WHY TAKE THE ACT AND/OR THE SAT COLLEGE ENTERANCE TEST?

The late Beatle John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” No matter what your plans are for life after high school, it only makes sense to make choices today which ensure you the freedom to choose from as many options as possible when you graduate. Even if you have no plans right now to attend a four-year college, taking a college entrance test (CET) will hold the doors open for you just in case something happens at the last minute that makes you change your mind.

Recent research indicates the most important choice a student makes in high school takes place in their freshman year. Students who have the option and choose not to take Algebra I as freshmen are more likely to not attend college that freshman that choose Algebra I.

WHAT DOES MY CET SCORE MEAN?

Most four year school in Washington State use the Admissions Index (AI) to help determine your admission eligibility. In general, your GPA is three times as important as your test score. Lets say that your present GPA is 2.5 and your scored 900 on the SAT. This would equal an AI of 13. If you were applying to a school that required a minimum AI of 26 in order to be considered for admissions, you could raise your AI by either:

1. Raising your GPA to 2.78

2. Improving you SAT score by 300 points to a 1200

Most people are not able to raise their college entrance scores by 300 points. But you could raise your over all GPA to 2.78 during your senior year by maintaining a 3.6 GPA for the year. A recent study of 408,000 students who took the SAT in the spring of 1994 as juniors and in the fall of 1994 as seniors revealed the following:

1. On average, juniors repeating the SAT as seniors improved their over all scores by 25 points (13 in verbal and 12 in math). However, a minimum improvement of 30 points in either the verbal or math score is required to be considered a statistically valid indication of improvement. So if you score a 1000 in the math area on the SAT, your score actually represents the range of scores from 970 to 1030.

2. Overall, 55% of juniors taking the test improved their scores as seniors, 35% had score decreases, and 10% experienced no change.

3. Less than 3% of all seniors retaking the test improved their scores enough to be considered statistically relevant.

Keep in mind that the AI is only one part of the admissions process. More and more, college admissions counselors are taking a closer look at what kind of classes a student has taken in order to achieve their high school GPA. In particular, admissions counselors are interested in student performance during the senior year. A senior with a high GPA taking non-academic course work is cause for concern for college counselors. Many consider this an indication of a student who is loosing their commitment to academic achievement and looking for the path of least resistance. In the long run, you are better off with a C grade in trigonometry than an A in basket weaving. Keep in mind that most colleges reserve a certain number of freshman admission spots for “alternative admissions.” These are reserved for students that do not meet the general admissions requirements but are still considered for admission. In other words, if you do not make the first cut, you still have a chance to convince the school of your dreams that you should be admitted.

WHEN TO TAKE A COLLEGE ENTERANCE TEST

Depends a lot on what kind of plans you have for the future. If you are considering a Reserve Officer Training Cadet (ROTC) college program, you will want to take a CET sometime before the mid point of your junior year in order to be eligible for their scholarships. Different schools have different deadlines for admissions documents and procedures for awarding financial aid. For any schools you might be interested in, it’s a good idea to find out all the details about what they need from you, how they need it, and when. You also want to make sure that you take the test far enough in advance of the school deadline to allow you enough time just in case you need to take the test again.

If you plan to take a college entrance test during your junior year, it is best to do so as late in the school year as possible. Research indicates that the most effective way to increase CET test scores is to systematically take academically challenging course each year you are in school. Four years of math, science, and English, and in your spare time read, read, read.

WHEN TO TAKE A CET OVER

The general rule on this is take it again if you need to. Let’s say that you plan to attend a school that, given your GPA, would require that you score at least a 1000 to be granted admissions. For the sake of this example assume you scored a 1020. The score gets you where you wanted to be, why take it over? Well, if the school was offering a scholarship to any students like you who could score at least a 1040, it would be wise to try and boost your test score.

If you take a CET, feel like you did the best you could, and still need a higher score, plan to take the other CET. The only reason to take the same test over is if you really feel like you did not do your best on the test the first time.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A CET

As stated above, research indicates that the most effective way to increase these test scores is to systematically take academically challenging course each year you are in school, Math, Science, English, and read, read, read. In general, this is not a test you can sit down and study for the week before taking it. CETs have been developed to try an assess your general accumulation of knowledge and skills as they pertain to being successful in college. While not a test you can study for, it is a test you can be prepared for. This preparation consists of taking a practice test and making sure you are familiar with the format of the test, timing constraints, and other things of this nature. You can get paper practice tests in the counselor’s office and find other test preparation resources on the Internet. To date, I have not reading anything that would indicate that any CET preparation is any more effective that the free ones provided in the counselors office.

HOW TO PAY FOR A CET

If you are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program at school, you are eligible for a waiver on the ACT or the SAT. Once you have filled out the appropriate registration for the test, bring it to the counselor to receive a test fee waiver. Any student who has taken the SAT with a fee waiver is eligible for three college application fee waivers, good at the majority of schools in the state and across the country. While the ACT does not provide college application fee waivers, a signed letter from the counselor accompanying a college application indicating that you were eligible for a test fee waiver will often result in the waiving of the application fee.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE REGISTRATION FOR A CET

You can’t fill it out correctly without reading and following the directions. Each blank on the registration form corresponds to an explanation in the directions. Follow the steps and you shouldn't’t have any problems. I would recommend filling out the application on the Internet if possible. Republic School District offers the opportunity to test on all of the following dates: