT results:
While some institutions will offer you the “sun and the moon” because of you are qualified for selection as a National Merit Scholar, make sure those places are good fits for you. Will they be able to offer you the kind of learning environment as well as the program of study that is important to you? Don’t make any commitments until you have visited their campuses. In addition, understand that the more selective institutions will see hundreds if not thousands of candidates with scores just like yours—and turn down most of them. A big score is not a guarantee of admission.

How to Use the PSAT Results
While I am not a fan of standardized testing as an evaluative tool in the admission process, your results can help you arrive at a short list of schools at which you should be able to compete for admission. Here is what you can do. Multiply your PSAT results by 10 and then add 60 points. This will enable you to approximate your SAT result. For example, a PSAT Critical Reading score of 57 is multiplied by 10 to become 570. The addition of 60 points to the combined Critical Reading and Math scores reflects the typical improvement shown over the course of 2-3 test administrations. Therefore, a PSAT Critical Reading and Math combination of 114 (that translates into an SAT score of 1140) could become an SAT score of 1200 down the road.

With that information in hand, look at the range of SAT Critical Reading and Math scores for enrolled students reported by the schools that interest you. Focus on the places where your projected result would put you in the top half of the scores reported. Do the same for your ACT results if you took that test. This approach to selecting schools isn’t full proof, but it will help you identify the right competitive “playing fields” for you given your credentials.

Additional Tips
Now that you have “gotten your feet wet” with testing, keep the following in mind as you proceed with additional testing.

• You have testing options. Try the SAT and the ACT to discover the style of test that fits you best. Then, focus on preparing for that test. Every college in the country accepts ACT and SAT results.
• Limit yourself to three sittings for the test you choose (ACT/SAT). There is a point of diminishing return!
• Students applying for admission next fall will have “score choice” at their disposal which means you can choose the scores you would like to forward to colleges. When you take the SAT, you will be given the opportunity to designate up to four colleges to receive your results. Don’t list any schools unless you don’t care that they see all of your scores. Instead, wait until you have taken the SAT several times to determine which scores you’d like to send.
• Speaking of options, 779 colleges universities now welcome applications without test results. Go to http://www.FairTest.org to see the list of “test optional” schools.

COMING SOON!
A dynamic new membership program, Best College Fit™, will be unveiled in the coming days. If you like the frank, insightful commentary about the college planning process provided by Peter Van Buskirk, you will love the program features (listserve discussions, webcasts, “Action Plan for College”) brought to you by Best College Fit.
Stay tuned for details!