In July, The New York Times ran a lengthy front-page story about teenagers’ abandonment of books. Kids would rather read online than pick up a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird or a Jane Austen novel. My son Ben shares that sentiment. He will sometimes stumble onto a book that he loves like The Life […]
Archive | Admissions
Why I Hate the SAT
I hate the SAT. I don’t know any parent who likes it except for one of my friends. Her daughter, who is now at Stanford, earned a perfect SAT reading score. I never heard her griping. A couple of years ago, I was worrying about how my daughter, who is now a college sophomore, would […]
Yet More Testing for College!
I believe most parents think high school students already suffer through too many standardized tests before they can toss their No. 2 pencils. Apparently the College Board, which makes loads of money off the the SAT, SAT subjects tests and the PSAT, has concluded that kids aren’t spending enough time filling little ovals into test […]
The Value of a College Degree
It’s been imprinted on the brains of millions of teenagers that the best way to make money in life is to earn a college degree. The College Board conveniently reminds us all of this with its periodic releases about the financial value of a degree. Over a lifetime, for instance, the typical person with a […]
SAT Cheating: Does the Crime Pay?
What happens when someone is caught cheating on the SAT or ACT test? Apparently not much, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. The testing services don’t notify colleges about cheating incidents and they also don’t inform the students’ high schools. The fraudulent SAT scores are simply canceled. The cheaters are welcome to […]
SAT versus ACT: How to Compare the Test Scores
Millions of teenagers have suffered through both the SAT and the ACT in the hope of getting the best scores possible to impress college admission officers. Some teenagers fare better with the SAT, while others swear that the ACT is a friendlier test. But what bewilders many teenagers and their families is how the scores […]
Getting Into College at the Last Minute
Every year this nightmare happens: Teenagers get rejected at every school where they’ve applied. Others students simply mess up and skip all the admission deadlines. If that happens to you, you shouldn’t necessarily panic. Each year plenty of schools welcome late comers. Lots of schools continue taking applications after the traditional May 1st application response […]
When the SAT Flunks Its Own Test
A study released today couldn’t have made the executives at the College Board happy although they put on their game face when discussing the results. Research indicates that the “improved” SAT test doesn’t predict college success anymore than the old version did. Three years ago, the College Board added a writing section to the SAT, […]