Most everyone knows that to get into a great college, good grades are essential. What most people do not know is that all aspects of the application are not treated equally. In a recent survey conducted by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), over 2000 independent educational consultants found that many colleges are more interested in rigor of curriculum than they are GPA. So let’s take a look at what else matters most.
According to Compass Education Group, grades, test scores and strength of curriculum have been the most important factors in college admissions for over 20 years. I am often asked if it is better for a student to take an AP course and get a B or a non-AP course and get an A. Mark Sklarow, CEO of IECA said, “Grades and scores are important, but it is far better to accept a challenge, show some grit, and earn a slightly lower grade if necessary than to breeze through high school with easy courses and straight A’s.” Colleges want to know that students can handle the rigorous college curriculum and not be scared away but the level of challenge. Each student is evaluated on the offerings at their own high school, so a school that offers 20 AP courses is not compared to a school that only offers 4. They will look to see that the student has taken the most challenging schedule available to them at their own high school.
Students spend 4 years taking rigorous courses, studying late into the night, writing papers, reading literature, and working on projects so that they might get the best possible grades in their coursework. And yet, many students do not prepare to take the ACT or SAT at all, and many others study for a few hours and hope for the best. According to one test prep company, at some colleges, the ACT or SAT may count up to 40% on the admissions scale! For students who have their eye on a competitive college, test prep is essential. How much time should be spent preparing for the test depends on each student and their target colleges. This can be determined by finding the target score and looking at the student’s schedule to determine a realistic study schedule. Students spend thousands of dollars on test prep. Many states and/or school districts offer test prep in their high schools. Some states even use the SAT or ACT as their state test and teachers are trained to teach the material.
There is currently a bill (Assembly Bill 1951) that would make the SAT or ACT an alternative to Smarter Balanced starting in 2019-20. There is some opposition to the bill, but whether it passes or not, I hope our local high schools will adopt a test prep program that can diagnose and prepare our students to perform better on these important standardized tests. There are several programs currently available to high schools. Although there are many test prep programs available, studying would be much more time-and-cost-efficient if busy students could study during school time; when AP testing is done would be an ideal time. Rigor, grades and test scores: the top 3 for college admissions!
