In a few hours, our head tutor Marissa is conducting a live test prep strategies presentation, 5 Score-Killing SAT and ACT Prep Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. 

The next ACT registration deadline is in four days (for the exam on 11/22), and the one for the SAT is later this month (see below).

Our next (guaranteed) ACT prep course starts tomorrow. Marissa will be offering a special discount coupon code on tonight's free workshop!  

Here's where to sign up for tonight's class

Drop whatever you're doing if you have a young-un taking the SAT or ACT in the near future.  Don't miss this class, who cares about the polling data, anyway! 

I'm Andy Lockwood and i approve of this message, mostly.

Tutoring | Financial Aid Apps Prep

I want to tell you about our guaranteed SAT and ACT prep courses, but first, I'd like to address a commonly asked question:

Should My Kid Bother to Take the SAT or ACT?

Let me lay it out for you, because I seriously doubt you'll get this information from your guidance counselor or any other "expert."

60% of a college application is based on academic credentials:

*GPA

*Rigor of course load

*Standardized testing

(I'll cover the 40% some other time.)

If you take away one of the Big Three academic components, then the other two take on more weight.  Simple logic.

So my first point is that there's a difference between applying test-optional and GETTING ACCEPTED test-optional.  If your scores are too low to submit, AND your GPA and rigor is also lacking, you're not competitive and merely wasting your application fee.

What about the "High GPA, Bad Test Taker Phenomenon?"

Not that unusual, thanks in large part to rampant grade...

Tutoring | Financial Aid Consulting

Average ACT and SAT scores dropped in 2024 compared to 2023.  What does this mean for 11th grade and younger kids who are headed to college?

1.4 million kids took the ACT in 2024, the average score:  19.4, down from 19.5 in 2023.  Big whoop.

1.97 million kids took the SAT or PSAT in 2024, the average score:  1024, down from 1028 the previous year.  Big whoop number two.

The party line among test professionals is not that our kids are dumber, but that more kids are taking the tests.

My hunch is the opposite, lower scores are part of the overall decline in education, achievement and accountability that keeps me up at night.  A topic for another day, or never (publicly).

Let's turn to some specific advice for college-bound 11th graders and younger.

Prep hard and take the tests, either the SAT or ACT.  Start before you're "ready," so you don't run out of time.

Take a diagnostic exam first, to determine...

Hidey ho,

I'm thigh-deep reviewing applications for Class of 2025 college applicants, and one question keeps coming up:

Should I submit my SAT or ACT scores?

The answer is a school-by-school, case-by-case, "it depends" kind of answer.  Give me two minutes, and I'll show you exactly how to figure it out in this short video, using the University of South Carolina as an example (that you can follow for any test-optional college):

VIDEO:  To Submit or Not to Submit

Have a great rest of your weekend!

-Andy "2 Minute Drill" Lockwood

P.S.  Feel free to pass this along to anyone who could use this information.

The SAT and ACT have each changed formats recently, leaving many parents and kids wondering, "Which Test is Best...for me?"

We'll help you answer that question, tonight, in a free online class.

Topics to be covered:

• The new ACT Changes and how they affect your child
• Which test - SAT or ACT -- is best for strong math students?
• Which one is best for weaker math students?
• Which test is best for slow test takers?
• The "High GPA, Bad Test-Taker" phenomenon
• How to combat test anxiety

More, including your questions!

The whole kit and kaboodle will run 60 minutes or less.  If you're around tonight, it will definitely be worth your while to attend, so you can discover the key differences between the SAT and ACT...

...so that your kiddo can CRUSH the test, get into the college of their dreams and win tons of fat, juicy scholarships along the way!

Learn more...

See you in class!

- Andy Lockwood

P.S. Results not guaranteed. Batteries not included.  Some assembly required....

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:

*Blockbuster Changes to the ACT...and how they affect your child

*Notes From Yesterday's College Essay Bootcamp

*Student Loan Repayment Program Tomfoolery

Tune In!

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

The College Essay Lab | ACT Update

Here's a big hangup I hear from our college advisory students, year after year: 

"I can't come up with anything original."

To that I say, "Balderdash!"

Because that's not THE THING.  Not your job.   

A college essay writer's task is not to be "original." 

Think about it, the average admissions officer reviews 1,000 applications each year.  Some applications have two-five supplemental essays, each.

If the admissions officer has three years' career experience, that amounts to at least 3,000 essays, perhaps triple or quadruple that amount when supplemental essays are part of the equation.

Your chances of surprising your admissions officer?

Approximately the same as Joe Biden pulling a Tom Brady, "un-retiring" and winning the presidency.

That is to say, zero.

Ah, so what IS your task?

To write something fresh.  Unusual.  Something INTERESTING.

How do you do this? 

Generally speaking, an interesting...

ACT Ch-Ch-Ch--Ch-Changes Webinar

The folks at the ACT just announced some pretty big ch-ch-changes!

I've been wondering why.  But in lieu of sharing my (cynical) thoughts, let me tell you about tonight's webinar.   (I'll probably blurt out my half-baked theories at some inopportune time, tonight):

I'm hauling in our expert, Lockwood Test Prep Head Tutor, Marissa U, to 'splain answers to questions such as:

What are the changes?

When will they go into effect?

Are they good for fast test takers?

Slow test takers?

Kids weak in science?

Kids who aren't strong writers?

And, overall...

What do they mean for your kiddo?

Tune in tonight, Wednesday July 17 --  Marissa will answer these questions and more, including your questions -- we'll be live in chat.

Here's where to sign up for ths one-time, breaking news event:

ACT Webinar

- Andy "Never a Dull College Planning Moment" Lockwood

P.S.  Please share this invitation with anyone who could use this...

Hot off the presses:

The ACT is changing!

What are the changes?

When will they go into effect?

What do they mean for your kiddo?

Tune in tomorrow night, Wednesday July 17 --  our head tutor Marissa U will answer these questions and more, including your questions -- we'll be live in chat.

Here's where to sign up for tomorrow's event:

ACT Webinar

- Andy "Scoop" Lockwood

P.S.  You are hereby requested to forward this valuable invitation to any and all of your pals who could use this information!  

Although the numbers are slowly dwindling, approximately 75% of colleges allow applicants to apply without sharing their SAT or ACT. 

Who benefits from this policy? The answer may surprise you.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  there's a difference between APPLYING test optional versus being ACCEPTED test optional.

The three most important academic components of a college application are 1. GPA, 2. rigor of course load and 3. standardized test scores.  These three factors comprise approximately 60% of the entire college application.

Simple logic:  if you remove one of these three academic components -- test scores -- the other two take on greater weight.  So do the non-academic ones (40% of the application).

Mass marketing by colleges has created a tsunami of applications, year after year.  But are those applicants from QUALIFIED students?

Or is a huge chunk of them from kids who think, "Princeton doesn't need test scores, so I'll throw in an...