Webinar- Testing: Is it Really Optional?

So I'm gonna go ahead and get started. I am really happy if you can put on your camera. If you're driving, I totally get it. But I'm sure if you've ever been on one of these or led one, it's a lot more fun if you get to see people's face. Um, so thank you, thank you. I appreciate it very much. That's perfect. I love it. Thank you for coming on. It's so much more fun when I get to talk to people. So we're gonna dive in, and I'm gonna go ahead and start the presentation. And like I said, I'm gonna do question and answer at the end, and But I do want to answer your questions as we go, so please know I'm happy to stop, um, and answer. You, you can just shout out, you, you don't have to be formal or anything. So really where I want to go with this is help you understand your individual presentation or your individual test strategy. So think about this: does planning for college make you feel a little, maybe overwhelmed, a little unsure where to start? And are you planning to do this on your own? Because you'll want to take really detailed notes, or you'll want to get some help. Throughout this presentation, I have put QR codes all over the place for resources. I don't want to have you leave and be like, but how do I get that? I was on a call this morning in somebody else's presentation, and I figured at the end I'd taken great notes, but I had no idea where to get the resources. So I've done that with QR codes. For those of you who are not familiar, all you have to do is take your camera on your cell phone put it over the QR code, tap the screen, and the resource pops up for you. So it is just like that. So the first one is all of the solutions to this overwhelm feeling. All right, now this is what we're going to cover today. We will be going over how to decide between the SAT versus the ACT, we will decide on when to test, when to prep, and how many times to test, and how test optional factors into your decision around testing. So all of this is in my book, How to Send Your Student to College Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money. And so I want you to know you can get a free copy of that with this QR code. So it all comes down to strategy. There's no one way is the best way. So what is the best way for your family is really what we're asking here. And so I want you to think for a moment. Are you really looking for college for an academic fit? Are you gonna— are you looking to be in a college where you are either at the top and you're amongst your people, or are you going to be fighting for every A? Are you looking more for a social fit? That is an important thing to think about because if your student is not happy, we definitely have a problem. And you know what it's like when they're not happy at your house. Well, it doesn't get any easier when they're not happy at college. So with that said, the social fit is a real important factor, and so I want you to think about how that will play in. And then the financial fit— this is so critical. We are on a mission at College Ready to help you figure out how to not only get in, find the best academic fit, the best social fit, the best athletic fit, but also the financial fit. So let's go ahead and jump right in and get started. Another QR code. If you would like to know what is a good PSAT score, all you have to do is join that Facebook group and the resources waiting for you. So please go ahead and scan that. And, um, we would love to have you. There is a ton of resources, and since it's invite only, you are welcome to have the most recent and updated information. While we're on the PSAT, when should your child take it is always a question. It is our belief that the student should take the PSAT their freshman year in high school. Their sophomore year in high school, and 100% their junior year in high school. So think about that. Think about it like this. If you were learning how to ride a bike, right? The first time you ride the bike, you might crash and burn a little bit, maybe scratch your elbow or knee. But the second time you get on the bike, hmm, it's definitely a little bit easier. Now the third time, you're ready to jump curbs. Testing is very similar. It's nothing like students have ever done before, and there is a strategy to it. Most of my brilliant students who have over a 4.0 GPA or even over a 3.5, they tend to get all the ones at the beginning right, and then they run out of time and panic. And that is not good. So learning the strategy to beat the test is very important. Now, why is the PSAT important? A lot of students are like, "Well, I'm just gonna be optional. I'm not gonna do any of this testing." Well, the PSAT has an opportunity to help you to be a finalist, a semifinalist. You could actually earn your own UC education for free if you test well. So if you care at all about scholarships or free, the PSAT is a very important point. The other thing about the PSAT is if you score well, all of the big colleges will start chasing you, and that is a really good feeling when they say, "Here, here's an application for free." We want you. You're the perfect fit. They're reaching out to you. So please take advantage of it and definitely take it as often as you can. I'm attending on my phone. I can't even— oh, the QR code's on your phone. I didn't even think about that. I will send everybody the QR code. I'll make a list and you can just go through and do that. Thanks, Katherine. I, I didn't think people were going to be on their phones. I apologize. We will definitely get them to you. Good point. Here I thought I was making life easier for you all. Sorry. So this is one of my favorite pictures. Have you ever tried to test prep this way? My story is this: my very firstborn, he was a really good student and he was kind of gifted. And so he had never really had to work that hard for his A's. So he said, "Mom, do not pay for me to do any test prep. I've always gotten A's. I can handle this." And so I'm like, "All right, let's see what you've got." And the first time he took the test, it was a crash and burn, literally in tears. What we found is it wasn't his IQ they were testing. They were truly testing his skills, his ability to beat the test. So if you are in a position that you need help prepping for testing, we can help you with that. We have a sister company called CR Tutoring and Test Strategies And they have the best, including the ones who helped my son get into Harvard. So this just brings back happy memories. So my second child, she's like, yeah, I don't need a test prep either. And she said, just get me one of those books. So I went and I bought her a book and I went, went downstairs to get her a snack, came back up. And that's exactly what she was doing. She was asleep on her bed with her head in the book. That is no way to prep. So test strategy is everything. Here is the most important piece, I think, for students who are now deciding what to do. Because during COVID a lot of schools said they were going to go test optional. And then a few schools said we're going to go test blind. I want students and especially their families to hear what actually is happening. So for students who want to get any type of scholarship, the easiest and quickest way is a good SAT or ACT score, hands down. Last year our students received over $10.7 million in scholarships, and every one of them had a test score. They may have not used the test score at every school, but every one of them had a test score to submit for scholarships. So with that in mind, testing is optional in the way you look at it. So not everything is as it than it seems. What do I mean? Well, even at schools that say they're optional, how optional is it if my student is writing their test score in their essay? If a student had a story like my son's, where I thought I could do it all by myself, and then I prepped, and I did it the right way, and I increased my score by 300 points, which made it the difference between a state school and an Ivy school. That essay is going to be pretty impactful. So for the student who's just going to leave it empty, now how optional is it? Now if a student is saying, "I am not a good test taker," I think it's important to think about why, and we'll get into that in just a little bit. So diving into the timeline, this is a general timeline, and if you stay to the end, I'm going to give you a gift that will give you a specific timeline for your student. So because there's so many different students in our program from a, you know, a 3.0 to a 5.0, we can't approach this the same way for every student. So what does that mean? I'm giving you parameters, all right, to at least get your mind thinking, how does this all work? So in the sophomore year, late spring and summer, you're gonna wanna take a diagnostic test. Our students at College Ready, when they sign up, we include a diagnostic test for the SAT and one for the ACT. They are timed, they're at home, and we use their score to decide what is the best test, and then we get rid of the other one. It is not helpful for a student to be prepping back and forth, back and forth. Is— are there similarities? Yes, there are. But are there differences? Yes, there are. And so a student could get really confused on their strategy of timing and how they're going to do on the test if they bounce back and forth. So after our students take a diagnostic SAT and a diagnostic ACT, we actually show them their score. Some like it, some don't like it, but why do we do this? Is because we want the student to see that it's not our opinion that they want the SAT or the ACT. A lot of students will say, well, I heard math is, is more on the SAT and I'm good at math, so I just want to take the SAT. And I'm like, that's fine, let's just take a diagnostic test. The worst thing that's going to happen is you practice some more. And then what they find out is a little scary. What they thought most of the time is not true. So for a student who is going to test prep on their own, it is very dangerous to do it based on what somebody else did or what somebody else told them or how they feel about it. Testing is very— it's left brain, right? It's this or that. It's not shades of gray. It is truly you either did well or you didn't do well. What I love about our diagnostic test is it shows the student were they silly mistakes or did you not know the answer Or did you run out of time? Because that is really what we're trying to get at in testing. Think about this: students are going to have to test for the rest of their life. I mean, there's the driver's test, there's the MCAT, the LSAT, there's, there's so many tests all the way through college. So if a student learns how to beat the test— it helped my son. He got a 98% on his MCAT and he used the same exact strategy he learned for the SAT. My daughter passed the NCLEX top of her class because she used the same strategy she did on her SAT. So please think about it this way. There's no student that's gonna go, "Yes, I can't wait to test prep. This is awesome." I get it. But what I will tell you is it's not like learning something you'll never use again. If you want to go ahead and mute, that would be awesome. Thank you, thank you. Um, we got some more stuff coming in. Slides on my screen. What is a good score on the PSAT? What, um, if, if you go into the College Ready Debt Free group on Facebook, that resource is there, and I will send out how to do that um, in a follow-up email. Bobby, are there places other than school where you can sign up to take the PSAT test? Yes, there is, but it is a strategy because at some schools, for whatever reason— well, I know what it is, it's budgetary— some schools do not want to pay for freshmen and sophomores to take the PSAT. That is a fact. So you can always first say, "I'm happy to pay for my child's test," and get over that hurdle. Or if it's limited based on size, right, we don't have room, then it's like, okay, then ask them, "Where can I do it?" And then if your school is, bottom line, not a good resource, Just email me, shellee@collegereadyplan.com, and I can give you other schools to consider based on your geography. I don't want to list the schools now because we can get all sideways. There's way too many testing sites, but those are great questions. The PSAT is important. So as we look at, okay, let's think about this. How do we beat the system, and that is with a strategy. Because if you go at this with, you know, just go try your best, the, the best may not be good enough, and then it's going to hurt the confidence of the student. So we use a strategy, and this is what it looks like for the average student. Now keep in mind, families, I've had students their freshman year fall semester get a perfect 36 score on the ACT. So this is very, you know, across the board for an average student. If a student has already taken all of their prerequisites, which we can help you understand, they're ready. You don't need to wait until they're sophomore, junior, senior. That is their own strategy. So again, I'm just trying to help you, give you something so you're not flying, you know, in the dark. Then I've broken it down. Some people like it more in a verbal or written form, so you can see that taking the PSAT or the PLAN, which is the ACT version, in October of their freshman year is super important. Guess what next month is? It's October. You want to be asking this question right now. And then if they're going to take any of the subject tests, which they really don't need to anymore, they're going to want to do it here. But again, it's not necessary, so we don't want to distract them with unnecessary tests. I left it on here because that's always a question I get. And then if you have a 10th grader, this is what it looks like. An 11th grader, this is what it looks like. And a 12th grader. This is what it looks like. So I've given you the foundational work, and it's also in my book, but really what I wanted to spend time helping you think about is your individual student. I have 4 kids of my own, and every one of them tested differently. So what does that mean? That means not all of them could approach this the same way. And that is really important for you to understand, students, is if you do it the way your best friend or sibling did it, you may not do it well. So you want to think about how do you learn. So just for a moment, think about if you see it on the chalkboard, just see it. Do you know the answer? If you see it and hear somebody explain it to you, is it better? If you see it, hear it, and write it, are you solid? Or what is your learning style? You know, there's those students who see it and it's in. Then there's the students who see it, hear it, write it, do flashcards, and it's just challenging. There are different test strategists who teach different skills to every type of learner. So knowing the right strategist to work with is really important, and we can help you with that. Your consultant has a perfect way to help you with that. So if you have any questions on what kind of learner I am or how is the best way I prep, that is a question that we could answer individually. So just thinking about that is an important factor. So there was some breaking news that actually just came out yesterday, and I wanted to share. This may not apply to you and your family, but it may apply to families that you know. So starting in March 2023, the SAT is going digital For students testing outside of the U.S., yes, our international students are the testing. Um, and what does that mean? They're going to make sure, because there's less of them, that there's no bugs in it before they bring it to the U.S. Should they avoid taking the very first test? Absolutely avoid it, because as you do anything the first time, you're working out the kinks. When it does come to the U.S., try to be strategic in when you take it, how many times you take it, and where you take it. All of that is going to be important. So I wanted to show you how different testing and tutoring happens. So there's the normal, what you call academic tutoring. This is if you needed help in algebra, and you wanted somebody just to focus in on how to do equations, that would be an academic tutor. Then you have SAT and ACT test prep. This— there's two kinds. There's the kind that you open up a book and you self-study. I'm going to give you two resources right now I recommend that you write down. The first one is collegeboard.org and the second one is act.org. You can have your student log in and completely free practice test. So if they say, oh, I don't, you know, I don't have the money, or we can't, or whatever, these two sites, one is College Board is the SAT, and ACT.org is the ACT, obviously. And so I just wanted you to know that there are free resources. You don't have to go crazy and pay for a private tutor. So what we do at College Ready is we assess how close are they to meeting their goal. And I can stay after and help you to see at different schools what is the test score they need, because we know that answer. So keep in mind there are two types. One of them is a group testing prep, and what they do is they go through and they help you understand each section of the test. But if you are not average or, you know, the, the middle of the pack, you may need more help or less help. So a test strategist is somebody who works with you individually, and for anybody applying to any Ivy League or Ivy-ish school, absolutely need to be working with a test strategist, and I can recommend some wonderful ones. The other one is the third area that we help with, and that is essay writing. We have brainstorming sessions, we have essay editing, We have support for, for kids who just need help learning how to write well. So all of that can be done for free in a group or one-to-one. What's the old saying? You have— do you have more time or do you have more money or neither? So I told you the story about my son at Harvard, but I'm not sure if I mentioned his 300-point boost was the difference between a state school and Harvard. He ended up getting so many scholarships from his test score, I lost track of them. So just know that testing is a great way to get scholarships. So those of you who are still on the fence thinking, do I really need to do this? Does my student need to do this? Think about why you won't do it. So typically, if a student doesn't want to do it, they may have test anxiety. And this is a real thing. Test anxiety is something that no matter how hard a student practices and studies, when they get to the test, their mind goes blank and their heart beats fast and they just freeze. And this is real. My second child had it, and we had to do so much to combat it. So with that, we have actually worked with a hypnotherapist who can help students overcome test anxiety. So if your student has that, please know it is something they can outgrow and, and learn how to beat it. But I just wanted to mention, standing out in a competitive world, it makes sense that you would do better if you had a good PSAT score, a good AP or IB score, good ACT or SAT scores. But more importantly than standing out is if you want scholarships, because like I mentioned several times, there's a lot of opportunity for scholarships if you have test scores. If you decide not to test, we have plenty of those students as well. Just know that because a school is optional today, it doesn't mean they will be optional the year your student takes the test or applies for college. It's just taking your chances. To me, it doesn't matter. I mean, whichever way the student decides, we support them, and we have a strategy for that. So learning to be successful on tests now so the student— so in college you will have mastered the skill. This is what I have learned by having my own children go through this. We talked a little bit about the college application and essay strategy. If your student is still younger, this feels like forever, but I'm going to share with you what the essay prompts are now, and they don't often change. Maybe a word or two, but the theme is always the same. So why do I bring this up now is because this is another way for your student to stand out, and if they decide not to test, I want them to have something that will help to take its place. So making sure that when your student answers these, that every one of them has a unique activity, honor, or award attached to them. Those would be the essay topics. So what we do is we help our students outline all of the amazing stuff that they've done over the last 4 years. Then we match them to which ones will answer the prompt the best, and that is where we start the brainstorming process. This is our podcast, so for those of you who do have a commute and would like more information, this is totally free. I'm here to give you resources. So on the College Ready Podcast, we interview people in the testing world. We interview therapists, We interview community service, anybody who would help your student be successful. And this is how you can follow our podcasts. We really believe that we are successful because of our students and our families. We do not take every student into our program because we are 100% successful. We are committed to helping that student get exactly what they want. We want you to know the difference between what we do at College Ready and what the high school does. The high school just needs to get your student to graduate. We only get clients who are successful going off to college and successful in life. So those are the things that are different. Well, one of many things, but that hopefully will give you a better idea. This student right here, um, her dad, um, was very kind. I, I've actually had all 3 of their kids now, but their oldest, um, Grace, she is actually on a full ride to Vanderbilt right now. So he's pretty happy. Um, he has 2 more to go through the system, but, uh, it's a pretty happy place to be. So what do I want to do is I want to help you to understand the bottom line. We're going to open it up for questions. I'm going to show you some examples, but the most important thing is do not assume anything. Every week colleges are announcing that they will accept test scores or they won't. Unless you are 100% sure every one of the colleges you will be applying to is test blind, You need to test prep and take the test at least 2 to 3 times. To simplify our recommendations, we use a strategy that will make you look the best. If you have a great test score, show it. If you do not, you will need to decide what to do on each application. Some colleges will use your test scores alone or in combination with other characteristics and achievements to award their scholarship funds. Some colleges may even automatically award you a scholarship if you earn a certain score. Other organizations and private companies that award scholarships may also require test scores as part of their scholarship application. If you want big scholarships like we do, test prep with a test strategist, set your score goals, and then do your best to get above average at that school. So for those of you who are still on the call, I wanted to share two gifts with you. And again, I'll send out these codes to you. The first one is a free 30-minute discovery call where I will help you map out your student's testing and timeline. On the call, you will also receive a list of test-blind and test-optional colleges. So I really want to help your family be successful at this. If you're one of our clients, this will actually be done with you, so you don't need a special appointment. But if you're not a client yet, here's a way to take advantage of a very generous offer. So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to share and show you how we're able to do this with our students. Um, good. And no other comments at this time, so we're doing great. Oh, here one. Here's one: I feel like we're too late. My son is a senior and October will be his first time taking the SAT, and he took the PSAT in 9th grade. Yeah, so I hear what you're saying, and that this is I have, I have seniors just like this, and, and I feel for you. It just means that there, there needs to be something else, um, and/or just have them apply to colleges that are test blind and don't need a test score. So hopefully, you know, it won't make a difference, but it's my belief that, you know, um I don't want students to get to their senior year and be in a position of, "Why didn't somebody tell me?" Um, and that's kind of how I feel like the seniors are feeling right now. So I'd like to show you how we help our students to know what test scores they need, because I think that's half the battle. Not knowing what they need is really frustrating because it's no fun to just say, Well, just go get a perfect score. Well, okay, right? Who can do that? So I want to show people how we help students do that. So I'm gonna share my screen and I'm gonna take you inside our custom designed student portal where our students stay organized and have their standout strategy. I'm inside Vincent's portal right now. He is my fake student and Vincent has taken both a diagnostic SAT, and a diagnostic ACT. And so we plug in his scores and then we look at, well, which test did he do better on? For some students it may be close, for other students it may be really far apart. So depending on what that score is for the student, we can tell them which one they should focus on. Again, saving them time, money, and frustration so they don't have to keep practicing both tests. So that is one way we do it. The second way we do it is, um, hopefully— let me go out of here and go back in. I want to make sure that you all can see the screen. This is important. Okay, so, um, I think you all can see this. Can somebody put in the chat if you can see that? All right, anybody can see it? Okay, I'm gonna keep going then. So here's Vincent's standout strategy. What I wanted to show you is we can show you what are the test scores of the students who got in last year at any school in the world. So we can pick any school and we can look at who applied, who enrolled, and who got in. We can look at what is the average GPA and what is our student's GPA. And this is where it gets really interesting. The dark purple Oh, somebody cannot. Thank you very much. That is not good. Let me go back because you're like, what? I'm not following you. This is— that's crazy. Okay, love technology. So I'm gonna go at it again, and hopefully that will do it. All right, can you all see my mouse moving? This is so strange. I don't see it light up like it usually does. Got it. Thank you. I have a yes. I'm good on a yes. So you can see at NYU, the average GPA on a 4.0 is a 3.79 across all majors. Then we can look at the dark purple is the average test score of students who took the SAT. The left side is they scored less than average. The right side, they scored better than average. Vincent's test score is on the top of average. He now has a decision to make. Does he want to take it again? Or is he going to be okay with that score? The same thing for the ACT. So it's important that you understand that every school has their test score, and it's, it's beneficial to know what that is. So that is how we help students get really clear on what test score do we need. So that gave you a lot of information, and I'm sure there's some questions. I'm happy to stay on and take them. I will tell you, if you want to take advantage of that discovery call, you're welcome to do so. I'm going to put it in the chat in case you want to just click on the link, and then that way you can set that up directly on my, on my calendar, everyone in the meeting. There it is. So it's in chat. So if you're like, yeah, I need, I need that information, great. If you're one of our clients, all of this is going to be reviewed directly with your student. If you're not, then here's some opportunity for you. So does anybody else have any questions? Anything that's on top of your mind that I can answer for you. Okay, there is no silly question. Well, wonderful. I guess I was thorough enough. So thank you all very much for your time. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any other questions that you think of when you hop off, please let me know. All right, thank you so much. Have a great evening. Bye for now.