testing advice + ecs

If you want to retake the SAT and/or ACT here are some tips-

1) Practice with all the official SAT tests on prep scholar

2) Practice the flashcards for SAT and ACT on varsity tutors

3) Have a couple prep books with you

4) Use the Khan Academy SAT practice tool

5) First practice getting accurate answers and then start timing yourself. Gradually decrease the time you need to answer 5-10 questions.

Hope this helps!

Hello,

1) Generally, when top colleges evaluate your application, they first look through your grades and test scores (if you submitted them) and consider it as a threshold before evaluating the rest of the application. You should check whether your SAT and ACT scores fall above the average 50% test scores of the school for it to be safe to submit. If not, either you can retake the tests or apply test-optional.

2) I am also a rising senior part of JROTC and to make colleges interested in it I would suggest writing about the discipline and leadership learnings from the program (writing about leadership roles, earned ribbons and medals, and any additional awards would also be great). This is at least what I am planning to write about JROTC in my apps.

3) But it is important to engage in other passions and ECS as well. Try to join an interest club, get an internship, start a blog or a YouTube channel about something you're interested in, tutoring, etc. Make your EC spike a combination of what makes you happy and your major. Since you're a senior, reflect on what you did during high school, and sometimes if you find an activity or a family responsibility that may seem trivial (looking after siblings/grandparents, cooking at home, etc), it could add to your ECs.

This advice is from my perspective, so do look into others' advice as well before deciding how you would like to improve.

Good luck with your applications!