Here are a few important tasks to make you college-application ready

1. Register for the SAT and ACT NOW

We still see students who wait until the spring of their junior year to take the April ACT and/or May SAT exams. That’s way too late! Start prepping now, and based upon your math level, your GPA, your reading habits and abilities, think about testing in October (PSAT — yes, again, even though you took it last year!), December (ACT — first one of the year that you can get back to review!), and January (if you have a great PSAT score) of the upcoming academic year. We can’t overstress the importance of timely, targeted test preparation. Once you set a benchmark for yourself with the first set of scores, you’ll know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Score At The Top can help every step of the way.

2. Work on a long list, then a short list of colleges to visit during first-semester school holidays and Spring Break

Take a tour, attend an information session, sit in on classes, dine in the student center, talk to college kids at every opportunity. You don’t want to apply blindly. Besides, visiting college campuses can help improve your chances for admission!

3. Plan to take SAT Subject Tests in May or June

More competitive colleges require or recommend 2-3 SAT Subject Tests for admission. You should plan to take these SAT Subject Tests in May and/or June, when the class material is still fresh in your mind — and when you may take advantage of preparing for an AP or IB exam to help you get ready for a Subject Test. Don’t wait until October of your senior year to take a Subject Test!

4. Identify teachers who can write your college recommendations

Colleges prefer recommendations from junior-year academic teachers. As the school year begins, identify the teachers who could write a great recommendation, and cultivate strong relationships throughout the year. Talk with these teachers about your work in and out of class, and even about his or her thoughts on colleges for you. Teachers like to know that you’re thinking ahead.

5. Meet with your guidance counselor

Encourage your parents to attend a local college fair or college night at your school. Speak to your guidance counselor before that, though. With so many students on his or her plate, your guidance counselor needs all the help you can provide in order to give you proper help. Cultivate a good relationship. Look for cues about the best time to approach the counselor. Collaborate!

In 1997, Florida’s Legislature created the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Legislature recently announced some changes to the program, which provided full- or partial-tuition to high-performing high school students regardless of income.

Bright Futures will no longer continue to pay 100% tuition for Academic Scholars and 75% for Medallion Scholars. While the requirements for these awards will remain the same, the financial rewards will be reduced. Beginning this academic year, recipients will get a certain amount of money for each credit hour they take, based on their award.

Academic Scholars will receive $126/credit hour and Medallion Scholars will receive $95/credit hour. To qualify as an Academic Scholar, you child must maintain a 3.5 weighted GPA, achieve a 1270 on the SAT (Critical Reading + Math) or 28 ACT, and participate in 75 hrs of community service. To qualify as a Medallion Scholar, your child must maintain a 3.0 weighted GPA and achieve a 970 SAT or 20 ACT.

Please Note the following:
• Weighted GPA: ¼ point for each Honors, AP, Pre-IB, or IB course, per semester:
• Courses must include 15 credits of college preparatory academic courses:
• 4 English (3 with substantial writing)
• 3 Mathematics* (Algebra I and above)
• 3 Natural Science (2 with substantial lab)
• 3 Social Science
• 2 Foreign Language (in the same language)
• May include 3 additional credits from courses in the academic areas listed above and/or AP, IB, or AICE fine arts courses to raise the GPA
• 2011 and future graduates must earn 4 credits of Mathematics for a total of 16 college preparatory credits.
• There are alternative criteria which can be met to satisfy the requirements.

To put this into perspective, for example, FAU charges almost $140 per credit hour. Thus, a recipient can expect to pay about $14 to $45 per credit hour, depending on the award.

In addition, recipients must carry at least 12 credit hours per semester to qualify for renewal. And iff a recipient drops a course paid for by the scholarship, he or she will have to repay the cost, except if an exception is granted (e.g., illness or emergency).

Why did this change take place?

There is a new law in Florida that allows all eleven state universities to raise tuition by up to 15% each year until they reach the national average ($6,585). For example, in-state undergraduates taking 30 credits at UF paid $3,777 last year; they will pay about $4,373 next year. Florida’s state universities currently have the lowest tuition of all public universities in the nation.

Details of the changes are listed on the Bright Futures Web site: http://www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/SSFAD/bf

On Tuesday, July 7, Score At The Top’s Palm Beach Garden Learning center hosted an FCAT Reading and Writing workshop for SATT staff.

Ten participants, including directors and tutors from all four Centers, were instructed by Deborah Schepp, a Florida-certified elementary school teacher in Palm beach County who also tutors at our PBG location. Participants obtained an in-depth understanding of FCAT-related graduation requirements, achievement levels, test structure, and scoring. Of particular interest was the state’s system of exam re-takes for high school students. Deborah presented current statistics on the number of high school students who meet the Sunshine State Standards in reading and writing. Thanks for a superb presentation, Deb!