SAT and ACT- some important tips

Across the country, high school juniors are getting ready to take the SAT and/or ACT. Here are seven ways for teenagers to improve their SAT and ACT scores or limit the damage of mediocre results:

1. Don't pick a test based on where you live: Students on the West and East Coasts typically take the SAT. In the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states, the ACT is dominant, while teenagers in the South tend to split their allegiance between the two. The worst thing you can do is take a particular test because your friends are.

2. Select the test that plays to your strengths: Teenagers who tend to earn high ACT scores have a strong memory, are fast readers, and can process information quickly. In contrast, students who ace the SAT tend to be strong readers, possess strong vocabularies, and enjoy test-taking strategies. You can learn more about the differences in the tests in this blog post that I wrote for CBS MoneyWatch. To obtain a more in-depth understanding of what the ACT and SAT measure, I'd suggest reading The Princeton Review's ACT or SAT? Choosing the Right Exam for You.

3. Take a practice test: You will form a better idea of how well you might fare on either test if you take sample SAT and ACT tests. Sample SAT tests are available on the College Board website. You can find ACT questions on the ACT website; in addition, for $24.95 or less online, you can buy a book from the testing company, The Real ACT Prep Guide, that contains three ACT tests.

4. Use online test prep services: There are lots of online resources that are free or modestly priced for prepping for the tests. Here are three that I like: Grockit, Number2.com, and ePrep.

Application Essays Tips for Writing Your Way Into Your Top Choice School

Nearly all colleges rate application essays as either important or very important in their admissions process. A poorly executed essay can cause a stellar student to get rejected. On the flip side, exceptional application essays can help students with marginal scores get into the schools of their dreams. The tips below will help you win big with your essay.

Avoid the List
Many college applicants make the mistake of trying to include all of their accomplishments and activities in their application essays. Such essays read like what they are: tedious lists. Other parts of the application provide plenty of space for you to list extracurricular activities, so save your lists for the places where they belong.

The most engaging and compelling essays tell a story and have a clear focus. Through carefully chosen detail, your writing should reveal your passions and expose your personality. A thoughtful and detailed narration of a difficult time in your life tells far more about you than a list of competitions won and honors achieved. Your grades and scores show that you’re smart. Use your essay to show that you’re thoughtful and mature, that your personality has depth.

A Touch of Humor (but just a touch)
While it's important to be thoughtful and mature, you don't want your college application essay to be too heavy.

5 Tips for Securing Recommendation Letters

Writing college applications can prove to be a big job—especially when you have a "story" to tell. Students tend to focus on the essay—and, sometimes, the interview—in conveying key messages. In doing so, they completely overlook a potential source of powerful testimonials to their stories: letters of recommendation from counselors, teachers, coaches, and mentors.

Letters of recommendation are important to admissions officers because they provide contextual interpretation of your academic performance. Writers share critical insight into your work habits and learning style as well as your ability to respond to challenges and setbacks. They can help explain irregularities in your academic program and/or performance and shed light into key factors that define your learning environment.

So who should you choose to write your letters? The people best positioned to support your application are those who know you well from your recent work in the classroom. They are familiar with your intellectual abilities and academic skills. They have watched you respond to a range of challenges in the classroom and understand your capacity and desire to learn.

They are your teachers, counselors, and advisers—they are your champions. Let them help you.

The following are five tips for securing recommendation letters that can help strengthen the overall presentation of your applications. As you anticipate the start of your senior year, keep the following in mind:

Write About Something That Made You ‘Feel Deeply’

The essay rules may be changing on the Common Application, but that doesn’t change some basic rules about creative writing.

Anxious college applicants who are worried about their essay topics might feel relieved to know that Michael Winerip, our New York Times colleague, has written a piece on Booming in which he shares college essay advice that he’s given to his neighbors:

They come to me browbeaten and defeated. They ask if it really is true what the 19-year-old campus tour guide told them — that most people have a first draft by eighth grade. They are convinced their child’s future depends on this. They have blown up the essay until it’s as big as the complete works of Leo Tolstoy.

So much worry for 250 to 500 words about something important that has happened to them.

Mr. Winerip’s piece may have come just in time; at least some of the advice he describes seems universal enough to apply to any essay prompt. He encourages writers to learn more from failure than success and to be honest about who they are. One student who was “terrific” at partying, Mr. Winerip writes, wrote an essay about his knack for organizing social events. He was accepted into the college of his choice.