In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Exposing a Test-Taking Myth

Over the years, you’ve probably heard teachers and classmates say that, on multiple-choice tests, “your first guess is your best.”

However, new research from the University of Illinois says that, overall, changing answers helps students far more often than it hurts them.

So why do so many people believe that the first guess is best?

Because it’s really annoying to get a question wrong if you had originally had it right. On the flip side, you’re unlikely to be fazed if you change an incorrect answer to the correct one.

A recent Huffington Post article discusses this study’s findings in more detail. It also highlights another study that identifies helpful—and unhelpful—reading-comprehension strategies. Click here to check it out.

Timely Testing Advice

Did you know that there are special watches made just for the ACT and SAT?

For $40, you can own a timepiece that will tell you the time remaining in the section in which you’re currently working as well as the number of questions you should have left at that moment.

The New York Times recently reviewed these watches, which are available from the company Testing Timers. While they’re a cool way to know how much time you have without doing “a math problem,” the Times points out that they do not account for the test taker’s “personal strengths and weaknesses”—important factors that should influence pacing. To this end, it shared some important time-management strategies for the two tests. These include the following:

• Know how many questions you need to answer—and get right—to achieve your target score.
• Take practice tests until you can comfortably finish in the allotted time.
• Don’t spend too much time on any one question.

For more on these and other strategies, check out the full article on the Times.

Five Test-Prep Tips

The Choice recently posted five tips that should guide your standardized-test preparations:

• “Practice under test-day conditions”
• “Boost your vocabulary skills”
• “Be prepared to write a longer essay”
• “Don’t cram for the exam”
• “Take care of your physical health”

While these were written with the SAT in mind, they are also applicable to the ACT Plus Writing (yes, a good vocabulary will help on the ACT, too). Click here to read more about each tip on The Choice.

For expert advice on the SAT and ACT, check out our Cracking the SAT and Cracking the ACT guidebooks.

Junior Year: The Best Time to Give Your Grades an “Upward Trend”

When reviewing your high school transcript, most selective colleges will consider trends in your academic performance.

What exactly does this mean? Regardless of your overall GPA, higher grades in your more recent classes will boost your odds of admission; lower grades in these classes will hurt your odds.

This makes your junior year—last full year for which colleges will have info when reviewing your application—the most important year of high school with regard to college admissions.

So, juniors: you have plenty of incentive to get the best grades you possibly can!

For more info on the importance of junior year, check out this post from CollegeAdmissionsPartners.com.

Colleges Use New Tests Measure Your Curiosity, Initiative, and Grit

Some colleges are employing tests beyond the ACT and SAT to help them build their classes.

According to a recent article on the Chronicle of Higher Education, these schools are using “noncognitive” assessments that measure traits such as leadership and the ability to meet one’s goals. Click here to check it out.

Slightly Higher Scores Tied to Thousands of Dollars in Additional Aid

It is well known that colleges consider applicants’ standardized test scores when determining how much merit aid to award.

However, most students don’t know exactly how the colleges on their list use test scores when compiling aid packages. This is important information: while some schools simply consider test scores when making their offers, others tie specific monetary awards to specific scores.

A concrete example of the latter approach can be found in a recent College Solution post, which describes the way Indiana University uses ACT scores to determine its merit awards. At IU, a student who earns a composite score of 31 instead of a composite score of 30 can get thousands of dollars in additional aid each year. Click here to read more.

What does this mean for you? You should ask the colleges on your list whether they award merit aid and, if so, the role test scores play in their award processes. This information should guide the way you approach your tests. In some cases, it might be worthwhile for you to retake a test even if you already have a solid score.

Study: Open-Book Tests Just as Effective as Regular Tests

Students across the country have just finished sweating through some important midterms and final exams.

Must such exams be stressful experiences? Two professors at Dominican University of California recently sought to find out.

In a newly published study, the professors found that open-book and “cheat sheet” exams (the latter being exams in which test-takers are allowed to reference a sheet of prepared notes) were just as effective as regular, closed-book exams in terms of students’ subsequent knowledge retention. The main difference between the test types was open-book and cheat-sheet exams were associated with much less stress than closed-book exams were.

Click here to read more on the Huffington Post.

Hangout with Elite Colleges

Have a burning question about the college admissions process? We’re partnering with Google+ and seven highly selective colleges to answer your questions in a special Hangout on Air (live video chat).

To find out what admissions officers from Dartmouth, Duke, Penn State, SUNY Binghamton, Temple, USC, and Washington University in St. Louis have to say, go to The Princeton Review’s Google+ page on Monday, Dec. 17 at 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST.

Discussion topics on the agenda include standardized test preparation, applications, financial aid, and scholarships.

This Hangout on Air is part of College #AdmissionsWeek, a program hosted exclusively on Google+ to provide insight into admissions, academics, and student life. For more information, check out The Princeton Review's Google+ page.

Is There a Reason to Take Both the ACT *and* the SAT?

Most counselors advise students to prepare for and take just one of these two tests.

However, in a recent survey by Kaplan, one in five admissions officers said that an applicant with strong scores on both tests would enjoy an advantage in the admissions process.

In light of this, students who get high scores on practice versions of both the ACT and the SAT without any prior prep might benefit from taking both tests. (Click here and here for free practice tests.)

However, it’s still not a good use of your time to prep extensively for two different tests when only one is required and only a fraction of colleges care whether you have both.

To help you decide which test is best for you, check out our book ACT or SAT?

(Thanks to Todd Johnson at CollegeAdmissionsPartners.com for the link to the Kaplan survey.)

Juniors: It’s Time to Talk College Applications

While you won’t actually apply until next fall, now is the time to start the process. You have a lot to do between now and then, including the following:

• Plan your standardized tests.
• Research and choose schools.
• Talk with your parents about your school choices.

To this end, The Choice blog has identified six things you can do this month to help ensure that you’ll be in good shape when it’s time to fill out your apps. Click here to check them out.

For more information on the college application process, and things you can do during your junior year, check out this “classic” IN blog post.