Super Any College Prep Advice?

I can tell you my daughter went from 520 to 590 on Math SATs after taking some SAT Prep
(It was her sister that tudored her, but the operative point was that her siister had taken it two years earlier and knew what type of stuff was in the SATs . Lots of outfits in most towns do a good job of this )
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720-790 I guess it was I forgot the "scale"
 
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You’ll need to dedicate yourself to minimizing your social skills and focus on disappointing any lovers you might have. At least, that’s what I’ve been able to gather from him.
 
Mundial said:
You had some interesting threads on this previously. Any insight? Any update on your end?
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Thanks for thinking of me.

My son got rejected from most schools to which he applied, so I'm not sure anyone should listen to any advice I have and therefore I won't offer any. He's at University of Michigan, and he's having a great time, and I'm glad he got that opportunity (though it ain't cheap, that's for sure). But other than his in-state safety school, he got rejected from MIT, Princeton, Northwestern and Cal Tech, and waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon. Part of the problem, I think, is that his high school was not geared toward top students getting into top colleges, and that might be a factor specific to him, but still. Taking advice from me on this subject would be like asking Jackie Manuel for shooting lessons.
 
superrific said:
Thanks for thinking of me.

My son got rejected from most schools to which he applied, so I'm not sure anyone should listen to any advice I have and therefore I won't offer any. He's at University of Michigan, and he's having a great time, and I'm glad he got that opportunity (though it ain't cheap, that's for sure). But other than his in-state safety school, he got rejected from MIT, Princeton, Northwestern and Cal Tech, and waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon. Part of the problem, I think, is that his high school was not geared toward top students getting into top colleges, and that might be a factor specific to him, but still. Taking advice from me on this subject would be like asking Jackie Manuel for shooting lessons.
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Thanks Super. Congratulations on your son's admission to Michigan. It is a fantastic school and I am sure that he will do well. Did the girlfriend go there as well?

I am hearing more and more stories like this where kids with great credentials are getting rejected while others are admitted (many of the same race, socioeconomic background, etc.). It just seems very arbitrary these days.

One constant I think I see though is money. If the parents are wealthy then in general those kids seems to have a very high floor (e.g., Duke seems to love high income).
 
Mundial said:
Thanks Super. Congratulations on your son's admission to Michigan. It is a fantastic school and I am sure that he will do well. Did the girlfriend go there as well?

I am hearing more and more stories like this where kids with great credentials are getting rejected while others are admitted (many of the same race, socioeconomic background, etc.). It just seems very arbitrary these days.

One constant I think I see though is money. If the parents are wealthy then in general those kids seems to have a very high floor (e.g., Duke seems to love high income).
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It’s not arbitrary it’s just insanely competitive. You have embedded multiple false assumptions here.
 
SAT Prep can raise grades, but its best to start early so they can get reps. My kids felt that the best way was to take simulated tests, hopefully in very similar conditions to the real thing (an entire Saturday morning).

College admissions at top schools is brutally competitive. My kids did pretty well in their results: they had really strong academics and applied as internationals. I've heard real horror stories about kids not getting int most of their schools. Think one of the most important parts of this process is rightsizing the list, particularly the middle and bottom part of the list.
 
To be clear, I have heard many stories with kids with virtually identical credentials with often different outcomes in terms of admissions.
 
I have taken a ton of these tests over the years.

I recommend taking a deep dive into what you are actually being tested on and test construction. That information is out there, but rarely broken down. Then, you need to study what’s actually being tested. A ton of test takers kill themselves by not doing this. The best way to do this is by shifting your mindset from test taker to test maker. For instance, if there is an essay portion, study the rubrics and examples of what the essays with the highest scores look like. The test graders generally have a checklist of what they are looking for. Figure out what they want and get good at it. The information is out there. Good luck.
 
Take this for what it's worth, but when my daughter was working on the SAT's, she was told that she should focus on the ACT's instead. This one individual said that some of the SAT questions are designed to trick you, but the ACT questions are fairly straightforward. The key to that test was to be able to grind through it quickly and efficiently. Per my daughter at the time, the questions were easier.

All that being said, she didn't do particularly well on either set of tests, though she did get into her first choice of school, got her master's degrees at University of Ohio, and is now working in the lucrative field of social work.
 
It wasn't talked about when I was in high school, but today I think it is a smart idea to go to community college for two years, save money, get an associate degree, and then transfer to a four year school to get your bachelor's if you want it. It's usually easier to get into the college that way, too.
 
CarolinaFever said:
It wasn't talked about when I was in high school, but today I think it is a smart idea to go to community college for two years, save money, get an associate degree, and then transfer to a four year school to get your bachelor's if you want it. It's usually easier to get into the college that way, too.
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Way back in the day I knew a really smart kid that did this-actually he went to UM Green Bay-Menasha exstention But same difference
 
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