Nov 27, 2019
Starting in September of next year, students will be able to retake individual section of the ACT instead of having to take the whole thing. You can read more about this exciting change here. The good news is that this change will likely make ACT superscoring an inevitability. Superscoring is when a college evaluates your best section scores to create a composite “superscore,” even if they come from different tests. Currently schools are split about half and half on ACT superscoring. On the other hand, almost all colleges allow for SAT superscoring. The SAT has not announced similar plans to allow section by section testing. For the SAT, a student will have to take the entire test again in order to raise their score in one section.
Allowing section retakes certainly increases the appeal of the ACT. But, this change doesn’t go into effect until next September, meaning current juniors and seniors won’t likely reap the benefits. So for now, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of colleges that allow for ACT superscoring.
Albion College
American University
Amherst College
Austin College
Babson College
Baylor University
Bates
Beloit College
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin
Brandeis
Bryn Mawr College
Butler
California Institute of
Technology
Claremont McKenna College
Colby
Colgate University
College of the Holy
Colorado College
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell
Davidson College
Denison
DePauw University
Dickinson College
Drexel
Duke
Duquesne University
Eckerd College
Elon University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida State University
Georgia Tech
Gettysburg College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Harvey Mudd
Haverford College
Hawai’i Pacific University
Hendrix College
Hollins University
Indiana University Bloomington
Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins
Kalamazoo College
Kenyon College
Kettering University
Lafayette College
Lawrence University
Lehigh University
Loyola University Maryland
Miami University
Middlebury
MIT
NYU
Northeastern
North Carolina State University
Olin College
Pitzer
Pomona College
Purdue
Regis
Rhode Island School of Design
Rochester Institute of Technology
Roger Williams
Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology
Saint Mary’s College
Seattle University
Seton Hall University
Spring Hill College
Stanford
Syracuse
Texas Christian University
Towson University
Trinity College
Trinity University
Troy University
Tufts University
University of Arkansas
University of Chicago
University of Colorado—Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Georgia
University of Maryland
University of Mary Washington
UMass Amherst
University of Miami
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
University of North Texas
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Puget Sound
University of Rhode Island
University of Rochester
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Valparaiso University
Vassar College
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
West Point (US Military Academy)
West Virginia University
Wheaton College
Williams College
Xavier University
Nov 27, 2019
Whether you are a senior unsure if you want to apply ED 2 or a junior thinking ahead to college applications next year, you might be a bit hesitant about putting all your eggs in the Early Decision basket.
While it might seem like a big commitment, and it’s certainly one you should think extensively about, there are some huge benefits to choosing Early Decision! Please check out this blog, which explains what Early Decision means in the context of all the “early options.”
If you are a junior just getting started with test prep and the college process, we implore you to consider Early Decision, especially if you have your sights set on a top school. As you begin campus visits, treat them as if you are “hunting” for your Early Decision school. While prestige matters, fit matters more, so remember to focus on campus culture, specific programs of interest, and other factors that will truly enhance your college experience. Below, we’ve detailed a few reasons why applying early is a strategic move!
1. Higher chance of admission
At many schools, applying Early Decision greatly increases your chance of admission. However, it’s important to recognize the higher ED rates at Ivy Leagues and other top 20 schools are, in part, due to legacy admissions and recruited athletes, so the effects of applying ED aren’t as pronounced as they might seem. Still, schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and Johns Hopkins fill around half their freshman class from ED applicants.
Applying Early Decision has the greatest effect at small, selective liberal arts colleges like Middlebury. Middlebury fills over half its class with Early Decision applicants and its Early Decision acceptance rate is a staggering 50%, as compared with its regular acceptance rate of about 16%.
The reason that ED improves your chance of admission at top schools has to do with yield, or the number of accepted students that choose to attend the university. Top schools are competing with each other to attract the most talented students; thus, it’s a demonstration of prestige to attract the most talented students to your school (AKA have a comparatively high yield rate). Since ED students are bound to a school, they dramatically improve a college’s admissions yield.
2. Better financial aid and scholarship opportunities
Students who apply Early Decision or Early Action (non-binding) are more likely to receive need-based and merit-based aid. The reason for this is simple— when you apply early, the admissions office has yet to see the full applicant pool. Therefore, they have yet to exhaust their merit- and need-based resources. This effect is especially pronounced at large state schools, and the effects extend to Early Action (non binding candidates).
There are some misconceptions that the binding nature of Early Decision will lessen a student’s need or merit aid. These misconceptions are just that— misconceptions! In fact, in many cases the Early Decision pool, due to self-selection, tends to include students who are hyper-focused and future-oriented. As such, many ED candidates are deserving of merit aid and will receive scholarships at a similar proportion as their regular decision counterparts.
Other Financial Considerations
For Early Decision candidates, the decision is binding, with the caveat that you can reject the offer if the financial aid package is insufficient. If you find that your aid package makes a school unaffordable, they are usually willing to negotiate because if they accepted you early, then they truly do want you as a student!
In order to make the financial aid claim if you want to reject an ED offer, you must have filled out FAFSA and the school’s CSS profile. Make sure that you’ve filled out the family contribution column of the CSS as accurately and realistically as possible, as schools look to CSS to make your financial aid package. Finally, be aware that schools are sensitive to situational changes like a parent losing their job. Be willing to share this information and be open to negotiating until you get a package that works for your family.
If you know that your family is relying on financial aid, you can still apply ED, but make sure you have the rest of your applications ready to go. That way, if you do have to reject the offer, you’ll have plenty of other options.
3. Applying regular decision becomes easier
After you submit your early application(s), supplemental essays can easily be repurposed to fit other schools (but, make sure your supplementals show that you have done your research and are interested in something about a school that couldn’t be said about any school).
In short, Early Decision is a great idea, but one that should be heavily considered due to its binding nature. If you truly have your sights set on one school, then Early Decision could be right for you.
Nov 28, 2018
“Lines are stupid; I’ll never use these dumb formulas”
Every teacher has heard this, and we at Streamline Tutors hear it constantly: “why do I need to know this beyond this test? I’m never going to use the formula for a line in the real world, so why learn it now?”
There are multiple answers to this question, and we wanted to highlight a few of them. To do so, we will first examine this question. The question “why do I need to know this?” assumes that knowledge has a fixed goal. After all, this makes sense: I learn computer programming to build computer programs and I learn mechanical engineering to be an engineer. Why then should we learn stuff that we will not use?
“The Brain is a Muscle”
The simple answer: because we strengthen our intellectual muscles. If we look at an athlete, we notice that they do many exercises that do not correspond to the specific sport they play. While football players may bench press, it’s not because they have to lift a bar off their chest during a football game. The same idea holds true for studying fundamental math concepts. Yes, it is likely that students will not be constructing linear models in their everyday lives. However, by learning the ins and outs of math (or any subject on a standardized test), students strengthen their reasoning and flexible thinking skills that transfer to whatever they’re passionate about.
These skills and habits linger long after students have completed a standardized test, and speak to the value of education as a whole. Some things are worth pursuing for their own sake, like happiness. Happiness needs no justification for why one should pursue it, and we at Streamline Tutors believes the same holds true for education. Education is an end in and of itself and is a value worth pursuing.
Nov 6, 2018
Why Believe Anything?
In the age of fake news and alternative facts, it often feels impossible to tell what is true anymore. Any belief you have can be proven wrong with contrasting evidence, and it makes us return to the question: “Why believe anything at all?”
This uncertainty has even leaked into test prep. With countless books and prep courses available, picking the “right” path can seem impossible. It can be tempting to throw your hands in the air and let fate decide how you score. Even worse though, is thinking that you can’t improve at all. This question gets right at the heart of what students ask themselves as they struggle in classes: am I smart?
Is Intelligence Determined at Birth?
Everyone has asked themselves this at some point, but we’re unsure of the answer. Psychologists still debate this question, and the lack of answers means that no one knows what to believe. But in some cases, the best course of action is to opt out of this migraine-inducing process of worrying about which belief is correct. A better choice is to simply choose the belief that will benefit you the most.
The question over whether intelligence is fixed or not has divided psychologists, with studies from Psychology Today saying that it is not, while studies by the Centre for Educational Neuroscience claim the opposite. So, what should you believe? Well, what psychologists in the first study used to prove their point was the idea of a growth mindset. Essentially, believing that intelligence can grow with conscious effort led to increased scores on tests of intelligence, like the ACT and SAT. Both the SAT and ACT are considered decent proxies for IQ tests by psychologists and groups like Mensa. The benefits of maintaining a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset can be thought of as habits to cultivate.
How to Promote a “Growth” Mindset
Carol Dweck, a lead psychologist at Stanford and proponent of growth mindsets, outlines multiple ways that people can foster a growth mindset in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. We at Streamline Tutors want to highlight a couple of them. Specifically, one way to move towards a growth mindset is “Know your learning style and use the right learning strategies.” While many tutors claim to know the learning style of their pupils, we at Streamline Tutors offer a comprehensive MindPrint screening. Mindprint is a psychometrically valid battery of tests, which gives our tutors an unparalleled advantage in recognizing our student’s learning style.
The results of the test allow our tutors to create individualized study plans that ensure optimal results from our sessions. The other step we stress is “choose learning well over learning fast.” Our test prep for the SAT averages about five months of prep because we want our students to master what they learn. This prepares them both for test day and the rest of their academic career, but can take longer if the student is struggling on certain concepts. Fostering a growth mindset is vital to navigating today’s increasingly complex challenges, but starts with what we believe.
Sep 11, 2018
Thinking about March usually conjures up images of spring, St. Patrick’s Day, and of course college basketball. Likewise, while college athletes prepare themselves for March Madness, we think that students should put just as much effort into preparing for the March SAT. Just as athletes do their hardest work in the offseason leading up to their games, high school students need to put in their best effort if they expect to succeed on test day.
What most don’t realize, though, is the sheer amount of time one needs to prepare for such big events. While athletes train for years just for the chance to make a play, high school students usually only need 5 months of prep before they’re ready for their chance to earn the score of their dreams. For the March SAT, this means beginning preparations in mid to late October.
However, preparing for the SAT is a little different than conditioning for a basketball game. Our “drills” start by reviewing a diagnostic test that lets students know what areas they need to focus on the most, and this usually takes place in the first few sessions. Next we move onto reviewing the “why” behind all of the question types that students will see on test day, which takes anywhere from 1.5 to 3 months. From there we transition towards taking and reviewing practice test which not only reinforces the “why” that we’ll have covered earlier but also allows students examples of what to expect on test day. This portion of the process takes about 2 months and extends as necessary until students have taken two actual SATs with us. Obviously, every individual is different: this timeline provides the most flexibility for students and gives them enough time to guarantee that they’ll improve on test day.
Parents and students alike should recognize that taking the March SAT is ideal for a host of reasons. First and foremost, if you’re a junior in high school and don’t do as well as you wanted on the March SAT, you’ll still have an opportunity to retake the SAT in May, guaranteeing that you’ll have the best score moving into your senior year when you’ll need it for college applications. Additionally, the holiday season is the best time to prepare because the only other tests that students will have to worry about are midterms. Contrast this to the test dates in May or June in which SAT prep coincides with preparing for final exams, and the March advantage becomes clear. Furthermore, if you take the March SAT, you’ll have a holiday break to capitalize on. The break offers a change of pace in the middle of preparation, allowing for additional reflection as well as an opportunity to address weak areas before it’s too late.
Navigating these timelines can be tricky, and every situation is different. This is why we at Streamline Tutors recommend a free phone consultation to discuss each student’s individual needs and determine the best overall gameplan to guarantee success. With proper planning, you can ensure that all the madness in March is relegated to your bracket.
