I honestly hadn't thought of this since my kid is cranking already in school, but many of the oriental kids making similar grades have alreadly been taking SAT prep courses and have been going since 6th grade? They are about to be freshmen at Westwood, so potentially they might take 7 years of SAT prep? Anyone else have any experience with this? I never really seriously thought about SAT prep courses but I guess the suffixes and prefixes, and perhaps latin words would help. Anyhow pro, con... waste of time?
Dude, the preferred nomenclature is Asian American. Seriously, Princeton Review used to be the gold standard in SAT preparation, but I haven't been "in the know" for a number of years. A full-service course probably runs on the order of a grand. Massive vocabulary work can make a brute-force effect, but technique is better bang-for-buck. Sadly, that SAT score can follow kids around even applying for postdoctoral positions in some fields. Don't freak your kid out, but I advise doing what you can to help get the best score possible.
If your kid hasn't even started high school yet, don't mess with a prep class. Buy a study book (Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc.) and take the PSAT at the first opportunity. If that score is lower than you want to see, then consider the prep class.
The Link friend of mine has run this company for years. he is VERY good at what he does and gets fantastic results. i would encourage you to seek him out. he has about 15 years experience if not more....
I would study whatever you can get for free online or in a bookstore for the PSAT since those scores determine National Merit scholarships. For the SAT, my 2 kids took the Princeton Review. Plan on taking the SAT twice (at least) because now schools let you combine scores and take the best verbal, best math, and best writing. I would recommend taking the SAT the 1st time at the end of the Jr year, then repeating it at the beginning of the Sr year. If you are happy with the score, stop. Things have changed since we were kids.
Texanne- HA! I was blasted out of my mind when I took that test, almost got kicked out after visiting with the girls I hadn;t seen since Junior High. I don't know if my mom was more pisesed that I took the test with 2 hours sleep and still drunk or that I was able to get into any school except rice with my drunken first try. I think she actually has a decent good chance at being in the top 10% at Westwood, all AP classes, and doesn't have a Semester average in any class below a 96, I think her overall grade average is like 98.3 so that's in the mix. I hope the Law changes becasue I think her other long list of attributes, activities and volunteer work might make her even more attractive to many schools, but she wants to go to Texas. Guess I will get one of the books and start pushing the Vocabulary.
The law was changed. Now 75% of incoming freshmen will be admitted under the top 10% rule. Summer, sounds like your daughter is doing everything right. Keep it up, and all will be well. Your story and Texanne's are similar to mine. I walked into Anderson HS cafeteria back in the day with little sleep and a hangover to take the SAT (without prep of course). I knew I would get into UT. Thank God it was a lot easier to get in back then.
The Top Ten Percent law will not be officially changed until the Senate adopts the House changes (the 75% cap noted above), or the bill will go to a joint conference committee. House officials worked closely with UT to come to a compromise. If the Senate balks and the bill undergoes significant changes in committee (e.g. a % higher than 75%), the House will more than likely not approve the bill, which has been the case the past two legislative sessions. The article below contains some pretty good information about what has transpired in the legislature. Dallas Morning News article
What's the deal with the writing component? Is it taken seriously by admissions boards? I took the SAT back in 94 well before the writing component was introduced.
The writing section is taken seriously. Schools still seem to think in terms of math + verbal for comparing students, but they all want to see how well a student can write. This is what the essay in the writing section is used for.
I am actually pushing her to read more well written novels as the writing is more creative and tends to "paint a picture" and tend to expand the vocabulary. I taught her a couple years ago about the basic structure of the "Five paragraph Paper" and how it can be a blueprint and building block for any paper or essay. A few minutes of organization of thought goes a very long way toward writing an effective paper, much less an essay. I think kids today are spoiled in that it's easy to just cut and paste, spell check, and revise more quickly due to computers. Actually having to sit down, and form a plan of attack and then sit down and start writing is something they do not have to do very often. (but she's just in Junior high so hopefully more emphasis on this at Westwood.)
Those Asian families can be a little crazy with their standarized test. (And I'm talking majority here) They think standardized test scores are the golden ticket. Well that and playing violin. I knew a kid who scored perfect on ACT and SAT, and then was disappointed he didn't get into MIT and Princeton. Ended up going to Rice.
I taught the math portion an SAT prep course for three years part time in CA. it was fun. the course guaranteed a 100 point improvement or you got your money back. IIRC, there were few refunds. while we would occasionally get the uber gifted 7th grader in there, mostly the kids were 10th or 11th graders. it is worth looking into, especially if your kid does not love taking tests.
"what sort of ****** up field would that be?" I will say that my wife's parents did not prepare her at all to go to college and her SAT score reflected this, it was pitiful as I recall. She had worked for the State of Texas for 10 years and I helped get her back into school at ACC and she made straight A's. She applied to the UT school of Pharmacy and one thing she was missing was her SAT score simply as it was from 13 years ago. She gained acceptance based on her grades and her interview. Her SAT showed up later. She would NOT have gotten in had the SAT score been available at the time of the interview.
