Forget about ACT and SAT scores, should non-cognitive assessments play a greater role in college admissions decisions?  This is a livewire question, at least in certain academic circles. Most recently, experts debated the issue a week ago at a conference hosted by the University of Southern California’s Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice.  You may ask, what exactly is a non-cognitive assessment? Unlike the ACT and SAT, non-cognitive assessments aim to directly measure qualities like a student’s work ethic, teamwork skills, acceptance of criticism, leadership abilities, conscientiousness, creativity, organizational skills, and many other traits that match up with academic and workplace success. These tests have long been used in HR hiring processes.  In a way, college admissions officers already […]

When many college applicants think about the best schools in the country, they think of schools like Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale, Duke, Stanford, and MIT.  When these schools think about the best college applicants, they think of standardized test scores.   While student transcripts are the most important part of a college application, standardized test scores serve as sort of truth test for competitive colleges, who need to find which transcripts are worth considering.  Applicants who are excellent test-takers – who can earn SAT scores in the 730s on Verbal, Writing, and Math sections, and in the 740s on their SAT Subject Tests – will surely have their transcripts respectfully considered at most of the elite schools listed above. […]

Most parents and students think that SATs are a fact of life for every college-bound teen.  Is this true? Yes, and no.  No, you can’t ignore them, but your score isn’t some predetermined measure of your intelligence either.  There are strategies and options to consider when you see the SAT on your horizon, and many of your decisions will come down to how far ahead you’re planning.  Commit to college early-on – as a freshman – and you will be more prepared to deal with the SATs by the time you’re a Junior. First and foremost, know your options.  You can take the SAT, or you can opt not to take it at all.  If you decide to take the […]