510: What Colleges Want (Part 9): A Crash Course in Standardized Testing

06/11/24 • 48 min

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

Today’s episode concludes our 9-part “What Colleges Want” series, where we’ve been walking through the results of the report released by the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) regarding the factors that colleges deem important. Ethan is joined by Jay Rosner (Executive Director of The Princeton Review Foundation) to talk about standardized testing.

In this episode they get into:

What are the origins of the SAT?
What’s changed in the testing landscape in the last year or two?
Does test optional really mean test optional?
How much standardized tests matter for colleges?
How do students figure out their preparation timeline and which test to take?
Why might testing be considered problematic?

As the Executive Director of The Princeton Review Foundation, Jay Rosner has developed programs jointly with such organizations as the NAACP, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, College and Graduate Horizons (serving Native American students) and the Asian Pacific Fund. Jay's career has combined education and law, with an emphasis on student advocacy. He has testified before state legislative committees in California, Texas, Illinois and New Jersey, and as an expert witness in cases involving testing. Before attending law school, Jay was a public high school math teacher. Jay holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, a JD from Widener University, and is the proud father of two grown daughters.

Hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

2:16 - How does Jay know so much about standardized tests?
4:23 - What are the origins of the SAT?
6:40 - How has standardized testing changed in recent years?
11:25 - Is test-optional really optional?
13:26 - How much do standardized tests matter in the application review?
14:49 - Who should take standardized tests?
20:24 - Is it better to take the SAT or the ACT?
23:30 - What are the benefits of quality test prep?
27:10 - How can students reach their best score?
33:54 - How do students know if they should submit their scores or not?
38:40 - Advice for counselors working with students in marginalized populations
42:05 - Why do some folks find standardized testing to be problematic?
45:00 - Closing advice for students and counselors

Resources

In this episode they get into:

What are the origins of the SAT?
What’s changed in the testing landscape in the last year or two?
Does test optional really mean test optional?
How much standardized tests matter for colleges?
How do students figure out their preparation timeline and which test to take?
Why might testing be considered problematic?

Hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

2:16 - How does Jay know so much about standardized tests?
4:23 - What are the origins of the SAT?
6:40 - How has standardized testing changed in recent years?
11:25 - Is test-optional really optional?
13:26 - How much do standardized tests matter in the application review?
14:49 - Who should take standardized tests?
20:24 - Is it better to take the SAT or the ACT?
23:30 - What are the benefits of quality test prep?
27:10 - How can students reach their best score?
33:54 - How do students know if they should submit their scores or not?
38:40 - Advice for counselors working with students in marginalized populations
42:05 - Why do some folks find standardized testing to be problematic?
45:00 - Closing advice for students and counselors

Resources

Previous Episode

undefined - 509: What Colleges Want (Part 8): Extracurricular Activities Deep Dive: How Getting Involved In and Out of School Can Boost Your Application

509: What Colleges Want (Part 8): Extracurricular Activities Deep Dive: How Getting Involved In and Out of School Can Boost Your Application

On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Carolyn Starks, a former Pomona and Bates admissions officer and Associate Director of College Counseling at Oakwood School (North Hollywood, CA) at the time of recording, to talk about extracurricular activities and the activities list on college applications.

They get into, among other things:

What are some of the benefits of getting involved in your school community?
How can students explore activities outside of their high schools?
How do admission officers evaluate a student’s activities list?
Frequently asked questions about activities and summer programs
And more!

But first, let’s meet Carolyn:

Carolyn Starks followed her father’s footsteps and attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN where she studied English and Africana Studies. After graduation, she moved to Portland, ME to work at Bates College where she focused on supporting first-generation-to-college, BIPOC, and/or low-income students through the admissions process. After two years, she landed a job at Pomona College’s Office of Admissions where she joined the Access Team, ran the College’s diversity fly-in programs, and learned to be justice oriented in her approach to educational equity. Though at the time of recording Carolyn was Oakwood School in North Hollywood’s Associate Director of College Counseling, she will soon be moving to serve as Co-Director of College Counseling at Santa Fe Prep in Santa Fe, NM. In her free time, Carolyn enjoys indulging in local cuisine and watching Bravo with her husband and her dog, Ms. Pecan Pie.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Play-by-Play

4:48 - What is Carolyn’s background?
6:20 - What activities was Carolyn involved in during high school?
8:36 - What activities did Tom participate in during high school?
10:45 - How can students learn about the opportunities at their school?
16:50 - Why should students get involved within their school community?
23:09 - How can students be involved in extracurriculars outside their school?
29:57 - What should students keep in mind when applying to highly selective schools?
36:13 - Do colleges have preferred activities or summer experiences?
36:41 - Does placement on an activities list matter?
37:37 - How many years should students participate in an activity?
39:05 - How important is having formal leadership roles?
42:18 - What might not be worth putting on your activities list?
46:25 - How many activities is enough?
51:22 - How can students maintain a balance between their home life, academic, and extracurricular activities?
55:47 - Closing thoughts

Resources

Next Episode

511: Identity, Self-Care, and the Future of College Admission w/ NACAC CEO Angel Pérez

In today's episode, Ethan connects with Angel Pérez (CEO of the National Association of College Admission Counselors) to discuss identity, his personal journey with self-care, and where he sees the college admission profession heading.

On the episode, you’ll hear Angel and Ethan discuss:

Angel’s brainstorming work for his own imagined college essay (yes, really)
What Angel’s core values have to do with his self-care journey
Strategies and techniques Angel (and Ethan) use for self care
How does Angel see the US college landscape (and/or admissions process) changing in the next 5 years?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Check out last year’s conversation, CEG Podcast Episode 401: Self-care for counselors, leaders, and professionals in helping roles.

If you haven’t met Angel Pérez, he is CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In this role, he represents more than 25,000 admission and counseling professionals worldwide committed to postsecondary access and success. Named by a Forbes article in 2019 as the most influential voice in college admissions, he strives to build an educational ecosystem that better represents today’s society. Prior to joining NACAC in July of 2020, Dr. Pérez served in secondary and higher education leadership positions across America, most recently, as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success at Trinity College in Connecticut. He is an advocate for counselors everywhere, an important ally in the work of increasing access to higher education, and I’m so lucky to call him my friend...

Hope you enjoy this episode.

Play-by-Play

2:43 - Introductions and welcome
4:15 - Values Exercise
9:13 - Social Identities Exercise
11:47 - What life experiences have influenced Angel’s identities?
19:58 - How do Angel’s core values connect to identity?
22:46 - How has self-care for Angel and Ethan evolved since their conversation last year?
27:06 - What are Angel and Ethan still working on for self-care?
33:39 - Accountability, pausing, and intention in self-care
39:24 - How does Angel see the US college landscape (and/or admissions process) changing in the next 5 years?
44:14 - How has the ban on race-conscious admission impacted students?
46:07 - Advice for students
48:20 - Is college still worth the cost?
50:56 - Advice for counselors and admission professionals
53:23 - Closing thoughts