College Admissions Exams

College 101

Standardized Tests• PSAT• SAT• ACT PLAN• ACT• AP Exams

PSATGrade 10 & 11

Why take the PSAT?• Prepare for the SAT: the test uses similar questions and the same directions.• Qualify for scholarships (National Merit)• Compare scores with other college-bound students around the country.• Forecast SAT scores.• Use My College QuickStart to plan ahead for college and a career.

PSAT• Two 25-minute Critical Reading Sections.– 13 sentence completions– 35 critical reading questions

• Two 25-minute Math Sections.– 28 multiple-choice math questions– 10 student-produced responses or grid-ins

• One 30-minute Writing Skills Section.– 14 identifying sentence errors– 20 improving sentences– 5 improving paragraph questions.

My College QuickStart• My Online Score Report – an enhanced score report that allows students to review each test question, their answers and the correct answers with explanations.• My SAT Study Plan – a customized SAT study plan based on students’ PSAT test performance, highlighting skills for review and practice. • My Personality – a detailed personality test.• My Major & Career Matches• My College Matches

College Entrance Test•SAT•ACT

SAT

SAT• 1+ point for questions you get correct.• -1/4 point subtracted in multiple-choice• Each section of your SAT will be scored on a 200-800 point scale, for possible total of 2400. • You’ll also get two “subscores” on the writing section: a multiple-choice score from 20-80, and an essay score from 2 to 12.

SAT• Ten sections– (1) 25-minute essay– (6) 25-minute sections (math, critical reading, & writing)– (2) 20-minute sections (math, critical reading & writing)– (1) 10-minute multiple-choice writing section– Total test time: 3 hours and 45 minutes

When should I take the SAT? How many times?• Most students take the SAT during the spring of their junior year of high school. Many students choose to take the SAT a second time in the fall of their senior year after becoming familiar with the test day experience.• Many students take it once or twice.

SAT: Costs• Registration: $51• Basic Subject Test Fee: $24.50• Sending Your Scores: $11.25 (for each school)• Receiving Your Scores:– Scores by Web: FREE– Official Score Report: FREE

SAT: Average ScoresUniversity/Colleges CR Math• Boston University (MA) 580-680590-690• Centre College (KY) 570-690570-650• Duke University (NC) 660-750680-790• Harvard College (MA) 700-800700-790• Indiana University (Bloomington) 510-620520-640• Morehead State (KY) 420-520420-550• Northern Kentucky 440-550450-550• Purdue University (IN) 490-610530-660• Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech. (IN) 560-680630-710• Stanford University (CA) 660-760680-790• Transylvania University (KY) 530-640530-650• University of Kentucky 500-620500-630• University of Louisville 490-610500-640• University of Southern California 620-720650-740*Scores based from 2010

Redesigned SAT• The first administration of the redesigned SAT will be in the spring of 2016.• The redesign primarily impacts those enrolling in college in fall 2017.• PSAT will be revised and launched in the fall of 2015.• Major changes: no more penalties for guessing wrong, SAT essay is optional, less focus on obscure vocabulary, and reading passage focused on science. • Score highlights:

– 400-1600 point score scale– Scores for the Essay section will be reported separately.– Will give credit for every correct response and will NOT deduct for incorrect answers.

ACT PLAN

ACT PLAN (grade 10)English 50 questions 30 minutes(Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills)Mathematics 40 questions 40 minutes(Pre-Algebra/Algebra and Geometry)Reading 25 questions 20 minutesScience 30 questions 25 minutes

ACT PLAN: Scores• Student scores are between 1 and 32• PLAN takes the number of questions you got right on each test and translates it into a number between 1 and 32.• Your Composite score is simple the average of your test scores in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science.

ACT

ACTEnglish 75 questions 45 minutes(Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills.)Mathematics 60 questions 60 minutes(Measure mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up tothe beginning of grade 12.)Reading 40 questions 35 minutes(Measure reading comprehension.)Science 40 questions 35 minutes(Measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solvingskills required in the natural sciences.)Optional Writing Test 1 prompt 30 minutes(Measures writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-levelcollege composition courses.)

Tips for Taking the ACT• Answer the easy questions first, then go back and answer the more difficult ones if you have time remaining on that test.• On difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess among those remaining.• Answer every question. Your scores on the multiple-choice tests are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.

ACT: Practice for the Writing Prompt• Practice writing different kinds of texts, for different purposes, with different audiences in mind. • The ACT Writing Test asks you to explain your perspective on an issue in a convincing way, writing opportunities like editorials or letters to the editor of a newspaper are especially helpful. • It is also a good idea to get some practice writing within a time limit.

ACT: Cost• Registration– ACT (No Writing): $33– ACT (Plus Writing): $48

• Sending Scores: $10 (to each school)• If you want them to the college within two days – the cost is $15.00.

ACT: FAQ• Students cannot take the Writing Test, without the Multiple Choice.• You must write your essay with a pencil.• The ACT is scored with accuracy with readers carefully screened and trained so they are familiar with the type of writing that merits each particular score.• The ACT Writing Test is designed so that the prompts can be answered within 30 minutes.

ACT: Average Scores • Boston University 25-30• Centre College (KY) 26-30• Duke University (NC) 29-34• Harvard 31-35• Indiana University (Bloomington) 23-28• Morehead State (KY) 18-24• Murray State (KY) 21-26• Northern Kentucky 19-23• Purdue University (IN) 23-28• Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech. 27-31• Stanford University 29-33• Transylvania University (KY) 23-29• University of Kentucky 22-27• University of Louisville 21-27• University of Southern California 28-32

ACT College Readiness BenchmarksCollege Course ACT Subject

AreaACT EXPLORE (8th)

ACT PLAN (10th)

ACT (11th)

English Composition

English 13 15 18

College Algebra Mathematics 17 19 22

Social Studies Reading 16 18 22

Biology Science 18 20 23

What is the differences between the SAT and the ACT?

• The ACT is an achievement test, measuring what a student has learned in school. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities.• The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. The SAT has only 3 components: Critical Reasoning, Mathematics, and a required Writing Test.• The College Board introduced a new version of the SAT in 2005, with a mandatory writing test. ACT continues to offer its well-established test, plus an optional writing test. You take the ACT Writing Test only if required by the college(s) you're applying to.• The SAT has a correction for guessing. That is, they take off for wrong answers. The ACT is scored based on the number of correct answers with no penalty for guessing.

Advanced Placement Exams• Taken each May by students all over the world, the AP Exam is the final step you take after a year of hard work in an AP class. • Most exams are two to three hours long. Be prepared to tackle a challenging exam with limited breaks. • The first part of the exam usually consists of multiple-choice questions. You will choose one of four or five answer choices for each question and use a pencil to bubble in your choice on your AP answer sheet. Your total exam score on the multiple-choice section is based only on the number of questions answered correctly. You won’t receive or lose points for incorrect answers or unanswered questions.• The second part of the exam usually consists of free-response questions that require you to generate your own responses. Depending on the exam, your responses could be in the form of an essay, a solution to a problem, a spoken response and more. In most cases, you’ll be writing your response in pen in the free-response exam booklet.

University of Louisville – AP Course Credit

AP Exam Required Exam Score

Awarded Course

AP English Language 3, 4, or 5 ENGL 101 (3 hours)

AP Chemistry 3, 4, or 5 3-CHEM201 (3hrs); 4 or 5 CHEM 201-202 (6 hrs)

AP World History 3, 4, or 5 HIST 102 (3 hours)

AP US History 3, 4, or 5 HIST 211-212 (6 hours)

AP Calculus AB 3, 4, or 5 3- MATH180 (3hrs); 4 or 5 MATH 205 (4 hrs)

AP Spanish Language 4 or 5 4 – SPAN123 (4 hrs); 5 – SPAN201-202 (6 hrs)

AP Biology 3, 4, or 5 BIOL 102 (3 hours)

AP Macroeconomics 3, 4, or 5 ECON 202 (3 hours)

AP Art History 4 or 5 ARTH 250 (3 hours)

AP Psychology 3, 4, or 5 PSYC 201 (3 hours)

AP Statistics 3, 4, or 5 MATH 109 (3 hours)

TCA – ACT Prep

To Raise Scores:

1.Understanding the Test: Students need the knowledge of what is on the test and it will give them confidence. (10%)

2.Reviewing Weakest Skills: Even though all the content is taught, many students have forgotten or did not quite get the concept at the time. (80%)

3.Understanding Test Taking Strategies (10%)

Score & Analyze