SAT Prep

CollegeBoard, the company responsible for administering and scoring the SAT, has a wealth of resources to help prepare for the test. Most of the resources are free and can be found by clicking here. 


If after putting forth a strong effort in using the free resources you feel you need more SAT Prep, there are several additional resources and things to consider. 

1. Junior Year PSAT- This is the most important PSAT students take since it takes places in the Junior Year and leads right into taking the actual SAT in the spring semester. 

2. Intense prep for the SAT should not start until 6-8 weeks prior to the actual test date in order to ensure that the principals/strategies are fresh in one's mind. 

3. Complete a practice test- one of the free resources on the CollegeBoard website are full-length practice tests. Even better, take a practice test on a Saturday morning close to your actual test date. Part of the issue with the SAT is that you are being tested within a context that is not normal. Preparing this way will  make the experience more familiar. 

4. Know the Content- On the Math section, Algebra I and Geometry comprise nearly 100% of the content on the test. There are a few questions dealing with some elements from algebra II. The multiple-choice questions in the Writing section test some of the basic elements of grammar, which most students need a refresher on. 

5. More Prep- if you think you would benefit from additional test prep, local community colleges often run SAT Prep courses at a fraction of the price compared to the bigger test prep companies.

FAFSA- ASAP

You do not need your 2013 tax forms to initially complete your FAFSA. If your 2013 income is similar to 2012, use your 2012 documents/financial figures to complete the FAFSA and update the figures once you have all of your information for 2013. Click here for details on how to do this.

The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible so as to not miss any deadlines.

Financial aid: the university insider's guide

This is a very informative and easy to understand explanation of the Financial Aid process. It also gives insights from the college perspective on different issues involved in financing a college education.

How to...

If you wish to print any of the PDF documents on the blog, simply click on the printer icon at the top of each document. For those wanting to download the documents and save them, you will need to sign in to a Google Account (if you do not have a Google Account, it is simple and free to set one up at www.google.com). If you need any help with either of these options, please feel free to contact me.

Junior Family College Night

As we move towards the end of the First Semester, the college search and planning process should really intensify for Juniors. The presentation is from the Junior Family College Workshop that was held at Curley. Please use this power point as an outline for researching colleges.

NCAA Presentation

In October, we hosted a workshop on the NCAA and becoming a student-athlete in college. This is the power point presentation from the workshop. I am going to post all of the workshop presentation to this blog so more people can have access to them.

An interesting story that contains information regarding how colleges analyze and review applications. Also, gives some advice on how to maximize your high school experience with the college admissions process in mind.