July 28th, 2010 by Joe Connell
As students visit colleges, prepare for their upcoming year of high school and enjoy the final moments of summer, the question that looms is where should I apply to college?
This is an individual question that is based on many factors that have been covered in previous blogs; particularly, I invite you to read “Where should I attend (or apply) – Choosing a college is about fit!” Once you have an idea of what you are looking for in a college [i.e., cost, location, size, academic programs (your major), extracurricular activities, graduation rates, etc.], I recommend applying to three types of colleges – safe schools, target schools and reach schools.
Safe Schools: These are the schools that students know based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) will accept them. A student’s academic background should be stronger than the Middle 50% (consists of ranges of SAT/ACT scores and GPAs/Class Ranks) of students who attend this college.
Target Schools: These are the schools that students believe based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) should accept them. A student’s academic background should be around the Middle 50% of students who attend this college.
Reach Schools: These are the schools that students consider based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) to be a significant stretch to accept them. A student’s academic background will be lower than the Middle 50% of students who attend this college. A student applying to a reach school may be accepted based on their unique talents, such as music, sports, service or other life experiences. More importantly, they can work to improve their comparison to the institution’s Middle 50% by increasing their SAT/ACT scores and GPA.
If you’re looking for a “magic number” of colleges to apply to, I recommend six, which provides two each of safe, target and reach schools. However, I do not recommend that every student apply to six schools – I encourage each student to take this advice and make it their own.
Joe Connell has been helping high school students transition to college for the last nine years through positions in admissions, new student orientation and retention. Currently, Joe is the Director of Academic Services & Testing at Dutchess Community College (NY); he has previous work experience at William Paterson University (NJ), Marist College (NY) and Miami University (OH). Joe has presented on issues related to college students' transition and success at both regional and national levels and has taught both SAT preparation and college courses for the past eight years.
July 21st, 2010 by Joe Connell
During the summer months, many students visit colleges to see what campuses look like, to hear college presentations from admissions counselors and student tour guides, to feel the atmosphere of the institution, to touch the residence halls, classrooms, dining halls, laboratories and quads of campuses, and to try to taste what it would be like to be a student at the school. These college visits are a key part of a student’s decision-making process during their senior year of high school as they decide where to apply and ultimately where to attend. To make the most of these college visits, I recommend students follow “Four P’s:”
- Plan: What do you want to get out of your visit to a particular college?
- How much time do you want to spend at a school?
- Do you want to visit several nearby colleges in one trip?
- Who do you want to see at a college (e.g., faculty, members of clubs/teams, etc.)?
- Do you want to attend a class? If yes, which class?
- Do you want to stay overnight with a student?
- Prepare: What questions would you like to have answered?
- What are the requirements for admission?
- What are the retention and graduation rates?
- What majors and career opportunities are available?
- What is class size?
- Where do students live? Is the school more residential or commuter?
- What scholarships/grants/loans/other financial aid packages are available?
Tip: Look at the school’s web site before you go, so you can ask specific questions.
- Pay Attention: Look for details that provide a sense of what the college values.
- How clean is the college?
- Who are you introduced to? Are students interacting between classes? Who does your tour guide greet during the tour (students, professors, staff, etc.)?
Tips: Pick up a newspaper to see what the important issues and interests are on campus. Pick up a calendar of events to see what cultural, athletic, musical and other events are planned.
- People: Gain multiple perspectives of the college by talking to as many people as you can.
- Introduce yourself to others besides your tour guide and admission counselor.
- Try to gain a broader picture of the college through conversation. Eating lunch in the dining room is a great way to do this.
Ultimately, the college visit is about you, the student. You may travel with your mom, dad or some other key adult in your life, and you will hear their opinions and those of the colleges. However, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions when your visiting is done: Where do you see yourself for the next phase of your life? What place do you want to call your “home away from home” for the next four years? What place will allow you to grow into the adult you are becoming?
To get the experience and perspective of a father and daughter who went on a college road trip together, I recommend the following Newsweek article from 2007 that was written by Howard Fineman and his daughter Meredith.
Joe Connell has been helping high school students transition to college for the last nine years through positions in admissions, new student orientation and retention. Currently, Joe is the Director of Academic Services & Testing at Dutchess Community College (NY); he has previous work experience at William Paterson University (NJ), Marist College (NY) and Miami University (OH). Joe has presented on issues related to college students' transition and success at both regional and national levels and has taught both SAT preparation and college courses for the past eight years.
July 7th, 2010 by Joe Connell
In the fall of senior year, students will learn that some of their friends are applying to colleges by November 1 or 15 and finding out whether they are admitted in December. These early application periods are called early decision and early action. It is important for students to be familiar with the similarities and differences of the terms as described below. For both early decision and early action, students should take their final SAT and ACT exams early in the fall of senior year (preferably by October).
Early Decision
Early decision is a binding decision to attend one college made at the time that the student applies. For example, if a student applies to College Z and is accepted early decision, the student has agreed to attend College Z upon receiving the acceptance. For students and families considering early decision, they need to be certain that the college they apply to early decision is the right college for them academically, personally and financially. From a financial perspective, families have to know that regardless of the final financial aid award the student receives (often not provided until spring of the senior year) that they can afford to pay the cost of attendance.
Of note:
- A student can only apply to one college early decision.
- Early decision can benefit a student who is completely certain of where they want to attend college, but may not be certain of their admittance to that college. Early decision shows the student’s strong commitment to attend a particular college.
Early Action
Early action is a non-binding decision to attend one college made at the time that the student applies. For example, if a student applies to College Z and is accepted early action, the student indicated strong interest in attending College Z upon receiving the acceptance; however, the student has no obligation to attend. Early action provides the opportunity to receive the early peace of mind that early decision provides; however, it does not hold the same commitment for the student.
Of note:
- A student can apply to multiple colleges through early action.
- Early action benefits students in finding out their acceptances earlier in their senior year without forcing a commitment at that time. Early action shows a student’s strong interest in attending a particular college(s).
Colleges may slightly vary their early decision and early action procedures, so students should review each institution’s process before applying. Remember, it is the student’s right to have clear information and the student’s responsibility to be aware of his/her growing knowledge of college admissions criteria.
Joe Connell has been helping high school students transition to college for the last nine years through positions in admissions, new student orientation and retention. Currently, Joe is the Director of Academic Services & Testing at Dutchess Community College (NY); he has previous work experience at William Paterson University (NJ), Marist College (NY) and Miami University (OH). Joe has presented on issues related to college students' transition and success at both regional and national levels and has taught both SAT preparation and college courses for the past eight years.
June 7th, 2010 by Marty Rafson
Students taking the SAT must make sure that they are very comfortable with the terms “factor” and “multiple” and, therefore, know the difference between the two. For example, let’s use the number 6. What are the factors of 6 as opposed to the multiples of 6?
By definition, the factors of 6 are those numbers that divide evenly into 6. Another way of saying this is that 6 is perfectly divisible by these factors. A factor is synonymous with a “divisor.” The factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6. When asked for the factors of 6, many students would say “1 times 6 and 2 times 3.” We are not being asked to break 6 into factors, but merely to list the factors. The best way to do this is to start with 1 (which divides evenly into all integers) and proceed upward listing all numbers that divide evenly into the given number. That is why we recommend writing the list as 1, 2, 3 and 6.
What are the multiples of 6? Think of the multiplication table: 1 times 6, 2 times 6, 3 times 6, etc. Thus, the multiples of 6 are 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, …
The factors of 6 divide evenly into 6. 6 divides evenly into the multiples of 6.
One interesting note: We could have chosen any number for our illustration above but 6 was specifically chosen. Other than the number 6 itself, the other factors of 6 are 1, 2 and 3. Add them up: 1 + 2 +3 = 6, the number itself!!! It is very rare to have a number be the sum of its own factors (other than itself). Such a number is called a “perfect number.” Perfect numbers are few and far between. Challenge: What’s the next perfect number after 6? In other words, it has to be the sum of its own factors (other than itself). Hint: This one is not so big- we’ll tell you it is less than 50.
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
May 31st, 2010 by Marty Rafson
Here’s a point of algebra that many students have forgotten. What do we do if we are confronted with a division problem involving more than one term (a polynomial) divided by one term (a monomial)? Let’s consider a situation as simple as this: How do we handle the division (a + b)/c? Most students are very comfortable with the concept of the distributive property for multiplication but may not realize that the same thing goes for division. With this problem, we just “distribute” the division. (a + b)/c is the same as taking each term from the numerator and dividing it by the denominator: a/c + b/c. It’s that simple! Now, how would that work on an SAT problem? A recently released exam provides a great example.
In their newest version of The Official SAT Study Guide, Practice Test #2, Section 5, problem #12 on page 467 is a perfect example: “If (3x + y)/y = 6/5, what is x/y?” Now, there are several ways to solve this problem but it screams for a division as described above. The left side of this equation would break into two divisions 3x/y + y/y. Since y/y = 1, we now have 3x/y + 1 = 6/5. Subtract 1 from both sides to give us 3x/y = 1/5. Now just divide by 3 and we will have the answer x/y = 1/15. (We’ll just give a hint that another method of solution is to cross-multiply the given expression.)
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
May 24th, 2010 by Marty Rafson
One of the nicest lessons that a high school math teacher gets to teach concerns the sum of the measures of the interior angles of a polygon. Draw a hexagon (6 sides). Put your pencil on one vertex and draw every possible diagonal originating from that vertex. How many non-overlapping triangles has the hexagon been divided into? If you’ve done it correctly, you’ve got 4 triangles. If you follow this same process with, let’s say, an octagon (8 sides), you’ll find it divided into 6 triangles. Students can easily be led to the logical conclusion that if we have a polygon of “n” sides, then we will be able to divide it into (n – 2) triangles. Thus, if we are trying to discover the sum of the measures of the interior angles of the polygon (knowing that the sum of the measures of the angles of a triangle is 180), we can conclude that our sum must be (n – 2) times 180. If we are now asked to use this formula to find the sum of the interior angles of a decagon (10 sides), we plug in n=10, giving us (10 – 2), or 8 times 180, for a sum of 1440 for the interior angles.
That’s a great formula to learn and to know for the SAT. However, the far more important SAT fact regards the exterior angles. What is the formula for the sum of measures of the exterior angles of a polygon? We might jokingly say that it’s not exactly a formula. The sum of the measures of the exterior angles of a polygon is 360. Students always ask how many sides the polygon has. The answer is that the sum of these exterior angles is always 360 regardless of how many sides the polygon has. The sum is not dependent of “n”, the number of sides. The writers of the SAT capitalize on this in a variety of ways. Over the years there have been several problems with a triangle and the exterior angles labeled “x”, “y” and “z”. With absolutely no given information, they ask for the sum of x, y and z. The message is clear. Students taking the SAT must know that the sum of the measures of the exterior angles of ANY polygon is always 360.
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
May 18th, 2010 by Marty Rafson
Virtually every student knows that the sum of the measures of the three angles of a triangle is 180 (and for those who don’t know this, the kind folks at the Educational Testing Service have listed this fact at the top of every SAT math section).
Consider this question: What is the average measure of one angle of a triangle? It’s a simple question. To find the average of any three things, we find the sum and then divide by 3. Since the sum of the three angles of a triangle is always 180, when we divide by 3 we find that the average measure of an angle of a triangle is always 60. This fairly simple fact has nice implications for SAT math problems.
Only an equilateral triangle has 3 angles that each measure exactly 60. If we then decrease one of the angles by one degree to 59, to balance this out one of the other angles must increase to 61 so that the average remains 60 (and the sum remains 180). Now we have three unequal angles. Let’s examine them more closely. What can be said about the smallest angle of a triangle? Setting aside the equilateral triangle situation, the smallest angle of a triangle must measure less than 60. Are there any other conclusions that we can draw about the other two angles of the triangle? The largest angle of the triangle must measure greater than 60. Is there anything we can state for sure regarding the “middle-sized” angle of a triangle? It may be more or less than 60, we can’t tell for sure. However, if you give it some further thought, could this angle be as large as 90 degrees? If the “middle-sized” angle of a triangle is 90 and then the largest angle is more than that, we would have more than 180 degrees. Therefore, the “middle-sized” angle must measure less than 90.
All of these conclusions derive directly from the simple fact that the sum of the measures of the angles of a triangle is 180. Make no mistake about it – the SAT will test you about these more in-depth concepts. Taking an SAT Prep Course will hone your math skills.
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
May 10th, 2010 by Marty Rafson
Every Algebra 1 course includes a unit on factoring. When teaching students, we usually break down factoring into three types: Factoring the greatest common factor; factoring the difference of two perfect squares; factoring trinomials. The SAT will not simply come out and ask a classroom-type question requiring the student to factor a given expression. An SAT problem will require more cleverness as the need to factor is often hidden in the problem. In fact, it is rare for an SAT math question to even give a hint that the student needs to factor an expression. Of the three types of factoring, experience shows us that factoring the difference of two perfect squares has shown up the most on past SAT’s.
Problem: “If x + y = 10 and x – y = 2, find the value of x2 – y2.” There are two interesting mathematical approaches possible here. As we read the given information, it appears that we have to solve a system of two equations to find the values of x and y and then plug them into the given expression x2 – y2. However, often on the SAT, it is critical to focus on the right part of the problem. x2 – y2 at the end of the problem should leap off the page and catch the attention of the sharp math student. This expression screams to be factored as (x + y)(x – y). Any student who notices this will then immediately notice that we have been given the values of each of these. The first is equal to 10 and the second is equal to 2 and all we have to do is multiply to get the answer of 20.
Would we have reached the same result if we had solved for x and y? Absolutely! Solving the system of two equations would have yielded x = 6 and y = 4. Then, 62 – 42, or 36 – 16 would have given us the correct answer of 20. However, how long would that have taken? Remember, on the SAT the clock is ticking. Recognizing the factoring of the difference of two perfect squares yields an almost instantaneous answer. Further, any student seeing this should recognize that he/she has just outsmarted the person who wrote the question. That just feels good and keeps your spirits high as the test is going on. Keep up your SAT prep for a great score!
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
May 5th, 2010 by Joe Connell
As I wrote in the blog about “College Admission Requirements,” one of the key college admission factors that sophomores and juniors can still manage in addition to their SAT scores is the course schedule they create for their next academic year. Thispost provides some information to keep in mind, when choosing next year’s classes.
Take as many honors, AP, IB and college-credit courses (often offered through local colleges) as reasonable for you to be successful. Many colleges take weighted GPAs for determining admission, so if your high school weights GPAs, a “B+” in AP US History is often going to strengthen your college application more than an “A” in regular high school history. In addition, many competitive colleges provide their own “weights” to courses considered to be college-level. Therefore, taking more advanced courses can help a student twice in the admissions process – i.e., both in the high school GPA and the college admissions review of your high school transcript.
Here’s a breakdown of recommendations by subject area:
- Complete a minimum of four years of English.
- Complete four years of mathematics. (These courses should become more challenging junior and senior year. If possible, move on to trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, etc.)
- Complete at least three years of social science (history, government, social studies, psychology, economics, etc.).
- Take three years of laboratory science. (Preferred courses include: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, AP courses in any of the aforementioned.)
- Complete at least three years of a foreign language. (Four or five years will really make you stand out.)
If you are not sure which courses are best for you, talk with family, friends and high school staff, especially your guidance counselor, about your college plans and courses that they recommend.
Joe Connell has been helping high school students transition to college for the last nine years through positions in admissions, new student orientation and retention. Currently, Joe is the Director of Academic Services & Testing at Dutchess Community College (NY); he has previous work experience at William Paterson University (NJ), Marist College (NY) and Miami University (OH). Joe has presented on issues related to college students' transition and success at both regional and national levels and has taught both SAT preparation and college courses for the past eight years.
May 3rd, 2010 by Marty Rafson
Back in Algebra 1, all students were assigned problems such as (x + y)2. At that time most students were advised to write the (x + y) twice, and then multiply. Many teachers, when multiplying polynomials, employ the FOIL pneumonic device. “First”, “Outers”, “Inners”, “Last”. This would give us x2 + xy + xy + y2. Simplification yields x2 + 2xy + y2. The 2xy is referred to as the “middle term”. Some teachers, perhaps when the students reach the Algebra 2 level, ask the students to memorize this form. Every time we square a binomial we are going to get two identical middle terms from the “outers” and the “inners”. Of course, the less adept math students will look at (x + y)2 and merely get x2 + y2. The writers of the SAT, the Educational Testing Service, know how to test students to be sure that they know about the existence of the middle term.
Problem: “If a2 +b2 = 13 and ab = 7, find the value of (a + b)2.” If you memorized how to square a binomial, you will instantly write down a2 + 2ab + b2 (of course, if you are not confident with this, you can write down a + b twice and “FOIL” it). Note how the given information perfectly fits this form. We are given that the first term plus the last term, a2 +b2 has a value of 13. Now, examine the middle term. If ab = 7 then 2ab must have a value of 14. Thus, the value of the given expression is 13 + 14, or 27.
Knowing how to multiply polynomials is a must in any algebra course and is important to practice for the SAT. Specifically, knowing how to square (x + y) quickly can be a great asset on the SAT.
Marty Rafson wrote the ESC math curriculum and has been an SAT math teacher, tutor, and curriculum developer for 30 years. He has been a high school math teacher for 36 years and a math department chairman for 25 years. He was also an adjunct professor at City College of New York School of Education.
