According to its website, The College Board is “a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity.” It was founded more than 100 years ago – back in 1900 – and its membership association today is made up of more than 6,000 educational institutions.
If you ask students about The College Board, they’ll tell you it’s the organization responsible for the SAT exam, as well as all of the Advanced Placement tests. In last year’s graduating class, close to two million students had taken the SAT at least one time. That’s because it’s a key admission criterion of most competitive colleges, and also plays a significant role in determining the amount of merit scholarship money awarded by most colleges.
Fully aware of the importance of the SAT, most students choose to prepare in advance for the exam. The most effective way for students to do so is to work through “The Official SAT Study Guide” by The College Board. It provides eight SAT exams, including some that were actually administered during the past two years, offering questions that mirror what students can expect to find on the day of their test.
In addition to earning high SAT scores, it’s ideal for high school students to identify their college major of choice and then apply to schools that offer impressive programs in the chosen field. Once again, The College Board provides the ideal guide in its. Listed under each major is an alphabetical list (by state) of the colleges that offer a degree in the field, and a notation as to whether a student can earn an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree.
For example, if a student plans to major in Architecture, the guide will indicate that there are three colleges in New Jersey that offer a four year degree: Kean University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Princeton University. The book also lists related majors, including Architectural & Building Sciences and Architectural Engineering.
Once students have identified their intended major, they can turn to The College Board again to help identify best-fit colleges. By going to bigfuture.collegeboard.org, students can indicate preferences for their future college: size, location, level of competitiveness, major, campus preferences, etc. The website will identify all of the colleges that meet their requirements and students will have a targeted list of colleges to consider.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of SAT Smart in Hillsborough that has been offering PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation courses, as well as private tutoring by Ivy League educated instructors, for more than 25 years. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.