What to Do When You Get 'Deferred'

Receiving a “defer” decision from your top choice college or university as an early decision (ED) applicant can be a very discouraging, frustrating, and confusing experience.  There are two primary reasons why a candidate is deferred:

1) The admissions committee wants to see how the applicant fares relative to the regular decision applicant pool.

2) There is a gap in knowledge about the student’s scholastic performance or personal qualities.

While the final admission decision is out of an applicant’s control (and hopefully this relieves student/family anxiety in some way), there are strategies that students can use to stand out after receiving a deferral decision *:

1) Students--Send an email to thank the admissions officer for their thoughtful consideration of your application; reiterate that the college or university where you applied ED continues to be your top choice. Ask for 5 minutes of the admission officer’s time to discuss your application so that you can find out if there is particular information (e.g. grades, recommendations) that would help the committee to better understand you as a candidate. Even if you are unable to reach an admissions officer directly, make sure to submit updated materials such as grades, standardized test scores, and new recommendation letters (where appropriate).

2) Students--Ask your high school-based college counselor if he/she is willing to reach out to the admissions office to find out if there are particular materials you can submit to make a more compelling case for admission.

3) Parents--Be mindful that your student, and his/her college counselor where possible, needs to be front and center in following up with admissions officers. It is understandable for parents to want to “do something” during this tumultuous time, but the best thing that parents can do is to allow their students to take the lead.

Please know that admissions officers do consider the needs of students and their families during the process.  Nonetheless, students and families sometimes need additional college application support that a college or university cannot provide.

Questions? Contact Dr. Aviva Hirschfeld Legatt, College Admissions Consultant, at vivedconsulting@gmail.com or 215-595-4926.

*Thank you to numerous colleagues for input on these strategies. 

Major Changes Coming To 2016 SAT

Set to debut in spring 2016, the new SAT is a reaction to the increasing popularity of the ACT. 

The College Board's SAT has been losing market share as a college admissions test. The redesigned SAT will be better aligned to specific learning standards in order to compete both as a college admissions exam and as a state assessment test. The ACT has assessment contracts with 13 states, while the SAT has just two. 

Among the important changes are: 
1) Reading, Writing, and Language Tests that require students to cite evidence for their answers, analyze writing, and discern definitions from context;
2) A Math Test that emphasizes algebra, de-emphasizes geometry, and puts more questions in a real-world context; and 
3) Questions and content that better reflect the work that students undertake in the best high school courses.  

Other changes include a return to the 1600 point scale, an overhaul of the essay section (including making it optional), the addition of a no-calculator math section, and no penalty for wrong answers.   

Early SAT/ACT Test Prep Starts With Reading

Students with good reading comprehension, subject knowledge and problem-solving skills are on the right track for higher SAT and ACT scores.

Both exams require strong reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. It's important to read books, magazines and newspapers in addition to required texts. Students who take a rigorous course of study are also more likely to score high. 

Both tests have questions about literature. Both also require algebra and geometry. The SAT requires knowledge of statistics and probability, while the ACT requires trigonometry and has a science section. It's also important to know how to take tests: how to pace yourself, when to guess, how to avoid making careless mistakes. 

Key Academics friends and family are entitled to FREE individualized one-hour SAT or ACT strategy sessions. Students learn about time management, test structure, educated guessing, active reading, and reducing test anxiety. Call 610-940-1625 or emailinfo@keyacademics.com to schedule your free strategy session.

What Essays Thrill Elite Schools? These Teens Will Show You

I recently read a fascinating article in Forbes concerning the college admittance essay. 
It begins....
Mindy Zou wrote about a turbulent visit to China. Nicolae Sapoval recounted a grisly secret of the ancient Greeks. And Rebecca Tian shared the story of how she overcame depression. All three turned their college-application essays into a spot at an elite U.S. school. Their teen successes weren’t just a personal thrill; the winning essays have now become the fuel inside a fascinating new start-up, AdmitSee. 
Continue reading...http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2014/12/01/what-essays-thrill-elite-schools-these-teens-will-show-you/

The College Financial Aid Game

"The College Financial Aid Game" is being featured by The Whitemarsh Business Association. Michael Grossman,
CFP, author of the “The College Financial Aid Maze,” will be the presenter for this event:

William Jeanes Memorial Library
Nicholas and Athena Karabots Center for Learning…..
Community Room
4051 Joshua Road, Lafayette Hill, Pa. 19444

December 4th @ 6 P.M. – 8 P.M
This seminar will help parents of college bound high school students understand the complex and time consuming process called “The Financial Aid System.”

Please RSVP to the Whitemarsh Business Association Phone: 484-362-7414 or Email: WBA.FBA.INFO@GMAIL.COM

Ten Tips For Improving Teens' Writing

Here are 10 ideas for parents who want to help their middle grade and older students with writing. 

1. Know the assignment. Without fully understanding the details of their homework, it can be hard for kids to start writing. 
2. Plan ahead. Ask your child to list examples that support the thesis or main points.
3. Gather the facts. Strong evidence makes a paper that much better. 
4. Get organized. Review the sequence of ideas in each paragraph.  
5. Lend a hand. Listen and figure out what she's trying to say. Ask how you can help.
6. Read it out loud. By reading aloud what they've written, students are more likely to notice any obvious mistakes. 
7. Start with the strengths. Look for concrete details, clear sentences, and vivid words, and offer encouragement. 
8. Ask for more information. Ask questions to understand what your child is trying to say.
9. Ignore grammar in rough drafts. In the final draft, encourage your child to edit his own work.
10. Respect your child as a writer. What to revise, and how to revise it, should be your child's decision, not yours. 
For more help with writing at all grade levels, please call 610-940-1625. Located in Plymouth Meeting, Key Academics provides in-home academic tutoring and test preparation throughout the Delaware Valley.

Time Of Change For College Application Testing

It's a time of change for college application testing. Students taking the ACT in Fall 2015 will need to prepare for a more complex essay and some alterations to the Reading and Mathematics tests. These changes will be minor compared to the College Board's plans for an extensive redesign of the SAT in 2016. 

Here are the basics regarding the Fall 2015 ACT: 

Students taking the optional essay will encounter a more complex writing prompt that requires them to evaluate multiple perspectives on a complex issue and generate their own analysis based on reasoning, knowledge, and experience.
Writing test scoring will be updated to include subscores in four areas: ideas and analysis, development and support, organization, and language use.
The Reading test will introduce a new question type, asking students to compare information from paired passages, similar to the SAT.
The Mathematics section will see a slight increase in statistics and probability.
New supplemental scores in STEM (short for science, technology, engineering and math), Language Arts, Career Readiness and Text Complexity align to the Common Core standards. The ACT's traditional 1-36 composite score will not change; these new scores will be provided in addition to the current provided scores.