College Corner
By Audrey Kahane

The Dreaded SAT:

How to Reduce the Dread

Until now, high school juniors have watched their older classmates suffer through the torture of college applications. But with PSAT scores arriving any day, the pressure on juniors will start to increase. While PSAT scores aren’t used for admission and will never even be seen by colleges, they can still impact self-esteem and trigger major anxiety about upcoming SATs.

Disappointing PSAT scores can be especially frustrating for students who get top grades in school. Accustomed to doing well, it can come as quite a shock to not be at the top of the class. The humiliation may feel unbearable, and it’s very difficult for students to understand that 10 years from now, SAT scores will have nothing to do with the quality of their lives. This is a good time to reassure your child that your own SAT scores didn’t determine your success in life.

There’s just too much emphasis on a test that isn’t even a very good predictor of success in college. That’s why a number of colleges, including Mt. Holyoke, Bowdoin and Bates, no longer require the SAT. Closer to home, Pitzer has started a pilot program in which students who have a 3.5 GPA don’t have to submit test scores.

Even the University of California was considering eliminating the SAT, until the College Board, not wanting to lose its biggest customer, offered to improve the test. It’s not at all clear whether the test will be better, but it will be different, beginning in March 2005. But that’s a future column.

One way to reduce test anxiety is to find colleges where the average scores are close to a student’s PSAT scores. Students need to know that they will have college options, even if their SAT scores are no higher than their PSATs. You don’t want your child going into the SAT thinking "if I don’t get these scores up 300 points, my life will be over." Not only does it create needless suffering, but that kind of pressure can sabotage months of SAT preparation.

If students really can’t deal with the SAT, there’s another option. Colleges accept either the SAT or ACT, and some students score significantly higher on the ACT, which is more closely tied to the high school curriculum. Another advantage to the ACT is that students can request that their scores from a specific test date be sent to colleges, whereas with the SAT, all previous test scores are included in the report. This control over what information is sent to prospective schools can make taking the ACT less stressful. It’s certainly worth trying the practice ACT included in the registration packet. If it seems more difficult than the SAT, a student can forget about it and concentrate on preparing for the SAT.

Whether the SAT or ACT, it makes sense to plan on taking the test several times. Knowing there’s another chance reduces the "now or never" pressure that can cause students to miss questions they could otherwise answer.

The best long-term strategy is simply to read. Being able to read critically is a skill that will serve them well in college and beyond, but very few students seem to have the time or motivation to read outside of what’s required for school.

I often suggest they read the editorial page, where by spending less than 10 minutes a day, they can read a column and then identify the writer’s main idea. This is a great way to sharpen critical reading skills.

Reading is the first step, but there is much more that students can do to increase test scores.

Preparing for the SAT will be the subject of my next column.

If you have questions, please send them via e-mail to editor@theacorn.com or to the address on page 4, Attention: College Corner. I’ll answer as many as possible in future columns.

Audrey Kahane, MS, is a college admissions counselor in West Hills. She can be reached at (818) 704-7545 or via the Internet at audreykahane@earthlink.net.