Fail to Plan and Plan to Fail!
There is an old saying which is often used in the business world. “Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.” Nowhere is this concept more important than the college admissions process. Every year, thousands of high school seniors fail to be accepted at their top choice, not because they weren’t qualified and not because they weren’t smart enough, but simply because they failed to plan.
There are literally dozens of examples throughout the process where a little bit of advanced planning can yield fabulous results! Let’s look at a couple of examples to better understand this concept. Every high school senior knows that in order to be admitted to most of America’s top colleges, they will have to take and do well on the College Board SAT exams or the ACT equivalent. That much is hardly a secret. As a result, most students scramble and rush to fill SAT exam rooms in the spring of their junior year and in the fall of their senior year. They wait as long as is reasonably possible in order to build their skills and earn the highest score. This strategy makes perfect sense. These students are planning to take the SAT’s when they are the most prepared to do well.
As a result, most students pay little attention to SAT’s until the spring of their junior year. They fail to plan! Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that this strategy was reasonable. Well, it is . . . for what are known as the SAT 1 exams. The SAT 1’s are the traditional verbal, math and newer writing exams. Unfortunately for thousands of students across America who wait until junior year to begin serious college planning, most top colleges recommend or require two or three SAT 2 exams as well. The SAT 2’s are the College Board subject exams. Top colleges often require a Math, an English, a Foreign Language, a Science or some other subject. The requirements vary widely from school to school. For instance, MIT requires a Math and a Science SAT 2 but no English or Language. Meanwhile at Vanderbilt, the SAT subject tests are recommended but not required. At Emory the SAT 2’s are strongly recommended and required for home schooled students. Finally, Dartmouth requires two SAT 2’s but they can be in whatever subjects the applicant chooses. As you can see, there is no standard SAT 2 requirement. The policies vary at every college.
How does this relate to planning, or more accurately, failing to plan? Well, think it through for a moment. The strategy of delaying the general SAT 1 exams makes quite a bit of sense. The more time you are in school, the more likely you are to earn a better score on the exam. The Sat 2 subject exams are very different. These exams test your knowledge in a particular subject area. So, if you take American History during your freshman year and think you would do well on the SAT 2 American History exam, it makes absolutely no sense to delay taking the exam for another two or three years! During that time you’ll likely forget quite a bit of what you had learned and earn a much lower score. You’d probably earn a much better score if you simply took the exam when you finished the course as a freshman. But . . . that would take a little planning!
This is just one of the examples where a little planning can make a big difference. Any high school student who waits until their junior year to review college SAT 2 requirements will probably miss an opportunity to put their best foot forward. Even a modest amount of planning as a freshman or sophomore can take away much of the pressure facing seniors as they apply to college. The same strategy applies to choosing high school courses and participating in extra curricular activities. It will be especially difficult to convince a college that you care about the environment if you don’t join the Ecology Club until senior year! During your freshman and sophomore years, think about college! Explore the requirements and standards for schools that interest you. A few minutes online as a freshman can save you a lot of “I wish I had known” as a senior.
The college admissions process is loaded with opportunities where a little bit of planning in advance can make a very big difference. The applicant who got your spot at that college you wanted to attend . . . maybe they weren’t a better student. Maybe they just planned a little better?
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