As your junior year winds down, it’s time to start coming up with the list of colleges that you will be applying to. Maybe you’ve had a dream school in mind since you were a little kid, or maybe you haven’t even started thinking about it, but you’ll need to come up with a mix of reach schools, safety schools, and a few in the middle of the road. There are around 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, so trying to narrow them down can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula for choosing your mixture of schools, but here are some criteria you can use to find schools that would be a good fit for you.
Kind of college- Are you looking for a two year or four year school? Public or private?
Location- Do you want to be able to do your laundry and eat dinner at home, or only fly home for winter break from a whole new environment?
Size/Setting- How do you feel about being at a school where everyone knows your name? Or would you rather find your niche in a large, diverse student population?
Life Outside the Classroom- Do you see yourself in a fraternity or sorority? How important is school spirit to you? Do you want to be able to go to “the big game” every weekend? What about volunteering, or an active student government? What kind of balance are you looking for between being academically challenged and having a fun-filled social life?
Major- If you’re not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life, or want a lot of variety before you work on a major, don’t worry! That’s totally normal. If you want a specialized degree, such as engineering, it’s important to find schools that have the right program for you.
Cost- This is one of the most important factors in choosing a college. Talk with your parents about college costs, look into applying for financial aid, and research different scholarships.
Once you’ve come up with a manageable list of schools, go on some campus visits to get a feel for the school’s unique vibe. Each school has its own “X-factor” where even if it sounds perfect on paper, it might not feel right in person, or you might fall in love with a school you didn’t think you would. To make your search easier, the College Board website has a school search, information about schools, and background on the application process. Visit https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges/how-find-your-college-fit to start searching for the school that’s right for you!
We have had a great start to summer tutoring! This week all our managers were out of the office for a Canoe trip down the Green River in Utah… but our tutors were in the office working hard and getting a lot done! Our managers go on a trip for a week once a year, and they canoed 70 miles down the river! What a huge success that is!
We had many new students this week and we are super excited for what the summer’s going to bring! We had many younger students in here getting prepared for their next school year. We are open all summer.. Monday through Friday 10am until 8pm!
Yesterday (Thursday) was a big day for us! We were preparing a lot of students for Mr. Hughes Geometry Summer School test today and for the Modern World History exam as well !
We have been focusing with the younger students on mainly reading, writing, and reading comprehension. It has been getting a slow start, but it will definitely pick up after July 4th!
We have a lot of great summer camps coming up starting July 8th and 9th! We have a new summer course that we are offering in the summer for Freshman that will be Sophomores in the fall. It is a Pre-SAT course that costs $650 and will be Tuesdays and Thursday from 6-8pm. It starts July 9th and ends August 15th (so a 6 week course). If you are interested – you can come in for an SAT Diagnostic test. The Diagnostic test will take an hour and forty minutes. You will complete 4 (25 minute sections) taken from past CollegeBoard SAT tests!
If you are interested you can contact Samantha@studyhut.com or rob@studyhut.com. You can also call our MB or RB office: (310)5462408 (MB) or RB: (310)540-5888
We are also offering a lot of SAT/ACT/ and HSPT Diagnostic tests coming up! We have one tomorrow – Satuday July 28th, Saturday July 6th, and Saturday July 20th! Let us know if you want to sign up! They are free and go from 8am to 12noon!
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! THE MANHATTAN BEACH STUDY HUT IS OFFERING FREE AP DIAGNOSTIC TESTS!!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get a 5 on an AP test? Well now is your chance!! We are offering free AP Diagnostic Tests and the first one is only 10 DAYS AWAY!
March 24th (Sunday) and April 20th (Saturday) are the two times that we will be offering the exams for all subjects.
If you would like to sign up please contact samantha@studyhut.com or call 1-310-546-2408.
For those of you that don’t know, AP stands for Advanced Placement – a program in the United States created by the College Board offering college-level curriculum and examinations to high school students. American colleges often grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores above a certain number on the examinations. The AP curriculum for the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in each subject. For a high school course to have the AP designation, the course must be audited by the College Board to ascertain it satisfies the AP curriculum.
Some colleges use AP test scores to exempt students from introductory coursework. Each college’s policy is different, but most require a minimum score of 3 or 4 to receive college credit.Typically this appears as a “CR” grade on the college transcript, although some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score.
Grading the AP exam is a long and complicated process. The multiple choice component of the exam is scored by computer, while the free response and essay portions are scored by trained Readers at the AP Reading each June. The scores on various components are weighted and combined into a raw Composite Score. The Chief Reader for each exam then decides on the grade cutoffs for that year’s exam, which determine how the Composite Scores are converted into the final grades. During the process a number of reviews and statistical analyses are performed to ensure that the grading is reliable. The overall goal is for the grades to reflect an absolute scale of performance which can be compared from year to year.
A: The confirmed dates so far for 2013 are January 16, March 9, May 4, June 1.
Q: How do I sign up for the SAT test?
A: There are two ways to sign up for the SAT, by mail and Online at www.collegeboard.com. To sign up by mail acquire the College Board’s Bulletin by calling or emailing the college board and having them send a copy or getting one from your schools guidance counselors and fill out the registration form within. The other and much easier way to register is directly at the collegeboard website. You will first have to create a profile on the collegeboard website, filling out the required personal information and a short questionare. After completing those forms you will now have a username and password which you will use to sign up for everything SAT related. On the website you will follow the prompts to sign up for your specific test and testing location
Q: How far in advance do you need to sign up for the SAT
A: The regular deadline to apply is 5 weeks before the testing day, so for the January 16th test the deadline is December 28th. There is also a late deadline that is 2 weeks before the test which incurs an additional sign up fee and you will not be guaranteed your first choice of testing center.
Q: Does the writing section of the SAT count towards your final score?
A: The short answer is Yes, the collegeboard will send you a score out of 2400 including the writing section, 800 total for each math, critical reading and writing. The long answer is much more complicated. Different colleges either use or do not use the writing score in determining your score and admittance. For further information check each respective colleges websites to see if they do or do not take into account the writing score in determining the applicants admission status.
