The mere utterance of those words elicits a strong reaction, either positive or negative, from almost anyone in the high school or college sphere. Most likely this is due to their two most (in)famous products: the SAT, and the AP program.
However, I'd like to point out several FREE and useful services and features on the College Board website that most people are unaware of, that I recommend you use even if your child will not be taking the SAT. (For a list of colleges that don't require or give much weight to standardized testing, visit FairTest.)
Find Your Match
To move to the next page, hit "Submit & Continue." To see the results you (predictably) click the "See Results" button.
Once you have asked to see the results, it will give you a list of all of the colleges and universities in the U.S. that meet your criteria, with links to each school's write-up. Click on a college of interest and you will see a plethora of admissions and enrollment facts about that school, along with a link to the college's actual website.
What if you get no matches, or no matches that you care for? That means either a) your search criteria was too specific (like checking too many sports and activities that are just preferences and not make-or-break options) and/or b) nobody seems to be offering exactly what you want in a school so you are going to have to adjust your expectations a little. My recommendation is to only list a preference in categories that actually matter to you and leave the rest blank or "no preference," because that will result in the best selection of schools for further research.
You can save this search by creating an account, or you can just print out the results as a reference.
Other valuable offerings
Here are just a few of the other many free features you will find throughout the College Board website:
Under the "For Students" section, there are links for college application timelines for seniors, juniors and sophomores, plus tips for writing college essays and evaluating your college options.
In "For Parents" you will find the Financial Aid EasyPlanner, with very thorough, step-by step explanations and links to other relevant resources. This section also has a substantial archive of articles intended to help parents do the best job possible during the often stressful and confusing admissions process.
Slightly off-topic: a pitch for the PSAT
If your child is solidly not college bound, then not only should they not take the SAT, but probably they don't need to bother with the PSAT either, and talk to your guidance counselor about vocational options. However, any high school student that is considering a traditional higher education route should take the PSAT in 10th grade for a number of reasons.
- To find out if a usable on the SAT is even remotely possible.
- To find out if you should ask your high sc hool's SSD coordinator to request accommodations for your child for the SAT (e.g. extended time, small group setting, large print, use of computer for essay).
- To get access to My College QuickStart.
- To get access to MyRoad.
PSAT scores are not sent to colleges. This test is merely diagnostic. Your score report will include: the percentile your child achieved in the Critical Reading, Math and Writing sections; a breakdown of how well your child scored on subcategories within the main areas; the correct answer to each question and the answer your child selected; and an access code for My College QuickStart. This is a wealth of information that you will not get from other tests, and all for only a $14 registration fee (2011).
