SAT woes

<p>My daughter is really struggling with the SAT. She has good grades - a 4.69 QPA with a number of AP classes. I think that is a 3.7 GPA. Even with private tutoring, we are looking at a total of 1590 with her highest score coming in the one they don't look at - writing. She is taking it again on June 2 but I can't hope for a great improvement. Stats don't support that. Her practice tests say she should be doing significantly better but she just isn't doing it in the testing environment. She's just one of those kids who doesn't test well but who does really well in the classroom in a very competitive magnet school. She wants to major in vocal performance, but is not really interested in a conservatory. Her voice teacher thinks she is talented enough for a conservatory, but she prefers a strong music program in a small to mid sized college. Some of the schools she is interested in are UNCG, James Madison, Otterbein, Westminster College Choir, East Carolina, Susquehanna, University of Miami. Will a good audition trump the scores for schools like these - I know it will for Westminster, but cost may knock them out for us. Her teachers tell me she is one of the most disciplined, hard working students they have seen, and her grades reflect it. It is heartbreaking to see her struggle with the SAT. Perhaps she should have done the ACT instead, but it is a little late in the game since she will need to apply to schools and schedule auditions in the fall. Any other mothers and fathers of "SAT challenged" talented kids out there?</p>

<p>Can you still add on the mid-June ACT? If I remember correctly, they do, at a price, allow late sign ups. Some kids just do much better on one of those standardized tests than the other. Can't hurt to try...</p>

<p>My $0.02...</p>

<p>I'll look in to that. Would the preparation be similar in nature or is the format of the ACT something that would require different prep?</p>

<p>The ACT is also administered in late Sept/early Oct.</p>

<p>I just spoke to the tutoring company who works on students with ACT too and they have found that students who do poorly on the math SAT do not do as well in the ACT since it has more of an emphasis on math - testing calc and trig too. - probably not the best choice for her.</p>

<p>I think you should at least try the ACT - only because I've heard over and over again how the different type of test brings a different result. I also see a "no harm, no foul" arrangement -- take the ACT, but don't send the scores anywhere. If they come out good, then go ahead and use them. Nothing to lose.</p>

<p>She still has several chances to re-take the SAT, too. She can take June and October and November, and probably December. Most private schools take the best score from each separate section, so getting a few points higher on one section or another each time will only help. (Many public schools take best total.) Do a search on the "Xiggy Method" on CC for some excellent tips.</p>

<p>You also might want to do a search through the SAT optional schools, and look at their music programs. <a href="http://www.fairtest.org/optional.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fairtest.org/optional.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Your other option is to target schools that won't have a problem with the low scores. For instance, I think U of Cincinnati doesn't have steep requirements for the University part (Their music program is conservatory, though.)</p>

<p>Susquehanna is an SAT optional school. She could submit writing samples there in lieu of SAT scores. Assuming we are talking roughly 500/500/590, her scores would be about average at UNCG and East Carolina. As you know, the audition will be the thing at Westminster. Otterbein offers $5000 merit scholarships to incoming freshmen with a 3.4 GPA and a 1570 (out of 2400) SAT or a 22 ACT, so I don't think you have a problem there. She could get a couple thousand more with a 1650.</p>

<p>JMU and U Miami (if you mean the one in Florida) may be tougher nuts to crack with her SAT's. If you really meant Miami U in Ohio, that may also be difficult.</p>

<p>It looks to me like you have a couple of reaches from an academic standpoint and several schools that are reasonable matches. I think the audition will be a very important piece of the puzzle at all of them. You may want to look for a couple of safeties (academic as well as financial) to add to the list.</p>

<p>I don't think Indiana University has a very high SAT requirement. It's a superb music school!</p>

<p>Almost forgot. Lawrence University, which is a very selective school and has a wonderful conservatory, especially voice, is a NO SAT/ACT school. They're also relatively good with merit money, but on the expensive side so take it with a grain of salt. DD got a nice offer there, but decided to go elsewhere, much to Dad's chagrin...</p>

<p>Lawrence is an excellent choice except for location, but we haven't ruled it out. A girl who also takes voice from her private teacher is going there next year as is an acquaintance from school. She just can't imagine being in Wisconsin - hates the cold - hence the interest in Miami. Not ruling anything out based just on location though. Both students she knows at Lawrence have received scholarships and they have very similar backgrounds to hers.</p>

<p>Talk to Westminster admissions office. the audition carried a lot of weight on the scholarship, too. Not sure what the trade offs were, though since D had generally good SATs.</p>

<p>I agree with others about making plans for both the SAT and the ACT in the fall. My D took both of them this past fall as a senior, ACT in Oct. and SAT in Dec. Her Dec. score was used to calculate academic merit at two schools, so I don't think Dec. is too late in most cases. </p>

<p>Here are some options you can try for getting her scores up (from one who would be loathe to spend tons of money on personal tutoring for such a test): </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Get the Kaplan SAT/ACT CD-ROM set and use it daily to go through test tips and practice questions and tests.</p></li>
<li><p>Get a Latin & Greek roots vocabulary worktext and/or CD-ROM program and use it this summer.</p></li>
<li><p>Use the Collegeboard online prep.</p></li>
<li><p>For math, consider using the ALEKS online math program (aleks.com) this summer to review math concepts well. ALEKS is an online curriculum with "intelligent" software that places students within a given course using a placement tool. It automatically grades each question, so the student can use it completely independently. If a student demonstrates mastery of a concept the program allows him/her to move on. No doing 20 problems on the same topic just because. It costs $19.95? per month, which is way cheaper than a human tutor. I have two young people at home using it currently and it has been a good tool for math instruction for us. </p></li>
<li><p>If your daughter has trouble finishing the test within the time frame because of slow reading, consider some speed reading practice as well as doing practice tests specifically with the concious aim to get through all the questions in time, rather than agonizing over which answer to choose.</p></li>
<li><p>If you daughter is not much of a reader, have her read a couple of significant classic works in their entirety this summer. (Usually lots of classic reading is a strategy that is recommended for throughout highschool, but even doing some over the next several months could help).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>These used in combination could have the potential to gain her a couple hundred points by Oct. or Dec. While her score wouldn't move into the stratosphere, it would raise fewer eyebrows at schools where a reasonable score could count. </p>

<p>Hope this gives you a few more ideas.</p>

<p>Thanks - I'll look into all of those. She has always been a great reader and has had a ton of outside reading in her AP English classes. Not doing well on the CR part baffles everyone. We expected problems with math - that runs in the family! It seems to be a lot of text anxiety but she says she doesn't feel particularly anxious. Her practice test scores are significantly higher.</p>

<p>We had an info pkt. mailed to us from Lawrence. The campus and conservatory look absolutely gorgeous, if not spectacular. I realize this is not a top priority but it sure shows (to me anyway) that they take great pride and their facilities appear to be top notch. So far, I've seen no other college or conservatory that appears to match Lawrence's quality.</p>

<p>My daughter's SAT scores were similar to your daughter's. She took the ACT last June...I paid for the late registration. Her ACT scores were better. Then she took the ACT a 2nd time in October and they were much better. I wish we had taken her guidance counselor's advice after her first SAT and taken the ACT then. She might have had time for a 3rd try at the ACT. She had great PSAT scores. Then took the SAT three times and the scores never changed. Math was her lowest score on both but still was significantly better on the ACT. I suggest you try to register your daughter for the June ACT.</p>

<p>Tell her to not worry about the SAT and expect Otterbein to be a match with her current scores and grades. My neice goes there and several kids from my area too and if the majority of students are anything like these kids your daughter will be with high quality individuals. Grades and subjects taken are more important here then test scores--you might not get money without high test scores--but it is a pleasant place to go to school and with its proximity to Columbus it offers lots of opportunities for activities. Westerville is a nice small town and appears as safe as any other environment you could possibly choose. I am unfamiliar with the music programs offered.</p>

<p>If you have the opportunity to visit Lawrence, I think it will put things into perspective. I sent my son on his own his Junior summer and he came back knowing that was where he wanted to go to school. I was dubious about how he would like the winters since he had grown up on an island in the Mediterranean and never liked the cold when he was little but after two years there, he says he loves the winter! He loves Wisconsin and I have finally had a chance to visit Appleton and I will be back this summer. It is a great little city. One of my U.S. favorites. Location is important: you either like it or you don't.</p>