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Expert college Admissions Advice

A New Year, A New Testing Cycle

1/27/2020

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The ACT recently released three new policies that will take effect starting with the September 2020 tests: Section Re-Testing, Superscoring, and Online Testing.


Let’s break these down:


  • Section Re-Testing
    • Section Re-Testing will allow students to retake parts of the ACT in multiple sittings.  They will first need to sit for one full test but, after receiving these initial scores, they now have the opportunity to choose which individual sections they want to retake.  For example, if Tommy earned a 33 on math and a 21 on reading, he will now be allowed to just retake the reading section if he is happy with his math score. This contrasts the current policy, which requires students to take the entire ACT each time.  
  • Superscoring
    • Superscoring is a type of scoring already accepted among some colleges.  With superscoring, colleges will consider the highest subject scores across all the dates the student took the ACT. Rather than confining scores to one particular test date, superscoring allows the student to select their highest individual test subject scores across all of their testing/retesting to calculate the highest possible composite score.
  • Online Testing
    • The ACT has also announced a new online testing model.  Even though online testing has been offered since 2018 at international testing sites, it will now be offered on a national level, in certain testing centers, on Saturday testing dates.  This might be a nice option if you are near an online testing center and your child does better with the online format.


See the ACTs announcement regarding their new superscoring, section retesting, and online testing policies here.


On the surface, these announcements seem very exciting, it appears schools might be moving away from rigorous testing and toward a truly holistic method of college admissions.  Unfortunately, section re-testing and superscoring are a little too good to be true.  


Even though news organizations are reporting that students might finally be getting a break in the college admissions process, very few schools superscore the ACT and, for those that do, it is only a matter of time before the new multiple-sitting policy makes superscoring arbitrary.  Moreover, if you can study 3 months for each section to earn the best score possible, we cannot expect these policies to last or the test itself will lose its value.


One need only look at the lengthy list of schools at the bottom of this page that do not, and likely will never, superscore the ACT.  Please note that this list includes Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Chapman, Harvard, NYU, Penn State, LMU, SMU, Stanford, Tulane, USC, and countless others.  Every single UC is also on this list. 


If I was to put money on it, I would bet that superscoring will soon become a practice of the past and single-sit tests will remain the expectation for the vast majority of schools.  


So, even if you start hearing buzz about these new ACT policies from high schools, peers, media, or other sources, your child will likely not benefit from them.  Good old-fashioned studying and hard work, in preparation for a single-sitting test, will remain the ACT “trick” to earning admission.


The following schools do not superscore the ACT*: 
​

Agnes Scott College
Alfred University
Angelo State University
Arizona State University at the Tempe campus
Auburn University
Bard College at Simon’s Rock
Barnard College 
Bennington College 
Berry College 
Bethel University 
Bowdoin College 
Bradley University 
Brandeis University
Brigham Young University (UT)
Brown University 
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church 
Bryn Mawr College 
Bucknell University 
Calvin College 
Carnegie Mellon University 
Cedarville University 
Centre College 
Chaminade University of Honolulu 
Chapman University 
Chatham University 
Chestnut Hill College 
Christopher Newport University 
Clark Atlanta University 
Clark University 
Clarkson University 
Clemson University 
Coe College 
College of Charleston 
College of Idaho 
College of the Holy Cross 
College of the Ozarks 
College of William and Mary 
Colorado School of Mines 
Columbia University - Columbia College and Fu Foundation School of Engineering 
Cornell University 
Creighton University 
Dallas Baptist University 
Dartmouth College 
DePaul University 
Drexel University 
Duke University 
Eastern Washington University 
Edgewood College 
Emory University 
Fordham University 
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering 
George Mason University 
Georgetown University 
Georgia Southern University 
Guilford College 
Hardin-Simmons University 
Harvard College 
Hillsdale College 
Holy Family University 
Hope College 
Humboldt State University 
Illinois State University 
Illinois Wesleyan University 
James Madison University 
Kansas State University 
Kent State University, Kent Campus 
Kentucky State University 
Lebanon Valley College 
Lee University 
Lenoir-Rhyne College 
Lewis & Clark College 
Louisiana State University 
Loyola Marymount University 
Loyola University of Chicago 
Lubbock Christian University 
Macalester College 
Marlboro College 
Marquette University 
McGill University 
Michigan Technological University 
Missouri University of Science and Technology 
Montana Tech of the University of Montana 
Moravian College 
Mount Mary University 
Muhlenberg College 
New Jersey Institute of Technology 
New York University 
Northwestern College (IA) 
Oberlin College 
Ohio University, Athens 
Oklahoma State University 
Oregon State University 
Pace University 
Penn State University 
Pepperdine University 
Pitzer College 
Portland State University 
Princeton University 
Providence College 
Purdue University, West Lafayette 
Quinnipiac University 
Reed College 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 
Ripon College 
Roanoke College 
Rockhurst University 
Rollins College
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick 
Saginaw Valley State University 
Saint Anselm College 
Saint Louis University 
Salisbury University 
Santa Clara University 
Scripps College 
Siena College 
Skidmore College 
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania 
Smith College 
Sonoma State University 
Southern Methodist University 
Southwestern University 
Stanford University 
St. Edward’s University 
St. Mary’s College of Maryland 
St. Olaf College 
State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) 
State University of New York--College of Environmental Science and Forestry 
State University of New York--Stony Brook University 
State University of New York--University at Buffalo 
Stephens College 
Temple University 
Texas A&M University, College Station 
The City College of New York of The City University of New York 
The College of New Jersey 
The Evergreen State College 
The Ohio State University, Columbus 
The University of Alabama at Birmingham 
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 
The University of Scranton 
The University of Texas at Austin 
The University of Texas at Dallas 
Transylvania University 
Truman State University 
Tulane University 
Tuskegee University 
United States Air Force Academy 
University at Albany - SUNY 
University of Arizona 
University of California, Davis 
University of California, Los Angeles 
University of California, Berkeley 
University of California, Irvine 
University of California, Riverside 
University of California, San Diego 
University of California, Santa Barbara 
University of California, Santa Cruz 
University of Central Florida 
University of Cincinnati 
University of Dallas 
University of Florida 
University of Houston 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
University of Iowa 
University of Kansas 
University of Louisiana at Lafayette 
University of Maine-Fort Kent 
University of Mary Washington 
University of Maryland, Baltimore County 
University of Massachusetts 
Dartmouth University of Massachusetts-Lowell 
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 
University of Minnesota, Morris 
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus 
University of Mississippi 
University of Missouri 
University of Nebraska, Lincoln 
University of New Hampshire 
University of New Orleans 
University of Notre Dame 
University of Oklahoma 
University of Oregon 
University of Pikevile 
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Campus 
University of Richmond 
University of San Diego 
University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma 
University of South Alabama 
University of South Carolina, Columbia 
University of Southern California 
University of Southern Indiana 
University of the Pacific 
University of Utah 
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin, Madison 
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point 
University of Wyoming 
Ursinus College 
Utica College 
Vanderbilt University 
Virginia Wesleyan College 
Wagner College 
Wesleyan College 
West Chester University of Pennsylvania 
West Virginia University 
Western Illinois University 
Western Michigan University 
Westminster College of Salt Lake City 
Wheaton College (MA) 
Whittier College 
Wichita State University 
William Jewell College 
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 
Wright State University 
Xavier University of Louisiana 
Yale University

*Please note, this list is current as of 2019.  Schools may change their policies without notice.  Check individual school websites for the most up-to-date information on their superscoring policies.  
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The Most Important Resolution: Follow Your Passion

1/8/2020

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As I reflect on 2019 in these first few days of 2020, a single question arises: In a process naturally laden with stress and pressure, how can we make the road to college admissions healthier?  

While the path to admission contains many roadblocks we cannot remove, there are several areas where we can assert our agency and create a healthier, happier, and more productive relationship with this entire process.  It starts with students identifying their passions and following them. 

We need to transition from asking students “What’s your GPA and ACT score?”  to “What are you passionate about?” and “What do you like to do more than anything else?”.

On a practical note, colleges are explicitly requesting students to follow their passion.  Gone are the days they want to see thousands of identical “well-rounded” students with the exact same backgrounds, transcripts, and extracurriculars.  As more and more students are excelling in rigorous courses and achieving above average test scores, schools are looking for ways to differentiate between students.  

When opening an application, admissions officers are asking, “How can this student add value to our university?”  Beyond grades and test scores, true value lies in a student’s story. Schools are looking for a clear line they can draw between a student’s class choices, activities, internships, and community service work that explicitly highlights their passion.  If an application states that a student wants to be a business major, the admissions officer will respond: prove it. If colleges are daring us to follow our passions, let’s harness this and run with it.       

Students who follow their passion will also inherently earn better grades and achieve higher test scores.  There is no reason to make this process any harder than it has to be. If the game of college admissions starts with a focus on a student’s GPA and test scores, why not provide students with the assurance and relief that these numbers-focused components are leading to an academic and professional career they are truly passionate about?  

​Let’s resolve to follow our passions in 2020.  After all, it is the key to everything that truly matters: personal fulfillment, strong emotional health, self confidence, and happiness.   

​Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year, thank you for being a part of our community. 
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