Colleges’ “Dirty Little Secret”
September 29, 2011
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In this podcast, Mike Rivera, co-founder, college counselor and tutor with Top-Tier Tutoring, shares a dirty little secret of colleges: they are businesses too!
During the podcast, Mike explores the many good things that the model of college as a business means. Shareholders, whether private investors or taxpayers, as well as alumni donors, want to know how the college budget (which includes tuition) is being spent. With an eye on the bottom line, colleges create line items for expenses such as hiring and attracting top-notch professors, offering cutting edge curriculum, developing new courses, funding research and the like. These are necessary in order for the business of a college to continue and thrive.
Listen as Mike also casts an eye on the other side of what running colleges as a business requires. He exposes the growing popularity of marketing by colleges, and the dirty little secrets of which high schoolers and their parents may be unaware. The podcast sheds light on marketing at every level – from unsolicited brochures to “qualified” students who feel as if they are “guaranteed” admission, to increasing reliance on the ubiquitous wait list, and on-campus hosted elaborate events. The curious result of high school valedictorians not being accepted at fine institutions is also discussed.
Mike discusses how the knowledge of these practices can help the college applicant and family. Knowledge is power, and this podcast arms to-be college students and their families with facts and figures that usually are kept hidden under the rug.
As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
ACT Results for 2011 Grads
September 27, 2011
In this 2nd part of our series about the results of the ACT® and SAT®, we’re focusing on the ACT results for the Graduating Class of 2011. If you are looking for information about the SAT, click here for our previous post.
Nationally, 1.62 million students – 49% of graduates – took the ACT in 2011, which is an increase from the nearly 1.6 million students who sat for the ACT in 2010 (47% of graduates). The national average composite score for the ACT in 2011 was 21.1 (out of a perfect 36). The ACT has four main sections: English, Math, Reading and Science. The breakdown for each of these sections was 20.6, 21.1, 21.3 and 20.9, respectively, for 2011. These scores represent and overall increase in the ACT scores over the 2010 results, for which the national average was 21; the section averages were English 20.5, Math 21, Reading 21.3 and Science 20.9.
How do New Jersey students compare? Well, only 19% of graduates took the test in 2011 (up from 17% in 2010). But, the results are impressive: the NJ average composite score was 23.2, over 2 points above the national average! NJ students scored better than the national average in every section too: English – 23.1, Math 23.7, Reading 23.3 and Science 22.4. New Jersey ranked #6 in the nation for average composite score, trailing only Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Maine (in that order). These results are that same as the New Jersey 2010 ranking and scores, with the only changes being a 0.1 point increase in each of the Math and Reading section in 2011. Of note, from 2007–2011, the number of ACT test-taking graduates has increased by 86.8% nationally, while the number of graduates taking the ACT in New Jersey has increased by 1.8% only.
The ACT was the first to introduce a “benchmark score” in 2006 (adopted by the SAT this year). According to the ACT, the “benchmark score” is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses, which include the four subjects tested on the ACT: English Composition, Algebra, Social Science and Biology. The ACT states that “[t]he scores were empirically derived based on the actual performance of students in college.” The benchmark scores are 18 for English, 22 for Math, 21 for Reading and 24 for Science. 25% of test-takers nationally meet all 4 subjects benchmark scores; on average, 37% of New Jersey students met the composite benchmark and exceeded the subject benchmark scores for all but Science.
Click here for much more information about the ACT.
SAT Results for 2011 Grads
September 21, 2011
Both the College Board, which sponsors the SAT®, and the ACT® recently released data about the scores for the high school graduating class from 2011. In this 2-part blog series, we will go inside these reports for national results, as well as those for the State of New Jersey.
The first part of this series will focus on the SAT entrance exam. Nationally, nearly 1.65 million students in the high school graduating class of 2011 took the SAT, up from 1.6 million for the class of 2010. The 2011 national average score for the SAT was 497 in Critical Reading, 514 in Math and 489 in Writing, for a total of 1500 points (each section has a maximum score of 800). The national scores dipped six points overall, as the 2010 average scores were 500, 515 and 491, respectively.
Here in New Jersey, the average student scored an aggregate of 1508, eight points higher than the national average. The New Jersey graduating class of 2011 earned an average score of 495 in Critical Reading (the same as last year), 516 in Math (an increase of two points) and 497 in Writing (the same as last year). For 2011 graduates, 78% of New Jersey students (86,515) sat for the SAT, which represents an increase of 800 students over 2010.
This year, the College Board introduced the “SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark.” The College Board indicates that if a student earned a combined score of 1550, s/he has a 65 percent probability of achieving a B- grade point average or better in the freshman year of college. 43% of test-takers meet this new SAT Benchmark, which was developed in order to help schools, districts, and states evaluate whether more students are graduating from their high schools college-ready from one year to the next. Unfortunately, the average New Jersey high school senior scored 42 points below this SAT Benchmark.
Click here for more information about the New Jersey SAT results. Our next blog post will go over these results for the ACT.
New Hours!
September 6, 2011
It’s hard to believe, but the unofficial end of summer 2011 has happened! We hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day holiday!
Starting today, we will be on our Academic Year Schedule:
Sunday 12 noon – 4 pm
Monday 4-8 pm
Tuesday 4-8 pm
Wednesday 4-8 pm
Thursday 4-8 pm
And by appointment
