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Most of the time, students would apply to more than one school, so here's the sample check list to make sure you won't miss anything.
COLLEGE INFORMATION
TESTING
- Name of the school
- Telephone
- Website
- Information Requested on (date)
- Application Requested on (date)
- Application Deadline
- Early Decision/Application Deadline
- Secondary School Report Due by:
- Turned into them on:
- Separate Part I?
- Mailed on:
- On Common App? Supplement?
- Application fee $
- Application mailed on
- 1st Teacher rec. given to whom on which date
- 2nd Teacher rec. given to whom on which date
TESTING
- # of Subject tests required
- Writing test? Other specific tests?
- Subject test scores released on
- Official test scores requested
- From ETS on
- Required/ Recommended?
- Campus or Alumni?
- Campus App’t on which date at where
- Alumni Interview on which date at where
- Campus visit planned on
- Tour at
- Info session at
- Type:
- Mailed on:
- Add’l recommendation from:
- Given on:
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news.
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news.
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Writing each application is the responsibility of the student. We encourage students to consult with parents, teachers, and your TrinityScholar counselors regarding the topic, organization, and effectiveness of the writing. It is imperative that the essay be the student’s own work. Although your TrinityScholar counselor is available to help; however, there should be enough time provided for appropriate editing. Here are a few questions we receive frequently regarding college essays: Why is the essay so difficult for students? Often there is complete freedom in the answer. Students find it difficult to talk about themselves (don’t want to brag). They struggle with “saying what they (the colleges) want to hear” Some just hate writing essays!
Why do colleges ask you to write an essay?
Why do colleges ask you to write an essay?
- To get a small glimpse into what makes you “tick”.
- To evaluate your skills as a writer.
- To gauge interest in the school – ie: “What is it about X college that made you want to apply?”
- To get a sense of the strengths and passions you might bring to campus.
- Originality; your own unique view or a particular episode in your life.
- Some aspects of yourself that does not appear elsewhere in the application.
- A lesson learned, a core value, a greater understanding, the benefit of some kind of experience (ie: a job, a journey, a family reunion) work very well.
- The effects of particular people, objects, cultural background, works of art or literature, local or international events on the student. (Stress the impact of these things more than the things themselves -- how have these made me who I am?)
- Platitudes and clichés (or paternalism in community service essays!)
- “My coach, my hero…” (or other athletic essays that may end with --“and through this experience, I learned the values of hard work, determination, and giving 110% ”)
- Being overly critical… it’s ok to look skeptically at any issue, but be thoughtful about it.
- Length! If an app says that the essay needs to be 500 words, 550 may be ok, but 900 is not.
- Essays that don’t ultimately reflect back on you: “my dad/mom, my hero” in which only the parent is spoken about and no sense of the student is given.
- Flatness. The key to a great essay is in the details: “My dad taught me how to cook” vs. “Slicing red bell peppers into thin, crescent moons, my father said ‘a sharp knife is the most important tool for any cook…” Which creates a more vivid scene?
- Gimmicks. Highly risky. Sometimes lists, recipes, poems, and other non-traditional responses go over well, but it’s a subjective process; you never know how these kinds of essays will be received. Discuss such responses thoroughly with your college counselor before submitting them to a college.
- Discuss the influence of a person, work of fiction, experience, or event of international/local importance on you.
- Think up a question you think should be asked in a college essay—and then answer it.
- What’s the worst mistake you’ve ever made?
- If you had $10 and a whole day free, what would you do?
- What is it about [name of college] that makes it a good choice for you?
- You have just completed your 300-page autobiography, please share with us page XXX.
- If you could meet any one person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
- Talking things through. We can offer suggestions or provide an angle for your essay that you have not considered. These conversations often lead to interesting options.
- Reviewing your writing by checking for obvious errors in grammar, usage, and style. Plus we can give feedback as to the overall tone and effectiveness of the essay. We would also help you better organize your stories and you want to make sure that your voice is the one that is heard.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news.
To get the latest news, join our Line Official Account (@mqz4477g) or subscribe to our newsletter to get the first hand news.
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While ISEE and SSAT serve very similar purpose with similar test structure and content, there are still some major difference between these two test. Should you take ISEE or SSAT? That's a big question? First, we compare ISEE and SSAT for you in detail.
|
|
ISEE |
SSAT |
|
Test content & Structure |
Multiple choice sections: Math, Verbal, Reading + Essay |
Multiple choice sections: Math, Verbal, Reading + Essay |
|
Purpose |
For admission assessment to independent schools |
For admission assessment to independent schools |
|
Levels |
Primary: students applying to grades 3-4 Lower: students applying to grades 5-6 Middle: students applying to grades 7-8 Upper: students applying to grades 9-12 |
Elementary: students applying to grades 4-5 Middle: students applying to grades 6-8 Upper: students applying to grades 9-12 |
|
Essay |
One expository essay |
Middle: choice between 2 creative writing prompts Upper: choice between a creative prompt and an expository prompt. |
|
Guess Penalty |
No |
1/4 point for wrong answer |
|
Verbal Questions |
Yes, synonyms and sentence completions |
Yes, synonyms and analogies |
|
Limited times of test-taking |
1/ season, 3 / year |
No |
|
When to take |
Several times a month, depending on test centers |
Once a month |
|
Online registration account |
One per parent/ guidance, under which could have several independent test-takers' accounts available |
One per test-taker |
|
Paper or online |
Both |
Paper only |
|
Score report submitting |
Can choose which scores to submit to which schools |
Can choose which scores to submit to which schools |
|
Score report |
|
|
The major differences between ISEE and SSAT lie in scoring, content, guessing strategy, and test dates, as you can see from the above comparison table.
You might want to consider the followings when deciding which test to go.
At TrinityScholar, we offer ISEE/ SSAT prep in different ways:
Feel free to come to talk to our consultants by live chat, call: 886-2-2771-6002, Line: @mqz4477g, or email to info@trinityscholar.com
You might want to consider the followings when deciding which test to go.
- Which test(s) is accepted by the school(s) you are applying to?
- What's your strength? If you are good at math, ISEE might give you some advantages by showing both math sections individually.
- How often you'd like to take the test?
- Are the test seat available? Would the test date match your application deadline?
At TrinityScholar, we offer ISEE/ SSAT prep in different ways:
- Self-Paced: Online test prep materials for you to access at all time. A self-paced and self-organized way of learning that best fits your schedule
- Self-Paced Package: Online test materials + tutoring + extra practice tests
- 1-on-1 Tutoring: materials and hours at your choice, completely customized (time, location, focus) tutor program with veteran instructors
- Customized Groups: completely customized tutoring for 3 or more students.
Feel free to come to talk to our consultants by live chat, call: 886-2-2771-6002, Line: @mqz4477g, or email to info@trinityscholar.com
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Students and parents (and unfortunately many school counselors) are often unfamiliar with the Early Round (Early Action or Early Decision) option at many of America’s elite schools. We have crunched the data on the Early Round vs. Regular Decision admission rates, which should show you that whenever possible, you should apply to EA/ED.
While most Ivy League Schools offered Early Decision options, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale offer Restricted Early Action option to students. If student choose to apply to one of them, they cannot apply to any other private schools in the early stage, and public schools that offer ED options.
While most Ivy League Schools offered Early Decision options, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale offer Restricted Early Action option to students. If student choose to apply to one of them, they cannot apply to any other private schools in the early stage, and public schools that offer ED options.
If you look at the admission rates for Early Round, they are significantly higher at all 8 schools. (We have developed a ratio, which we term ER/RD, which measures how great of an advantage ER applicants have.) The ER/RD ratio ranges from 2.1 (Cornell) to 3.0 (Harvard). In simpler terms, it means you are 2.8x more likely to be admitted to Brown applying in ER than in RD.
Though Stanford has decided to not release their early round admission data, we can assume the situation is similar since all elite schools are still competing with each other for elite students.
Based on the above data, we can easily find out that, because of the timing of application, students with similar/ same background & academic performance will have diversely application outcome. Therefore, we highly recommend you to organize your timeline and work on your college application scheme at the earliest possible, including ahead preparation for related tests. This way, you can apply to your ideal colleges at the most advantageous timing and hence gain the admissions successfully.
Though Stanford has decided to not release their early round admission data, we can assume the situation is similar since all elite schools are still competing with each other for elite students.
Based on the above data, we can easily find out that, because of the timing of application, students with similar/ same background & academic performance will have diversely application outcome. Therefore, we highly recommend you to organize your timeline and work on your college application scheme at the earliest possible, including ahead preparation for related tests. This way, you can apply to your ideal colleges at the most advantageous timing and hence gain the admissions successfully.
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In the last couple years, the admission requirement on standardized tests, i.e. SAT, ACT, AP, IELTS, TOEFL, and so on, is getting more and more diversified and flexible. According to “Will UC schools drop their SAT scores requirement?”, a recent article on L.A. Times, by TERESA WATANABE, it said that the University of California system, one of the largest public university system in the U.S., is considering dropping the SAT and ACT as an admissions requirement, for the reason that the standardized tests are increasingly seen as an unfair admission barrier.
Our Takeaways
Now, there are more than 1000 universities in the US have adapted this “test-optional” policy and you can have the full list from Fair Test’s website. https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
However, when you look into the details, there are different situations that fits different applicants.
1. No SAT/ACT at all for all students – such as Pitzer College (except homeschooled, Joint Medical Program applicants, and students attending schools from which grades are not provided.)
2. No SAT/ACT for US or Canadian citizens, still required for international students. – such as Brandeis University
3. Applicants can choose to submit different test results such as SAT, ACT, 3 AP test results, or 3 SAT II Subject Test results. However, this might also come with additional requirements. For example, the University of Chicago requires at least 1 of these SAT subjects has to be math or science, and 1 be English, Social Science, Arts or World Languages. As for AP exams, they need to be at least one in Math, Computer Science, or Science and at least one in English, History, or Language..
University of California system is the most popular college system in the US with nearly or over 100,000 applicants to its top 3 campuses (LA, SD and Berkeley), and the single largest university source of customers for the College Board. Test-optional is not an easy decision to make. It’s highly doubtful that UC will go with no requirement for all applicants, but set up new application rules. So, here comes a more important question, “what’s the fairer alternative(s) of SAT and ACT as admission requirements, free from family income, parents’ education, or even race?”
However, when you look into the details, there are different situations that fits different applicants.
1. No SAT/ACT at all for all students – such as Pitzer College (except homeschooled, Joint Medical Program applicants, and students attending schools from which grades are not provided.)
2. No SAT/ACT for US or Canadian citizens, still required for international students. – such as Brandeis University
3. Applicants can choose to submit different test results such as SAT, ACT, 3 AP test results, or 3 SAT II Subject Test results. However, this might also come with additional requirements. For example, the University of Chicago requires at least 1 of these SAT subjects has to be math or science, and 1 be English, Social Science, Arts or World Languages. As for AP exams, they need to be at least one in Math, Computer Science, or Science and at least one in English, History, or Language..
University of California system is the most popular college system in the US with nearly or over 100,000 applicants to its top 3 campuses (LA, SD and Berkeley), and the single largest university source of customers for the College Board. Test-optional is not an easy decision to make. It’s highly doubtful that UC will go with no requirement for all applicants, but set up new application rules. So, here comes a more important question, “what’s the fairer alternative(s) of SAT and ACT as admission requirements, free from family income, parents’ education, or even race?”
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Freshman or transfer? International students vs. California residents (in-state), vs. non-California residents (out-state)
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