“Attention Rising Seniors!”
Dear Parents:
It is hard to believe the school year is almost over and our kids will be out for their summer break. Most, if not all of us, are looking forward to getting our students back in the classroom 100% of the time in the fall. Hopefully, your high school students are planning to be productive this summer – either volunteering their time, working or shadowing professionals in fields they have expressed an interest.
The two articles in this newsletter are of particular importance to our rising seniors. The first one covers whether to submit test scores this fall to their colleges, even if the schools are test optional. The state schools in California have been very clear that they will not even look at scores submitted. But, with other schools, it may be a benefit, if the student’s test scores are good. Also, merit scholarships often require standardized testing. All students can benefit from knowing this information, but for the class of 2022, it is very important information.
The second article is about a student’s recommendation letters for college. Most private colleges and universities require two recommendation letters from core teachers in junior year. This class is at a significant disadvantage because so many classes were taught online. Unless the student really made an effort to speak up in class during these past eight months, it is likely the teachers do not know their students very well.
This article really stresses the importance of asking teachers before school is out about writing their recommendation letters in the early fall. I even encourage my students to ask their teachers right after spring break. This gives the teachers time to pay more attention to the student. Students need to always offer the recommenders a copy of their resume which will help the teacher know about the student outside of class.
Enjoy the summer break with your students. For most, it may not feel significantly different since the students have been going to school virtually for most of this year. Let’s all plan to have our students back in the classroom when school starts again in late August. Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletters. I continue to try to select articles I feel are relevant to what is going on in college admissions today.
Sincerely,
Catherine Marrs, CEP
How to Decide Whether to Take the SAT or ACT This Year
One of the biggest debates high school juniors are having this year is “should I take the SAT or the ACT?” Like all things in college admission, the answer is: it depends.
Here are a few considerations to help you decide if should take the SAT or ACT for fall 2022 admission.
Letters of Recommendation - can be the tipping factor
College applications don’t open until this summer or early fall, so why are we talking about Letters of Recommendation in May?
The reason is that now, yes in May, is the time to begin asking teachers if they’ll be able to write your letter.