Common Admission Test Questions: How to Use Your Scores for Scholarships with Rachel Mead

Hello parents, is your teen college ready? I am so excited to share we have a guest today that is going to answer all of your testing questions. Well, maybe not all of them, but get really close. So without further ado, Rachel Mead, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me, Shellee Howard. I certainly appreciate it. Um, I've been in the test prep and supplemental education tutoring space for 28 years now. I have spent time at national companies companies serving in tutor training and development as well as implementation of best practices on a national scale. Prior to starting our own company of Enhanced Prep, my husband and I have been very dialed into the concerns of both parents and students alike as they're navigating the challenges of gaining the acceptance letter and the money they need to be able to say yes to the colleges that are on their list.

Oh my gosh. So parents, if you're listening and you have questions about SAT, ACT— oh, let's just keep going— PSAT, APs, IBs. Let's just keep going. And parents are like, what? That's a whole nother language. So let's go ahead and get started. I do have one question. When you were in high school, did you know you would be doing what you're doing now?

Pretty darn close. I was actually part of the Johns Hopkins Youth Talent Search myself, so I took my first SAT exam when I was in 7th grade. So I got doused into the, this space pretty darn quickly. But a very dear friend of mine in high school was being heavily recruited to play football at the college level and was struggling with regards to his SATs, taking them multiple times. As a high school student myself, I did my best to help. Again, I did have a really nice score, but being able to translate that at the same time at a young age was certainly challenging. But he did finally get in and he went on to the NFL. So talk about knowing very early that the SAT could have the potential of being such a big hurdle that it didn't need to necessarily be to really work on changing futures. Yeah, I, I got my passion quick Shellee Howard.

You know, you're one of the few who have had— I've had thousands on my show, and most will say, I had no, no, I was not even close to this. And now with AI being a real thing and robots potentially doing the jobs that are out there, how important is the testing? Is it optional? Is like, what's going on? Maybe give it the parents a reality check of What is happening in the testing world?

Absolutely. So there's 3 categories in terms of testing that colleges promote on their website or through their, their outreach, so to speak. The first one is test blind. Great example of that is the UC schools. They say they're test blind, which means even if they have the scores, they do not look at them as part of the admissions package or gaining that acceptance letter to the school.

School.

As I know you know, and, and you may have talked about this on another podcast, that doesn't necessarily mean that that's universal across all majors and programs within the school. And there's still some programs that want to see it because of the competitive nature of their individual major or individual program. And it can also technically relate to possibly having to take some remedial classes while on the campus as well, if scores don't meet certain requirements. But again, to get accepted, they're not looked at and cannot be looked at for that first initial entry gate. Um, from there you have a lot of schools that are currently test optional, and what that means is it says we're going to look at them, we're going to compare students that don't have them against students that do have them, and decide whole picture which candidates we feel are the best fit for our, our college as a result. What we've really seen from colleges going test optional is their admission scores or their baseline SAT, ACT for acceptance are increasing because only students in the upper portion of what they used to require are sending in their scores. You're above average of our general acceptance, you're going to send your score. You're below, you're not going to send your score. So that needle is slowly ticking as we're moving through it. So in some ways, it has made colleges more competitive, even though they're technically optional now. And then we have colleges that do require them, either SAT or ACT. There's not a single college that has a single preference or says, we prefer this one over the other. Students get to choose the one that they are best suited for. Go after that and send that along the way.

Okay, parents, so let me just kind of take it to a simplistic level. This is how I like students to absorb it because it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if they're not a great test taker. This is not wonderful news for a student who has test anxiety. If you want scholarships, period, You need to take the test. So is it optional? Is it required? I, I, I, I like a student to know if they want money, you need to take the test. And if you do well at it, there's a ton of money available. And that's why I wanted Rachel on the show, because she's going to share with you how your student can get that kind of support. So I always like parents to understand that even if a school is optional today, it can be required tomorrow.

Yes.

Which means if you have a freshman and they're saying, I'm not gonna take a test, by the time they're a senior, they may be required and now they can't apply. So just be very careful what you hear on the web, what your child is saying, because they do not want to take an SAT or an ACT. I mean, most kids are not super excited to test prep.

Sure.

So I like parents to understand, let's, let's look at the entire picture. So let's break it down a little bit, Rachel. Is it possible— let's just take the UCs for a moment because they're, they're unique. They're the most, one of the most applied to schools in the world.

UCLA is number one still. Yes.

Yeah, so is it possible that a student writes in an essay about what it was like to get a perfect 36 on their ACT their freshman year?

Absolutely, of course that's gonna come into play, right? Because even though technically they're not looking at the scores, they want to know what achievements that the student has made, which could even include things like PSAT, National Merit, right? There's all kinds of academic recognition that can come along with those scores. Scores.

So again, I'm just trying to help look at all the angles because I'm a parent of 4, and I remember being on the receiving end of what would come home from school or come to me from my child. Some had test anxiety and some were amazing. My firstborn, he sees it, he knows it, he's an awesome test taker. He self-studied for the MCAT and got a 98%. Like, he's nailed that. What I will tell you is my second one almost didn't pass the NCLEX because she's terrified of the word test. So how do you help the different children and what they come to you with to help meet them where they're at and get them where they want to go?

So we really take a look at one, the student's baseline testing, right? Um, whether that's SAT, ACT, PSAT. We also offer what's called an enhanced prep diagnostic that's half SAT, half ACT, so that we can see both in the same sitting, and we compare that to the scores needed for the colleges that they're currently interested in. Our programs focus on 3 components in terms of what a test prep program with us does. The first one is content. What do we need to break down for the student in terms of punctuation rules or math formulas or, uh, understanding charts and graphs on the science or within the SAT. From there, we work on strategies. Because these tests are not designed for a student to be able to demonstrate mastery, this means the concepts are further removed from what they're working on in school. And less than 8% of all students that test have enough time to finish every question to the best of their ability.

Wow.

So our job is to say, you know what? We know you don't have enough time. Let's work on strategies that help you get through questions faster, cut down on the opportunity to make careless errors, and increase that accuracy as we're moving through. And then finally, we approach what we call a game plan. What are you gonna do when you start this section? How much time do you spend on this? What do you move on to next? When do you guess and go? So we're really customizing on an individual basis what this student needs in order to hit that goal score that they desire to gain that acceptance.

So what I'm hearing is strategy, and that is the name of the game. We strategize to help your child stand out and get accepted. You're strategizing to help them have the best test score. So the first thing that came to mind as a parent, can you give me an example of how, how does that work? Like, how do you teach them strategy about a test problem.

Sure.

I, I think that would be helpful for parents.

Great. So as we know from interacting with the English language on a regular basis, technically, um, when we're writing, we could use a period or a semicolon. Agreed?

Absolutely.

We may or we may not know best practices around either one of those things, but we can generally say what they're supposed to do. In terms of the SAT and the ACT, there is zero difference between a period and a semicolon. So when we take a look at answer choices and having the student analyze the answer choices, here we see Word A with a period, Word B. Word A with a semicolon, Word B. Oh, you know what, student? These are both technically the same answer. We're gonna get rid of them both. We're gonna get down to these other two, and then we're gonna analyze for something else. That is an example of a very specific test-taking strategy for the SAT and ACT that can help students feel more confident and get through questions faster.

So then, is it true that it's not really testing their full intellect or IQ? It's testing also how well can they take the test. Is that true?

Absolutely. There is zero correlation between how brilliant a student is what their high school GPA is, and what their starting score on either one of these exams is, right? You are 100% correct that all this test measures is your ability to take this test in the amount of time you have on the day that you're taking it. So yes, I talk about it all the time. You know, I love personally working with student athletes. I can take that football player who is highly conditioned, very skilled, knows their plays, runs fast, is strong. I can hand them a rugby ball and pat them on on the back and say, go have a great game. And they can look at me like, what do you mean? I don't know what I'm supposed to do. That's the SAT and the ACT. They have their own set of rules. And so our job as tutors is to translate those rules in a way that the student can process depending upon their own learning style, their communication style, in a way that says, oh, now I know what this question is wanting me to do. I'm going to follow this pattern on other questions just like this and therefore score higher.

I, I tell students this all the time because when they get their score back the first time and I ask them, did you test prep? And they, well, maybe not like I should have. I'm just dumb. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's not your intellect. So I'm going to share an example, Rachel, because I, I want to help have you help parents understand something. My firstborn, he was a good test taker, and he said, Mom, do not spend money on test prep. I've got this. I just need a book. Give me that Barron's thing. So he opened up the book 3 times. I found him, fell him, found him asleep in the book 3 times. And he took the test and he did not get the score that he was hoping for. And he just threw his hands up and said, I'm dumb. This is awful. I'm not good. I said, will you try it my way now? And he's like, okay. And I got him a, a 1EU. This was 17 years ago.

Sure.

And I did my research, and he was all in because he was humbled. He increased his score from a state school to an Ivy League school.

Sure.

Is this something that is possible for all students, or is he unique?

Uh, he is definitely not unique. The biggest thing that's going to correlate to the student's increase in their potential is what they're willing to do outside of the session. We talk about all the time consistency of attending sessions with your tutor, which we recommend at least once a week for an hour. It doesn't need to be any more than that, but the student does need to have multiple touches of it during the week. So we break the homework down into about 2 or 3 20-minute chunks So it's very, very targeted on the question types that we just got done working on in session so that they can practice those. But that dedicated effort and consistency can do huge ranges in terms of the scale of that potential. Again, assuming that the student doesn't have severe learning differences, then we firmly believe that any student given enough time and space and energy effort that they're willing to put in can achieve those exceptional goal scores.

I think that is so important just to pause on because so many times families will say, well, my child's not like your child. And because I have 4, I'm like, yeah, well, either are my—

none of them are.

I can honestly say you're right because yes, same parents and, you know, unique. They all have their own gifts and talents. So what can a, a student expect if they were to sign up with you? What— how does this whole process work? And from a parent's perspective, what can I expect? What— it's a lot of unknown for me.

Absolutely. Um, one of the things that we really believe in from a parent perspective, and that the students need to be aware of, is we are a team philosophy, right? So the student has a tutor, the parent has an advisor who is their level of customer service, and. And then with the parents and the students together, we form this team to help the student succeed. Transparency in progress is vital. The parents get a regular update after every single session from us about what goals were accomplished, what are things we need to keep an eye on, what's the homework, when's the next session. All of these things so that they can be one, helping with the accountability, but also just as importantly, helping with the cheerleading side of what's going on with those students. Their student and celebrating those successes. Our students do practice tests about every 8 to 12 hours of instruction. We come back together and talk about those as a team. Here's what went well. Here's what we're going to put back into our instructional bucket. Here's what you've been able to take off our bucket. Now let's move forward with our next plan of attack. In terms of the student perspective, we spend a lot of time with them getting to know them from their learning style, their communication style, and their sense of humor. For example, we love to ask the question, if you need to unwind and chill, what show or movie are you gonna bin watch, right? Because we can get a sense for that sense of humor in terms of somebody they're going to be able to relate with. We work really hard on matching the tutor to the student because we know when they enjoy who they're meeting with, they're gonna put in more effort, they're gonna have a better attitude about it, which altogether means a bigger win for the parents that they're not fighting to get them to go. And the student's gonna be able to see that increase success because their effort is fully engaged.

Wow. Okay, I have a much better understanding. When we were talking before the show, you were saying how available your tutors are, and because we have students from international schools come to the US and from US go internationally, can you share your availability? Because I was blown away how Available you are. I thought I was available. You are even more available.

Yeah, um, so again, all of the tutors that work for Enhanced Prep have a minimum of a bachelor's degree. 60% have a master's or a doctorate, so we have highly qualified and educated people. But more importantly, they are skilled at explaining it and passionate about their desire to help students. We cover all of the US time zones. We have students in over 29 countries right now, and so we basically have tutor availability 7 days a week, on average about 20 hours a day. I will tell you Fridays tend to be a lot lighter because students are really checked out then, so we don't go as big on Fridays. But other than that, we have the perfect tutor to fit the student regardless of how specific their schedule needs to be.

So basically Any busy— I'm asking because our students in our program, they, they have a strategy that they're working on. They're doing passion with purpose and leadership and extracurriculars, and they're like, Shellee, when am I ever going to have time to test prep? And I told them it's quality, not quantity. And that's exactly what you were saying earlier. But let's back up a little bit because I think I got ahead of myself. How, as a parent, would I know if my child should take the SAT or the ACT?

There are huge misconceptions— ooh, let me try that again— misconceptions in our space, Shellee Howard, about SAT versus ACT. With the upcoming changes to the ACT, the tests are even going to look a little bit more similar than they already do. So helping students say yes to the right test is highly impactful. The vast majority of students— and when I say vast majority, I'm talking 75 to 80% of students— are gonna show a cognitive incline towards one test over the other based upon the way their brain is wired. Students that have a high degree of flexible thinking and abstract reasoning tend to be better SAT test takers. Those that are able to process quickly tend to be better ACT test takers. SAT favors mathematical brains, ACT favors verbal brains. That's just, again, a little snippet of some of the similarities and differences between these. So we always, always, always— even if a parent calls and says, I'm ready to sign my student up for SAT, we're like, wait, hold on, how do you know it should be SAT? Let's talk about the ACT. Let's be 100% certain, because we don't want the student and the parent to spend money and time on the wrong pathway when we can get much better results going in the other direction.

It's brilliant. So part of our program is— it's called Testing Diagnostics, similar to what you do. And it's really interesting when I ask a child, so have you test prepped? And they will usually be a little timid and be like, well, not really. And I said, have you taken the SAT or the ACT? And they're like, Nope, but I'm signed up for the SAT. And I'm like, awesome, how did you know that was your best test?

Yep.

Well, my friend told me that I would probably do better at that test because, you know, that's what they did better on. And I'm like, oh, timeout. How do you help a child realize that there is one test that is better for them?

Yeah. And again, I want to preface that we know that there are schools and districts and states that mandate one test over the other. Part of their district testing policy or graduation requirement or something like that, that we say, yes, you still need to do this because it's required for this, but that doesn't mean that that's the test that you should be sending in as part of your application. So again, with all of my time in this space, and again, I've written content for multiple other companies prior to starting— national companies prior to starting Enhanced Prep— I developed what's called the Enhanced Prep Diagnostic. And it's just a little bit over 2.5 hours, and it has both components of the SAT and components of the ACT embedded in it, but the student doesn't necessarily know which question relates to which exam so that they have to put maximum effort in rather than predetermining, oh, this is an ACT part and I'm just not gonna do my best because that's not the test I want to do for whatever reason, right? So we're able to come through and say, hey, we can see a tilt one way or the other in terms of the percentage of questions that the student got right. But we're also able to start our tutoring lessons from it because we can see the categories that the student found challenging that we want to build around that.

That is brilliant. I love— what I love most about that is the student does come with preconceived ideas, and so do parents. Yeah, for some reason, oh, this test is so much better. And I'm like, it's like Nikes and Adidas.

They're both in Pepsi. Yes, right.

And it's what is, what is inside of them that they're able to share. So this has been incredibly powerful. If a family was in need of test strategy tutoring support, how would they reach out to you?

Yeah, so please feel free to visit our website, which is enhancedprep.com. You can also email us at advisor@enhancedprep.com. Our phone number is 323-433-9775. My fantastic team of passionate and empathetic advisors are ready to assist you, answer the questions that you have. We can put that Enhanced Prep diagnostic in your student's hand and help your student say yes to the right test.

Wow. So parents, now you know, is it really optional? Well, I think we handle that one, especially if you want scholarships, right? It's not optional. So it's important. I will leave one thought with you, and that is when my son got 7 full-ride offers, it wasn't that he had a perfect test score, but it was pretty darn near close. And I believe that with his passion and purpose project, his GPA, his leadership, all of that wrapped together, what Rachel and her team offer is something that they will take into college with them and they will ace the, the test that they have to take in the future by using the same skills. So Rachel, thank you so much for being on the show. Any last words of advice or encouragement for the families?

Yeah, one thing that I would say, I, I really resonate with the comment you made, Shellee, about students feeling dumb as a result of this test. When they take a test in school, it's information that they've been studying in school, right? It's designed to say, show me all this stuff you learned. Both the SAT and ACT employ psychologists to put in what we call trap answers into these exams. They want to make questions harder by distracting students or attracting them to wrong answers in a way that they've never seen before. So it's never, oh, I was dumb, or oh, this happened. It's like, you let the test writers get that point because you fell for their trap. Now let's work on making sure that you capture that point for yourself in the future. So I just really want to reiterate with students, these tests speak their own language. And please, please, please, unless you have had somebody help you translate these exams, do not take your first round of scores personally.

Ah, that's beautiful. Thank you so much, Rachel, and thank you, parents. We're always here to support you. Until our next episode, have a wonderful day.