CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: utee94 on March 25, 2024, 06:48:45 PM
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Any of you have recent advice on current best practices for this? There are expensive private tutors, semi-expensive group classes, free materials from Khan and the College Board.
I'm willing to spend the money for private because I think my daughter has a pretty good shot at making National Merit Finalist and the rewards could be much greater than the expense. But if other options are just as good, then I could go that route, too.
She's a straight A+ student in all honors/AP courses, and her biggest opportunity for improvement is definitely in the test-taking skills/strategy area. Basically she needs to understand how to play The Game. Her fundamentals for the knowledge itself, are super-solid.
I know it's mostly super old farts around here but a couple of us have kids who are nearing college age. I'll share my findings if you will! :)
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At least two universities confer NM scholarships to semifinalists, Oklahoma may confer a full ride. It's a nice thing to hang on a resume.
I know nothing about test prep, but suspect it could be useful for a lot of kids. Kt is a technique, I knew some smarter kids who did not fare well on SATs.
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There are a lot of people out there promising things. My memory of taking tests was that taking practice tests was by far the best way to prepare. If she does a few and seems to struggle (or at least not do as well as she does in others) in a particular area, may look into spending money on that.
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Wish I could help, but test-taking was always a strength for me so I never really cared much for prep strategies. And my eldest son is another year away from worrying about it, so I haven't researched it much.
And I don't think I'll need to... While he doesn't seem all that forward about driving, that kid is going absolutely nuts about academics and what it takes to get into college, so I think he'll tell us lol.
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I'd second the practice tests idea. A lot of repetitions.
The biggest issue on major, important standardized tests is simply the taker's nerves. Taking practice tests over and over can make the real test a lot less stressful.
Being confident and matter-of-fact for the actual test is major.
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Apparently the NEW FAFSA is a disaster. The Govt has made a mess of things for parents and admissions offices. Semi related
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I'd second the practice tests idea. A lot of repetitions.
The biggest issue on major, important standardized tests is simply the taker's nerves. Taking practice tests over and over can make the real test a lot less stressful.
Being confident and matter-of-fact for the actual test is major.
Yes, many practice tests will absolutely be a part of it.
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Apparently the NEW FAFSA is a disaster. The Govt has made a mess of things for parents and admissions offices. Semi related
Yeah it was delayed rolling out so it forced many universities to actually delay their admissions/acceptance dates. It's a mess.
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I knew some smart folks in HS who would dwell on one question overly long and stress about it. Learning to be a good "test taker" of course is a thing.
Not stressing is a thing. I sort of liked standardized tests, so I did fairly well at them. For some reason, I did better on the PSAT than the SAT (2x), enough to get a small NM Ship, which as I said, is a resume builder.
I new a guy at UGA who followed me to UNC, he had a full NM ship, really smart, flunked out of graduate school in a year. I tried to suggest a few things to him, but he somehow couldn't get it. I guess he was a great S test taker but didn't know how to study and take regular tests or something.
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Ivy League changes mind, SATs no longer racist | The College Fix (https://www.thecollegefix.com/ivy-league-changes-mind-sats-no-longer-racist/?fbclid=IwAR0CHbNH5RNsjFb3Tk82pxP57xKe47weka1wH1DvpU_opV7jRFkJ0ORo1j8)
I read somewhere that dropping SATs actually harmed minorities more than it helped, don't know if that is true.
The SAT/ACT is the most reliable predictor of first year college performance.
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I knew some smart folks in HS who would dwell on one question overly long and stress about it. Learning to be a good "test taker" of course is a thing.
Not stressing is a thing. I sort of liked standardized tests, so I did fairly well at them. For some reason, I did better on the PSAT than the SAT (2x), enough to get a small NM Ship, which as I said, is a resume builder.
I new a guy at UGA who followed me to UNC, he had a full NM ship, really smart, flunked out of graduate school in a year. I tried to suggest a few things to him, but he somehow couldn't get it. I guess he was a great S test taker but didn't know how to study and take regular tests or something.
I was great at standardized tests. I did zero prep for the PSAT and was ultimately a National Merit Scholar. Between the University and the College of Engineering, it got me a full ride at UT.
I probably had some of your UGA/UNC friend's tendencies. Even taking a full load of nothing but AP/Honors courses, high school was incredibly easy for me. So was my freshman year in engineering, which was mostly just a rehash of high school physics/calculus/chemistry. In engineering at UT at the time, they didn't let you place out of physics or chemistry, and you could only place out of one semester of calculus. So it was mostly just re-do.
Then my sophomore year came with a whole slate of actual EE classes, and I realized I had no clue how to study. It took me a full year at least to adjust, but finally I got it. A few years later, the MBA was a breeze compared to my engineering undergraduate degree.
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Yeah, sounds like me. I had calculus in HS and took Honors calculus at UGA as a freshman. We covered all I knew about calculus in one day at the beginning of each quarter and then were off to the races. There were about 18 kids in that class and I figured I was one of the dumbest. It was humbling. I vaguely remember something about Green's theorem. The professor wrote on the board with one hand and then erased what he wrote. Nothing related to the text book, at all.
I placed out of the first quarter of honors chem, and that was a mistake. I ended up later making a D in the third quarter, and decided to change my major to computer programming. I was too lazy to do it. So, next up was org chem, which for some reason was right down my alley, due in large part to Professor M. Gary Newton, who was one of the best teachers I ever had. The class started with 180 students, many sitting in the aisles, and ended with 33 by end of the year, most headed to medical school.
Humbling is good. I was arrogant and didn't know how to study. Looking back it was a miracle I managed to get through it all.
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My daughter on the other hand, is also great at standardized tests, when she has enough time. In general she's a slow, deliberate, methodical worker. So for those state-wide standardized tests, she always scores in the 99th percentile. But they're pretty easy, students are given more than enough time to complete them, even the slow workers.
But the timing/pressure for the PSAT is different, which is why I want to help her learn the specific test-taking strategies, tips/tricks/etc, that work for the PSAT and SAT.
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I'd second the practice tests idea. A lot of repetitions.
The biggest issue on major, important standardized tests is simply the taker's nerves. Taking practice tests over and over can make the real test a lot less stressful.
Being confident and matter-of-fact for the actual test is major.
I "third" the practice tests. Practice tests are what I did, over and over and over, to ready for both the SAT and ACT tests. I must've taken about 3 SATs and 5 ACTs through my JR and SR years of High School. Now over 20 years ago. But I remember it well because of how many practice tests I took, and those Saturdays waking up early.
There's a ton of practice test guides out there (https://www.amazon.com/645-Practice-Questions-Digital-2024/dp/0593516729/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zsUGjYsDK3lcVF6AUQOuOjDf-JhR6dfRDuDp29EH6TwqibbuctdnECvFhxb6nEVxZB9Vsv0sLBwpDgsbBlSb8HoSw4U_qKzuZrQ9HDksDKMdf_kFbq-nsEh5oUtSe1YlKM7S9vR_FPugaw_xLc5H2EJ5wFcV-mF7_rOoPiFasHnKWjoREk62RQUXXUwHl9sG67sLKAZUF1-Rczp_zC-G_QbEyneAGVJrgk1FE_rzNgg.cslJ5KMtDOjwayBt3YaeXDmdZvp9leubGsPWU1sPRvQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=SAT+Prep&qid=1711466378&sr=8-6).
I DON'T recommend a private tutor unless it's a one-time thing needed to learn how to solve the questions. After that the brunt of getting ready is all the repetition from doing practice tests.
She's a straight A+ student in all honors/AP courses, and her biggest opportunity for improvement is definitely in the test-taking skills/strategy area. Basically she needs to understand how to play The Game. Her fundamentals for the knowledge itself, are super-solid.
And my eldest son is another year away from worrying about it, so I haven't researched it much. And I don't think I'll need to...that kid is going absolutely nuts about academics and what it takes to get into college, so I think he'll tell us lol.
Would be so refreshing if one of you parents got on here honest about having morons for children (if you did)—
"After buying our son a practice test guide he showed up so late to the test that they turned him away. So off he went skateboarding all morning without telling us. Later we found out the practice test guide was used more by his little sister to seat herself on as a booster seat for when she drove around our Ranger."
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Would be so refreshing if one of you parents got on here honest about having morons for children (if you did)—
"After buying our son a practice test guide he showed up so late to the test that they turned him away. So off he went skateboarding all morning without telling us. Later we found out the practice test guide was used more by his little sister to seat herself on as a booster seat for when she drove around our Ranger."
Oh believe me, I have VERY different expectations of my 14yo son. He's smart but entirely unmotivated by academic pursuits. Video games and hanging out at the mall with friends are his preference.
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Would be so refreshing if one of you parents got on here honest about having morons for children (if you did)—
"After buying our son a practice test guide he showed up so late to the test that they turned him away. So off he went skateboarding all morning without telling us. Later we found out the practice test guide was used more by his little sister to seat herself on as a booster seat for when she drove around our Ranger."
But OAM doesn't have kids :57:
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(Sorry to pick on you OAM -- I couldn't pass up that softball.)
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Would be so refreshing if one of you parents got on here honest about having morons for children (if you did)—
"After buying our son a practice test guide he showed up so late to the test that they turned him away. So off he went skateboarding all morning without telling us. Later we found out the practice test guide was used more by his little sister to seat herself on as a booster seat for when she drove around our Ranger."
My oldest daughter got rejected from Kent State and posted on TikTok "Kent Read Kent Write Kent Get In"
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I'd second the practice tests idea. A lot of repetitions.
The biggest issue on major, important standardized tests is simply the taker's nerves. Taking practice tests over and over can make the real test a lot less stressful.
Being confident and matter-of-fact for the actual test is major.
hah, I showed up the morning of the SAT test hungover and not wanting to be there.
Didn't want to go to college and knew the test was a waste of time
My mother insisted...
I scored the highest grade in my high school's history
no nerves, matter of fact for sure
and probably lucky
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hah, I showed up the morning of the SAT test hungover and not wanting to be there.
Didn't want to go to college and knew the test was a waste of time
My mother insisted...
I scored the highest grade in my high school's history
no nerves, matter of fact for sure
and probably lucky
Well that sounds like sound advice for Utee's daughter. The only choice is how much he wants to spend on liquor.
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hah, I showed up the morning of the SAT test hungover and not wanting to be there.
Didn't want to go to college and knew the test was a waste of time
My mother insisted...
I scored the highest grade in my high school's history
no nerves, matter of fact for sure
and probably lucky
(https://media4.giphy.com/media/3oz8xBXJTF1HbUwvO8/200w.gif?cid=6c09b952ctja3wr6vwzkmsn6grmt7qm1prtvrb0x1pb0akae&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=200w.gif&ct=g)
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Well that sounds like sound advice for Utee's daughter. The only choice is how much he wants to spend on liquor.
ha!
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My ex wanted to drive my son to take his SAT, so I said OK. She showed up at my house and launched into a rage about how he was dressed and insisted he go change. She was screaming at him as they left the house. Needless to say, he did a lot better the next year when I quietly drove him. That woman was all about appearances over substance.
Fortunately, she's long gone, somewhere, I know not where, and my kids don't know either.
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My small old man yells at cloud moment is that it is flat out nonsensical that an astonishing amount of money can swing with the dang PSAT.
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My parents advice on all standardized tests was simple: no prep was necessary. Either you know the stuff or you don't, and there's nothing that will make any difference at this late hour.
I got a 12-something on the SAT and a 29 on my ACT, only attempt both tests
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My parents advice on all standardized tests was simple: no prep was necessary. Either you know the stuff or you don't, and there's nothing that will make any difference at this late hour.
I got a 12-something on the SAT and a 29 on my ACT, only attempt both tests
This is my feeling on it. I get why people want to try to maximize scores, but it should actually be an accurate representation of what you know.
Maybe that's the luxury opinion of someone smart with two smart parents.
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(Sorry to pick on you OAM -- I couldn't pass up that softball.)
All good, don't care.
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Some folks have poor test taking skills.
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Some folks have poor test taking skills.
Most of them don't know the content very well.
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Most of them don't know the content very well.
Those aren't the people I'm talking about, obviously. I've mentioned folks I knew in HS who came back with relatively poor scores while I thought they were pretty bright folks, and vice versa. And the SAT of course doesn't really measure what you KNOW, they measure how you think. A person can have all kinds of facts in his head and do poorly because his logic skills are lacking.
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Those aren't the people I'm talking about, obviously. I've mentioned folks I knew in HS who came back with relatively poor scores while I thought they were pretty bright folks, and vice versa. And the SAT of course doesn't really measure what you KNOW, they measure how you think. A person can have all kinds of facts in his head and do poorly because his logic skills are lacking.
Really? I view the SAT as the opposite of how you put it.
Try a math problem without knowing the formula needed to be utilized.
Try the summary of a paragraph question without knowing the unique vocabulary contained within it.
Sure, some smart people may be overly stressed or lack confidence, but that's the exception. If a test isn't hard, you shrug and do it.
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My small old man yells at cloud moment is that it is flat out nonsensical that an astonishing amount of money can swing with the dang PSAT.
For me it was basically the difference between being able to go to college, and not. My parents were not able to contribute to my education, times were very tough for them, at that time.