When is the Best Time to Take the SAT?

When to take it?

Many aspiring college students ask this question as if wanting to delay taking their SATs the furthest
possible time. Some even wonder if they can wait until their senior year to worry about the SAT. To
answer their inquiry, no, waiting until senior year to take the SAT is a bad decision to make. Here are the reasons why.


The Earlier, the Better

The College Board, the organization that administers the SATs, offers flexible schedules for students to take the test. Depending on your preferred schedule, the SAT can be taken on January, March, May, June, October, November, or December. Admissions experts strongly recommend, however, that you – and all aspiring college students – take the SAT for the first time in the spring of your junior year. This way, you have enough time to prepare for you college application, work on other requirements, and make adjustments, if necessary.


Applying Early Action or Early Decision

Another advantage of taking the SAT early is to enable you to apply early action or early decision to your preferred college. If you take the test on October, it wouldn’t give you as much leeway as you need. What if your test scores are not outstanding? What if your performance is not that impressive? Keep in mind the possible outcomes that may happen, and realize that taking the test earlier can give you more flexibility when it comes to perfecting your college application.


Strategically Planning

Taking the test early also enables you to strategically plan where your test scores can be most likely
accepted. If you know your SAT results already, you can compare them to the average test scores of
admitted students in your college of choice. If, for example, your SAT scores did not reach the school’s requirement or are far from the medians of previously admitted students, you may opt to retake the test (since you still have ample time) or choose to apply to another college where you have a higher chance of getting admitted.


The SAT is one of the essential criteria that college admissions committee members look at and evaluate in an applicant. It is important that you give high importance to taking the test and aiming for an impressive score. To be able to achieve these, you must prepare early and plan accordingly.

Commonly Asked Questions in the College Interview

Be confident!

The college interview is an important part of the college application process at many US colleges and universities. Although it is rarely the deciding factor in whether an applicant will get admitted to or
rejected from a specific school, the college admissions interview is a great opportunity for candidates to showcase themselves, share information that are not available in their application file, discuss their expectations about the school and the program, and talk about their future career plans and goals.

Conducted by a faculty member, admissions committee member, an alumnus, or a current student in
the school, interviews give candidates a chance to meet with someone who represents the college. Most college interview questions are meant to help them and the interviewer find out if they are a good match to the school and the program.


Common Interview Questions

Below are some typical questions asked during college interviews that can help you prepare and think about your answers ahead of time.

• Why are you considering this college?
• What makes you think that this college would be a good match?
• Where else are you applying and why?
•  What do you hope to major in?
• What do you expect to be doing ten years from now?
•  How do you define “success?”
• What have you liked or disliked about your school? 
• How would you describe yourself to someone who did not know you?
• What newspapers and magazines do you read?
• What books not required for school have you read recently?
• What television shows do you watch?
• Tell us about your family.
• How do you spend a typical afternoon after school? Evening? Weekend?
• What extracurricular activities have you found most satisfying?
• What are your strengths? Weaknesses? 
• What has been your proudest achievement so far?
• If you could talk with anyone living (or deceased) person, whom would it be and why?
• What events have been crucial in your life?
• What is the most important thing you’ve learned in high school?
• What mark do you feel you’ve left on your school?
• What do you want to get out of your college experience?
• What makes you unique?
• What could you contribute to our college community?
• Talk about a significant challenge you have encountered.
• Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your transcript?
• What is your greatest passion?
• How would your friends describe you?
• If you had high school to do over again, what might you have done differently?
• What are your goals for your senior year?

Other Pointers to Remember

Different schools have different interview questions and guidelines. You can be interview either by one school representative or a panel of interviewers.  There is no official set of interview questions, as well. All you can do is to anticipate what they could probably ask you, and how you will respond to their questions.

Feeling nervous is normal, but you have to contain your emotions during the interview. It is important that you be confident and show that you are well-prepared for the interview and are ready to take on
whatever is in store for you during the entirety of the college admissions process.

How Participating in Sports Can Boost Your College Application

Sporty!

Getting into a good college or university in the US does not only require exceptional academic
knowledge. Aside from grades and test scores, admissions officers are now looking at how versatile and accomplished students are in terms of extracurricular activities, such as athletics and community
service.

An active participation in a particular kind of sports can help you boost your college application.
Whether you are a member of your high school’s basketball varsity team or a top player in your school’s tennis tournament, playing a school sport takes dedication and hard work – two qualities that college admissions counselors like to see in their applicants.

Sports are also a good way to develop a well‐rounded character out of an individual. They help establish skills that are based on teamwork and camaraderie. They also teach students how to set goals early on in their life and persevere through hardships that they may face along the way. If you are wondering which sports can actually give you a shot at getting in to the college that you like, here are some ideas that may help.

Tennis. While you don’t necessarily have to develop the skills of Roger Federer or Maria Sharapova,
being a good tennis player gives you a higher premium than many other sports. The sport teaches you a good sense of motivation, concentration, competitiveness, and even problem solving – all of which can be very useful when dealing with academic requirements.

Golf. Although golf is a popular sport, it takes a really talented athlete to perform outstandingly in this sport. This is why college admissions officers are always interested to learn more about an applicant who is into golf. In spite of its limited physical movements (compared to other high‐impact sports), golf helps the player develop a lot of mental skills such as awareness and concentration, balance, emotional control, self‐confidence, and decision‐making skill.

Squash. Interestingly, Ivy League and top liberal arts schools are allotting admissions spots for athletes whom they can recruit from the pool of squash players. Why squash? Simply because not everybody can play it or afford it; it’s as if a more upscale product that top colleges and universities in the US want to get a hold of.

Baseball and Basketball. Baseball and basketball are the two most popular sports in the US, so popular that almost all, if not all, colleges and universities in the country have their own baseball and basketball teams to support. This is why admissions committee gets interested with students who play baseball or basketball, wanting to know how these sports enthusiasts can be a good fit not only to the athletic requirements of the school, but to the academic challenges, as well

While exceptional athletic ability can be a great deal in the college admissions process, it will mean
little without the academic strength to back it up. Thus, make sure that you are the well‐rounded student that colleges look for – an academic achiever and an outstanding athlete in one.