A Day of Reckoning - Dec. 5 SAT Scores are In - A Sobering Reality

Do not forget the rotc scholarships look at more than SAT. A strong leadership resume is important. My son also had a aware SAT 1250 but that along with a very competitive boys Catholic Prep Hs, rowing Crew and running Xc at the same time plus a great resume of leadership in and out of school. Plus great recommendations written for him by school president and teacher and coaches. Plus he felt we did great on his ROTC interview. Planned his answers very well. And with that he is 4year Army winner and junior now VTECH. Its all possible especially if your school load is strong and his rank is good.
 
Wow a lot of replies and advice. So much to read. I’ll add my experience for DD briefly. SAT/ACT professional training, expensive tutoring for a very strong and diligent student resulted in finally a decent one day sitting on her sixth SAT. Her input has always been that it’s the luck of the test she had placed in front of her even after so many real and practice tests. In her opinion she became a professional test taker which culminated with the score she needed for all ROTC scholarship programs and the service academies of her choice. As a senior now, she just waits for her fate. All complete with the exception of her 2 remaining ROTC interviews which are this coming week for one service and in mid Jan for the other. Her advice would be to stick with it and find the best type of test-SAT or ACT and train to that test format over multiple tests. Saturday exams became routine place for her to be this past fall. She hated it but improved her one time sitting over 200 points so big improvement is actually possible over that first test score. Superscoring is such a blessing too as it is hard to have a perfect day for some test takers and helped motivate her to keep trying for her best score on both-which finally came on the NOV test-she had her best one day sitting on both putting her over the top-for AFROTC which doesn’t super score-and she could stop finally. All is not over out of the starting gate junior year. There is time to persevere and reach realistic goals.
 
BALleT21 said:
Wow a lot of replies and advice. So much to read. I’ll add my experience for DD briefly. SAT/ACT professional training, expensive tutoring for a very strong and diligent student resulted in finally a decent one day sitting on her sixth SAT. Her input has always been that it’s the luck of the test she had placed in front of her even after so many real and practice tests. In her opinion she became a professional test taker which culminated with the score she needed for all ROTC scholarship programs and the service academies of her choice. As a senior now, she just waits for her fate. All complete with the exception of her 2 remaining ROTC interviews which are this coming week for one service and in mid Jan for the other. Her advice would be to stick with it and find the best type of test-SAT or ACT and train to that test format over multiple tests. Saturday exams became routine place for her to be this past fall. She hated it but improved her one time sitting over 200 points so big improvement is actually possible over that first test score. Superscoring is such a blessing too as it is hard to have a perfect day for some test takers and helped motivate her to keep trying for her best score on both-which finally came on the NOV test-she had her best one day sitting on both putting her over the top-for AFROTC which doesn’t super score-and she could stop finally. All is not over out of the starting gate junior year. There is time to persevere and reach realistic goals.
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Thanks for the encouraging story. I have shared it with DS
 
My son took a 6 week long ACT course before covid hit. He did decent for his first time but not good enough. He did a little khan and some other on-line options. I also purchased some books on Amazon (the think ones that include sample tests) I also bought a sat/act grammar book. We were pretty structured with everyday putting time in, me correcting the tests, etc. score increased, not enough.
He was putting the time in and I was correcting the tests, but I realized we weren’t dedicating enough time to understanding WHY something was wrong. So we invested more time there. I’m strong in English, but for science and math we turned to you tube. Yes, you tube. Almost all of the practice tests have someone on YouTube going over the questions and explaining/demonstrating the answers. There are also a number of people explaining the strategies of the tests and how to eliminate answers, etc.
This was a lot of work and time, but he was able to raise his score 7 points from start to finish. Every kid is different. It’s important to look at which subject areas are the most challenging and then what method will they best respond to. Mine did not want a tutor. So then he was stuck with me :).
Wish you the best of luck
 
NJROTC-CC said:
DS, a high school junior, took the SAT for the first time December 5th. We got his scores today. His scores were shockingly low. He took a prep course, many practice SAT tests and worked hard. But, despite all that, his score is so low, that he is not a realistic candidate for admission to many 4 year colleges, much less for a ROTC scholarship. What is so hard to understand is that he gets mostly A's a couple of B's and is taking several AP courses. His weighted high school GPA is well over 4.0. So it is difficult to understand why he is having such a tough time with the SAT's. He is signed up to take a crack at the ACT's in February.

Of course, he can take the SAT's again, even more than once more, but only a certain amount of improvement is possible. Fortunately, DS is athletic and has good extra-curricular, community service and leadership.

Based on his present SAT score, he best shot at college, for now, is for the NROTC Prep Scholarship. (He is unwilling to go to community college.) He has shown interest in several schools that offer the Prep Scholarship. We will apply and see what happens. However, his is also re-considering his previous plan to go straight to college. Enlistment after high school is now something he wants to seriously consider. ASVAB prep. will commence soon.

DS has a strong desire to serve his country and has been showing great interest in the Coast Guard since his NJOTC class visited and toured the local Coast Guard Station last year. He knows the local Coast Guard recruiter by name. DS's ultimate, long-term goal has always been Federal law enforcement. I think the Coast Guard would be a "win-win" for DS and for the USCG and can lead him in the direction he wants to go. My only hope is that if he enlists, he will still find a way to obtain at least a bachelor's degree in the future.
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One thing to consider is how tough or academically challenging his HS is. I have two DS's: One went to the College of Engineering at Texas A&M, then a Masters in Finance there...the other to the USNA. Both graduated from the local HS, that was very difficult. This HS is rated in the top 9% in the country, their Math and English prep at the AP level is proven. One DS earned a 4.0 at A&M his first two years (all basic STEM courses Calculus, etc.). The MIDN has done real well at USNA (not a 4.0 though). I really believe that the local HS teachers are a large factor in their success. My point is...the HS may or may not really be preparing your DS-he may get the grades, but the standardized tests tell a different story. Of course there can be test taking issues with any person too. Don't Give up the ship. Try the ACT. Good luck.
 
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rickdunnjr said:
My point is...the HS may or may not really be preparing your DS-he may get the grades, but the standardized tests tell a different story.
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I think this is true in our case. Our public schools are not very good. But some kids I know from from his high school have done very well on the standardized tests. I think my DS is not all that into individual study. That's the problem. Anything involving a group, he excels in. I doubt his SAT scores will ever be very good. So, we have been focusing on Plans B, C, D and E. Worst case: He goes to community college for one semester and then applies to transfer to one of our big State U's. The transfer rules allow him to apply for transfer after only 12 credits. Then, he can do NROTC or AFROTC as a non-scholarship student, or try to get into the Coast Guard CSPI program (lately he is interested more in the Coast Guard.) He could do NROTC and AFROTC for two years with no commitment and then resign if he gets into Coast Guard CSPI. Plan E would be to enlist directly in the Coast Guard and put off college until the future. In that case, I told him he better practice for the ASVAB because the Coast Guard has the highest ASVAB score requirement of all the branches and we know one of he former classmates who could not qualify for Coast Guard, and went USMC instead, and now regrets it.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
DS, a high school junior, took the SAT for the first time December 5th. We got his scores today. His scores were shockingly low. He took a prep course, many practice SAT tests and worked hard. But, despite all that, his score is so low, that he is not a realistic candidate for admission to many 4 year colleges, much less for a ROTC scholarship. What is so hard to understand is that he gets mostly A's a couple of B's and is taking several AP courses. His weighted high school GPA is well over 4.0. So it is difficult to understand why he is having such a tough time with the SAT's. He is signed up to take a crack at the ACT's in February.

Of course, he can take the SAT's again, even more than once more, but only a certain amount of improvement is possible. Fortunately, DS is athletic and has good extra-curricular, community service and leadership.

Based on his present SAT score, he best shot at college, for now, is for the NROTC Prep Scholarship. (He is unwilling to go to community college.) He has shown interest in several schools that offer the Prep Scholarship. We will apply and see what happens. However, his is also re-considering his previous plan to go straight to college. Enlistment after high school is now something he wants to seriously consider. ASVAB prep. will commence soon.

DS has a strong desire to serve his country and has been showing great interest in the Coast Guard since his NJOTC class visited and toured the local Coast Guard Station last year. He knows the local Coast Guard recruiter by name. DS's ultimate, long-term goal has always been Federal law enforcement. I think the Coast Guard would be a "win-win" for DS and for the USCG and can lead him in the direction he wants to go. My only hope is that if he enlists, he will still find a way to obtain at least a bachelor's degree in the future.
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Let me tell you I understand this completely! My son was a 4.0 student all through high school. He managed a 1260 on the SAT which is LOW by Rotc standards, non the less he got into the school of his choice and obtained an AFROTC scholarship last yr. Some kids are just not great test takers. My son also applied to all the service acadamies and was turned down from all of them :( He had great leadership as well. Has he been denied for an ROTC scholarship yet? Or was his score below the requirement?
 
nervousmom79 said:
Let me tell you I understand this completely! My son was a 4.0 student all through high school. He managed a 1260 on the SAT which is LOW by Rotc standards, non the less he got into the school of his choice and obtained an AFROTC scholarship last yr. Some kids are just not great test takers. My son also applied to all the service acadamies and was turned down from all of them :( He had great leadership as well. Has he been denied for an ROTC scholarship yet? Or was his score below the requirement?
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He is a junior, so he has not yet applied. He is signed up for 3 more SAT’s and 1 ACT. However we are being realistic and have plans B,C and D in development.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
I think this is true in our case. Our public schools are not very good. But some kids I know from from his high school have done very well on the standardized tests. I think my DS is not all that into individual study. That's the problem. Anything involving a group, he excels in. I doubt his SAT scores will ever be very good. So, we have been focusing on Plans B, C, D and E. Worst case: He goes to community college for one semester and then applies to transfer to one of our big State U's. The transfer rules allow him to apply for transfer after only 12 credits. Then, he can do NROTC or AFROTC as a non-scholarship student, or try to get into the Coast Guard CSPI program (lately he is interested more in the Coast Guard.) He could do NROTC and AFROTC for two years with no commitment and then resign if he gets into Coast Guard CSPI. Plan E would be to enlist directly in the Coast Guard and put off college until the future. In that case, I told him he better practice for the ASVAB because the Coast Guard has the highest ASVAB score requirement of all the branches and we know one of he former classmates who could not qualify for Coast Guard, and went USMC instead, and now regrets it.
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I'm not sure given the whole situation with COVID-19 that retaking is possible, but my first official ACT was 6 points lower than what I had scored on a practice test the week before. The first test is nerve-racking and it feels that a ton rides on it. Your DS is clearly very intelligent so tell him to keep working and retake it as many times as possible.
 
TB_Rays said:
I'm not sure given the whole situation with COVID-19 that retaking is possible, but my first official ACT was 6 points lower than what I had scored on a practice test the week before. The first test is nerve-racking and it feels that a ton rides on it. Your DS is clearly very intelligent so tell him to keep working and retake it as many times as possible.
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ACT is a week from Saturday. He will be practicing this weekend. Fortunately, in our area it appears that the SATs and ACT’s have been proceeding despite Covid as our schools are open.

But while I am disappointed that DS has not done better than I hoped on the SAT, he is a happy-go-lucky kid who will be fine no matter which plan he pursues. He just wants to leave home whether it be SA, College or enlistment. I think some young people are just too restless to go to college and they want some adventure first. I told him I would support him if he wants to enlist and I told him he better prep for the ASVAB if he wants to have more choices of MOS. He can always go to college later if he wants.

Right now he is busy with classes and leading the drill team and orienteering team, having fun and not focusing on his future as much as his present. I think that’s normal. Not every kid has his sh_t together completely at 16.
 
ROTCMom, There are always several ways to skin a cat. It may not be first choice to go in enlisted and move from there, but it might be a very good option. I went in enlisted in the Navy, and spent 8 years there. When I got out I was a non traditional student and basically could go to school wherever I wanted (within reason) GI bill totally paid for undergraduate, and I picked up a full ride Navy scholarship for Optometry school. The day I graduated form there i was commissioned as on 03 (navy Lt) and spent the next 14 years in the Navy until my retirement in 2015. If I had to do it again, the only thing i would change is that I would have gotten out enlisted at 6 years and started my college two years earlier. Full GI bill only takes 4 years enlisted time, then the service member is in charge of their own scholarship and school choice. It amounts to over $50,000, and YOU choose how you used it. I found it very easy to get back in the Navy once I had turned myself into something they wanted. If he is killing himself to jump through someone else's hoops, it may be time to think about going enlisted, getting the GI bill and making his own hoops to jump through. Just a thought, but I have been there, and it worked wonderfully for me.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
ACT is a week from Saturday. He will be practicing this weekend. Fortunately, in our area it appears that the SATs and ACT’s have been proceeding despite Covid as our schools are open.

But while I am disappointed that DS has not done better than I hoped on the SAT, he is a happy-go-lucky kid who will be fine no matter which plan he pursues. He just wants to leave home whether it be SA, College or enlistment. I think some young people are just too restless to go to college and they want some adventure first. I told him I would support him if he wants to enlist and I told him he better prep for the ASVAB if he wants to have more choices of MOS. He can always go to college later if he wants.

Right now he is busy with classes and leading the drill team and orienteering team, having fun and not focusing on his future as much as his present. I think that’s normal. Not every kid has his sh_t together completely at 16.
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It sounds like he is in a good place! I know a lot of friends from high school that enlisted and a few people in my ROTC program who are green to gold. The G2G folks are incredibly well adapted for ROTC and have a good perspective on life in general. It's a phenomenal option,
 
I just got appointed to USNA and I faced similar struggles with the SAT. All I would say that it is extremely important to pull through and study even when your scores don’t seem like they are improving. I’ll share an excerpt on my USNA college application essay that focused on my journey with the SAT.


Sophomore summer, I was determined to ace the SAT. After studying for over a year, I took my first exam and scored well below the Bay Area average. I made impactful improvements and was still motivated. I adopted a rigorous study regiment, but scored markedly lower! Friends and peers were knocking the exam out on their first attempt. Deflated, I questioned myself. The results did not reflect the effort, but I did not regress. Einstein said that thing about insanity. I kept my footing but I pivoted on a new course. I tried new techniques and kept studying with that adage about practice swimming in my head. The test became more than just a score, it was an obstacle that I needed to overcome.
Several months were filled with diagnostics exams that bookended the week with practice in between. Test day came and went. I pushed through to my goal with a 1510. This test became less about the score and more about responding to failure. I would never trade the confidence and work ethic I gained through this experience. If a quit, I would have wallowed in self-pity, but I didn’t. I took matters into my hands and worked hard. I am excited to take that mantra with me to the Academy.
 
If you have "deep pockets" 💰there are tutors that sell blocks of time. $20 - $40 an hour for a grad student, $60 an hour a good one, and $100 an hour for the Stanford PHD's that write the test. They can coach a HS Sr. up usually 6 - 10 points on the ACT. Some offer a guarantee of 32+ on ACT. Just a thought if your DD / DS does better in person (online video sessions)🖥️
 
JoonHa said:
I just got appointed to USNA and I faced similar struggles with the SAT. All I would say that it is extremely important to pull through and study even when your scores don’t seem like they are improving. I’ll share an excerpt on my USNA college application essay that focused on my journey with the SAT.


Sophomore summer, I was determined to ace the SAT. After studying for over a year, I took my first exam and scored well below the Bay Area average. I made impactful improvements and was still motivated. I adopted a rigorous study regiment, but scored markedly lower! Friends and peers were knocking the exam out on their first attempt. Deflated, I questioned myself. The results did not reflect the effort, but I did not regress. Einstein said that thing about insanity. I kept my footing but I pivoted on a new course. I tried new techniques and kept studying with that adage about practice swimming in my head. The test became more than just a score, it was an obstacle that I needed to overcome.
Several months were filled with diagnostics exams that bookended the week with practice in between. Test day came and went. I pushed through to my goal with a 1510. This test became less about the score and more about responding to failure. I would never trade the confidence and work ethic I gained through this experience. If a quit, I would have wallowed in self-pity, but I didn’t. I took matters into my hands and worked hard. I am excited to take that mantra with me to the Academy.
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Congratulations on your appointment!
 
DS finally came to me today and asked me to work with him on SAT Grammar. (I had been offering to help him and he was resisting.) We have a book called "The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar" by Erica L. Meltzer. I got a 670 Verbal in 1977 (which would probably be over 700 today), and have a doctoral degree, so I consider myself at least somewhat literate.

We did a couple of chapters and DS did just as well as I did. He is no nope. So, I am somewhat stumped at why he did so bad on his 1st SAT. Let's hope it was a fluke. I plan to keep working with him on the verbal. He is stronger in math and has a math tutor so, who knows, maybe he will end up with decent score. The ACT is this Saturday. Then, he is signed up to take March, May and June SAT's. Then a couple more SAT's after that, if necessary.
 
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I mentioned this in an earlier post and can't emphasize enough it's importance to time management of the test.

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Process of Elimination on the SAT: 11 Key Tips

Not sure how to eliminate answers on the SAT? We've got helpful tips for guessing on the Reading, Writing, and Math sections.
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As always, best of luck!
 
NJROTC-CC said:
DS finally came to me today and asked me to work with him on SAT Grammar. We have a book called The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar. I got a 670 Verbal in 1977, and have a doctoral degree, so I consider myself somewhat literate.

We did a couple of chapters and DS did just as well as I did. So, I am somewhat stumped at why he did so bad on his 1st SAT. Let's hope it was a fluke. I plan to keep working with him on the verbal.
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We had a kind of similar thing with our youngest. Was scoring lower than he should have. After 3 takes, getting the same score. In reading. I shelled out 40$, for an online tutor session (you pick them based upon your needs. We looked for specific criteria). Tutor immediately identified where he was making his mistakes. And identified strategies for test taking. Next time he tested he went up 8 points in that area. If I remember correctly.

Point is, there is more to the knowledge. There is also strategy. Best 80$ I ever spent. He did a couple sessions, and the assigned homework.
 
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