Comments on: SAT or No SAT? ACT or no ACT? These are the Questions http://myusearchblog.com/sat-or-no-sat-act-or-no-act-these-are-the-questions College Talk. Learn - write - search. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:48:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Mr. E-Tutor http://myusearchblog.com/sat-or-no-sat-act-or-no-act-these-are-the-questions#comment-680 Mr. E-Tutor Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:21:59 +0000 http://myusearchblog.com/sat-or-no-sat-act-or-no-act-these-are-the-questions#comment-680 I liked this post a lot, and I think you did a good job of considering things that a lot of anti-test people neglect, like the fact that wealthy families have an advantage in all aspects of the admissions game, not just when it comes to the SAT. And actually, that's what I wanted to post about here--I've put up some sites where students can access a full-length, top-quality SAT course, as well as a forum where they can discuss the SAT with one another and ask me anything they want about the test. It's been getting a really good response. My goal is to make it so that every test-taker makes a perfect score. (I know that's not going to be easy to achieve, but I'm big believer in dreaming big:) .) The main site is www.mysterytutor.com, if you or your readers are interested. I'd love to get your thoughts on it. In the meantime, keep up the good work! I liked this post a lot, and I think you did a good job of considering things that a lot of anti-test people neglect, like the fact that wealthy families have an advantage in all aspects of the admissions game, not just when it comes to the SAT.

And actually, that’s what I wanted to post about here–I’ve put up some sites where students can access a full-length, top-quality SAT course, as well as a forum where they can discuss the SAT with one another and ask me anything they want about the test. It’s been getting a really good response. My goal is to make it so that every test-taker makes a perfect score. (I know that’s not going to be easy to achieve, but I’m big believer in dreaming big:) .)

The main site is http://www.mysterytutor.com, if you or your readers are interested. I’d love to get your thoughts on it. In the meantime, keep up the good work!

]]> By: Mariana Evica http://myusearchblog.com/sat-or-no-sat-act-or-no-act-these-are-the-questions#comment-598 Mariana Evica Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:16:21 +0000 http://myusearchblog.com/sat-or-no-sat-act-or-no-act-these-are-the-questions#comment-598 I found this post very interesting. I agree with you that there will always have to exist some kind of leveler. Whether that will be SATs or other tests remains to be seen. I think institutions will shift how they weigh the importance of test scores but its unclear what will weigh more heavily in the overall "weighted average". As for how well someone tests, and whether anxious students can cope with test-taking, I think that it can always be argued (fairly or not) that test-taking (and achievement in general) are part of the pressures of young adult life and test scores are an indication of how students will perform academically and in the "real world." I know a great number of anxious professionals who nonetheless "soldier on" in their professional life, since that is expected of all of us. From what I can glean, I think there will be an increasing weight put on extracurricular activities such as volunteer work; I think social media will continue to have an exponentially intense impact as admissions offices consider not just social media profiles such as facebook and MySpace, but also the increasing body of written and creative work (image/photography/music) found on blogs and sites such as Flickr and Deviantart. We're going to have a completely new mix of factors, eventually. Which factors fall to the bottom and which rise to the top will be greatly determined by who those admissions people are. As younger more tech-savvy professionals move into admissions positions, we will see a huge shift. A applicant's "identity capital" - who they present themselves to be, with whom they are networked, what they write, photograph and design (online and off!) will weigh against test scores, recommendations, entrance exams, and essays. I see the traditional entrance essay fading in importance. I found this post very interesting. I agree with you that there will always have to exist some kind of leveler. Whether that will be SATs or other tests remains to be seen. I think institutions will shift how they weigh the importance of test scores but its unclear what will weigh more heavily in the overall “weighted average”. As for how well someone tests, and whether anxious students can cope with test-taking, I think that it can always be argued (fairly or not) that test-taking (and achievement in general) are part of the pressures of young adult life and test scores are an indication of how students will perform academically and in the “real world.” I know a great number of anxious professionals who nonetheless “soldier on” in their professional life, since that is expected of all of us.

From what I can glean, I think there will be an increasing weight put on extracurricular activities such as volunteer work; I think social media will continue to have an exponentially intense impact as admissions offices consider not just social media profiles such as facebook and MySpace, but also the increasing body of written and creative work (image/photography/music) found on blogs and sites such as Flickr and Deviantart.

We’re going to have a completely new mix of factors, eventually. Which factors fall to the bottom and which rise to the top will be greatly determined by who those admissions people are. As younger more tech-savvy professionals move into admissions positions, we will see a huge shift. A applicant’s “identity capital” - who they present themselves to be, with whom they are networked, what they write, photograph and design (online and off!) will weigh against test scores, recommendations, entrance exams, and essays. I see the traditional entrance essay fading in importance.

]]>