PTA Meeting Summary - Understanding College Admissions Standardized Tests

Many thanks to Maureen from Revolution Prep for coming to present to the PTA last week about how to understand the various college admissions tests. Below are some useful slides that she shared (all graphics used are from Revolution Prep, to learn more about test prep from this company go to www.revolutionprep.com)

The format of the PSAT

 The format of the SAT

The format of the ACT

The differences and similarities between the PSAT, SAT, and ACT

As always, my advice is as follows:

All students are encouraged to examine their performance on both the SAT and ACT (usually via their PSAT and mock ACT scores). Whichever test the student is naturally better on is the one they should take twice for real. Some students feel they will maximize their score by taking a prep course or using a tutor. A course or tutor should only be used for the one type of exam they already know they have a natural ability in. If a student tests the exact same on the two tests, they should pick the test they like studying for best. Colleges will all take either the SAT or ACT with writing.

Testing should be done during the spring (January to June) of Junior year, with senior year fall as an option for re-testing. Most students at ElRo are best served by trying to maximize their SAT Reasoning Test or ACT with writing score as opposed to worrying about taking tons of SAT Subject Tests. Two or three Subject Tests are required by a small subset of the most selective colleges. If a student wants to apply to those schools, they will need to take the tests, but the majority of students will not need to focus on them. If a Subject Test is taken, it is encouraged to be taken in June, at the end of the course in that subject.

If a student is not satisfied with their testing scores, they are encouraged to look at www.fairtest.org a website that indicates schools that are testing optional (meaning no test scores must be submitted in order to be admitted).

See you Thursday!

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Thursday, January 19) is a college related PTA meeting: Demystifying Standardized Testing. I encourage any parent, guardian, or student grades 9-11 to attend to learn more about how testing works. The meeting is at 6:00 pm in the auditorium!

Financial Aid PD Tips and Reminders

Thank you to the New York State Financial Aid Administrator's Association and HESC for offering their annual Financial Aid professional development yesterday, which I was able to attend. I can't even begin to put all of the information that I learned into one blog post, but I do want to share some highlights that I think students, parents, and guardians will find useful.

- The FAFSA is really starting to push the option of linking your taxes (if filed electronically) with the FAFSA to reduce the need to be selected for verification and to lower the chance of making an error with the data entry. The Data Retrieval Tool (or DRT) is not available right now, but should be in a few weeks (ideal since that is when most people will start filing taxes). The site should remind/encourage families to use this too, but it is highly recommended. My understanding is you WILL be able to submit the FAFSA now indicating that you 'will file' taxes for 2011 then when you log back in in a month to update after you have filed your taxes you can opt in to the DRT feature.

- Student aid is at constant risk of being cut by your federal legislators. Go to 'Save Student Aid' on Facebook to learn more and find out how to speak to your representatives to try and reduce further cuts.

- TAP is a grant given to NY state residents if they attend a college in NY state. You will be prompted to fill out a TAP application after you submit your FAFSA, but the link is pretty small (it is next to the orange arrow that says 'optional feature' on the page that comes up after you submit). If you miss this link (or close the window after you submit the FAFSA without clicking it) you will need to wait 5 days before you can complete the TAP application. If this happens, don't worry, it is not very time sensitive and you will probably have to edit your TAP application in May anyway once you decide where you are going. (The TAP award is only calculated for one school - the first New York State school that you list on your FAFSA. If you end up not getting in or not going to that school, you can manually update the school via that TAP site). Your adjusted gross income for your NY state return must be under $80,000 per year to qualify for TAP. The awards can be up to $5,000 per year.

- Colleges that require the CSS Profile can provide fee waiver codes to low income students if the ones provided to the student when they fill out the CSS are not sufficient. Students should call the individual college where the CSS is required, but whose fee was not covered by the College Board, and ask about Fee Payment Codes. This was the most exciting thing I learned at the whole workshop!! (Please note, this does NOT mean that every family can call up the schools and ask for fee waivers. These still only apply to students who have a financial hardship in paying the fees associated with filing the CSS. Remember, it is a financial based form. Colleges will be able to see your income and assets, only ask if you really need it).

- If your family has a change to their financial situation that is not clear on the FAFSA or CSS, call the Financial Aid office at the school and inquire about what kind of professional judgement can be made to adjust your award package. This would be in a situation say where a parent lost a job in February of 2012, or got an illness diagnosis in November of 2011.

- NEW THIS YEAR: If your EFC has an asterisk * next to it and you've been selected for verification, you can no longer provide documentation to the colleges via a 1040. Thanks to fraud and lots of people faking these documents, colleges are now only supposed to accept a tax transcript from the IRS, which the parent will have to call the IRS to request. It was suggested to have the transcript faxed as opposed to mailed on paper, since mailing it will take significantly longer. If a family doesn't have access to a fax machine please use the school's fax number and make me aware of when to expect it so I can be sure the main office is prepared to get such a sensitive document. If you are are not selected for verification, you don't need to worry about this step.

- For students that are undocumented, I highly recommend connecting with the New York State Youth Leadership Council. They offer a support group for undocumented students and are a fabulous resource to understand how to apply, attend, and afford college. If you fall into this category, please see me so I can give you more information. Their website is www.nysylc.org  if you are not undocumented but want to help support legislation to open up paths to citizenship for students in this category, look up ways to support the DREAM Act.

- Overall the main idea with Financial Aid is MEET DEADLINES and triple check every number before submitting. It is easy to make mistakes, especially when you rush. File the FAFSA this month then be sure to remember to log back in and update the entire thing with your 2011 numbers. They make you jump through a lot of hoops, but ask yourself if that is worth the chance to get money. Usually, it is.

Apps wind down, Faf$as wind up

Source: flickr.com via One Crafty on Pinterest

The New Year brings a new beginning! It also brings lots of financial forms. January is the month where senior families need to be filing the FAFSA (in addition to the CSS Profile if it is required and hasn't been completed already).

Most Common Questions About Financial Aid: 
Click below to read!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Source: google.com via Christine on Pinterest

The application season is entering the final stretch! As we finish up the year don't forget to take a break to spend time with friends and family. They are more important than the Common App. Also give some black and white movies a chance, they are better than the Common App too.

Wishing everyone a great 2012!

December Decisions

Source: etsy.com via pinkleo on Pinterest

I've been trying my best to come up with a fun youtube explanation of the different EA/ED decisions like last year, but with so many copyright issues and videos unavailable, I've come up short. So, just a post will have to do.

There are three outcomes to any admission application: admit, defer/waitlist, and deny. Defer is what happens in an EA/ED round and waitlist is what happens in the regular round.

With an admit, for an ED school, the game is over. It means you will be enrolling at that school and you need to withdraw all of your other applications. There is no room for financial aid comparison and I can't, ethically, allow you to pursue any other schools if you have been given a spot via ED. To withdraw, you will most likely need to contact each of the other schools you have already submitted applications to, in writing, and say that you want to withdraw your application. No need to explain more, they know people apply ED. If you were smart and held off on pressing submit then your job is even easier, just clean up your Naviance account and send in your deposit.

If you were denied, this is a time to mourn. It is never fun to get bad news and I sympathize with how disappointed you must be. All you can do though is view it as a blessing in disguise. It means you were not meant to go to that school anyway and that you should focus your efforts on finding a better fit for you. At least you can go to bed knowing that you put your best foot forward, made your intentions clear, and gave yourself the best chance of being admitted.

Being deferred can be actually be more challenging than being denied, because it means you have to still cling to the hope that you could be admitted during regular. What you should do is be sure that you've emailed me about adding your name to the mid-year grade report list (so I will know to send your senior grades in January) and then focus your efforts on the rest of your applications. Next month, I also encourage you to contact the schools where you were deferred and send them a note letting them know of your continued interest (assuming that is that you have continued interest. If you were deferred from a school you really don't plan on going to anyway, this step is not necessary).

Tons of deadlines are coming in January, so the time is now to really get focused and finalize all essays and apps. Remember, if you need something sent in prior to break, get it to me asap. But yes, it is FINE to have me send something the week we are back even if the deadline was January 1. Deadlines are for students. School documents can come in during a short window after the deadline without penalty.

Remember, start gathering financial paperwork now, the FAFSA goes live January 1!

PSAT

The 11th grade has now been given their PSAT scores - I hope the assembly was informative and helpful. Below is the follow up email sent out to all students:

- The PSAT is out of 240 points, there is no official 'good' score, but the percentiles can help you see if you feel your performance is a good representation of your ability. Instead of seeing scores as 'good' or 'bad' consider if you made progress from your 10th grade PSAT and if you think you can make any additional progress for the real thing.

- Utilize the free resource www.collegeboard.com/quickstart with your personalized access code (from your score report) to get individualized test prep, personality test, career inventory, and college research.

- Compare your PSAT score to a mock ACT score and see what test you did better on. Then register for the real test to be taken in the spring of your Junior year. Register now because testing centers will fill up FAST. Go to www.collegeboard.com if you plan to take the SAT, go to www.actstudent.org if you plan to take the ACT. Never tried the ACT? Contact a test prep company to see about a free or low cost diagnostic exam.

- ElRo will be having one more $5 practice SAT opportunity on Saturday, January 21. If you are interested, register at www.revolutionprep.com.

- The two best ways to improve your scores are: taking repeated practice tests and reading high level books outside of class to improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension. If you decided to enroll in a test prep course, you should do so in the spring of your junior year or the summer between your junior and senior year. You should plan to take whichever exam you are better on (ACT or SAT) TWO times between now and November of your Senior year. You can pick which two administrations work best for your study plan and schedule. Not everyone needs to take a class, you may also want to explore buying a prep book (or getting it from the library), doing your own online practice at my college quickstart, or getting a private tutor.

- If you qualify for free or reduced lunch then you can take the ACT/SAT two times for free. See me for the waiver code numbers so you can register online.

- I have practice booklets for the exams available in my office. Remember, register for your exam(s) now!

A few other things we didn't talk about today but are still important:

- If you are an ACT person - meaning you did better on the ACT- remember to always register WITH writing. Some schools require it so better to just have it on there in case.

- Use your percentiles as a guide to see if it makes sense for you to be taking SAT Subject Tests. Some of the most selective schools in the country ask for 2-3 subject tests in addition to the SAT. Some schools allow the ACT with writing to replace the SAT Subject Tests, but if you are not an ACT person then you probably want to get some subject tests done in June of your Junior year (since you'll be finishing up the courses where you may want to take a subject tests, like for example US History or Physics). Keep in mind though that only students that feel they are going to be competitive applicants in a highly selective pool should focus on worrying about subject tests at this time. Translation: if your main PSAT/SAT score could use improvement, aka you are not in a top percentile, focus on that instead of subject tests. Not sure if the schools you are thinking about require the exams? Just check the school's Admissions website, all requirements will be listed there.

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FAFSA Info Night Wrap Up

Source: howaboutorange.blogspot.com via Clare on Pinterest

Thank you to Anthony Becker for, once again, generously sharing his expertise with our students and families in regards to the FAFSA line by line presentation last night. I know the material can be difficult and overwhelming to hear at such a fast pace and going straight through, but just being there hopefully helped everyone pick up a few key points about filling out the form. If anyone has additional questions and feel they could benefit from a sit-down meeting with Mr. Becker (who is a Certified Financial Planner) you can call him at 914-722-1777 to schedule an appointment. Please keep in mind that he is very busy so you should call soon if you want to see him.

Here are the key highlights that would want to reiterate:

- If you don't apply for aid, you can't get it. It is in most people's benefit to at least apply. Worst case scenario, you don't get aid, but best case scenario you could qualify for something you were not expecting. The usual cut off for income for a family to get need based aid with one person in college is about $220,000 of income, or less, per household. Some schools won't give merit aid if you don't fill out the FAFSA though, so again, it is smart for everyone to try.

- Evaluate your assets to see if there is a way to shift money out of the certain categories that work against you into other categories that will not. For example, if you have lots of money in a savings account but also have lots of credit card debt, it is normally advisable to pay off the credit cards and lower the amount in savings because colleges won't factor in the credit card debt when making the financial aid package and the interest rate on consumer debt is much higher than that of a student loan.

- 529 accounts are, in Anthony's words, 'sticky.' Most families do not benefit from having them because to the government and the college that is money that you have already set aside to pay for school, they are going to ask you to use those up first before giving you additional aid.

- The FAFSA is filled out by the student for the household they live in. If your parents are divorced, you should fill it out for the home you live in the majority of the year (there are 365 days, you have to live in one place more of the time). The other parent will not be considered for the FAFSA. However, the more generous schools will normally also ask you to fill out the CSS Profile. This document will ask for your non-custodial parent information. Every school is different in how they analyze these forms and every family is different in how they are evaluated by these forms (for some families, the FAFSA will show a lower Estimated Family Contribution, or others the CSS will give a more accurate number for what a family can afford).

- Identity is huge for the government. You MUST use the exact name and spelling listed on your Social Security Card (and same goes for parents). If you don't, your FAFSA will be taken off the 'conveyer belt' (And that just means delays for you and other people getting packaged before you. Not ideal.)

- Pay attention to the wording on the form. The form is meant to be filled out by the student - so if a parent is doing it for the child be sure to remember if you are wearing the student hat or the parent hat for each section (the form asks for information about both people).

- Do. Not. Lie. On. These. Forms. Fraud is serious. It isn't worth the risk.

If you have questions and don't decide to use a certified financial planner to help you, there is a FAFSA help line at 1-800-433-3243 and a FAFSA web help section at: https://fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm

The form will go live for seniors January 1. Be sure you are filling out the 2012-2013 form because that is the SCHOOL YEAR when you'll be in school. The CSS is availiable now if your school requires it. You do have to pay for the CSS but the FAFSA is free. Never go to any FAFSA website besides the .gov one. The others are scams.

December is Here!

Source: Uploaded by user via Patrice on Pinterest

December is here! How is this possible? For seniors, there are many tasks I would recommend at this point in the year. Starting with: are you where you need to be with your applications? At this point, ALL public school applications should be submitted (including CUNY, SUNY, and out of state public schools). Don't forget the supplements! For regular decision private schools, you technically have until the deadline to submit, but I don't recommend putting it off. There are other Financial Aid related tasks for the coming weeks, so get the applications in and done with. Were you an EA/ED applicant? If so, remember your work isn't done. You'll find out in a few weeks if you got in or not and in case the news isn't want you want to hear, your other apps need to be complete and ready to submit so you can do it without having to go back and edit your essay or fill in your activities.

Already submitted items? Now what? I recommend calling the admissions office at each of the schools where you applied and asking them the "status of your application." This is admissions lingo for "did you get all the required items that I sent you like: my payment, my application, my letters of rec and my test scores. (**Note: many schools now have online portals where you can see the status of your application, if they have that, no need to call, just log in online and see if it says everything is complete). If any one of these items is missing, we want to get it to them asap. Most offices will take about 10 business days to process items, so if you just submitted a transcript request form Monday and I sent your items out Tuesday don't call Wednesday and be surprised if they say your transcript is missing. At the same time, don't wait until December 13th to call that EA school that we sent items in to back in October. Errors and glitches happen, just don't let them happen to you.

Curious to know if I've processed your request? Don't email me, just log in to Naviance and check the office status column. 'Initial Materials Submitted' means your requested items were sent.

What happens if you call about your status and something is missing? First line of defense: tell them how you applied. Was it via Common App? If so, they need to check their processing department because your items were sent electronically via a company called Docufide. Was it a SUNY school where you used the SUNY app? If so, they need to check the SUNY Central Guidance Portal (they will know what that is) because that is where I've uploaded your documents. Was it a CUNY school? If so, they need to have your correct OSIS number and test scores. Next line of defense: confirm with them your identifying information. If you applied with one name but your transcript or test scores says a different name (due to a hyphen, nick name, or a middle name, etc) that could be causing the issue.

Items still missing? Find out from them if there is a FAX NUMBER or EMAIL ADDRESS where I can submit the items. Then email me that fax/email address and tell me what I need to re-send. The last resort option is re-mailing things in on paper (= weeks of processing- yuck!).

The next phase of this process is Financial Aid - if your schools take the CSS Profile, you can work on that now. The FAFSA will be a task for January. Scholarships have ongoing deadlines, so feel free to apply! Remember, December 6th is our FAFSA night at 6 pm.

FAFSA Info Night - December 6

Our annual FAFSA information night is coming on on Tuesday, December 6th at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that is required in order to get financial aid for college. Seniors and their parent/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend if they plan to file for financial aid. Juniors and their parent/guardian are also strongly encouraged to attend because it is often too late to move assets around if you wait to learn about how the FAFSA works during the fall of senior year. Knowledge is power so come learn about this important form so you won't be scared of it!

FAFSA basics:

- The FAFSA is free. Never, ever, ever pay a website or company to submit this form on your behalf.
- The FAFSA is not a scholarship granter. All the FAFSA does is allow college Financial Aid offices to see your family's financial profile and what the government thinks your family can afford to pay toward college (aka the Estimated Family Contribution, EFC). Each school can interpret and award scholarships at their discretion using that same EFC from the FAFSA.
- The FAFSA should be filled out in January of a student's senior year. It is not yet available and won't be until January 1. Most schools need it submitted no later than February.
- The FAFSA must be filled out each year a student is requesting aid. Otherwise how would a school know that your family won the lottery or that a parent lost a job?
-Everyone should file a FAFSA, even if you think you won't get lots of aid. At most private schools a family income needs to be over $250,000 per year in order to be ineligible for need based aid. And even for families in that scenario, the FAFSA can at the very least help you to qualify for an interest free loan from the government which can be a nice way to spread out the cost. Plus, many schools require a FAFSA be filed even for merit aid.

See you December 6!

(ps the link above is a little 90s throwback that makes the cut for this post because of the iconic 'money dive' at 19 seconds, woo ooh!)