Ooooo testing, the bane of every student’s college process. With the early round application deadlines just around the corner, there are still students who are eyeing the standardized tests in October and beyond as a way to bump up their academic profile & chances of being accepted into their dream schools.
For the ACT, any students who have not yet signed up for the October 18th date are still able to do so through the upcoming September 30th late registration deadline. This is the last ACT test that you can take that will be received and sent to your Early Action, Early Decision Round 1, and any other application with a deadline around November 1st. Unfortunately, if you have not already registered for the SAT then you have missed the registration deadline for the October 4th SAT test.
This said, the larger question rests on whether you should or should not submit your testing to the colleges and universities that you are applying to.
When it comes to the admissions process, your academic profile is still the most important and impactful aspect of your application. This profile consists of your GPA, rigor of courses taken throughout high school, and any submitted or required standardized testing via the ACT, SAT, IB, or AP Subject Tests. While many colleges and universities still test optional, there is a growing number of universities that require official tests to be sent as a part of a student’s application. Because of this, we at Galin always encourage students to submit testing when they are able and when the testing will be a positive data point in their academic profile. So again, the question is when to submit testing? As a general rule you should submit testing when it falls in line with the middle 50% of testing statistics at your chosen university, when it’s above the middle 50% of the testing statistics at your chosen university, and when it’s above what you would expect from a student with your GPA & course rigor. Otherwise, if your testing is below the middle 50%, not within 2 points on the ACT or 200 points on the SAT, and/or a lower score than would be expected from a student with your GPA & course rigor you should not submit testing.
While our seniors are engrossed in a mad dash to put the finishing touches on their testing, I do have a few points of guidance for the rest of our students who are yet to be in the final stages of their college journey.
Choose Early
To avoid any unnecessary stress at the tail end of your testing journey, it’s important to decide whether you will be focusing your efforts on the ACT or the SAT and to do so early in high school. Depending on where you live in the states, your high school will offer either a free ACT or SAT during your 11th grade year but smart students will have made their decision during their 10th grade year. Doing so allows you to prepare ahead of time and know your path before you’re rushing to sign up for deadlines during senior year.
Get Help
Speaking of preparing early, it’s important to get help from a test prep professional (hint hint Galin!). While there are students who can self-study to a testing level that they need, it’s important to remember a very important piece of guidance: prepare based on averages and not outliers. Successful self-study students are unicorns and, for the vast majority of students, they need expert guidance & support in order to do well on standardized tests.
Make A Schedule
Finally, as with everything in the college process it is of the utmost importance to have a schedule for testing. Planning, outlining, and executing your test prep schedule & your testing schedule will make sure that students are prepared to sit for any test and showcase themselves to the best of their ability.
Whether the ACT or the SAT, forethought and in depth preparation are the keys to success. At Galin, we have amazing test prep professionals who work with a myriad of students across different levels of educational strengths and academic focuses. So approach testing the right way; with early planning, professional support, and a clear goal in mind. And let Galin have your back along the way!
