Good morning!

Come join us this morning if you can -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:

• Another blow to test-optional;
• The latest on student loan "forgiveness" developments;  and 
• Your questions, we'll be live and chatting!

Tune In!

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:

The Digital SAT Math Meltdown

Two Obscure FAFSA Hacks Discovered by Pearl

More

TUNE IN

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

Nary a week goes by without a question about a summer program, service trip opportunity or other similar queries.  Here are my thoughts:

The world of extracurricular activities is divided into two parts:  Typical and Atypical.  Nothing against typical activities, but they won't move the proverbial college application needle.  Examples:

Playing a sport is great for many reasons, but unless you're a recruited athlete, it will not help your kid get in anywhere.  He doesn't have to step up his private tennis or fencing lessons to six times per week for college application purposes.

Being a member of National Honor Society is nice, but if your child qualifies, she will be joining the rarefied air of the top 70% of her peers.  Not a game changer for the college apps.  It's a participation trophy.

Enrolling in a service trip to Hawaii, the Dominican Republic or some other tropical paradise requiring travel by air -- instead of offering your...

Tutoring | Bootcamp

Hello my College Planning Amigo,

During College Application Season, it’s unusual for a month to go by without a parent asking me whether they should check the “yes” box on the Common App, to indicate that they want to be considered for financial aid.

What do you think?  Will it hurt your odds of getting in?  Or…

Is that the right question?  Here are my thoughts.

Most colleges are “need aware.”  Meaning, they consider whether you need financial aid as ONE of the 25 ish factors that go into a college application.

So whether you need aid or not isn’t a make or break question across the board.  However, it definitely is one of the considerations that could get you in or keep you out when it comes down to the wire, when admissions committees are making their final cuts.

On the other hand, a relatively small number of colleges, typically Ivy and other elite private colleges, purport to be...

A week ago, the folks at the Common Application announced that their essay prompts will be the same as last year's.

On a related note, Class of 2025 students will write the same crappy essays as last year's college applicants.   

One big error revolves around choice of prompt.   I'll share which one is the worst in a moment, but first let me give you a little overview if you're new to the wonderful world of college essays and applications.

The Common Application comes out August 1.  The overwhelming majority  of the colleges your son or daughter will apply to accept the Common App (Georgetown University is one notable exception that has its own application).

The Common App really isn't that big a deal.  A lot of it is rote - name, address, parent info, list of honors, etc. 

However, the areas that require thought and attention are 1. essay writing (the personal statement and supplemental essays) and 2. the Activities Section.

In my...

In response to my email predicting the slow demise of test-optional policies, I received a mini rant from a subscriber to my email list.   Her point, summarized:

* She was a great student herself back in the day

* She was not a great test taker though

* She was admitted to an elite school

* Ergo, standardized testing is ineffective at predicting academic success in college

My response:

"Back in the day" there wasn't as much grade inflation as there is in modern times.  Today, admissions officers can't rely on GPA they way they once could to predict how well a student will do in college, academically.

*I'm happy that she was admitted to the college where she apparently wanted to go.  But I'm curious why she has a chip on her shoulder big enough to spend her time emailing me.

*My email reported the news that Yale (joining Dartmouth, Georgetown, MIT, Georgia Tech, Purdue and others) announced they were tearing up their test-optional policies.  Not my...

Were I a betting man, I'd wager that more colleges will scrap their test optional policies in the coming year. 

Last week, Yale (joining Dartmouth, Georgetown, MIT, Georgia Tech, Purdue and others) announced they would now require standardized testing, because

     a. they're accurate predictors of how well a student will perform in college and

     b. SAT and ACT scores actually improve diversity, not reduce it.  

The SAT and ACT are more accurate predictors of college performance because grade inflation is rampant at most high schools.  This makes it harder for admissions officers to gauge how prepared a child is for college, academically speaking.

On the diversity front, the dean of admissions at Yale explained that underrepresented minorities and under-resourced students frequently chose not to submit their standardized test scores, which were commonly lower than the median of Yale's published range, but could have...

[BREAKING] - proponents for test-optional college admissions policies were dealt another blow yesterday.  Here's the latest news and what it could mean for you:

Here's where to watch this short report.

-Andy Lockwood

P.S.  I pretty much called this, last night on our SAT and ACT Town Hall presentation.  You can watch the recording here.

P.P.S.  Spoiler alert:  we thing the whole test-optional thing is overblown and misleading.  We're still offering 1:1 tutoring and small group tutoring classes.  Our ACT prep class starts next week, March 5.  Learn more here  - use the coupon code CRUSH2024 for 100 bucks off.

The latest ACT scores have started coming out, and the Internet is abuzz with questions and comments like:

*Why was her score so low?  She's got a 94 average in school!

*Should we take the SAT instead?

*Which one do colleges want?

*Is there any point in taking the SAT or ACT?  Aren't colleges test optional these days?

*How many times does he need to take the SAT or ACT?

*Do colleges see how many times he took it (SAT or ACT)?

*Is it OK to sing a sad song with an upbeat tempo?

*Do colleges care how many times she took the SAT (or ACT)?

Just kidding about that second to last one, I wanted to check if you were reading all the way down there.

Tomorrow night, we will answer these and any of your "Burning Questions" about the SAT or ACT, or college admissions, scholarships, financial aid if you insist.  I'm hauling in our head tutor, Marissa U, for our first ever SAT and ACT Town Hall meeting.

You can pre-submit your questions ahead of time (as opposed to...

Free SAT/ACT Webinar

I'll be faster than and almost as powerful as a speeding locomotive with this message:

Tonight, our head tutor, Marissa U, will host a live walkthrough of each of the sections of the SAT and ACT, in order to help you figure out Which Test is Best...

...to help your kiddo multiply his odds of admission to his Dream School...

...and get his mitts on the scholarships you deserve to help combat the ridiculous cost of college!

The whole thing will be over in order an hour, but there will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Sign up here, and you will discover

• Which test is best for kids good at math
• Which test is the "faster one"
• The hidden "science section" on the SAT
• More

SAT/ACT PREVIEW

See you in class.

- Andy Lockwood

P.S.  There's no charge to attend, but the information you learn could save you dozens of stressful hours, not to mention thousands of donuts in wasted tutoring fees for the Wrong Test.

P.P.S.  Here's the sign up page one...