College Planning & Financial Aid

The ACT Assessment is a standardized college entrance examination that measures knowledge and skills in English, Math, Reading and Science. The exam consists of 4 multiple choice tests. Here's an overview of the past ACT tests: English included 75 questions and allowed 45 minutes. It included punctuation, grammar and usage, strategy, sentence structure, organization and style; Math included 60 questions and allowed 60 minutes. It included Pre-Algebra, Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Coordinate Geometry, Plane Geometry and Trigonometry; Reading included 40 questions and allowed 35 minutes. It included Humanities, Prose Fiction, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences; Science Reasoning included 40 questions and allowed 35 minutes. It included Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Physical Science. Students are not penalized for incorrect responses. The composite score is the average of the four scaled scores.

the SAT is the benchmark standardized assessment of the critical reading, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills students have developed over time and that they need to be successful in college. Each year, more than two million students take the SAT. Nearly every college in America uses the test as a common and objective scale for evaluating a student's college readiness.

SAT II subject tests are required by some, but not all, institutions for admission or placement. Each subject test measures a student’s knowledge of a specific subject. Generally, a student is asked to take 2 or 3 SAT II subject tests for a given institution. There are over 20 SAT II tests available. They are primarily multiple choice tests and the student is given 1 hour to complete the exam. Three SAT II tests may be taken on one test date. Students gain a point for each correct answer and lose a fraction of a point for incorrect responses. The raw scores are converted to scaled scores that range from 200 to 800.

The PLAN test is a test for Sophomores to help guide them in post-secondary planning. It can be considered a pre-test to the ACT test. The PLAN test provides the student with an estimated ACT composite score range. The test measures the same academic skills as the ACT assessment test. Past tests included an achievement section with 120 questions, and allowed 2 hours to complete. It included a non-academic section of 120 items allowing 5 minutes.

The PSAT test is a practice test for the SAT examination. It is also used as a qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program , The National Scholarship Service, Fund for Negro Students, and the Hispanic Scholar Recognition Program. The PSAT includes a writing skills section of multiple choice questions that does not appear on the SAT. Past PSAT tests included: a Verbal Reasoning section of 50 questions allowing 50 minutes; The verbal section included sentence completion, critical reading passages and analogies; The Math section included 40 questions allowing 50 minutes including regular Math, Quantitative Comparisons and student produced response sections; The writing skills included 39 questions allowing 30 minutes, including an improving sentence, improving paragraph and an identifying sentence errors' sections. Students receive a score in each content area ranging from 20 to 80. The total score ranges from 60 to 240.

Some of the characteristics to consider when selecting a collge are: Costs, Financial Aid; Academic Environment including: majors offered, student-faculty ratio, faculty teaching reputation, instruction by professors vs assistants, libraries, facilities, and internships available; Size and Student Body; Location; Time needed to commute to and from home; Housing; Admissions; Activities; Athletics and Specialized Programs.

Generally, 90% of college bound seniors or their parents used the Internet in their search for the right school. Collegeview.com, embark.com and usnews.com are three websites that can be accessed to find lists of colleges, based on your input requirements.

The following web addresses provide helpful college information: --www.collegeboard.com is the College Boards site with advice and explanations and SAT review questions --www.collegeview.com --www.features.yahoo.com/college/search. html --www.aol.com - keyword "college prep" ---www.embark.com is Embark.coms --www.mycollege.org is Fishnets College guide --cnsearch.collegenet.com --nces.edgov/ipeds/cool/search.asp is Cool's web college resource. --www.collegequest.com is provided by Peterson's College --www.myessay.com provides tools to help write the application essay. --www.searchedu.com is dedicated to university sites and various things scholastic.

Here are some sites you should look at for financial aid information: --www.collegeboard.org..then access Fund Finder. It includes a 3,000 source database. --www.ed.gov/studentaid has an online application for federal student aid. --www.fastaid.com is a searchable scholarship database including 650,000 private awards. --www.collegenet.com has 3 sites for lists and scholarships. --www.salliemae.com maintains 3600 listings of private sector awards. --www.finaid.com answers questions about financial aid and includes financial loan calculators. --www.ed.gov/finaid.html is the Department of Education's site that provides major publications on student aid, including the latest edition of the "Student Guide". --www.finaid.org includes a comprehensive, alphabetical index of all financial aid resources on the web.