Do Students Understand How Important the SAT Scores Are?
By:Libertad Carlos
Do students realize how important the SAT Test Scores are? Do they take advantage of the resources and lessons they have at Leadership Public Schools-San Jose? I want to share an experience that was a reality check for me. They use to always tell me: “study for your SAT tests” and “they aren’t like your usual tests. They are more challenging because they don’t test you on your knowledge, but on how well you do under a limit of time and pressure or stress. They will try to trick you; you will have to pay close attention to details. A competitive score is when in each section you score at least higher than 50% of last year’s group of college-bound seniors.”
I can’t say that I didn’t care about my SAT scores because I did. I just didn’t believe how competitive students were outside of the East Side San Jose. Over the summer I took a Beginners Drawing Art Class at Evergreen Community College, there I met Isha whose parents came from India. I got to know Isha well enough to know that she was wealthy and intelligent. Well one day during our break we began to talk about SAT tests, college application, as well as personal statements, but because our break was so short we didn’t have enough time to really get into details about each other’s individual work and goals. It was a coincidence the next day I discovered her current plans and goal.
The next day I saw her studying flash cards, curious to know what she was studying for on her summer vacation. When I asked her what exactly what she studying for, she told me that they were vocabulary words that she had to study for the SAT. She explained how she was taking a SAT Prep class. Recalling how Ms. Barron had mentioned to her Advisory Class that there were students who would pay a few thousand dollars for a Prep SAT class, I asked her how much was she paying for her class, and surprisingly enough she answered, “$2,000!” My mouth dropped, I couldn’t believe it. In my head I was just thinking I could never afford to pay for that class. Although later on Mr. Devon explained it was actually pretty cheap for a prep-SAT class.
I was honestly surprised after she had received a score of a little over seventeen hundred out of twenty four hundred which was a pretty decent score she was paying so much money to aim for a higher score. I wasn’t expecting her to take a class to aim for a twenty hundred.
I took it as a reality check. I realized how important it is to prepare for the SAT tests. SAT tests are very important because college admission look at your SAT tests. You should try and balance your SAT scores with your grades/ GPA. How do you balance them out? Ask your Advisor, they should have the equation used for it. You are required to take the SAT reasoning and subject tests if you want to apply to a UC or private college; however it is not required for a CSU. You need to prepare yourself for competition because out there (in the real world) you aren’t competing against students from San Jose, but the whole nation.
I also wanted to remind students that Mr. Devin is providing you with a short twenty minute FREE Prep SAT session Thursday after school. Make an effort to attend and study! It will be worth it in the long run, I promise!
admin @ November 24, 2007