1st Quarter
- Juniors take PSAT in October
It's not too early for juniors to begin the college discovery process.
Check out information on the event section of the counseling webpage for local college fairs and off campus events sponsored by colleges and universities.
SHOULD EVENT SECTION BE THE CALENDAR?
PSAT/NMSQT
PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is administered to all SLUH sophomores and juniors.
In addition to serving as a practice test before juniors take the SAT, the PSAT/NMSQT is also used to determine which of our juniors will qualify as National Merit Semifinalists, students who will vie for both corporate and collegiate scholarships in their senior year. Other than these students who score high enough on the PSAT/NMSQT, the test is used strictly as a practice test to help students get ready for the SAT (which most juniors should take in March).
Parents should ask to see their son's copy of the PSAT Student Bulletin, which will be distributed to juniors by their English teachers a week or two prior to the test in October. The Student Bulletin includes test-preparation tips and sample test items.
Students will receive their PSAT scores just before or right after Christmas vacation.
College Representatives
During the first semester of each year approximately 120 colleges send admissions representatives to visit the high school (usually during activity period). It is very important that juniors begin attending these meetings. The main benefit for juniors is just to begin the college exploration process. They will hear presentations from many different types of colleges that may help them identify their preferences when we begin the selection process in the second semester.
It doesn't make any difference which college presentations they attend. Preferably they should NOT attend those of colleges with which they are very familiar. The idea is to get NEW information. They should meet with someone from a large state university, a small liberal arts college in a small town, an urban university, colleges in different parts of the country, etc. Based on what they learn about these various types of schools, they may begin to develop a general profile of the type of school which best meets their needs.
Each week the list of colleges visiting SLUH will be published in the calendar section of the Prep News. It will be ideal if juniors would attend several of these sessions during the first semester. Fewer representatives visit in the second semester!
In addition to the high school visits, many colleges hold information meetings in the evenings or on weekends. These meetings are designed for parents as well as students. We would strongly urge you to attend these meetings. They will not only give you information about a particular college but about financial aid and the college selection process in general. We post these evening meetings on the bulletin board outside of the department offices for those visits of which we are aware.
1-8-1-8 vs. AP
Juniors and seniors have two ways of earning college credit while in high school: 1-8-1-8 and AP. AP is a program sponsored by the College Board (the PSAT/SAT people). With AP, students generally take a class (e.g. AP US History, AP Spanish, or AP Calculus) which will prepare them to take the standardized test at the end of the year. The score on that test, rather than the grade achieved in the course, determines what credit will be offered by the college the student attends. The tests cost about $80 are are scored 5 to 1, with "5" as the top score. AP is accepted by even the most selective colleges, because the results are standardized. SLUH has enjoyed a lot of success with the AP. It is common for students who get "B's" in the class to get college credit. That credit varies among the colleges, but is generally between three to six hours.
The major importance in taking AP classes, however, is that it shows colleges that a student is challenging himself. The most selective schools insist that applicants take as many AP courses as possible. The less selective colleges like to see, but don't need to see lots of advanced courses. Course selection at SLUH is a cooperative venture, involving teachers, students, parents, and counselors. Our primary concern is that students take an appropriate curriculum.
1-8-1-8 is St. Louis University's program for granting college credit based on "B" or better work in approved classes. They charge $44 per credit hour (as of 7/1/04). Juniors have the possibility of obtaining 1-8-1-8 credit in three classes: Honors English III, AP US History and third year foreign language.
Because of the difficulty of choosing between these two approaches before knowing what college you will be seeking, we would suggest the following plan for juniors and their parents. If you are unwilling, undecided or unable to spend the $132 for 1-8-1-8 credit in English and/or AP US History, take these AP exams in May. By the time you get your scores in July you will have a pretty good idea of the colleges, you are considering and their policy on granting AP credit. If you did not get a high enough AP score for college credit, then you could pay for 1-8-1-8 credit for any senior English elective with a grade of B+ or better with the exception of Reading, Writing, Fiction. For social science credit, seniors would have two options: 1-8-1-8 credit in Modern European History, or in American Politics/American Foreign Policy.
In some cases students are reluctant to take the AP exam because they may not score high enough to get credit. But the evidence suggests the opposite. Last year over 600 tests were taken with 93% of these tests having received a score of 3 or better. AP exams were taken in Biology (11 of 11 scored a 3 or better), Calculus AB (33 of 35), Calculus BC (41 of 42), Chemistry (12 of 12), Economics (166 of 181), English (62 of 64), Environmental Science (15 of 20), Government and Politics (20 of 28), Modern European History (7 of 7), Latin (3 of 3), Physics (50 of 50), Psychology (39 of 43), Spanish (15 of 16), Statistics (14 of 19), U.S. History (75 of 77).
We know these are difficult decisions to make. Please call your son's counselor if you would like to discuss these issues.
