Grrrr, college board

[jisp]

Ugh last night my son said that he did not want to take the SAT after all. Since signing up at school he is getting the "problem of the day" and he is getting it wrong every day. He is frustrated and says that he missed too much school and never learned half the things they are testing in the English test. Poor kid he feels like doors will be closed to him because of this stupid test.

It is silly because he is already doing college level work 1/2 time and next semester will be doing 3/4 time college. The following year he is probably going to be take a full college load, which for him might just be 3 classes. And if his performance continues I doubt that any college is going to give a hoot over those damm scores. In fact many might insist he apply as a transfer student because of the amount of college he will have done.

But in his mind he spends time looking at sights like the Princeton Review and Fast Web and he sees the GPAs and SAT scores of students and he just wants to give up because it feels hopeless and that he does not have a chance at getting into college.

I am so tired of the college board determining curriculum and being this gate keeper. I know there are ways around taking it, and we are doing all of them. But the college board has done a good job of securing a lot of respect for their test as a standard to base admissions and scholarships and the kids pick up on that and feel like they have to take this test is a measure of their true ability.

[SharonF]

jisp--

I'm so sorry that you and your son are going through this. I understand how frustrating it is to have a bright, capable kid who does badly on the SAT!

Has your son tried the ACT? My dd's ACT was much, much higher than either of her SAT attempts. (And she had taken several SAT prep courses.) My son also did better on the ACT than he did on his first SAT.

The ACT is more about learned knowledge and less about reasoning.

I am so tired of the college board determining curriculum and being this gate keeper.

I agree, but also believe that the College Board is only doing what its customers want. Those customers are colleges who want a single score to make it easier for their admissions staffs to determine who gets in and who gets scholarships.

Countless studies have proven that SAT scores are not a guarantee of college performance. But many colleges still use SATs--not because it's best for the students but because it's easier for the colleges.

Colleges who don't use SAT/ACT often use other flawed methods such as an Application Essay. Good writers are just that. But that doesn't make them better students, better problem solvers, or better people.

After going through the grueling college application process with both of my kids, I'm more convinced than ever that colleges who try to simplify the admissions process are shortchanging students. My son is not his GPA. My dd is not her SAT score (thank goodness!) Any college who thinks they understand my kids' potential by looking at one number is not a good match for my kids.

While my kids' SATs and GPAs didn't hurt them too badly on admissions, my son's GPA was not enough to get a scholarship at a public university. My dd's been offered scholarships because of her ACT (not SAT) and GPA. But the scholarship amounts are on the low end because while her ACT is okay, it's still not high enough for a bigger award. Her SAT was way too low to qualify for any academic scholarship. We're grateful for ANY scholarship!! But I agree: colleges place too much emphasis on a single score.

[healthy11]

Jisp, I was going to suggest what Sharon already did, about trying the ACT instead. In addition, don't forget to check out schools listed at www.fairtest.org, which don't require any of the standardized testing.

[bros]

Tell him that the problems of the day aren't nearly as hard as the actual test.

Especially since it is in a better environment.

[momfromma]

College Board exams are definitively a pain, but more and more colleges are just taking them as one element among others.

My son SAT's score were quite low (none above 500) and he got every single college he applied to. Of course, his goals were not Ivy League colleges, but they were still very respectable colleges in the 100 bests on the US News list (not that it means something but just to give an idea). When I was entering his grades and SAT scores in the college board, the answer was "It's a stretch" for each school he wanted, so we were starting to despair.

However, it turned out that the teachers wrote great recommendation letters explaining how he would do great in college, was self motivated, and that his potential was not reflected by his SAT grades (or ACT for the matter). At the same time, his major and interest centers (Chinese and international relations) was original enough for a non Asian that it brought interest, and his extra curricular activities (he did not have a lot) confirmed that he was serious in his interest. Add to that a letter that was going in the same direction, and my son got admitted to 3 of the 4 schools he applied to (he was not admitted to Univ. of Iowa, but it was too cold for him). He even got a local scholarship that helped him to buy his book.

As Sharon said, kids are not their SAT scores and more and more schools are ready to recognize that.

But agreed: kids place too much emphasis on a single score, though more and more schools start to understand that. But I started to be worried when my youngest son started to talk about the SAT yesterday (he is a freshman, and, given his brother scores on the SAT and the fact that he had a very unusual scolarity when it comes to Language Arts, I worry).

[bros]

My SAT scores:
530 - English
420 - Math
510 - Writing

[SharonF]

jisp--

Is your son a black/white thinker? Is he looking at the average SAT/GPAs of his target colleges and instantly assuming those numbers tell him whether he will get in or won't get in?

Has he put together a college application resume? The public universities didn't put as much stock in my kids' resumes. But the small, private colleges were really interested in those resumes. And I strongly believe that my kids' resumes were the main reasons they were accepted at every small, liberal arts college that both kids applied to. Their resumes define them in ways that an SAT score never can.

As an example, my dd met with the admissions counselor at the private college which is dd's #1 choice. The admissions counselor remembered SPECIFIC things dd had put on her application resume, such as "Winner of Cougar Award for sportsmanship" in 9th and 10th grades, and the rating dd had received at band Solo & Ensemble competition.

The admissions counselor also remembered the specifics of two anecdotes dd had put in her application essay about how dd shows leadership--with a bunch of freshman boys on drum line, and with a girl who went out for the soccer team but needed a lot of work on fundamental skills.

If your son puts together a resume listing his accomplishments, it may help him realize there is so much more to his abilities than how he performed one day on the SAT.

[empeg1]

Jisp:
There are also some very good colleges that do not require the SAT or ACT. My dd is interested in one on the West Coast, Lewis and Clark, a very, very good schoolo.

[jisp]

Sharon,
Yes he is somewhat of a black and white thinker. Although those who work with him often use the phrase "all or nothing" to refer to his rigidity. On the other hand he is increasingly getting better and able to handle zones of gray when it comes to many things.

Much of my son's reaction to all of this has to do with his grief about missing out on HS and the typical HS experience and his fears that this has somehow permanently handicapped him in life. We have told him repeatedly that the SAT is really not going to be a big issue for him. For one thing if he has a year of community college, which he will have, then most colleges will not require the SAT. And this is especially true given that the community college he is taking courses from is Harvard Extension school and many of the courses are quite rigorous and equivalent to the undergraduate courses that they offer.

We are just beginning the college search. It isn't easy given that he is not your typical LD student. A friend of mine recommended this 2 year college called "Deep Springs" for him, which in many many ways could be a perfect fit. But this program is extremely hard to get into and I just don't know if we can even get him an interview. And that is the main reason our son is upset about the SAT, because he feels that it might be the one thing holding him back from a school like this. But as adults, we know that this is probably not true and when the time comes it will be possible to contact such a program and get them to look beyond the test scores.

But he has other schools on his list that are not as hard to get into and do not require the SAT that I think would be great places, such as "College of the Atlantic" and "Warren Wilson". It is going to be an interesting process.

[SharonF]

jisp--

A couple things that I've learned the hard way...

1) All parents worry too much about the whole college application process. Not just parents of kids with learning differences. Our kids pick up on our angst. They either obsess right along with us, or they detach and become nonchalant. Both are coping mechanisms, but neither is healthy. Parents and students do better if they try to take the emotions out of the college application process.

2) The American dream that "you can do anything if you try hard enough" is not really true. Not everyone gets kissed by the prince and lives happily ever after. And this is the stage when our young adults experience that cold reality. Not all kids can get into the college of their dreams. Some kids can't get into college at all. Others have the grades to get in but their families don't have money to make it happen. 529's have cratered. Parents are being laid off. Options for educational loans are shrinking.

We want our kids to dream big. But this is the time of life when childish dreams intersect with adult realities.

Your son made a choice to take college courses in high school. He has gained experiences that most kids do not have at that age. But with every choice comes a loss. EVERY choice. He is now wondering "what if." He's wondering if he would have been better off just taking high school classes.

Age 18 to 25 is a whirlwind of choices and changes. Making those choices means taking one road, but not taking another. It means GIVING UP some dreams to pursue others. Our kids only learn how to do this by actually making those choices and living through the risks, rewards, and regrets.

Everything seems such a big deal when you're 18. The zit on your nose. The D (or F) on a test. The low SAT. The lack of a date to prom. The desire to fit in. But we all move on...and learn over time that most of those worries and fears don't really matter in the long run. Through it, we also learn that life isn't perfect and we can't script it to always live "happily ever after." But life with imperfections is still worth living. In fact, we learn that life with imperfections is better than trying to always be perfect!

[Mayleng]

Well said Sharon.

[sisdparent]

A friend of mine recommended this 2 year college called "Deep Springs" for him, which in many many ways could be a perfect fit. But this program is extremely hard to get into and I just don't know if we can even get him an interview.

All he can do is put his best foot forward. Remind him that by already having some actual classes (not just dual credit) he has something to offer that other applicants may not.

While I know this doesn't help for your son, IMHO it doesn't hurt for anyone's child to sign up at least a year or more ahead in order to "test drive" it and have a feel for what they need to do.

[healthy11]

Jisp, I'm not sure the College Board allows it with the SAT, but I know you can register and take the ACT without giving a high school ID code, AND if you don't want the grade report sent to any colleges, you don't have to list their ID codes. (But a person shared with me that if I wanted to see a copy of what the schools would get, there's a different code to enter for "college not on the list" and then they send the detailed results in a sealed envelope to your house.)

My point in sharing the above is that you could have your son take the ACT, and nobody but your family would see the results, unless you want to share them later. (You can pay to have test scores sent to universities "after the fact." Kids sometimes do that if they aren't sure what college they want to attend, anyway.) You can also have him retake the ACT several times, and designate which date's results get sent....(Although you can't "pick and choose" subtest scores..If he scored highest in Math on an April test, and higher in English in June, but the composites were the same, you might decide to send the June test if he was majoring in a Liberal Arts field....)

[sld123]

the art institutes college throughout the usa do not require these tests

[sisdparent]

I just signed James up for the Feb 7 ACT test date, there is a box on the form that you can check if you don't want your scores to go to your high school and you can opt to not send the scores to colleges yet. He can also choose not to take the writing test.

(James is a Sophomore, but there is a mandatory college prep class he doesn't want to take next year. If he scores high enough we can protest the requirement. The ACT is heavy on Science and Math, so he figures it worth the effort to try.)