Articles Written By: Robert Kohen

Should You Send Those Four Free ACT Score Reports?

Date: June 29, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Anytime you register for the ACT you automatically receive four free score reports. This means that the ACT will send your scores to any four universities you choose, free of charge. All you have to do is request the reports anytime up to noon central time the Thursday after your test date.

That sounds like an enticing offer, especially since regular score reports cost $12 each, with rush orders running up to $16.50.

There are two major catches, however. First, you’ll have to send your scores before you know what they are. The ACT doesn’t release your results until at least two weeks after the test, or in other words until around 10 days after you must decide whether or not to send the free reports. If you choose to send the reports, then, you risk sending low scores if you end up having done poorly on the test.

ACT Four Free Score Reports

Second, the ACT will tell colleges the order in which you listed those colleges on your free score report form. Colleges use this information to help them determine how interested you are in attending their school as opposed to other schools. If a college sees that they weren’t listed first on your form, that may lower your chance of admission at that university. This information is included in any reports you request by the Thursday deadline. If you wait until after you’ve received your scores to send them, on the other hand, colleges won’t receive any record of the order in which you listed schools on your report form.

So should you send the free reports? Typically not. By sending the free reports, you’re telling multiple colleges that they’re not your first choice, which can hurt your chances of admission. While this may help you at the one school you selected first, you’re also putting yourself at a potential disadvantage at all the other schools. You also might change your mind about your first choice school by the time you submit your college applications.

Another problem with using the free reports is that you might be unnecessarily sending low scores. Many schools only require you to send your highest test scores for consideration. If you did poorly on the test, you’ll be sending low scores that you might otherwise never need to send. Why risk sending low scores to an admissions committee if you don’t have to?

So when should you use the free score reports? If one of your top choice colleges requires you to submit all your ACT scores, then list that school by itself on your free report. You’ll have to send the score to them eventually, only this way it will look like they’re one of your top choices.

ACT Trigonometry: Law of Sines and Law of Cosines

Date: June 26, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Here’s how to use the law of sines and the law of cosines on the ACT. For more ACT trigonometry, check out common identities and definitions.

ACT Law of Sines Law of Cosines

Want a Free List of All the Math Topics That Have Recently Appeared on the SAT or ACT?

For a free list of all the math topics that have recently appeared on the SAT or ACT, and/or for answers to any other questions, you can reach me at robertkohen@koheneducationalservices.dream.press or 212-658-0834.

Should I Take The New (“Redesigned”) SAT?

Date: June 24, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Only ten years after the SAT underwent a major overhaul, the test is once again in the process of being remade. Starting next spring, you’ll no longer have the option of taking the current SAT. Instead, you’ll face an SAT that looks much more like the ACT, the rival college entrance exam that has been taking market share away from the SAT in recent years.

If you’re in the class of 2017 you will have three testing options: take the current SAT while it’s still being offered, take the new SAT beginning in the spring of 2016, or skip the SAT entirely and take the ACT instead.

My advice is to steer clear of the new SAT, at least for now. Given how important these exams are in the college admissions process, it’s essential to be be adequately prepared for them. Unfortunately, however, there is no way at present to ensure that anyone will be adequately prepared for the new exam.

Should I Take The New Redesigned Sat

The main problem is that there is simply not enough practice material out there to provide us with a good sense of the test. The College Board has released four practice tests and says that they plan to release four more this year, although how many they’ll ultimately release remains to be seen. At the same time, the College Board is in an ongoing process of reevaluating and reshaping the new exam. Just how accurate a reflection of the redesigned exam these practice tests will be is unclear.

Even if we assume that the new practice materials will be a perfect reflection of the new exam, there is no way to adequately gauge where anyone is scoring on them. Scoring tables are currently being worked out, and tentative tables will not be available until later this summer. How well these tables will reflect official scoring practices is unclear, however. When the first students sit for the new test next March, they won’t be able to receive any scores until results from the March and May test dates have been analyzed.

Even if you were able to receive accurate scoring feedback from practice tests, it’s not yet clear what any particular score would mean. The College Board plans on releasing a concordance table that will compare new SAT scores to old ones, but this won’t happen until after the test has been officially administered more than once. Imagine how frustrating it would be to spend months preparing for a test without ever knowing how well you’re really doing!

Instead of preparing for the new SAT, should plan on taking either the ACT or the current version of the SAT while it’s still available. Fortunately, there are vast amounts of quality prep materials available for both of these exams. For the current version of the SAT, for example, there are over 20 official practice tests publicly available. Thanks to these accurate materials, we have a thorough and powerful understanding of these exams.

If you decide to take the current version of the SAT instead of the ACT, make sure to start prep early. Your last chance to take the current version will most likely be in January, so you’ll want to do as much prep as possible before then. Take advantage of the extra time you’ll have this summer to prepare.

Should you decide that you want to also try the new SAT in 2016, the prep you will have done for the current SAT or ACT will help you on the new test. The new SAT draws heavily on both the ACT and the current SAT, so much of your prep work will be directly applicable. But for now, at least until the exam has been administered a few times, steer clear!

What To Do The Morning Of The SAT or ACT

Date: June 22, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Preparing for test day is an important part of getting ready for the SAT or ACT. Follow these steps to ensure that you’re performing at your mental peak the morning of the exam.

First, make sure you get enough sleep (think 8-9 hours) the night before the test and during the week leading up to the test. If you fall behind on sleep the week of the exam, getting one full night’s sleep might not be enough.

Plan ahead to ensure you’ll get the sleep you need. Have a major paper due exam week? See if you can submit it the week before. Let your teachers know about your upcoming test and ask them to work with you to help you get enough sleep that week.

The night before the test, put together everything that you’ll be bringing with you to the test center. This way you won’t have to worry about trying to find something while you’re racing to get out the door.

Make sure to put fresh batteries in your calculator and to pack a bunch of pencils (as well as a small sharpener). Bring pencils with quality erasers that won’t smear across the scoring sheet. Ticonderoga pencils are a good option. In terms of food, pack a few protein bars for the breaks between sections. Plan on wearing comfortable clothes and dressing in layers. If it gets too hot or cold at the test site, adjust as necessary.

Set your alarm so that you’ll have ample time to get ready and make it to the test center early. If you’ll be waking up at 6, try to get up by at least 6 on the days leading up to the test as well. This will help you feel more awake the morning of the test.

Leaving ample time between waking up and taking the test will also allow your brain the time it needs to come online. Our brains can take as long as two hours to reach their optimal performance in the morning due to a phenomenon called sleep inertia. You don’t want to get up at 7.45, in other words, if you’re taking the test at 8.

If you have extra trouble feeling awake in the mornings, try listening to some of your favorite music. This can help you feel more alert.

Eat a good breakfast before you leave for the test center. Avoid sugar, which can give you a brief energy rush but then send you crashing. Stick to protein and carbohydrates instead. Don’t eat anything too light or too heavy, and make sure to drink a cup or two of water to hydrate. Follow your normal caffeine regimen: if you drink coffee, do so, and if you don’t, don’t.

Morning Of SAT ACT

Before leaving for the test center, try to do 15-20 minutes of exercise. Studies have shown that students who exercise before an exam perform better than those who don’t. Exercise increases blood flow (and the oxygen it brings with it) to the brain, which aids your mental performance. It also releases endorphins, which will help to fight any stress you might be feeling about the test.

Try to solve a couple of problems from each section of the exam before heading to the test center. This will help you warm-up and get your brain into gear for the test.

When you arrive at the test center, make sure to manage any anxious feelings that might arise. Check out my article on managing test anxiety for concrete steps on how you can do this.

Right before the test starts, pop some chewing gum. Multiple studies have shown that the act of chewing gum increases mental alertness and attention. During the breaks, swap out the gum for your snack bars.

One last thing: take advantage of the bathroom during breaks. Even if you don’t think you need to use it, you don’t want to risk a full bladder in the middle of a test section!

 

Common Wrong Answer Traps on SAT Critical Reading

Date: June 19, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Success on SAT Critical Reading depends on more than just being able to read well. You also need to be able to recognize what the test makers consider a wrong answer choice. The more practice you do, the more you’ll start to think like the test makers and quickly spot correct and incorrect answers.

As you work through each reading question, read all the answer choices and cross out any incorrect answers. A seemingly correct answer might have a hidden problem, so it’s important to first check each answer choice before moving on to the next question.

sat_critical_reading_traps

As you eliminate choices, look for these common wrong answer traps:

1. The answer is too extreme. This is one of the most common wrong answer traps. If two answers seem correct, the less extreme choice will nearly always be right.

2. A vocabulary-in-context answer defines a word using the most literal or common meaning. When you’re asked the definition of a word in the passage, the correct meaning of that word will nearly always be a secondary or figurative one. This is the opposite of sentence completion questions, where the most common or literal meaning usually is the correct one.

3. The attitude of the author toward something she writes about is indifference or unconcern. If the author took the time to write about something, they’re never indifferent toward it. They may not like it, but they certainly care enough about it one way or the other to take the time to address it.

4. The answer contains something that was mentioned in the passage and is true, but it doesn’t address the question being asked. The SAT is hoping you’ll choose this answer as soon as you recognize some details from the passage. If the answer doesn’t accurately respond to the question being asked, however, move on.

5. The answer uses technical-sounding language that doesn’t describe the passage. Many wrong answers will describe the passage as containing things like “scholarly analysis,” “historical catalog” or “detailed chronology.” If the passage as a whole doesn’t really do these things (which it usually doesn’t), then the answer will be incorrect.

6. The answer is correct except for one small word or phrase that makes it wrong. Always be on the lookout for “sleeper phrases,” or small words or details that can make an otherwise correct answer incorrect.

7. The topic of the passage is specific, but the answer makes the topic seem much more general and broad. If the passage is about banks in Georgia during the 1920s, a wrong answer might say that the passage is about the U.S. monetary system in the 20th The answer is thematically related, but it’s way too broad to accurately reflect the passage.

8. The answer is more specific than the passage warrants. If the passage is about the U.S. monetary system, and only mentions 1920s banks in Georgia in passing, then a wrong answer might claim the passage is about the 1920s Georgia banks.

9. The answer is the exact opposite of the correct answer. These are usually among the easiest incorrect answers to spot, but just make sure you don’t accidentally select one of these by mistake!