College Admissions Consulting ACT Versus SAT & Answers to Your College Finance Questions Written by Ian Brook Fisheron June 30th, 2016 I began my career in admissions by walking backwards as a student intern, giving guided tours, interviewing students, and reading applications for my alma mater, Reed College. After graduating, I began full-time work in admissions, reading thousands of applications primarily from the Western United States, especially Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. (I got to eat the best food on my travel!) In my last three years at Reed, I directed admissions for the entire continent of Asia and served as the director of marketing and communications for the admission office, honing our official voice for web, print, and social media. This helped me to develop a sharp eye for what works (and what doesn’t) in college essays. While Reed is not known (at all!) for sports, I was able to find my competitive outlet with the ultimate Frisbee team as a player and, when I graduated, a coach. After nine wonderful years at Reed, I left Portland to pursue a M.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. When I graduated and joined College Coach, I was living in Palo Alto, California, an experience that helped me learn so much about the UC and CSU system and high school programs all around the Bay Area. In the end, I missed the rain too much, and moved back to Portland in the summer of 2016. Learn More About Ian getting in, paying for college, standardized testing, standardized tests, If you’re a rising junior who’s just starting to think about how to approach the summer of test prep, look no further than last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. As an admissions educator myself, I feel I have a pretty good sense of the ACT and SAT and the differences between the two exams. But I was blown away by the amount of detail provided by Sean Quinn, a tutor with ArborBridge, a College Coach partner. Myth Busting ACT Versus SAT Sean helped to zero in on the finer points that might help a student make a decision between the SAT and ACT, including tips for how to change horses in midstream, i.e. how to abandon one test for the other based on results of the exam. Along with host Beth Heaton, they discussed the impact of test scores on college admissions decisions, what number of test sittings was most reasonable, and how to engage in the process of choosing an exam from the beginning. Whether you’re a rising senior who is considering one last try at the ACT or SAT this fall, or a rising junior who’s trying to find firm ground in a complicated topic, this was a really useful conversation. Answering Your College Finance Questions In the final segment, listeners were treated to a smorgasbord of financial aid advice from finance expert Michelle Clifton. She fielded listener questions on a variety of topics, including the best time to apply for grants and tips for appealing financial aid awards. Our finance educators continue to be a source of powerful expertise for our families—they do a terrific job separating fact from fiction—and we strongly recommend tuning in to hear what they have to share with you. Next week marks the beginning of our “School’s Out” program, an opportunity for students and parents to follow along with us as we lead you through the kinds of strategies we provide our clients as they work their way through the application. We’ll be focusing on essay brainstorming next week, and you won’t want to miss it! Related Resources Read | Posted on April 16th, 2024 Understanding Direct Admission: A Pathway to Success Read | Posted on April 10th, 2024 Acceptance by Emi Nietfeld; Why You Should Fill out the FAFSA Read | Posted on April 9th, 2024 Community Colleges with Campus Housing
