College The definitave guide on how to get into college

So, you want to get into college? I can help you do that. I can't help you get recruited by the Yankees, join the Army, be casted on the Real World, or even choose a Junior College. I can, however, explain whats going on in this crazy world of college admissions. First of all, some things I should get out of the way... You may be wondering how I'm qualified to do this. In all honesty, I'm not on the admissions committee at Harvard. I have very recently completed this process myself, and what I say comes from both research and experiance. Also, I may give my opinion on the merits of a particular college. Just keep in mind that any college I mention here is excellant, and justbecause I don't like it, it doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it. Right, so I'm assuming a few things about you. I'm assuming that you want to get into a competitave university. This probably means any college where they accept less than half the people who apply, and a lot ofothers. I'm also assuming that you do reasonable well in school. If you've been arrested for armed robbery, and gotten d's all through high school, even I can't get you into Harvard. Keep in mind that that doesn't mean you can't go to college, I just don't know how to help you get there. Maybe now would be a good timeto explain the whole deal with standerdized tests. Ok, so the College Board writes a couple tests that you should be aware of, and probably take. The most famous one is the SAT. The SAT is a multiple choice test given around 6 times a year. There is a math section and a verbal section.On each section, you can get between 200 and 800 points. Youcan take the SAT as many times asyou want, but colleges will see your score each time, so its betternot to take it more than twice, or three times if you have to. Ok, then there's the PSAT/NMSQT. This test is offered once a year, in the fall. There are two important things about the PSAT. First, it is excellant practice for the SAT because it has almost exactly the same type of questions. Second, ifyou do well on the PSAT your senior year, you can win lots of great scholarships from some people in the National Merit Scholarship Corparation, from the people your parents go to, and from the University you will attend. The structure of the PSAT? There are three section, Math, Verbal and Writing (note that its still multiple choice, you don't actually have to write anything). Each is scored out of 80 points, and the theory is, if you add a zero to the end of your PSAT mathscore, thats what you'll get on theSAT Math, and same with Verbal. The Writing section isn't supposed to tell you about how you'll do on the SAT, but rather onanother test called the SATII Writing test. Then, there are the SATIIs. SATIIs are multiple choice tests on different subjects (http://www.collegeboard.com/sat/center2/html/meetlist.html). They are an hour long each, and are scored out of 800. While colleges see every SAT you take, you can choose which SATII's youwant them to see, if you choose an option called Score Choice. There are also AP tests. These are graded on a scale from 1 to 5. If you get a 5 or 4 (and sometimes even a 3) you can get college credit in that subject, which can allow you to take advanced classes in college, look good to colleges you apply to, and allow you to graduate early from college. They are harder than SATII's although similar in that they are on specific subjects. A class in high school with AP in thename should prepare you for them, (ie AP Spanish) or you can study for them yourself. They are kinda expensive, at $80 a pop, butthe College Board gives discounts if that is too much. There is another standerdized test that some colleges accept instead of the SAT, called the ACT. Some people feel more comfortable with one test than with another, s check it out, at http://www.act.org/aap/index.html. Well, its not really clear how important standerdized tests are in getting into college, buts it is clear that it much better to do better than to do worse. So there have been a frenxy of test preparation courses. People buy books with strategies and practice SATs, get private tutors, go to classes, and even summer camps which will teach you to raise your SAT. The problem is, these can cost many thousands ofdollars, and may or not be effective. In my opinion, the best way to go is to find a senior in high school or a freshman in college, who has done very well on the SATs and who has experiance tutoring, and pay them $10-20/hour to tutor you one on one. This may seem steep, but classes can run hundreds of dollars an hour. So, here's a timeline... ignore at your own risk Some time before you enter high school: Take Algebra I so you can take Geometry in 9th grade. Freshman Year: Take (at least)