Score At The Top Blog

In the wake of a “year like no other,” the numbers are starting to trickle in and we’re learning more about how the widely implemented test-optional college policies affected admissions. Already, the data bear out what we’ve been telling our students all along: it’s in your best interest to submit a competitive score in the optimal range of your top-choice school.

So, before you start throwing your application at all of the test-optional colleges with high acceptance rates, here are our top three reasons why your scores still matter at test-optional colleges:

Topics: College Admission, ACT/SAT, Test Optional

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Topics: AP Exams, College Admission, Subject Test

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Amid the sea of challenges that rocked the world of college admissions this past year, College Board is riding the wave of changing times. The organization announced on Tuesday, January 19, that it will no longer administer SAT Subject Tests and will drop the optional essay portion of the SAT.

Topics: College Admission, Subject Test, SAT

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Your extracurricular activities play a significant role on your college application. In fact, for most selective colleges, they’re the next most important factor after your academic record and test scores. And without test scores, your activities play an even greater role!

Topics: College Admission, Extracurricular Activities

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In August of last year, our blog titled “When your GPA doesn't equal your GPA” discussed the varying ways in which colleges look at students’ grades – and the strength of the schedules that produced those grades – in making admissions decisions.

In that blog, we noted that “When it comes to your GPA, the one that’s on your transcript is not necessarily the one that colleges will use!” That’s every bit as true now as it was then, and it’s also true, in spades, for the Florida State University System (SUS) schools that will be the focus of this blog.

But first… what is a core GPA? We’re talking about the score comprised of the grade point associated with your core classes in high school. This is the score you will submit with your college applications.

However, this is not necessarily the score your college admissions team will use.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Personal Statement

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Colleges have their own ways to view SAT and ACT scores when they’re comparing applicants for admission, and that’s particularly true when applicants have taken those tests more than once.

Topics: ACT, College Admission, superscore

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In the world of college admission testing, we’re moving steadily towards a future in which testing takes on a very different look. In Part 1 of this blog, we discussed the existing ACT and SAT. Our goal was to help students and their parents make informed decisions when it comes to selecting and preparing for an upcoming exam. Today, part 2, we’ll examine some current trends in testing and consider how they may shape the future. But, first, we’ll take a look at another test that is occasionally used in the admission’s process.

Topics: College Admission, Test-Prep

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It’s back…. The SAT, that is. For the first time in seven years, more students are taking the SAT than the ACT, a surge in popularity attributed to the SAT’s alignment with the Common Core and its last makeover to appear more like the ACT. Indeed, both tests share about 80% of content spanning the four major areas tested (math, science, reading, and writing). However, some key differences remain – as do questions about the importance and relevancy of college admission testing.

Topics: ACT, College Admission, ACT/SAT, SAT

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Calling all sophomores! If you’re entering your sophomore year, or you will become a junior soon, now is the best time to start planning for the ACT or SAT. You’ll likely need to take one to apply to your college of choice, and the sooner you make plans to do so, the better.

One of the first questions you’ll need to answer is whether should you take the ACT or SAT? There are some pretty big differences when comparing the ACT vs SAT, and some students are more equipped to perform well on one over the other.

Topics: College Admission, ACT/SAT, Test-Prep

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When your GPA is NOT your GPA

Topics: AP Exams, College Admission, AICE, ib

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