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ACT

Ace the ACT with our 30-Day Plan

By: Amy Dulan

“Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.” -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Sound familiar? Preparing for the ACT can sometimes feel like you’re slogging through mud, uncertain of what lies before you. Achieving clarity is a challenge that often seems insurmountable. But fear not! There is hope, and if you take the time to understand the test and what is expected of you, the mud will settle.

The goals of your ACT preparation should be to learn about the test, acquire the knowledge and skills that are being measured by the test, and learn about yourself and how you respond to the different aspects of the exam. Ideally, you will begin your ACT prep several months in advance of the test. If you’re short on time – say you only have 30 days or so to get ready – make the most of that time by using the following study guidelines.

MAXIMIZE YOUR ACT SCORE IN 30 DAYS

Set a reasonable goal: If you haven’t already done so, take a Diagnostic Test to determine your current readiness and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can download a full-length actual ACT test here:

www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf

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Take the test under timed conditions in a quiet area free from distractions. This will give you the most accurate picture of where you stand. Once you’ve scored your Diagnostic Test, determine a reasonable goal. If you need a composite score of 32, for example, and your Diagnostic Test score is a 27, you might want to consider waiting for the next test date and treating the upcoming test as another practice opportunity. If, however, three out of the four multiple choice test scores are within a point or two of your goal, you can spend most of the next 30 days focusing on the section that is your weakest.

 

Take an honest look at your schedule: Once you’ve determined your goal score, take control of your schedule and build in sufficient time to do some ACT prep. Generally, you cannot cram for the ACT – you must do enough practice to develop the test-taking skills rewarded by the ACT. Since you only have 30 days, we recommend devoting two to four hours per week to ACT prep, depending on the number of points you need.

As you practice, make a realistic assessment of the best use of your time and energy so that you are concentrating on the areas that will yield the highest score that you can achieve in the amount of time that you have remaining until the exam. This will result in a feeling of confidence on test day and allow you to clearly see the path to ACT success.

After two weeks of prep you should take a “Midterm” practice ACT to check on your progress. If you’re not seeing the improvement you were hoping for, consider working with your tutor and taking the ACT again at a later date.

Prepare with appropriate material: You should use practice material available on the ACT website or get a copy of “The Official ACT Prep Guide” online or at your local bookstore. Plan on taking at least one practice test section every other day and reviewing the answer explanations provided. There are many prep books available, but in this short time frame, working on actual ACT practice exams is in your best interest. You will quickly get a feel for the test and know exactly what to expect on test day. Don’t skip the section review chapters in the Official Guide. You can gain some great insights into the test and develop a better understanding of content areas and question types.

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ACT TEST TAKING STRATEGIES

Following are some specific test-taking strategies that should help you approach the ACT with confidence.

ENGLISH TEST

  • Focus on the underlined portion, looking for errors in grammar and punctuation.
  • Predict an answer based on what you know about basic grammar and punctuation, and then look for your prediction among the answer choices.
  • Be careful not to introduce further grammatical errors; carefully read the   answer choices.
  • Read the answer choices into the sentence in place of the underlined portion, and pick the one that most clearly expresses the intended idea.
  • Remember that the best answer will fit within the context of the sentence, paragraph, or essay.

MATH TEST

  • Draw pictures as necessary to help you visualize the problem.
  • Use logic and problem solving if the math fails you.
  • Estimate or “ball park” answers when you can to be more efficient.
  • Let the answer choices guide you as you solve the problem. You may not have to work through an entire calculation to arrive at the correct answer.
  • Do not try to do math in your head! The test contains “traps” for those students who rush through a problem, forget a negative sign, etc.

READING TEST

  • Read the question first. Answer the line reference questions right away, and remember to read a little before and after the line or lines that are referenced.
  • Simplify the question, and focus on key words and phrases to help you locate the area of the passage in which to find the answer.
  • Skim the passage for the key words and phrases in the question.
  • Predict an answer to the question based on the details found in the passage. Then look for your predicted answer among the choices.
  • Use the process of elimination if you cannot predict an answer. You are looking for the best choice, so getting rid of answer choices that are definitely NOT supported by details in the passage will leave you with the best possible answer.

SCIENCE TEST

  • Prioritize the passages. Start with the passages that you find easiest.
  • Put the questions in your own words so that you understand what is being asked.
  • Focus on the data and look for trends and relationships. Pay attention to whether numbers always go up, always go down, etc.
  • Don’t be scared by complex, scientific vocabulary. You do not have to know much, if anything, about most of the topics being tested.
  • The best answer choices will ALWAYS be supported by the data, so trust the information that you are given.

WRITING TEST

  • Use your time wisely, but remember that the essay readers are expecting a “rough draft.”
  • Stay focused on the prompt by referring to it while writing. An essay written off topic will receive a score of 0.
  • Use details and specific examples to support your position on the prompt. Don’t just say what you think; tell the reader why you think what you think.

We are happy to help pinpoint your ACT weaknesses and help you drill down to master each section of the test. With our 5 hour tutoring program you will tap into our expertise with each session and follow our customized plan to achieve your optimal ACT scores.

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Insider Tips

BIG Testing Week Ahead –Top Tier’s Test Day Check List

This is a BIG week with May SAT/Subject Tests on Saturday, May 6th and the first week of AP exams.

You Got This!!

Now, focus and go after it.

TEST DAY CHECK LIST

We’ve created a great visual below for standardized test reminders:

 

Test Day Checklist

Categories
college admissions

Writing About Your Child for High School College Counselors

This is the time of year when high school college counselors kick into gear and send parents a Student/Parent Form to give them a chance to write about their children. This is the counselor’s way of making parents feel a part of the college recommendation letter process and a way to give parents something to do (as well as filling in details so the counselor has something to write about).

Popular questions on these kinds of forms include versions of the following:

  1. List your child’s main accomplishments in the past 4 years.
  2. What are your child’s most outstanding personality traits?
  3. To what extend have you witnessed growth and development in your child in high school?
  4. What are your child’s future goals?
  5. What are your child’s most outstanding talents and qualities?
  6. Describe your child in five adjectives.
  7. Are there any unusual or special circumstances that have affected your child’s academic or personal experiences?
  8. Is there anything else we should know about your child?

SHOW DON’T TELL

Year after year our clients freak out over this, especially those parents who are not college-educated in the U.S. We assure you that this is not a test for you, nor is it a tipping point in your child’s college admissions journey. Think of this as adding “color” to the data the counselor already has such as teachers’ comments, grades, transcript, rigor of courses selected, and school-related activities.

When you write this for the college counselor, you want to SHOW (not TELL) – in other words, using anecdotes to indicate your child’s love of learning and describing instances when he/she took an interest to another level on his/her own initiative. So, if your student has kept a reading list since 3rd grade and continues to read 30 books a year outside of school to deepen his/her interest in all things related to American history, TELL that story. Try to include things that aren’t obvious to your child’s teachers.

Some KEY tips and tricks when prepping the Student/Parent Form for College Counselors:

  • Keep it concise – a page or two. Remember, they have to collect and read one for EVERY high school junior.
  • Avoid the pressure to impress – just be honest and give examples.
  • Show (by example), don’t just tell (listing out). Be super specific. Not just that she’s a team player, but show an example of that collaborative spirit.
  • Don’t overstate and think carefully before using words like “brilliant” and “gifted.”
  • Avoid excessive use of the all-too-common tag of “leader.”
  • Emphasize love of learning where you can and explain how and why.

Some college counseling offices will ask parents for a BRAG SHEET. We don’t like this term at all as it leads parents to write about kind deeds their child has done to highlight his/her noble character. This is not relevant to college admissions officers or really to your child’s high school college counselor at all.

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It’s fine for parents to include their student’s Activity Sheet (which is something we help ALL of our students craft). When you give this to the college counselor, make sure to indicate that the student will be sharing this info with colleges so you’d appreciate the counselor focus on your student’s love of learning (rather than simply summarizing extras), in particular, and then give details on how he or she has pursued his or her MAIN academic focus.

FROSTING THE CAKE

Your child’s guidance counselor is likely juggling a heavy caseload of students and certainly has more kids to write about than you do. You know your child well and have observed him or her over a decade and a half. Consider this ‘frosting the cake’ and utilize this insider knowledge to offer honest input and clear evidence of your child’s academic and personal qualities that stand out. That said, no need to feel pressure to be perfect or to attach 14 random certificates of merit. They believe you when you say your child has been in the Boy Scouts.

Categories
Admissions Insider Tips

College Admissions: Profiting From Rejections

Receiving a rejection letter is bad enough but then you recall the amount of money you doled out during the college admissions cycle and the taste in your mouth turns sourer. And for good reason… Nationally, college applicants and their families waste over $200 million annually applying to colleges they are ultimately rejected from. With this year’s admit rates what they are, you can only imagine the profit colleges have seen across the board. Meaning, families need to get wise and craft an application strategy that is targeted, smart and rational.

It costs $75 to apply to Harvard and application fees across the U.S. typically hover at $60.  There is an added $12 to send individual SAT scores, $12 to send ACT scores, and $12 to send subject test scores. That doesn’t include the registration fees incurred to take those tests at multiple times over one’s high school career.

In 2016 UCLA received 119,000 applications (the most ever for any college in the U.S.). Over 63,400 were from CA residents and the 119,000 reflects a 5.3% increase in submitted applications from the previous year. Of those, UCLA accepted just 18%. Their application fee is $70 and their application profits in 2016 soared.

THE BUSINESS OF REJECTING APPLICANTS

A 2017 study conducted by UCEazy, a company that assists first generation immigrants with the college application process recently examined over 600 public and private universities in the U.S. The study assessed the millions of dollars that colleges are making in the business of rejecting applicants.

They found that Harvard alone makes nearly $3 million in gross profits off of rejected applications each year.  The five universities that earn the most from rejected applications are:

  1. University of California-Los Angeles: $5,369,840
  2. University of California-Berkeley: $4,681,320
  3. Stanford University: $3,632,130
  4. University of California-San Diego: $3,608,290
  5. University of Southern California: $3,419,440

Many applicants and their families are unaware or ineligible for application fee waivers and collectively spending hundreds of millions of dollars to apply to colleges they are unable to get into.

MORAL OF THE STORY

Be mindful when crafting your application strategy and note it pays huge (AND SAVES YOU MONEY) to be systematic about creating an application strategy. This isn’t just about “dumb luck” or even “good luck” but should be based on clear data, which is what we use when crafting our student’s application strategies.

Categories
Ivy Admissions Yale

Top Tier Admissions Success Story: Getting Into Yale

We’re always delighted and thrilled when our students get into their school(s) of choice!  The many college applicants who have worked with us here at Top Tier Admissions can be very enthusiastic about their Ivy League acceptances too, like this Application Boot Camp alum (getting into Yale) and her friends:

Top Tier Futures: Early college prep, educational guidance & resources for grades 4-8

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