September 2009

ACT provides this monthly newsletter to inform students and their parents about college and career planning. ACT is a not-for-profit organization that serves millions of people in schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses and government agencies with programs and services that help people achieve their education and career goals. Visit www.actstudent.org for more information and services.

Key Dates

November: High school seniors who are making plans to attend college next fall should complete any early admission/decision college applications that are available. The deadline to register for the December ACT test date is November 6.

December: Some early admission decisions become available, so check with any schools to which you submitted an application. The ACT^® test is administered on December 12. Complete and mail applications with January 1 deadlines. Prepare for the FAFSA, because it will be available January 1.

January 2010: The FAFSA becomes available January 1 — file as soon as possible. Registration deadline for the February ACT test date is January 5, 2010.
 

Pass it on: lessons from the class of 2009

ACT test results are in for the graduating class of 2009. While the number of test takers increased by 9 percent and the average composite score held relatively stable, there is still work to do to ensure students are prepared to go to and succeed in college.

ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks indicate students who have a high probability (75 percent or greater) of earning a “C” or better and a 50 percent chance of earning a “B” or higher in corresponding first-year college coursework. Only 23 percent of the 2009 U.S. high school graduates met all four benchmark scores.

In English, 67 percent of the students achieved the benchmark of 18, which corresponds to first-year college composition. A math score of 22 corresponds to college-level algebra, attained by 42 percent of 2009 graduates. In reading, 53 percent achieved the benchmark score of 21 corresponding to work in first-year social science courses, which require a great deal of reading and comprehension skills. In science, a score of 24 translates to success in college-level biology for 28 percent of 2009 graduates.

Only six in 10 students take a rigorous curriculum to prepare for college. Sixty-one percent of 2009 graduates reported taking a college preparatory schedule in high school. Yet, ACT research showed that 77 percent of middle and early high school students planned to enter a four-year college or university.

Less preparation means more remediation. As more and more unprepared students go to college, up to 40 percent are forced to take at least one remedial class just to get up to speed on college-level work. Those courses cost money and slow progress to a degree. Students who are required to take remedial work are also more likely to drop out of college.

Prepare a roadmap to get to college and stick with it. When you need help or encounter a potential obstacle, seek a parent, teacher, counselor or mentor who can help you get back on the course to success.

What courses do you need for college?

Your high school has requirements and colleges have requirements. You need to pay attention to both. Make sure you check the requirements for the colleges and programs you're interested in to see if they require additional classes.

ACT advises high school students to take a core curriculum to prepare for college, and it's increasingly important for careers as well. The recommendations are at least four years of English, three years each of math (Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II), social sciences (courses such as U.S. History, World History and American Government) and natural sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Taking advanced courses beyond the recommended core classes will give students the best chance to be ready to enter college without needing remedial classes.

Use your test scores to see how prepared you are for college. Research shows that students who earn a score of 24 or higher on the ACT Science Test are more likely than others to be ready for college biology. Students earning a score of 22 or higher on the ACT Math Test are more likely than others to be ready for college algebra. Students earning an 18 or higher on the ACT English Test are likely to have the skills necessary to be ready for college English composition classes. And students earning a score of 21 or higher on the ACT Reading Test are likely to succeed in college-level social science courses.

Look beyond the "brand name"

When it comes to certain things, like an MP3 player or a game system, the brand name might be important to you. You may have even purchased something based solely on what your friends were saying about it. Some students think of college the same way. But if you approach your college choice that way, you'll be missing out on some great colleges (more than 3,000 four-year and two-year schools) that might be great places for you.

There's certainly nothing wrong with attending a school that everyone knows about and talks about in a positive way—if it really is a good fit for you. As you investigate colleges, check out all the details and decide where to attend based on who you are, what you're interested in and where you think you want to go in life.

Once you look at the details of a college, you'll see there's a lot more than the name to consider. Here are some things to think about when looking at a college:

• Location — distance from home
• Environment — type of school (two-year or four-year); urban or rural; co-ed, male or female student body; religious affiliation; public or private school
• Size — enrollment and campus size
• Admission requirements — deadlines; tests required; average test scores, GPA and rank of the freshman class
• Academics — majors offered; student-faculty ratio; typical class size; special requirements
• Financial aid — deadlines; required forms; percentage of student population receiving aid; scholarships; part-time employment opportunities
• College expenses — tuition, room and board; estimated total budget; application fee and deposits
• Housing — residence hall requirements; availability; types and sizes; food plans
• Facilities — academic and recreational
• Activities — clubs, organizations; sororities/fraternities; athletics and intramurals

Student athletes must register with NCAA

Students looking to participate in a Division I or II collegiate sport must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center during their junior year. Students must request that their ACT scores be forwarded directly to the center by entering code “9999” as a reporting selection when registering for the test.

For more information on the NCAA’s core course requirements, GPA computation, and contact information and to complete the amateurism questionnaire, visit ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter.

Meet the bloggers

Tag along as two students share their senior year and college prep experiences with all of us during the upcoming school year.

Lisa attends high school in LaJoya, Texas, and comes from a home where education is a priority. She is on the dance team, and is excited about her senior year. Lisa has not taken the ACT yet, but commits to “jamming and refreshing her noggin as much as she can with reading, science and especially math.” Her strategy is to familiarize herself with the test as much as possible.

Andy is a senior at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. A highly involved student, Andy is a member of the tennis and swim teams, the German Honor Society, the National Honor Society, the Creek Coalition (an organization that  raises money through service clubs here at school to promote education abroad), Peer Ambassadors, and the school newspaper. Although Andy has a lot on his plate, he is focused on his future, starting with succeeding on his ACT assessment.

Follow Lisa and Andy as they navigate through the college admissions process and their final year of high school at www.actstudent.org/blog.

Don't wait until college to try career counseling

Are you skipping the counseling office's career planning programs? Apparently a number of students across the country aren't taking advantage of all that their high school counseling offices provide.

A National Center for Education Statistics survey of public high school counselors found that half or fewer juniors and seniors took part in available career planning opportunities at their schools, depending on the program offered. The largest participation was in career tests, as in ACT's DISCOVER^® program, with 93 percent of public high schools offering a test but only 56 percent of juniors and seniors participating. Career days and career speakers were the next most popular activities, followed by internships, job site visits and job shadowing.

You might think it's OK to put off career planning until later in your college years, but you'll benefit from any career exploration you can do in high school. You won't have as much time later on as you might think, and you can start learning about careers now through classes and experiences.

Use your Interest Inventory results from the ACT (or EXPLORE^® or PLAN^®) and look into suggested career areas. You can also use ACT's DISCOVER computer program for career suggestions. Your counselor can help you find the programs and show you how to use the results to explore careers.

Test date reminder

The next national ACT test date is October 24, 2009. The registration deadline is September 18, and late registration, with an additional fee, is September 19 through October 2. Register online today at actstudent.org.

Other test dates during the 2009-10 school year are: December 12, 2009; February 6, 2010; April 10, 2010; and June 12, 2010. Registration deadlines for these dates are normally about five weeks before the test date.

An optional Writing Test is available in addition to the multiple-choice achievement test. Go to www.actstudent.org/writing to learn more about the Writing Test, including the colleges that require it.

On the ACT student website, check out free test prep aids. Sample questions are available along with Preparing for the ACT, a booklet with a complete practice test, scoring key, writing prompt and sample essays. The ACT registration packet, available from the counseling office, also contains the booklet.

You also can sign up for ACT Online Prep™, the only test prep program developed exclusively by ACT test development professionals. At only $19.95 for a year’s use, it’s a great tool. Test-day tips, a list of what to bring and approved calculators for use on the Math Test are listed on the site, too.

For all your questions about the ACT test, visit www.actstudent.org.