The College Solutions Blog

September 10, 2012

Note: I will be conducting my quarterly college workshops through the University of California, San Diego Extension on Sept. 22 and 29. Please scroll to the bottom of this post to learn more. Lynn O. When deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT test keep this in mind: the ACT AND SAT require different kinds of skills. Some teens...

July 15, 2012

While you can’t take the SAT in the summer, this time of the year is a great time to study for the test when there are fewer distractions. Perhaps that’s why I am getting more questions about SAT and ACT prep. Consequently, I’m devoting today’s post to test prep. I have these two goals: No. 1: I want to emphasize...

June 12, 2012

I expect that just about any parent or teenagers reading this post will agree with this statement: the SAT and ACT should be offered in the summer. It’s a no brainer. In the summer students have more time to prepare for the test and they can be better rested before they take it. I’ve always wondered why the test giants...

May 7, 2012

Last week people posted questions on The College Solution’s Facebook page that I promised to answer after visiting a regional college conference in Reno. I started chipping away at the questions last week with these two posts: Answering Your SAT and ACT Questions The Realities of Merit Scholarship Facebook Questions Today I am answering questions about admission requirements, SAT/ACT practices...

May 4, 2012

Earlier this week on my Facebook page, I asked folks to send me questions to ask college admission representatives at a Western college conference that I am attending. I got about three dozen questions from parents and I hope to answer as many as I can in upcoming posts. Today I’m going to start addressing some standardized test questions. It’s...

March 2, 2012

I recently got an email from a dad who was depressed because his son had performed poorly on the SAT test. He wondered what his son’s options are. I understand how the father felt. The ACT and SAT loom so large in the life of a college-bound student that it’s easy to assume that doing poorly on either test will...

March 2, 2012

I recently got an email from a dad who was depressed because his son had performed poorly on the SAT test. He wondered what his son’s options are. I understand how the father felt. The ACT and SAT loom so large in the life of a college-bound student that it’s easy to assume that doing poorly on either test will...

December 6, 2011

Over the weekend, teenagers across the country suffered through the final SAT exam of  2011, which gave me an excuse to share some statistics on the SAT.  If you missed the post, here it is: 8 Statistics You Didn’t Know About the SAT Today I’m answering a question from a mom, who was prompted to write after reading my SAT...

December 4, 2011

Last week, a mom asked me on my Facebook page what constitutes good SAT scores. I told her it depends on the caliber of the school. At some colleges a 1600 out of a 2400 score is above average while at other schools, applicants with that kind of score wouldn’t even be seriously considered. At some of the nation’s most...

November 29, 2011

I’ve often wondered why colleges and universities are so fixated on admitting students with extremely high SAT or ACT scores. Some of these teenagers only excel at taking tests and earning top grades, which can lead to awfully uninspiring young adults. I’ve heard admission folks privately lament that kids with high test scores can be duds.  If I was an...