Capstone Educational Consultants

Helping Students and Families Navigate the College Journey

Scholarships

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Sending Your ACT Scores To College

Sending your ACT scores to the colleges of your choice is extremely easy once you understand what to  expect. Assuming you studied for the ACT or the SAT, you already know that preparation almost always involves careful planning, and sending your scores to college is no exception.Test

Every ACT registrant has a few different options when it comes to sending their scores to college. Let’s have a look at the 3 different kinds of score reports a student can request:

1. ACT free report:
When you register for the ACT, you are able to choose sending four free score reports. This means, however, if you do not perform as well as you had hoped, the school is still going to see this score. Most would advise against choosing the ACT free report because of the lack of control over whether you will be sending your best (or worst) score to the college of your dreams. That being said, there are some schools that require all ACT scores to be sent to their admissions. Some selective schools including Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and University of Pennsylvania, among others, require all ACT scores to be sent. There is not a fully comprehensive list available of schools that require all ACT scores sent, so it’s recommended to double check on the school website, as their stance is generally laid out clearly regarding ACT scores. Rest assured, however, that most schools comply with the ACT Score Choice, which we are about to discuss.

2. Regular Report:
The ACT Score Choice allows you to send only scores from specific testing dates to the college of your choice. Note that this does not include individual section scores, however. This is nice because you have the chance to highlight only your highest scores to admissions.  The cost to send one test score to each college is $12, so depending on your situation, this can add up quickly. Let’s imagine you have 7 schools you’d like to apply to. All of these schools allow the ACT superscore, which means they take the best scores from each section of the ACT to form a new “super” composite score.  You’d like to send three tests to each school because on test 1 you scored highest in Reading and English and on test 2 you scored highest on Math and on test 3 you scored highest in Science. The cost to send these 21 tests to 7 schools adds up to $252. This can be as expensive or as affordable as you make it. The key here is that you have the choice.

3. Rush Report:
If time is of the essence, the ACT has got you covered here as well, but, per usual, it’s going to cost you more.  These rush reports will set you back $16.50 each. Regular reports take up to a week to be processed, whereas rush reports are processed within 2 days and are received by the school of your choice within 3-4 business days. It’s important to keep organized with admissions deadlines to avoid requiring rush reporting.

Now that you better understand the ACT Score choice, here are some tips to better plan your testing:

Take The Test At Least Twice:
It’s in your best interest to take the ACT more than once because your scores can improve with familiarity and additional focused practice. Assuming you study between the tests, there is no reason your score should not improve. In addition, if you apply section-specific studying strategies for ACT superscoring, you could focus on studying and improving specific sections at a time and eventually reach a higher composite superscore after taking 2-3 tests.

Relax:
None of the ACT tests you are taking are make or break in regards to your admissions into your top school (assuming you don’t need to send in all tests). However, you should not use this as an excuse to not study or prepare for the test. The advantage of taking the ACT multiple times is to improve upon pinpointed weaknesses and/or reach higher section scores, not to slack off.

Aim to hit your target score within 4 tests:
You should go into the ACT with a solid studying plan and rest assured that you can reach your target score. If the schools you are applying to superscore, then they can pull the highest section scores for a higher overall score. But with the costs of sending these scores as well as the time spent studying and taking the test, it’s best to go into this with an idea of the maximum amount of times you’d like to take the ACT.

Now that you understand the ACT Score Choice, your next step will be to make the purchases! On your online ACT account, you simply click on “Send Your Scores.”  A list of all tests you’ve taken will appear and you will select the date you’d like to send as well as input the school code that you would like to send it to. You have the option to select standard or priority reports.

If you’re not into technology and stuff, you have a few other ways to get your score reports to your school choices:

Hopefully this has helped shed some light on how to get your ACT scores to your preferred schools. Rest assured that if you take the time to strategize your studying and score reporting, there is little stopping you from getting into your top school!

Good luck!

About the Author:
Kristine Thorndyke works for Quesbook, an ACT test prep service that offers students free personalized studying as well as comprehensive study resources.

Are you studying for the ACT? Quesbook offers ACT scholarships of up to $20,000 for high schools preparing for the test. What are you waiting for? Earn some free cash for studying!

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That College Decision By May 1

Making that college decision by May 1 is one of the most important deadlines to remember.  It has been a whirlwind up to this point — applications, essays, campus visits, research, and those long SAT’s or ACT’s.  Nothing feels more right than to finally put your feet up and take a break, after all, you have worked hard to get here!  But unfortunately, there is no time to rest for the weary.  May1DeadlineIt’s decision time and it’s an enormous decision!

This is the time of year when colleges and universities are waiting on you!  But even though they are waiting, they only allow a specified amount of time before those coveted spots are released for others seeking a college to call home.

The May 1 deadline, also known as National Deposit Day to some, is the official day by which current seniors must make up their minds on where they plan to enroll.  Sounds easy, right?  It is a difficult decision for many and unless you are prepared it can become more stressful than getting admitted.

Here are a few things to consider to assist in making this a “no-regret” decision.

  • Like any large purchase, cost is a major factor — take a look at the money.  Hopefully by this point you and your family have completed the FAFSA.  Be sure to know when the Financial Aid Application deadline is at each school on your “make a decision” list.  It is important not to make a decision based on the “sticker price” because any financial aid – (grants, loans, scholarships, etc.) will offset this bottom line.  Be on the lookout for the college to provide you with a Financial Aid Award Letter soon!
  • When it comes to the things you love most, how does the college measure up against those things that interest you?  Whether it be hiking, snow-skiing nearby, certain clubs or organizations on or off campus, shopping, fishing or the such — look more in-depth than just the surface into how the college can satisfy this need.
  • If you are confident on your academic focus, how does the colleges compare as it relates to their program’s reputation, quality and outcomes?  It would be super if all programs were equal, but they are not.  Do as much insightful research into the programs as possible — it’s amazing how much you’ll come to learn.
  • Did I mention opportunities?  Opportunities to engage with professors and the community are critical to building your readiness for the “real-world” with experience through internships or by volunteering.
  • Consider the Big Picture!  When you take a look at the big picture, it is likely no one school will fit everything on your wish list perfectly.  Take a look at the big picture to see what is most important, what weighs more or less and apply those things to what value would be added to both your personal and professional growth.

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When Scholarships Come Home

If your family is like many families trying to reduce the rising cost of college through the use of scholarships, then you understand the importance of accurate and accessible information.  But all too often, it’s frustrating trying to locate and determine eligibility for lack of reliable resources.   This frustration quickly reduces the once worthy and satisfying experience into nothing more than abandoned opportunities for dollars and ultimately, college.  But that is all changing with Scholar-Box and your local high school guidance office — the scholarships are coming home!

Scholar BoxIt’s completely free to students in an ad-free environment with student information remaining secure as a rock!  It just doesn’t get any better than this!  All of your local scholarships in one single location, sorted by those that match your profile with links to their websites, applications and deadlines.  While this sounds too good to be true for students, it’s not!  It’s both very good AND very true!

But even better are the benefits for individual high school guidance counselors!  Eliminate the paper files, the bulletin board notices, the hours of updating website information for each scholarship and stop guessing on who may or may not apply!  Reduce the management of hundreds of scholarships to merely minutes and know for certain which of your students are looking and applying to each of every scholarship on your local list every day!  It’s just that easy!  Increase the accessibility and availability of your local scholarships and increase the number of students winning scholarships!  And by doing so, you’ll fundamentally decrease the number of dollars sitting around collecting dust!  Take a look at how the Guidance Office of Lone Peak High School  integrated Scholar-Box for their students!

“In no time at all I had our scholarship list online, ordered by date and easy to search. I love how easy it is to use these tools and how much time they save me!”  –Colette Davis School Counselor | Timpview High, Utah

Scholar-Box is the one place for all of your scholarships!  It’s the best (and only) resource for organizing, monitoring and identifying scholarships for students and counselors/consultants.  Mark Cruver, President of Capstone Educational Consultants has joined with Scholar-Box to bring these opportunities to Fayette County, Georgia!  Find a list of local (Fayetteville, GA) scholarships here!

Help bring your scholarship home by encouraging your local Guidance Counselor to make Scholar-Box available for your school today!  In less than a day your high school and your students can be actively pursuing hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships!

For more information on how to get Scholar-Box integrated into your high school, email Mark today!  It’s easy, it’s simple, it’s fast and better . . . it’s FREE!  (mark@capstoneeducationalconsultants.com)