Keeping parents and students abreast of what is happening with testing and other information relevant to college planning and admissions.
TESTING INFORMATION:
Register for the ACT at http://www.act.org
Register for the SAT at http://www.collegeboard.com
NRCA SCHOOL CODE: 343223
*Please make sure to use this when registering for testing so that we receive
an official score report for your student. Otherwise, you will have to bring
a copy of the score report to the school.
SAT Dates and Deadlines
| Test Dates | Test | Regular Registration Deadlines | Late (fee applies) |
| October 10, 2009 | SAT & subject tests | September 9, 2009 | |
| November 7, 2009 | SAT & subject tests | October 1, 2009 | |
| December 5, 2009 | SAT & subject tests | October 30, 2009 | |
| January 23, 2010 | SAT & subject tests | December 15, 2009 | |
| March 13, 2010 | SAT Only | February 4, 2010 | |
| May 1, 2010 | SAT & subject tests | March 25, 2010 | |
| June 5, 2010 | SAT & subject tests | April 29, 2010 |
ACT Dates and Deadlines
| Test Date | Registration Deadline | Late Fee Required |
| September 12, 2009 | August 7, 2009 | August 8 - 21, 2009 |
| October 24, 2009 | September 18, 2009 | September 19 - October 2, 2009 |
| December 12, 2009 | November 6, 2009 | November 7 - 20, 2009 |
| February 6, 2010 | January 5, 2010 | January 6 - 15, 2010 |
| April 10, 2010 | March 5, 2010 | March 6 - 19, 2010 |
| June 12, 2010 | May 7, 2010 | May 8 - 21, 2010 |
Should You Take the ACT Again? (Info from ACT.org.)
They should consider retesting if:
They had problems during any of the tests, such as
misunderstanding the directions or illness. They ran out of time
during testing. They are not satisified that their scores
accurately represent their abilities in the areas tested. They
see a discrepancy between their ACT scores and their high school
grades. They subsequently complete coursework or an intensive
review in the areas covered by the ACT. They want to apply to a
college requires or recommends the Writing Test and have not
taken it.
TEST PREPARATION RESOURCES:
Mastermind http://www.mastermindprep.com
Sylvan Learning Centers http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com
-Spring Forest Rd. 954-1241
-Knightdale 217-0609
-Wake Forest 562-8180
-Creedmoor Rd. 844-3372
-Garner 498-2338
Kaplan http://www.kaptest.com
Studyworks http://www.studyworks.com
Sophomores and Juniors taking AP classes: If you are considering applying to any Ivy League schools you might have to take two or three SAT subject tests. For instance, Harvard requires three. It's obviously good to take these SAT Subject tests right after completing the course. Yes, there are BOTH AP exams and SAT Subject tests and highly selective schools want both.
OUT OF STATE FEE SCHOLARSHIPS: The following schools offer scholarships that waive all out of state tuition fees for qualified students (these are the ones I am aware of; if you know of more PLEASE tell me): Louisiana Tech University (just found out about that one), Clemson University, University of South Carolina, University of Georgia. The qualifications vary from school to school: for instance Clemson requires around 1350 on the SAT while University of South Carolina requires around 1250 (but we all know that is because Clemson is a far superior university -- Go Tigers!) Contact the admissions offices at the respective universities to find their specific requirements. This is an incredible opportunity to consider some schools that may have never been considered otherwise.
UPCOMING OPEN HOUSES:
ADMISSIONS TRENDS SURVEY RESULTS
The National Association for College Admission Counseling conducted a survey on admission trends. These are the results of that survey as published in SEEN, fall/winter 2007 edition. The chart below shows the percentage of colleges attributing different levels of importance to factors in the admissions decision last year, 2006.
| Factor | Considerable importance | Moderate importance | Limited importance | No importance |
| Grades in college prep courses | 75.9 | 17.4 | 2.9 | 3.8 |
| Strength of Curriculum | 61.5 | 25.3 | 7.6 | 5.6 |
| Admission test scores (ACT, SAT) | 60.4 | 27.9 | 7.3 | 4.4 |
| Grades in all courses | 51.2 | 36.4 | 9.5 | 3.0 |
| Essay or writing sample | 27.9 | 30.6 | 21.5 | 20.0 |
| Class Rank | 23.1 | 38.6 | 24.6 | 13.7 |
| Counselor Recommendation | 21.2 | 40.7 | 28.0 | 10.0 |
| Student’s demonstrated interest | 20.8 | 31.2 | 25.8 | 22.3 |
| Teacher recommendation | 19.5 | 41.1 | 27.8 | 11.5 |
| Interview | 10.4 | 23.1 | 34.7 | 31.8 |
| Extracurricular activities | 7.6 | 37.0 | 39.9 | 15.5 |
| Subject test scores (AP, IB) | 7.6 | 23.5 | 35.5 | 33.3 |
| State graduation exam scores | 6.3 | 13.4 | 28.3 | 52.1 |
| SAT Subject Tests scores | 5.2 | 8.5 | 24.5 | 61.8 |
| Work | 2.9 | 21.5 | 44.5 | 31.0 |
SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES:
While you are busy gathering information for the application process for the schools you are interested in, take note of any scholarship opportunities that may be available for that school. Your test scores, GPA, and extra-curricular activities may not automatically enter you for consideration for merit-based scholarships. Many universities have separate applications that must be completed. Neither should you assume that you do NOT qualify for need-based opportunities. You can register your financial aid information on-line at www.collegeboard.com. You may also want to seek scholarship opportunities from sources outside of the college of your choice. There are a number of resources on the web to get you started. The largest free scholarship service on the net is FastWEB at www.fastweb.com. Also try Scholarship Resource Network at www.srnexpress.com. Remember, do not hesitate to call the financial aid office of the college or university you are interested in and ask for help.
ACT RESEARCH ON COLLEGE READINESS
Only 23% of students in NC met all four college readiness benchmarks on the ACT last year. Meeting these benchmarks indicates that a student has a 50% probability of achieving a B or better in the corresponding freshman level college class (College Algebra, College Biology, English 101, and Psychology or Sociology 101) and a 75% probability of achieving a C or better. The benchmarks are: English 18, Math 22, Reading 21, Science 24.
