By John Raftrey And Lori McCormick
E-mail John Raftrey And Lori McCormick
About this blog: We are writing this blog to give practical advice to students and parents, to reflect on issues affecting college admissions, and to provide a platform for a robust community discussion on post-secondary choices. We occasionally f...
(More)About this blog: We are writing this blog to give practical advice to students and parents, to reflect on issues affecting college admissions, and to provide a platform for a robust community discussion on post-secondary choices. We occasionally feature "guest? bloggers and invite other college counselors to join the blog team. We are members of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA) and the Western Association for College Admissions Counseling (WACAC).
Lori McCormick: I began my college advising career in 2006 at Notre Dame de Namur in Transfer Admissions. Since then, I have worked at San Jose State in the Career Center, for a local independent college advising firm, and for BUILD a college access program for underrepresented youth. I graduated with a BA in Sociology from UCSB and a MA in Psychology with a concentration in Career Counseling from Antioch University. I am an active volunteer with The Parent?s Club of the Peninsula (PAMP), the Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) and I am a seasonal application reader for the
Maisin Scholar Award. I reside in Palo Alto with my husband and two sons.
John Raftrey: I have been advising students for the last three admission cycles. I regularly attend conferences, tour colleges, and keep up with the changing landscape of college admissions. I'll share what I learn and throw in a few opinions along the way. I moved to Palo Alto in 1991. My three sons are all veterans of PAUSD and graduated from Paly. I graduated from the University of Michigan, earned an MBA at Columbia University and hold a certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego. In my past life I worked in TV news and high tech marketing.
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(written by guest blogger Patrick Hennes of AJ Tutoring, www. AJTutoring.com)
The redesigned SAT will debut in March 2016 and will affect the class of 2017 and beyond. Current sophomores and freshmen (class of 2018 and 2019) will only have the option of taking the new test. Current juniors (class of 2017) can choose to take either the current SAT or the redesigned SAT, or both. The 2015 PSAT will be based on the redesigned SAT and will reflect the new format. The last administration of the current SAT will take place in January 2016.
Click
HERE to learn more details about the SAT
Which tests should a student in the class of 2017 plan to take?
While there are many testing schedules that could work, most students should fall into one of three tracks:
- The "hedge your bets" plan: take the current SAT in fall 2015, the redesigned SAT in March 2016, and the ACT in April 2016.
- Spring semester testing plan: take the redesigned SAT in March 2016 and the ACT in April 2016.
- The "SAT only" plan: take the current SAT in fall 2015 and the redesigned SAT in March 2016.
The ACT is not changing its format, and will be continued to be administered throughout the academic year. Because of the continuity the ACT provides, many students are choosing to focus exclusively on the ACT, which can make sense for many students.
We encourage students to consider taking both exams, or possibly taking a diagnostic to see what may be the better fit early on in the process. Almost every school in the US accepts either the SAT or ACT, so it's mainly about identifying which exam is best suited for a particular student and his or her score goals.
