The Truth About SAT “Superscoring”

High school students throughout the country (and even the world) all want to get the highest scores possible when taking the SAT as it greatly impacts college admissions and scholarship awards.  Students get two separate scores on an SAT exam: Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math.  (There is also an “optional’ essay that is only required by some colleges.)  The scores for each of these two areas range from 200 to 800.  Students often add their scores together for a “combined” SAT score in the range of 400 to 1600 points.

Many colleges report that they “superscore” and will consider the highest Evidence-based Reading and Writing score from one SAT exam and the highest Math score from another.  Problems arise when students misinterpret this policy.  Students often believe that when it comes time to submit their SAT scores they can choose to send their highest section scores from different SAT dates, and that is all the testing information colleges will receive.  With that premise in mind, some students will take an SAT exam and only focus on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing sections, not putting any effort into the Math sections. On a subsequent SAT exam, they flip their strategy and focus heavily on the Math sections, not worrying about their Evidence-based Reading and Writing score.  Their thinking is that they will ultimately “superscore.”

“Early” College Application Deadlines Are Looming

What greater holiday gift is there for college bound students than to receive a fat acceptance letter, or a congratulatory email, from their college of choice? But in order to have a chance of getting such good news by the holidays, students typically need to submit their college applications by the “early” deadline of November 1st or 15th.

Students can apply to as many colleges “early action” as they like and, if accepted, they are not required to attend.  This differs from an “early decision” application which can only be submitted to one college and binds the student to attend, if accepted.

Aside from the obvious emotional advantage of hearing back from colleges earlier, there is another key advantage to filing early applications.  Colleges are well aware that many students apply to eight or more colleges. It’s somewhat of a guessing game for college admissions officers to try to figure out which students, if accepted, would actually attend.  So many colleges, including some of the most competitive institutions, accept a substantially higher percentage of their early decision candidates knowing they will definitely enroll.  To a lesser extent, colleges also tend to favor early action students who have demonstrated a strong interest in their school.

The FAFSA Now Offers a Mobile Application

Parents concerned with paying for college will soon find out that the “paperwork” is about to get easier.  The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is going mobile.  This is the form that is vital for students and parents to file in order to be considered for college financial aid, including federal loans, grants, and work study opportunities.  It’s best for families to file a FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1st (when the latest FAFSA launches each year) as some colleges have early grant deadlines and some distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis.

The FAFSA has been available online for years, but students and their parents generally needed to complete the form on a computer as it didn’t work smoothly on mobile devices.  But as of October 1st, 2018, the digital options are expected to work flawlessly, allowing anyone with a smartphone to successfully complete the form.  The MyStudentAid app can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or from Good Play for Android devices.

10 Tips for Filing Impressive College Applications

1) Know why you are applying to each specific college, and clearly express those reasons. Does the college have a great program for your intended major? Does it offer impressive internships, or have a high acceptance rate to med school? Does it host a study abroad program in a particular country that would benefit your academic interests?  Let each college know the specifics as to why it’s a great fit, as colleges strongly favor applicants whom they believe will attend their school, if accepted.

2) Cover the basics – which means earning a great GPA while taking a competitive course load and posting impressive SAT scores.  Many high schools in New Jersey offer twenty or more AP courses, and colleges consider how competitive a course load you took based on the options you were provided.  As for SAT scores, the “average” SAT score at several New Jersey high schools, including Montgomery, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro North and South, all topped 1,300.  So the bar is set high for students who want to stand out among their peers.

Money Magazine Names Princeton University #1

Money magazine, just this month, released its rankings of  “The Best 25 Colleges in the U.S. Right Now.” In compiling its rankings, Money considered criteria in three specific areas: educational quality, affordability, and alumni financial success. For the third straight year, Princeton University was #1.  No other college in New Jersey made the list, although one did in Pennsylvania (University of Pennsylvania) and one in New York (CUNY Bernard Baruch College). 

Princeton continuously stands out for its academic excellence, its outstanding financial aid program (which is much more generous than that of most other schools), and its success in producing graduates who snag competitive, high-paying jobs soon after leaving the renowned ivy-covered campus.  The statistics that garnered top honors for Princeton include an estimated price tag, for the 2018-19 academic year, of $19,000 (with average aid) that includes room, board, and fees, $7,500 median student debt, and $69,800 annual early-career earnings. 

Money is not the only magazine that is singing Princeton’s praises.  For the past seven years, U.S. News and World Report has also ranked Princeton University #1 in its “Best Colleges” rankings. The U.S. News rankings also focus on academic excellence, with particular emphasis on outcomes such as freshman retention and graduation rates.

Summer Launch of the “Common App”

Back in 1975, administrators from fifteen colleges got together and decided to create one application that students could use to apply to any or all of their colleges. This was the birth of “The Common App” which, as of 2018, is accepted by more than 800 colleges and universities across the United States.  More than one million students are expected to use this year’s Common App – which went live with its latest updates on August 1st – to apply to more than four million colleges and universities.

The Common App is an online application that asks a series of questions in several categories, including: parents’ educational history and current employment, students’ SAT/ACT/AP test scores, senior year courses, high school activities, and intended college major.  There is also an essay of 250 to 650 words that is required by the majority of Common App colleges. Students, this year, have a choice of seven essay topics, one of which states, “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” So the topic options are truly limitless!

Elon Musk Inspired by Internships

Students who want to follow in the footsteps of Elon Musk would do best to seek out an internship.  Elon Musk actually did three internships on the early steps of his road to success, first gaining experience with a summer internship at Bank of Nova Scotia, and later doubling up with a daytime internship at Pinnacle Research Institute and a nighttime one at Rocket Science Games.

To this day, interning within your preferred industry is considered to be one of the most important things a student can do.  According to a 2018 Job Outlook survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), it’s often more important than your college major or GPA.

New Jersey colleges are well aware of the importance of internships and most work hard to provide students with such opportunities. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) reports that nearly 80% of its business students complete at least one internship or cooperative experience (paid, for credit work temporarily replacing classes) during their college days.  The college attributes this, in part, to the reason that more than half of its business students have one or more job offers in hand by the time they graduate. The companies with which TCNJ students launch their careers include: Bloomberg L.P., Citibank, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Madison Square Garden, Target, Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) Morgan Stanley, NBC Universal, Tiffany & Co. and Trenton Thunder.