Test Prep for Parents - Getting Your Priorities Straight
When it comes to getting into college, standardized test scores make up a freakishly disproportionate percentage of admissions criteria. It's ridiculous if you think about it: most schools use the SAT/ACT for roughly 18-50% of their entire admissions decision. In other words, one 3.5-hour-long test is equally as important as 3.5 YEARS worth of academics, extra-curriculars, sports, etc.
But it gets worse: it's not just that SAT scores make up a large percentage of admissions criteria - it's that they are completely MAKE or BREAK. Remember: your child's application is not viewed in a vacuum - it's viewed in comparison with the thousands of other students applying for the same spot. So if "John is a pretty good guy, with strong grades and a lot of club memberships, who just happens to have weak test scores," I can promise you that the admissions committee is looking at 1,500 other students who are "pretty good guys, with strong grades, a lot of club memberships, and BETTER test scores."
If you're like 99.9% of American parents, you're not paying enough attention to your child's test prep. The other day, a student of mine cancelled a session because she had to help decorate her pep league's Halloween haunted house, an activity which was encourage by her mother. I cannot even tell you how off-base this set of priorities is - test prep should take precedence over large academic projects. Extra-curriculars shouldn't even be CONSIDERED.
I'm not saying this to terrify you - I'm saying this to give you a realistic understanding of what's going on in college admissions. If you have bad test scores, you're out of luck. Most students who gain admission below the 25%-mark (the score at which only 25% of admitted students have scored below)are special cases - recruited athletes, children of huge alumni donors, etc. If your child isn't a "special case," and doesn't meet the 25% mark at most schools, make sure to apply to multiple other safety schools.
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