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& AP

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BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE WEBSITE:

http://www.norwinsd.org/Page/4936

Under the Office of Collegiate Affairs tab, among other things, you will find the following…

THE OFFICE OF COLLEGIATE AFFAIRS• A timeline under the College

Application Information tab• Guidance &College Visitation

Calendars• PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP testing ,

registration information & preparation links

• Scholarships

THE PSAT• Taken by Sophomores &

Juniors• Sophomores take it for

practice and to determine strengths and weaknesses

• National Merit $cholarship Qualifying Exam for Juniors

THE PSAT• Cost: $15 for 10th grade, free for

11th grade students• Administered October 15, 2015• Results are reviewed in

December• Registration will take place April

20, 2015 – April 30, 2015. • Papers will be distributed in

homeroom and will be available on the guidance website

THE PSATChanges for October 2015:• Duration: 2 hrs. & 45 min• Reading test, Writing and Language

test, and Math testScoring will now be Rights-Only Scoring

• Receive point for correct answer, no deduction for incorrect answer or skipping a question

THE SAT• Register by way of the Guidance

website or www.sat.collegeboard.org• Cost: $43.00 (+ $28.00 late fee if

registering after the deadline)• Select the Correct Testing Site!• Upload a Photo ID and bring it along

with the registration confirmation to the testing center. NO STUDENT IS ADMITTED WITHOUT A PHOTO ID

THE SAT• We recommend that

juniors take it twice: once in May or June and again in October.

THE ACT• Register by way of the Guidance website or

www.actstudent.org/start• Cost: $38.00+ $16.50—Plus writing (add

$21.00 late fee)• Select the Correct Testing Site!• Upload a Photo ID and bring it along with

the photo admission ticket to the testing center. NO STUDENT IS ADMITTED WITHOUT A PHOTO ID and PHOTO ADMISSION TICKET

THE ACT• We recommend that

juniors take the ACT in April OR June (In 2015 the last test at NORWIN will be APRIL 18th)

Fee waivers are available for both test for

students who qualify for free/reduced lunch!

SAT vs ACT

Duration: • 3 hrs• 3 ½ hrs (+

writing)

Duration:• 3 hrs, 45

Min

ACT VS SAT

Is a more “bigpicture,”curriculumbased exam

yieldinga single

COMPOSITE score.

Is broken into 10 sections yielding three scores:

• Critical Reading• Mathematics• Writing

ACT VS SAT

SCORING ACT SAT• 36 pts total• WRITING scored separately out of 12 pts

• 800 pts/section

(2400 pts total)• SUBJECT

TESTS scored separately

(200-800 pts)

Verbal questions

tend to be more

straightforward

Verbal questions tend to require a little more thought and time in order to interpret and produce a response

ACT VS SAT

Has a Science section.

Has NO Science section, but has a strong emphasis on VOCABULARY

ACT VS SAT

Measures more advanced math

concepts (algebra 1 & 2, geometry and trigonometry)

Measures through Algebra 2.

ACT VS SAT

The 30 minute Writing section is, optional though may be required by the college of choice.

The writing score is listed separately.

The 25 minute essay is required and is factored into the writing score.

ACT VS SAT

Each content area (English, Math, Reading, and Science) is taken in one big chunk of time per area

Each content area (Critical Reading, Math, and Writing) is broken up into 10 alternating sections with the writing at the beginning

ACT VS SAT

. College Admissions

Counselors are MOST concerned about the COMPOSITE score

College Admissions Counselors care about how you performed on EACH SECTION of the test (Critical Reading, Math, & Writing)

ACT VS SAT

. Does NOT administer Subject Tests

SAT administers a separate battery of Subject Tests to measure a depth of knowledge in a particular subject area.

ACT VS SAT

SAT SUBJECT TESTS• Literature• Biology, Electricity &

Magnetism, Chemistry, Physics

• Mathematics Levels I & II• U.S. History &World History

SAT SUBJECT TESTSLanguages with reading only option:• French • Spanish• German• Modern Hebrew

• Latin• Italian

SAT SUBJECT TESTSLanguages with Listening:• French • Spanish• German• Japanese

• Chinese• Korean

MORE ON SCORING - SAT• Average SAT is 1500

• Students earn 1 pt/per correct answer

• Students are DEDUCTED ¼ pt per incorrect answer

• Scores below 1100 are considered LOW at most 4 year colleges

MORE ON SCORING - ACT

• Average ACT is between 20 & 21• Students earn 1 pt/per correct

answer• NO PENALTY for skipped or

incorrect answers• A score below 15 is considered

LOW

SAT TIPS• GUESS ONLY if you can

ELIMINATE 1 or more items. Statistically, you will have a greater chance of earning more points…

SAT TIPS• Know The Order of Difficulty:• Easy (the first 1/3 of ea. section)• Medium (the second 1/3 of ea

section)• Hard (The last 1/3 of ea section)

SAT TIPSKnowing the order of difficulty enables you to spend MORE time on the first two sections ensuring you have the correct answers. With the remaining time, the “Process of Elimination” strategy can be applied!

SAT TIPSWords from the Wise (AKA The Princeton Review):

• If you are working on an easy question, the answer that seems correct, IS correct…

• However, the OPPOSITE is true when you are working on a HARD question. Eliminate that item (the distractor) and perhaps another before you GUESS!!!

REMEMBER YOU DO NOT LOSE POINTS FOR

GUESSING ON THE

ACT

SAT & ACT WRITING TIPS• Keep it Tidy! Write legibly!• Write using the traditional

Introduction (with a clear thesis), Body of supporting evidence, and Conclusion summarizing your essay.

SAT & ACT WRITING TIPS• INDENT and Use ALL of the

spaces on the answer sheet • USE BIG WORDS,

particularly in the introduction and the conclusion!

SAT & ACT PREP• Access SAT & ACT

Preparation links from the Guidance Website!

• http://www.norwinsd.org/Page/5385

• SAT Changes coming for the class of 2017…

SOURCES FOR THIS PRESENTATION

• http://www.princetonreview.com• http://www.norwinsd.org/Page/ 5385• http://commons.wikimedia.org/

wiki/File:SAT-ACT_Preference_Map.svg