Most parents who recall their own college application process remember the SAT the same way—you took it once, got whatever score you got and then moved on with your life. Today, preparing for the SAT (or the ACT) has become a right of passage for kids. And parents are left to sort through the various and often expensive options of classes and tutors.
So in an effort to help you maintain testing perspective, here are a few suggested testing reminders.
High test scores are not a prerequisite for admission to college.
Most of the 2,000 four-year colleges in this country will happily admit a kid who does testing the old fashioned take-it-once-and-move-on way. A “B” student who applies to colleges loaded with kids just like him will find that his average test scores are good enough. Yes, the more competitive the college, the more emphasis they’ll place on test results; you’re not going to NYU, Columbia or Boston College without good test scores.
For test prep to work, kids need to put in the effort.
This is one of those times when a cliché is actually true — kids will get out of it what they put into it. That’s true for any kind of self-improvement you pay for. You could hire the best personal trainer in town who worked all your friends into Olympic shape, but I can tell you from my own frustrating experience that if you don’t do the workouts (and eliminate your beloved pasta and red wine, which is where I drew the line), you’re not going to get the desired results. Like fitness, good test scores can’t just be purchased. The effort has to be there.
Not all kids are meant to be great standardized test-takers.
I mention this because while good test prep combined with a conscientious effort can improve any student’s scores, repeated prep attempts in the hopes of turning bad testers into good testers will just frustrate parents and make kids feel bad about themselves. For a kid who loves the saxophone, any college admissions officer would agree that the extra 30-points from test prep isn’t worth the time spent away from the jazz band.
The best test prep is one that kids use and parents feel good buying.
Choosing your mode of test preparation is a lot like choosing your college counselor. Talk to your friends about their experiences. If you’ve had a great experience with someone who tutored your older kids, or if your daughter tells you she wants to take the course her friends are taking, you should go that route. If there were one course or tutor that turned every kid into a standardized test-taking world champion, everyone would already be choosing that option. So pick the one that fits your schedule, budget and comfort zone.
Croton-on-Hudson resident Alex Weiner has taught, written for and counseled students on college admission & test preparation . He owns and runs Collegewise, and had been interviewed to discuss the college admissions process and standardized test preparation by The New York Times. In spite of this he got into college. You can contact him at
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or (914) 285-8495.
