College Admissions Creep

I am the first person to say that I want students to be on top of the college application process. The tendency to procrastinate can be difficult to overcome. This is why I am constantly after the seniors to start drafting essays, to get organized, and to pay attention to the application deadlines. That being said, I also strongly agree with what this article about avoiding the college admissions creep shared. The rush to take college admissions tests earlier than necessary is one of the most frequent examples of college admissions creep. At this time, sophomores and juniors do not need to worry about taking the ACT or SAT. Students should take one or both of these tests during the second semester of their junior year. At this time of year, sophomores should be looking forward to the PLAN test (practice ACT) which will be during the afternoon of October 13th and juniors should be gearing up for the PSAT (practice SAT) which will be held on the morning of October 13th. Rushing these tests to earlier than necessary usually results in students (and often parents) feeling stressed out and getting burned out before the real application process begins. I hope you take a moment and read the Washington Post's article about Saying "No" to College Admissions Creep.