One LDS mom has three children with perfect ACT or SAT scores. How does she do it? Her tips have more to do with the gospel than studying.
I was still half asleep when Stefan raced into my room. "I just checked my ACT scores online and I got a perfect score! But,” he confessed, “I also opened the cereal box from the wrong end this morning. So I'm not really all that."
We've had three happy mornings like that over the last five years and FAR more boxes opened incorrectly than I can count.
When you have three kids in a row who receive a perfect score on the SAT/ACT test, people clamor for advice. I'm happy to share, but you should know a perfect score doesn't guarantee acceptance into Harvard or even a mention at your school's senior awards night. And it doesn't make you a better, nicer person, but the path to get there might help with that.
A perfect score will boost your odds of acceptance to hundreds of excellent schools, garner excellent scholarships and guarantee you'll be teased for every dumb thing you do for the rest of your life-- "And you're supposed to be soooo smart!"
While the elusive 1600 or 36 isn't a wise goal for a lot of people, improving test scores remains a primary concern for college bound teens. Focusing too much on standardized tests can take time away from the activities that really make a student shine: music, sports, AP classes, IB, drama, service, student government, etc. But boosting those number by even a few points can make the difference between acceptance and rejection.
I've compiled two lists for your test prep enjoyment. The first offers long-term ideas for parents and kids of all ages, the second for students taking the SAT/ACT in the next two weeks to six months.
Cultivate kindness. Ask any of my kids their top school advice and they’ll respond, “Be kind. Be kind. Be kind.” Our schools are full of overstressed, overscheduled, lonely kids who shiver for a compliment or sympathetic word. Say ‘hello’ to people in the halls, seek out lonely students at lunch, take time to talk to friends who’ve had a bad day. A stack of awards and scholarships don’t mean a thing if you haven’t made your school a happier place.