SAT Scores Back. Discord Over Concordance

New SAT Score Results were releases this month. Preliminary results showed an increased in the average score BUT (yes, there is a big but) the concordance between old and new SAT’s is at issue. Said differently, a 1400 on the New SAT is closer to 1370 on the previous (old) SAT. So, while students may be pleased with their score result, the score inflation may amount to a zero-sum game when it comes to college admissions.

With the score results, College Board dutifully released concordance tables designed to help students, parents, and counselors interpret their scores in the context of the Old SAT and, by chained concordance, the ACT. Instead, what seems to have transpired is more confusion among those groups and a fair amount of enmity from rival testing body ACT Inc. Read More

College Admissions:

If your student-clients have not yet received acceptance of any kind for 2016 (wait list, conditional etc.) don’t fret, NACAC reports that hundreds of colleges are still accepting 2016 applications. They have generously created a real time list which is regularly updated and should be good through July, 2016.

On a related note, Gap Year Programming seems to be gaining in popularity. Having said that, it will be important of independent counselors to help students and parents frame such an experience in a deliberate manner for future admissions. Strategies: for Gap Year Students.

And…the 2017 admissions cycle is also underway. All three application services have released their writing prompts. While the Common App has retained the prompts from the prior year, The Universal Application has updated its prompts, and the Coalition for Access, Accountability, and Success has released their initial prompts. See all the writing prompts

Learn more about these three services: The Universal College Application Common Application and Coalition For Access, Affordability, and Success.

Update: ACT & Kaplan Partnership

ACT and Kaplan continue to host free events which will arguably reduce their client acquisition costs while also facilitating user data collection (though perhaps not at the same level as the CB/Khan PSAT initiative). If you missed the original ACT-Kaplan announcement: Read the press release or watch the video

Strategic Considerations for Admissions & Test Prep Firms

The test prep and admissions environments are likely to remain dynamic for some time–which is good. Expect public relations, news stories, and consumer anxiety to persist. The dispute between the College Board and ACT Inc. may generate slightly more demand for test prep tutoring as well as college counseling over the summer. Also, with SAT’s continued PR challenges, expect to see a continued shift toward ACT for at least this year.

However, don’t bank on the publicity nor the slight uptick in demand it may generate. Neither will be enough to offset the demand slide common to the summer test prep business cycle.

Assuming your business deals with this drop in demand during July & August, our primary recommendation is to use common sense: endeavor to fully exploit the June testing and admissions cycle, add to service capacity to the degree you are able, and carefully schedule and promote Summer Programming.

In terms of strategic planning, this summer could be one of the last to truly examine your product mix with an eye towards becoming more competitive. Think of your product offerings as a stock portfolio and weigh the risk : reward scenario of adding or reducing components of that portfolio between June-August.

Our recommendations to add:

-Online SAT /ACT Prep
-Online Essay Review
-Essay Review
-College Admissions (for test prep companies)
-Test Prep Packages (for college admissions companies)
-College Application Camps
-Summer Intensive Camps-Classroom(SAT, ACT)
-Summer STEM Program Camps
-International Student Programs

Lastly, operations and cash flow should parallel demand and revenue. Don’t make the mistake of continuing to spend at regular or peak demand levels in July & August and only spend on tried and true marketing. Resist the magic bullet feeling that someone from YELP or Google, or whomever may give you when they call. We’re not saying to stop test-and-learn activity but good leaders align marketing spends with positive cash flow. Think high ROI marketing: email, free events, SEO, and social media all come to mind.

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