What is the "right" year to take the ACT's or SAT's?

[cz fastpitch fan]

Have read posts on here and heard talk about taking as a freshman, that collegiate coaches understand you will show an increase in the score as a result of your high school curriculum. On the other hand, I have heard from some high school athletic directors that freshmen should not take it yet, for it will put too much pressure on these kids at that young age.
Going out to the masses. What are your thoughts on the right year to take the SAT's or ACT's (for the first time) and why?

Also...secondary question...if they are going to take this kind of a test as a freshman for example, which should they take, ACT or SAT & why?

Looking forward to the experienced ones her on OFC.

CZ

 

[Strohbro]

Would you seriously take the opinion of a HS AD???

 

[JoeA1010]

I think it depends on what type of college the girl wants to attend. If she is shooting for a high academic school at the D1 or D2 level, I highly advise to take it for the first time during the sophomore year or at the latest in the fall of the junior year. Take both tests, it can't hurt.

As far as I know there is no factor that I'm missing, but maybe other colleges do things differently than mine and don't automatically take the highest score a student receives.

 

[lewam3]

I think it depends on what type of college the girl wants to attend. If she is shooting for a high academic school at the D1 or D2 level, I highly advise to take it for the first time during the sophomore year or at the latest in the fall of the junior year. Take both tests, it can't hurt.

As far as I know there is no factor that I'm missing, but maybe other colleges do things differently than mine and don't automatically take the highest score a student receives.

Taking the ACT multiple times, starting late soph year, will allow the institutions to "superscore" which, at many schools, is done.
There must be "test prep" between the exams, however; otherwise, it's just a waste of time to take multiple tests.At $60 bucks a pop and a 5 hour investment on Saturday, it's a pretty cheap gig, especially if a good score will add to your academic money. From what I've been told the "academic" money seems to be more generous for athletes than it is for non athletes. just sayin.

 

[cz fastpitch fan]

Pardon me for answering a question with another one, but do you not think it is essential to consider input from all parties who are legitimately interested in the future of our kids?
I do, therefore I have asked many people and now I'm asking the OFC community.

 

[CARDS]

Taking the ACT multiple times, starting late soph year, will allow the institutions to "superscore" which, at many schools, is done.
There must be "test prep" between the exams, however; otherwise, it's just a waste of time to take multiple tests.At $60 bucks a pop and a 5 hour investment on Saturday, it's a pretty cheap gig, especially if a good score will add to your academic money. From what I've been told the "academic" money seems to be more generous for athletes than it is for non athletes. just sayin.

GREAT POST...We had ladies taking exams as early as Freshman year or Summer of the 8th grade year. Most experts do not think there is enough value or advantage in taking the exam any sooner. (Prepping yes actual exam no)...
Besides the exam remember the ladies HS GPA does make a difference...

Students can also see their HS guidance department and in some cases, you can access the schools website to get test prep information.
I have study guides that I would give to my ladies and also share with them test prep providers.

There are some JC that offer Saturday ACT test prep help in a 4 hour free class. Now a lot of these colleges are looking to woo students to their campus but the bulk of the time is spend prepping for the exam. There are also some very good Saturday all day options for 50/60 bucks.
I will find my packets and see if I can post as an attachment.

 

[Pacerdad57]

our DD took a trainer class for ACT in sophomore year, did ACT this fall. we bought the web based study sessions, which really seemed to be a big help for her, scored pretty solidly. A scor i'm more than comfortable with.
she has to re-take the ACT this spring due to federal funding. the more students that take the ACT the more funding the school gets......at least this one doesn't cost us anything, and its a chance to boost an already good score, so maybe it'll go up some.
the study sessions are a great help for getting a good score. taking as early as possible in junior year should work. leaves lots of time to work and study and improve scores.

 

[Louuuuu]

the more students that take the ACT the more funding the school gets.....

I wonder who came up with that idea of covert extortion...

 

[WWolff]

I can tell you that we have had multiple schools ask about the athletes ACT score their freshman year, and encourage our kids to take ACT freshman year. Then every year after, and some even chose to take twice in a year if they are not happy with score and our in middle of recruiting process.

 

[maddball44]

We had our dd take it this year (sophomore). The plan was no pressure. Didn't report the score. Think of it as kind of a recon mission. See what it's about then we'll take a prep class. Now she knows exactly what what's being discussed. Hope it works.

 

[manitoudan]

Early and Often

 

[Mdfio]

I think they should take it as early and as often as possible! Looking at many colleges and their "tier/matrix" for monies based on ACT and GPA it only makes sense! Plus as freshman it is not so much what they get but how they are preparing themselves as well IMO shows a college coach they are committed to acedemics!

Just like anything else the more you do it the more success you will have!

And as coaches shouldn't we be emphasizing grades and acedemic preparation as much as we emphasize spin rate, or speed on a fast ball?

JMO

 

[Skeeter]

Our DD took the PSAT this year as a Freshman, it was offered through our High School.

 

[coachjwb]

I guess if I had a daughter already being actively recruited by D1 teams in 8th or 9th grade, I would have her take it in 9th grade ... but otherwise (95-99% of the players), I'd have her take it sophomore year for the first time. There has to be some correlation between test scores and the knowledge a freshman is going to gain in the meantime by waiting another year. Someone might be able to convince me differently with facts, but I am skeptical that any players missed out on opportunities because they waited until sophomore year to take their ACT.

 

[Pacerdad57]

I wonder who came up with that idea of covert extortion...

Give ya one guess, and no way to not have to take it lol.
Just use it to try to score a bit more is the advice I gave her.

 

[Fairman]

She must take both the SAT and the ACT in her sophomore year if not before. Take both a couple of times and take a prep course or two. The senior season is almost meaningless in softball recruiting. If she is very high academically then she will need those scores to get in the NFCA Northeast Academic Camp. This is the camp for your high achieving daughters. It is the day before the NFCA Pennsberry so she can attend both. The Academic camp is much smaller and the schools that are attending are the Harvard's, and the Bucknell's and schools of that ilk. A large number of coaches were attending in the hope of grabbing a few academic successful kids even if they weren't Harvard. When my dd attended it was about 3 kids to 1 college coach. If they liked what they saw then they could follow your dd to the Pennnsbury camp and then the tournament. They would accept 9th graders in the Camp. Which means they would've to have a test taken and scores reported by the spring of their 9th grade year.

Also a word of advice. Girls do better on the ACT. So make sure that she takes that early and often. ((DD works in College admissions and sees that this is a true statement.))


NFCA Northeast Academic Camp
https://nfcaevents.org/nfca-camps/academic-northeast.php


Test taken AFTER the PSAT/SAT format change in 2015:
SAT - 1750 minimum score (If all three parts of the test are taken)
SAT – 1168 minimum score (If only reading and math are taken)
PSAT - 1110 minimum score
ACT - 26 minimum score (using your composite score)
In addition, ALL applicants must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher.
All athletes must have completed at least eight grade at time of the camp; no junior college athletes will be accepted and Graduation years 2017-2021.

 

[FastBat]

All schools in Ohio this spring have to give ACT or SAT in school, no charge. But, that's only mandatory in spring of Junior year, class of 2018 and younger. http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Te...ls-must-administer-state-funded-SAT-or-ACT-ne


I have a sixth grader, so a lot of this is confusing to me. With all the tests they have now, for example our district admins the MAP 3X/year grades 3-8. I have heard they will be able to forecast each student's ACT/SAT. Is that true? (I maybe getting confused.) Would those scores replace that PSAT score? Could the younger athletes share those RIT scores now with potential coaches?

 

[CARDS]

All schools in Ohio this spring have to give ACT or SAT in school, no charge. But, that's only mandatory in spring of Junior year, class of 2018 and younger. http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Te...ls-must-administer-state-funded-SAT-or-ACT-ne


I have a sixth grader, so a lot of this is confusing to me. With all the tests they have now, for example our district admins the MAP 3X/year grades 3-8. I have heard they will be able to forecast each student's ACT/SAT. Is that true? (I maybe getting confused.) Would those scores replace that PSAT score? Could the younger athletes share those RIT scores now with potential coaches?

I think most colleges/coaches are going to be looking for what the ladies are doing at the HS level including GPA.
As far as forecasting in 6th grade what a lady may do on a test in HS I think that is a stretch. I have seen a lot of growth in students from Junior to Senior years exploring new content with no prior foundation classes so, I would suspect the growth in content found on the ACT that they receive from 6th to 12th grade would be much greater as they mature and develop.

 

[klinder]

I would agree that the best time to take it would be sophomore year after taking time to prepare and then plan on retaking at least once or twice. College coaches want to know that an athlete is going to be eligible before they put a lot of time and effort into recruiting them. Taking it in their sophomore year will tell everyone yes the athlete will be eligible if she completes the appropriate course work or that she still has some work to do.

I would also suggest taking it again at the end of your junior year to get a higher score because many schools award academic scholarships based on a combined matrix of GPA and ACT or SAT score. The higher the ACT/SAT the more academic money the student will get. NCAA DI and DII coaches are looking for athletes that can receive academic scholarships that won't count against their NCAA scholarship limitations. DI can only award 12 softball scholarships and DII can only award 7.2. What most people don't understand is that softball, being an equivalency sport, has what is termed countable and non-countable aid. Countable aid is any scholarship money that would count against the school's athletic scholarship limitation even if it isn't softball money. Non-countable scholarship aid is money that will not count toward the 12 or 7.2 limitations. In order for an academic scholarship to not count or be exempted from the DI limitations, the athlete must meet one of three criteria: be in the top 10% of their graduating class, have over a 3.5 GPA, or score 1200 on the SAT or 105 combined on the ACT. In DII it is top 20%, a 3.5 GPA, 1140 SAT or 100 combined ACT. Consequently an athlete who does not meet any of those criteria could still get academic scholarship money from the college but that money will count against the school's limitation. In that case the college coach would have to reduce the athletic scholarship so they stay within their NCAA limitations.

An example would be:
Say Sally Sue has a 3.49 GPA, is in the top 25% of her class, and scored 99 on her ACT and was awarded a $2000 academic scholarship from AH University. She was also awarded a $5000 softball scholarship. Since she does not meet the criteria for an academic exemption the college coach would have to count $7000 toward her scholarship limitations. This may have put the school's equivalencies to 12.2 which is a violation. College coach then has to reduce the softball scholarship by $2000 to stay within her 12. Instead of the academic scholarship going on top of the athletic scholarship, it ended up reducing it because the athlete did not meet the criteria for an academic exemption.

Bottom line college coaches want great athletes who have great grades and high test scores. An athlete should not take the test until she is prepared and ready. Take the PSAT as a freshman, take college prep classes, take ACT and SAT prep classes, study for them both and take them two or three times. And if the athlete wants academic scholarships money retake the tests during their junior year when they are better prepared from the classes they took in HS.

As a parent you should find out what the criteria is for academic money at the schools you are interested in as every college has a different way of awarding scholarships. Telling your kid you have to have a specific score in order to get recruited or get scholarship money does put pressure on the kid. I agree it is unfair to do this to 9th graders.

 

[klinder]

Another point parents want to consider is the academic abilities of your student when deciding what HS classes to take. Is it better to take AP classes where students may not get as high a grade, which impacts overall GPA or to take the college prep class that may not be as difficult allowing the student to get a better grade. Is it better to take harder classes and get a lower GPA or to take easier classes and get a higher GPA when the colleges are awarding scholarships based on HS GPA? You want to go the route that gives your child the best avenue for being prepared for college and in giving you the best opportunity to receive academic scholarships.

Aspire Higher Sports offers recruiting seminars for teams to help them understand the college recruiting process. Call Karen Linder if you are interested in setting up a session with your team.
330-221-5197 or klinder@aspirehighersports.com.