Juniors, in their second semester, are given a username and password to "Family Connection" during a Naviance training session.  "Family Connection" is a tool within Naviance that can help in every phase of your college search, application, and selection process. "Family Connection" is linked with "Counselor’s Office", a service that we use in our office to track and analyze data about college plans, so it provides up-to-date information that’s specific to Hopkins. In "Family Connection", you can keep track of deadlines, search for colleges by criteria of your choosing, view upcoming college visits, and even see how past Hopkins graduates have fared at different institutions.

Much of the data reported in Naviance refers to standardized tests and GPA. At Hopkins, students' cumulative averages are not calculated until late into the senior year for the specific purpose of determining eligibility for Cum Laude. These averages are NEVER communicated to colleges. With a little help, students can estimate where they might stand in comparison to former graduates from Hopkins. Also, remember that these graphs represent just numbers; there are many more factors that are considered for admission. Graphs do not tell the whole story, but can be useful to see trends.

Our specific "Family Connection" is a web-based resource that is only used by members of the Hopkins community. Colleges do not have access to any of the information contained in Naviance. 

To access "Family Connection", visit the following website: www.connection.naviance.com/hopkinsschool

SAT Preparation
Names, Numbers and Emails for Tutors and Classes:

AT HOPKINS

Canny Cahn: Critical Reading SAT and Literature Subject Test: contact 203-407-0022 or ccahn@hopkins.edu

Brad Czepiel: Critical Reading SAT and Literature Subject Test. Contact: 203-407-1234 or bczepiel@hopkins.edu

Donna Fasano: Math and Critical Reading SAT tutoring: Contact: 203-248-3450 or dfasano@hopkins.edu

Josh Gleason: SAT tutoring plus Spanish Subject Test: contact 404-307-1966 or jgleason@hopkins.edu

Renee Harlow: Critical Reading SAT and Literature Subject Test. Contact: 203-772-3442 or rharlow@hopkins.edu

Ben Taylor: Physics Subject Test. Contact: 203-481-8306 or btaylor@hopkins.edu


AREA TUTORS

Sally Woolston; Full-time tutor – Math and Verbal areas; Hopkins parent, in Guilford: (203) 458-1788

Bill Allen (Hamden, New Haven area); Verbal SAT and the Literature Subject Test; (860) 843-2674

Brian Marohnic, High End Test Prep, lives in Middlebury, VT but does local test prep; can do group sessions: (802) 233-7732

Mark Anestis et all, The Learning Edge:  Hamden and Westport locations, thelearningedge.net, (203) 230-2741

Elina Shindelman, Esq., Shine Academics, LLC: North Haven, www.shineacademics.com, (203) 293-8070

Ilya Gofman (New Haven based but can travel); Math, Verbal, Writing SAT and ACT. Yale graduate.  (860) 751-2284


SAT PREP PROGRAMS

College Planning Partnerships (Clinton-Madison-Essex areas) Sam Rosensohn; 248 E. Main St., Clinton, CT 06413; 860-664-9857. Phone: 860-664-9873; email: College.planning@sbcglobal.net

Carnegie/Pollack (Fairfield County areas) Lynn Carnegie, 130 Old Stone Bridge Rd., Cos Cob, CT 06807. Phone: 203-352-3500; Bud Pollack: 15 Hillandale Manor, Norwalk, CT 06857

First Choice College Placement 50 Cherry St., Suite L, Milford, CT, 06460. Phone: (203)-878-7998. Email address: admitme@firstchoicecollege.com.

Princeton Review Phone: 203-226-2662, in Westport

ISA - Institute for Scholastic Achievement www.isasatprep.com/home.htm; in Fairfield County

Ivy Insiders www.ivyinsiders.com; on campus, group and private tutoring
For more info, Greg Reiner, 203-494-8892.

The Learning Consultants Group www.learningconsultantsgroup.com; 860.510.0410.  Preparation for all standardized tests and study skills.  Call Hopkins alum Gabriel Sessions - 203.215.5480.

There are other individuals and companies, but these are the main ones in our area, and the individuals most closely associated with Hopkins. If you come across any others whom you feel we should include, please let us know.

When it comes to applying for financial aid, the first rule to remember is: Time is money. The earlier you apply, the better your chances of receiving the most aid from the most sources.

FAFSA Tips: Now is the Time to Apply
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary form you will need in order to apply for federal financial aid, including grants, work-study, and loans. The FAFSA is not as complicated as it may appear, and there are many free resources -- online and offline -- to help you and your parents navigate the application process.

• Prepare tax returns as soon as possible -- income and asset figures from your tax returns are needed to complete the FAFSA.
• Complete the FAFSA online at FAFSA on the Web. Applying online speeds the processing of your application. FAFSA on the Web will also validate your answers, so there is less chance of entering incomplete or contradictory information.
• Apply now. The FAFSA can be submitted any time after January 1.

How to Tackle the PROFILE
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® is the financial aid application service of the College Board. Many colleges use information collected on the PROFILE to award nonfederal aid, such as institutional grants. If a college to which you are applying requires PROFILE, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

About the PSAT, SAT I, SAT Subject Tests, AP, and ACT Tests

Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT)
SAT I: Reasoning Tests (SAT I)
SAT Subject Tests
Advanced Placement Tests (AP)
American College Tests (ACT)

With so many different high schools and school grading systems, colleges have a difficult time comparing one student’s level of work in one school with the work of another student in a different school. Having students of similar educational levels take the same kinds of tests helps to provide a national standard of comparison about which colleges can make judgments on a broader basis than just between students in a local setting.

Students and families, therefore, should regard testing as an opportunity for the student to demonstrate his or her abilities. No two students have exactly the same combination of interests and strengths, so planning needs to be done carefully when choosing which tests to take and when. Beyond that statement, there is no easy or universal recommendation regarding standardized testing for college, except to say that higher scores are better than lower scores, and more good scores on different kinds of tests are better than fewer good scores on fewer kinds of tests.

Hopkins students submit routinely to colleges each year such standardized test results as the SAT I, SAT Subject Tests, and Advanced Placement tests. Increasingly over the past few years, students have also decided to take the ACT, a Mid-West-based but nationally recognized competitor of the SAT.

The PSAT is the Preliminary SAT Test; it is a two-hour-and-ten minute practice test for the SAT Reasoing Test. It is a test whose score, after the junior year administration only, is used by the National Merit organization to determine Commended, Semi-Finalist and Finalist standings for recognition or even scholarships of up to about $2500. The PSAT is administered in October of the sophomore year, to give our students a “real test” experience with the PSAT, and then, again, in the junior year as the official PSAT.

The SAT Reasoning Test is a three-hour and forty-five-minute test of verbal and mathematical reasoning skills learned over time. The SAT Subject Test is a subject-specific test of one-hour in length which measures how much a student has learned in a particular subject (Latin, US History, English).

Students who graduate from Hopkins will have taken the SAT Reasoning Test and most likely at least two or three Subject Tests. Most students take the SAT Reasoning Test twice, and, in a few instances, three times.

The SAT Reasoning Tests and Subject tests are given on the same dates, at the same time and place, in every instance but March, when only the SAT Reasoning Test is administered. The SAT and Subject Tests are offered in May, June, October, November, December and January.

Special arrangements can be made with ETS to take an SAT on Sunday if religious observances make a Saturday administration unworkable. The student would need to submit a letter from the appropriate cleric and a completed SAT registration form by the deadline for that test. Other questions regarding “non-standard” testing issues can be raised with the College Counseling Office.

When to Take Which Exams

Hopkins' advice regarding the SAT Reasoning Test:
Hopkins policy has long been that students take the SAT Reasoning Test in May of the junior year. Some students opt to take it as early as January or March. The test is timed for the spring of junior year, and there is ample opportunity to retake the test in the fall of senior year when the added schooling, maturation, and test-taking experience a student has will help. Our experience has taught us that the two PSATs, and the later options for taking the SAT in the senior year, offer ample opportunity to be prepared to take the SATs, and at a time when students can expect to do better because they are in a position to have simply learned more. The older a student, and the more education the student has, the better the SAT score should be.

Hopkins' advice regarding SAT II Subject Tests:
Students usually will have taken at least two or three SAT Subject Tests by the time they finish applying to colleges, with the first Subject Tests coming in June of their junior year. Please note that for some students, a more appropriate plan is to take fewer than two or three Subject Tests, which may be perfectly appropriate, while for many others, taking four or five, or even more Subject Tests is the right course.

There is no one right way to college; there is only the best and most appropriate way to college for each student.

Students take Subject Tests when they are most prepared in a particular subject, usually at the end of a course, in June, when studying for the final exam also offers students excellent preparation (e.g. US History), or in the fall of the senior year when a student has gained as much experience with a subject (e.g. Literature) as possible. The subjects tested include two levels of mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, history and English Literature (the old Writing SAT Subject Test has recently been “rolled” into the SAT Reasoning Test, so there is no more Writing Subject Test). For a complete description, you can go on line to www.collegeboard.com/parent, click on SAT Information and then click on Subject Tests in the left-hand column.

Although quite rare, some students may be ready to take a Subject Test as early as ninth grade. Usually, at Hopkins, the first Subject Test that students are ready to take is Chemistry at the end of the 10th grade (with many students finishing Chemistry 110 that year). Students are not usually prepared enough in other subjects that early in their career to start taking Subject Tests. On the June test date, after the junior year at Hopkins, students might well be ready to take US History, Physics, Latin (we find best taken after Latin III), and Math. The sequence of testing would be worked out between college counselor and student.

A “typical” (using that word advisedly) pattern of SAT I and Subject Tests for a Hopkins student might look like the following:

A “Typical” Pattern of SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject Tests for a Student at Hopkins

SOPHOMORE YEAR
JUNE: Subject Test in Chemistry

JUNIOR YEAR
MAY: SAT I
JUNE: Subject Test in Physics, US History (having finished US History, Physics), and Math 1C (having just finished Math 5 or Math 15), or Math 2C (having just finished Math25, or higher).

SENIOR YEAR
OCTOBER: SAT I
NOVEMBER: Math, either 1C or 2C, if not taken earlier, or move up to 2C, if warranted, or retake the math test of last June, if appropriate. Foreign Language Listening version, if the student has a good familiarity, even fluency, with the language.
DECEMBER: Foreign Language (if the student is in a third year accelerated, fourth year, or fifth year foreign language; we find that usually the more years of foreign language study, the better the score).

You will note that this Hopkins student, as described above, has had the opportunity to take several different Subject Tests, well more than the more common three or so, and has taken the SAT Reasoning Test two times.

Note that the student had the chance to re-take Math (as well as other subjects in the fall); generally, as with the SAT Reasoning Test, colleges will pay more attention to your higher score in situations where you have taken a test more than one time. Also, the student could have chosen to hold off on Math until the fall if he/she was finishing up Physics and US History the previous June, making June the best time to take those tests.

This student could have opted for a third SAT in December had he or she wanted that test more than the Subject Test in foreign language, or the student could have been done with standardized testing altogether after November, or the student could have taken the SAT Reasoning Test in November and the SAT Subject tests in October.

As you see, there are many, many combinations of timing and testing from which students must choose; that’s where we come in as college counselors. Each student will presents a particular blend of interests, strengths and feelings. It does take some thought and experience to get the testing arrangement that makes the most sense for you.

Literature

      Usually taken in the fall of senior year by students who are interested literature and have done well (generally B+ and better); recommended is waiting until fall in order to benefit from the most exposure possible to literature, but strong literature students (A-/A average students) may wish to take this test in June of junior year.

U.S. History

      Taken at the conclusion of year-long U. S. History course, regular or AP. Interest in history and grades of B+/A- or better is recommended.

Math IC

      Usually taken at the conclusion of Math 5 (Trigonometry and Functions), but may also be taken after or during Math 15 (Precalculus). Math IC may also be taken during the semester of Math 6, Finite Math.

Math IIC

      Usually taken after Precalculus Accelerated or during a student’s course in calculus.

Chemistry

      Taken after year-long Chemistry 110 course. Grade of B+ or better is recommended. Students coming out of Chemistry 100 are not recommended to take this test.

Physics

      Taken after full year Physics 110 course. Grade of B+ or better is recommended, and students coming out of Physics 100 are not recommended to take this test.

Foreign Language (Reading) French, Spanish, Latin, Italian*, German*, Modern Hebrew*

      A strong academic background, such as completion of at least a third-year accelerated course, or more, is recommended. Our experience in the College Office is that the more years of study in a foreign language, the better the scores.

Foreign Language (Listening) French, Spanish, German*, Chinese*, Japanese*, Korean*, Eng. Language Proficiency* (for foreign citizens)

      A strong background in the spoken language is needed for these tests, such as a background in which the student has perhaps lived with native speakers or been immersed in an Spanish intensive conversational setting.


*not usually taken by Hopkins students

How to Notify Colleges of SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject Test Scores

Score Reports:
All SAT scores are recorded on forms called Score Reports in Princeton, New Jersey at ETS (Educational Testing Service), which develops, administers and scores the SAT tests for the College Board. For each student tested, three Score Reports are generated: one for the student, one for the high school and one for colleges.

SAT Reasoing Test Scores:
For the Class of 2009, ALL SAT Reasoing Tests taken during a student’s high school years, are recorded on the Score Reports for students, schools and colleges. While most colleges use the highest Verbal and the highest Math SAT Reasoning Test for their consideration of applicants, students cannot decide which SAT results to send to colleges; they all appear on all three Score Reports.  The SAT Writing score, used by some, but not all colleges, will also be reported on each Score Report.

For the Class of 2010 and beyond:  Students will be able to CHOOSE which SAT Reasoing Test to send to each college.    Scores from an entire SAT test will be sent—scores of individual sections from different sittings cannot be selected independently for sending.  For example, if a student scored higher on the math section in May, but had an overall higher score in October, it would still be in the student's best interest to send both reports to each college.  If a student does better on all sections at one testing date, then the student can choose to send only that report.  It will not cost more to send one, multiple or all test scores.  College Board hopes that this will help "lessen the anxiety associated with testing, and allow student to put their best foot forward on test day.

SAT Subject Tests:
For the Class of 2009, ALL Subject Test scores will appear on the Score Reports, including the Official Score Report which goes to colleges.  In unusual situations, a student may decide, within three working days of the SAT Reasoning or Subject Test to cancel the test, altogether. In such a case, the entire test, not just any portion of the test, will be cancelled. (See the Downloads section of this College Counseling web site for the SAT Services listing, which includes a section on canceling scores).

For the Class of 2010 and beyond, students may CHOOSE which individual SAT Subject Tests they want to send to each college.  As with the SAT Reasoning Test, it will not cost more to send one, multiple or all test results to colleges.

Sending Scores:
When a student’s testing is complete, or at an earlier time if necessary due to an early application deadline, the student must request that the College Board send his or her scores on an Official Score Report to the appropriate colleges. To do so, the easiest way for students to send their scores is to go on line at CollegeBoard.com/?student; the student just needs to click on Send Scores and follow the directions from there. A student may also choose to mail in a form which is enclosed in the SAT Registration booklet, or may call the toll number for ETS (listed in the Important Numbers side-bar at the top of this page.)

The ACT is an Iowa-based alternative test to the SAT. The ACT is considered to be more like a Subject Test than the SAT Reasoing Test (more content-based than “reasoning,” or “aptitude” based). The ACT has four sections of 45 minutes duration each, plus there is an optional writing section, which is almost always recommended. Some colleges even accept the ACT with Writing in lieu of SAT Subject Tests. The four required sections of the ACT are English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science.

Recently, the ACT has gained popularity in the Eastern region and is now accepted universally as a substitute for the SAT by colleges. Students do not take the ACT as regularly as the SAT, though we are increasingly using the ACT at Hopkins. Some ACT-takers hope their scores will be significantly different than their SAT results. However, in the past 20 years we have seen very little evidence to demonstrate that a student who has done poorly on the SAT will do much, if any better on the ACT.

Test takers should also note one important strategy difference between the SAT vs. the ACT: it is best to guess on the ACT, rather than to leave any answers blank. The scoring of the test is such that points are not deducted on the ACT for incorrect answers. Students considering taking this test should explore practice questions (available online and in various resource books) prior to registration.