Attention Juniors: Make Sure to Get That Letter of Recommendation!

hwh • May 12, 2023

Before leaving school for the summer, students should make sure to request their letters of recommendation as they are a crucial part of their college application. Typically, a student's counselor and two teachers complete these letters, but it is important to check each school's website for specific application requirements.

Private colleges usually require at least one counselor and one or two teacher recommendations. Many colleges consider these letters to be of considerable or moderate importance in their admissions decisions. Therefore, students should ask their teachers for letters early, especially if they are having a successful year with a particular teacher.

Although the letters of recommendation do not need to be submitted until the fall, teachers will have more time to give the letter more thought and write with more substance. These letters can also help determine who is awarded scholarships and who is admitted into a school's honors program, so it is essential to secure excellent recommendations and maximize their effectiveness.

Here are some tips to help students secure excellent letters of recommendation:

Build strong relationships with teachers and counselors
Choose someone who teachers a core subject
Ask for the letter in person
Provide necessary information and materials
Meet deadlines and follow up with a polite reminder
Thank teachers for their help and support.

Build strong relationships with teachers and counselors: When choosing who to ask for a letter of recommendation, it's important for students to choose wisely. Ideally, they should request a letter from a junior year teacher who has taught them in a core subject area. The teacher should know the student well enough to write a thoughtful and insightful recommendation that highlights the student's class performance, whether that means improvement, outstanding achievement, or both. The recommendation should reflect the student's talents, abilities, and contributions in the context of the classroom. It's important for students to ask a teacher whose class they actively participate in and get good grades. For online learning, the student should choose a class where they regularly participate in virtual discussions and activities and have their camera turned on during live sessions. Ensure that the person writing the recommendation is someone who has a favorable opinion of the student. Since most of the time students and parents won't have access to the letter, it's important to choose someone the student feels at ease with.
Choose someone who teaches a core subject: It is important to choose a teacher who teaches a core subject. Some colleges require that at least one (or all) recommendation letters must be from a core subject teacher, which includes math, English, social science, science, or world language. If additional recommendation letters are allowed, students should think about the subjects or activities they are most involved in. For instance, someone in a research program may include their program director as an additional recommender. Moreover, a yearbook editor coach, or other adult mentor may provide a supplemental recommendation.
Ask for the letter in person: Prior to adding a teacher's name as a recommender in the Common Application or Coalition Application, it is important for students to directly ask the teacher if they would be willing to write a recommendation. This demonstrates that the student values the teacher's time and opinion and is committed to the application process. If speaking to the teacher in private is not feasible, the student can send an email to request the recommendation. Only after the teacher has agreed to write the recommendation should the student add the teacher's name to the application.
Provide necessary information and materials: After receiving confirmation from the recommender, it is essential for students to provide them with all the necessary information that they can use to write a strong letter and submit it on time. This includes the student's full name, email address, phone number, college deadlines, and specific examples of the student's achievements, improvements, or contributions in that teacher's subject and class. It is recommended that students only provide their resume to their teacher if they are asked to do so, as it may give the teacher a better overall picture of the student. It is important to remember that the recommender will likely write one general letter to be sent to all the schools the student is applying to, so the letter should not be tailored to any specific school.
Meet the deadlines and follow up with a polite reminder. It's important for students to keep track of the deadlines for each application type and make sure that their recommenders are aware of the deadlines as well. They should give their recommenders enough time to write a thoughtful letter and submit it before the deadline. It's a good idea for students to follow up with their recommenders a few weeks before the deadline to make sure that they have everything they need and are on track to submit the letter on time.
Thank teachers for their help and support: It's important to note that giving a gift card to a teacher or recommender is not necessary or expected. Teachers and recommenders are there to help students and want to see them succeed. A heartfelt thank-you note or a small token of appreciation, such as a handwritten card or a baked treat, can be a thoughtful way to express gratitude.

For more information about letters of recommendation, please visit: https://www.homeworkhubtutoring.com/copy-of-college-advisory or call 631-673-7250 or text 516-423-2543 to learn more.

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Changes Coming to the 2025 ACT

By hwh • September 19, 2024

The New ACT Current high school students have already experienced significant changes to college admissions testing. Earlier this year, students took the revamped digital SAT test for the first time. Soon, many of those same testers will have to prepare for a new version of the ACT test. On July 15, 2024, ACT CEO Janet Godwin released an announcement detailing major test changes effective Spring 2025. Initially, students may feel overwhelmed by yet another change to the admissions landscape. However, these new test changes will help students streamline the college prep process. For example, the test “enhancements” will result in a much shorter test and more flexibility for students. This change will relieve some of the stress for students who struggle with longer exams. Another significant modification to the new ACT is the Science section will now be optional, just like the ACT Essay section. For decades, the science aspect of the ACT has served as one of the main ways it differs from the SAT. Should students still take it? It’s too early to tell, but we may see some competitive degree programs, particularly those in the sciences, require ACT Science scores for admission. ACT Format Changes The Science section is now optional. This means students will be going from four sections to three so there will be fewer questions overall. The Core Reading and English sections will include shorter passages. The Core Math questions will have four multiple-choice answer options instead of five. ACT, Inc. has labeled the English, Reading, and Math sections of the test as “Core” sections. This simply means that these sections make up the base test. These three scores will be the core results sent to a college as the reportable score. ACT Timing Changes The new test is significantly shorter (about two hours instead of three). The total number of test questions will drop from 215 to 171 (44 fewer questions). In the past, students have found the ACT more fast-paced in terms of time per question. Moving forward, students will have more time per question (about 22%). In the new Core English section, students will have 35 minutes to answer 50 questions. This is 10 minutes shorter and 25 fewer questions than the current version of the test. In the new Core Math section, students will have 50 minutes to answer 45 questions. This is 10 minutes shorter with 15 fewer questions than the current section format. When taking the Core Reading section, students will have 40 minutes to answer 36 questions. That’s about five minutes longer than the current format and four fewer questions. Students who choose to take the new optional Science section will have 40 minutes to answer 40 questions. This is about five minutes longer with the same number of questions as the current format. Time-Per-Question Breakdown By Test Section: English: 42 seconds per question Math: ~ 1 minute and 7 seconds per question Reading: ~ 1 minute and 7 seconds per question Optional Science: 1 minute per question ACT Test Flexibility The new test design allows students more flexibility to focus on taking the test sections that best align with their college and career goals. A student may still need to take the optional Writing or Science section of the test. For example, a student applying to a highly competitive Engineering program may find that the college includes the Science score as part of its admissions requirements. Whereas, a strong writer may want to submit the Writing section if they are applying to a Language Arts program. Students should be diligent when researching college admissions requirements. Test Section Options: Core (English, Reading, and Math) Core + Science Core + Essay Core + Science + Essay What will stay the same for the ACT? You will still have the option to take the test on paper or online. The paper and online test versions will be identical. You can still choose to take the writing section as an add-on. The ACT will continue to stay as a non-adaptive format. The 1-36 scoring scale for each section will stay the same. How will the new ACT test compare to the digital SAT test? The new Core sections and shorter passages mirror the content currently found on the SAT test. Another notable similarity is overall test timing. The digital SAT test is about two hours and 14 minutes long, and the ACT test will be similar. In the past, the ACT had much faster pacing than the SAT, but students will notice less of a difference with the new version. However, students should still expect some variation between the tests, especially in regard to question types and the level of content tested. We should note that the new ACT test will feature less questions overall and provide greater flexibility for students, as mentioned earlier. ACT Test Changes Timeline ACT Inc. projects that students will have the ability to register for the April 2025 Digital ACT test by the end of December 2024. Students will encounter the new digital format of the ACT for the first time starting with the April 2025 test. Students taking the paper test will experience the older format through August 2025. Starting Sept 2025, the paper test will reflect the new format Recommendations By Grade Level Both ACT, Inc. and Homework Hub experts recommend that students continue practicing with the current format because the new version of the test will continue to evaluate the same overarching knowledge and skillset. Current 12th Graders (Class of 2025) Unless you’re testing under unusual circumstances, this change will not affect you. Since college application deadlines fall earlier in the school year, your testing cycle should end well before the new changes. Current 11th Graders (Class of 2026) You will have the option to take both the current and revised ACT test formats. You should continue preparing for your planned ACT test dates in the 11th grade. Current 10th Graders and Younger (Class of 2027 and beyond) You will have plenty of time to prepare and take both the updated ACT test and the digital SAT test, if needed. You will have the opportunity to discover your strongest test version and showcase your best scores for college admissions. ACT and SAT Scores Playing a More Prominent Role The effects of COVID caused grade inflation resulting in colleges questioning transcripts and test scores. Streamlining the new versions of both SAT and ACT may be an opportunity for students to substantiate their college readiness to prospective schools. After nearly four years of test-optional admissions, ACT and SAT scores have once again started to play a more prominent role in the admissions process. Over 50 schools now require ACT or SAT scores. As the ACT testing organization reveals more details regarding the restructure of the test, Homework Hub will revise its resources to help students prepare for these changes. Updated digital practice tests and materials that simulate the new ACT test will be used. Homework Hub will evaluate each student individually to determine the correct path for your child's success.

By hwh • May 25, 2023

7 Common App Essay Prompts

The New Digital SAT/PSAT

By hwh • April 14, 2023

The testing organization will administer the first digital PSAT test in fall of 2023 and the first digital SAT in the US in March of 2024. College Board recently confirmed that the fall of 2023 PSAT test will be the first digital test available. However, any national SAT tests or SAT School Day tests administered during a school test day in the fall of 2023 will be on paper. The PSAT test will change to a digital format beginning in the fall of 2023. Schools and testing centers in the U.S. will offer the first digital SAT test in the spring of 2024. The PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 8/9 will be delivered digitally in 2023 with the PSAT 10 following in 2024. (The last pencil and paper PSAT 10 will be given in spring 2023) The SAT test will last approximately two hours, which reduces overall testing time by about an hour. The new digital format will be adaptive, meaning it will vary slightly from student to student. The new digital format will consist of two modules of varying difficulty. After the first module, one of two potential second-stage modules will be administered. The difficulty of module 2 is dependent on module 1 performance. On the digital version, questions that test similar skills and knowledge are grouped together and arranged from easiest to hardest. The most significant changes to the new digital version of the tests will be within the reading and writing sections. College Board confirmed that this move to a digital format will change some aspects regarding the content of the test, though the new digital test will continue to evaluate the same core skills of reading comprehension, making inferences, evaluating informational graphics, editing for grammar, and editing text to achieve a rhetorical purpose. Here are some key differences on the reading/writing sections: The digital version of these tests will feature more direct questions and short excerpts instead of full-length reading passages: 25-150 words per passage compared to 350-750 words per passage on the current version, with one question per “passage.” Average time per question on the new digital format is 1.19 minutes compared to 1.25 minutes on the current version. On the reading section, there will be no more line references on the new digital version. Instead, portions of text are underlined. On the reading section of the digital version, “Craft & Structure” makes up 28% of the questions, with “Information and Ideas” accounting for 26% of the questions. On the writing section of the new digital test, “Standard English Conventions” accounts for 26% of the questions (compared to 21% on the current version), and “Expression of Ideas” 20% (compared to 25% on the current version). College Board has also announced the following changes to the math sections when it shifts to the digital format: Students will be allowed to use calculators on every math question of the new digital test. Students can use their own calculator or use the calculator built into the exam application (Bluebook aap). Average time per question is 1.6 minutes on the new digital format, compared to 1.25 minutes (no calculator) and 1.45 minutes (with calculator) on the current version. The new digital test will contain shorter word problems—generally 50 words or less. “Grid-ins” are now called “free response.” There appears to be a slight increase in the number of more difficult math questions, but the same four concepts are tested: Algebra I and II, geometry, and trigonometry. Scoring out of 1600 Implications for students: Class of 2023 (Current 12th Graders) These changes will not impact students who attend high school in the US and will graduate in the Class of 2022 or the Class of 2023. They’ll graduate before the PSAT or SAT test transitions to the new digital format. Class of 2024 (Current 11th Graders) For U.S. students, these changes will only affect Class of 2024 high school students who decide to take the test during the spring of their 12th grade year. As mentioned above, College Board will offer the first digital SAT test in the US during March of 2024. We strongly encourage students to complete testing prior to 12th grade to allow for more time to focus on college applications. Class of 2025 (Current 10th graders) This past fall (fall of 2022), many 10th graders took a paper PSAT test. In 11th grade (October 2023), they will take the digital PSAT test. It’s important to note here that College Board has indicated that instead of a handful of in-school test dates for the PSAT digital test in the fall of 2023, schools may decide on a test date any time during the month of October. Check with your high school counselor to know exactly which day you can expect to take the test. For SAT tests taken through December of the 11th grade, students will take the paper version. Starting in March of 11th grade (2024), they will take the new digital SAT® test. Class of 2026 (Current 9th graders) This class will be the first to be impacted by a purely digital testing environment for the PSAT and SAT tests. Since the test content will remain consistent, students still need to acquire and practice math and verbal skills. The Reading and Writing Test (Digital) (Reading and Writing are not separate sections) Two modules: 27 questions per module (computer-adaptive) 32 minutes per module Built-in timer Highlighting and leave a note for yourself capabilities Mark for review option Can eliminate (cross out) a choice Types of Questions: All four-option multiple choice questions Vocabulary – Fill in the blank with the best word or phrase v Reading Questions Reading Questions Content Prose fiction Poetry Nonfiction (science, social studies, social science, graphics) Types of questions Function of underlined sentence Fill in the blank Point that weakens or strengthen claim § Best choice to complete the text Main idea or main purpose Interpretation of data Critical reasoning Writing Questions Complete the text with the choice that conforms to the conventions of Standard English Use a student’s notes to complete a specific task The Math Test (Digital) Two modules: 22 questions per module § 35 minutes per module 75 % four-option multiple choice 25 % student produced responses Calculator use for the whole math test Built-in graphing calculator or student’s own calculator Access to a list of common formulas Built-in timer Can cross out eliminated choice Can mark a question for review Content (arranged from easiest to hardest) Algebra Advanced math(absolute value, quadratic, exponential, polynomial, rational, radical, and nonlinear equations) Problem solving and data analysis Geometry andTrigonometry Scoring 1600 scale Reading and Writing: 200-800 Math: 200 – 800 For more information about the digital PSAT/SAT please visit https://www.homeworkhubtutoring.com/act/sat-elite-test-prep or call 631-673-7250 or text 516-423-2543 to learn more.