Planning for College
College Entrance Testing
Seniors who are planning to attend a 4-year college/university as a freshman must take either the SAT or the ACT in order to be admitted. The SAT is divided into 3 sections which include math, critical reading, and writing. The ACT includes English, reading, math, science and an optional writing component that is required by some colleges. Although the SAT/ACT is not required for entrance to a junior colleges or technical schools, we encourage students to take one or both of these tests because many scholarships require the student’s SAT or ACT score. Our largest local scholarship contributor, the Hill Country Community Foundation, gives each senior a scholarship if they enroll in college or technical school and simply apply for the scholarship. Students who have taken the SAT or ACT receive a higher scholarship amount than those who have not taken one of these entrance tests. We encourage students to take their first SAT or ACT during the spring of the junior year. This enables students to have time to retake the test/s during the fall of the senior year if they wish to do so, and still have time to get college applications submitted on time. Students can register online at www.collegeboard.com or www.act.org.
Other College Testing
Although the THEA is not required for admission to college, it is required before a student can enroll in a college class. This test is offered on most college campuses. Students can register online at www.thea.nesinc.com. The cost this year for the THEA is $29.00. Most colleges will exempt students from having to take the THEA if they have scored a 2200 on the ELA portion of the TAKS with a 3 on the essay, and a 2200 on the math section of the TAKS. Students should check with the individual colleges to be certain of exemption policies. For students who are planning to enroll at Central Texas College, the ASSET is a test that can be substituted for the THEA. The cost of the ASSET is $20.00. Students can go to www.ctcd.com for more information on the ASSET.
Test Prep Resources
Two new free resources are available to Texas students. One is TOPCAT – Texas Online Preparation for College Admissions Tests. Developed with joint funding from TEA and THECB, the program feaures test preparation for the ACT, SAT and GRE. The website is http://testprep.collegefortexans.com. The other standardized test prep resource is from the Army and is called March 2 Success. The website is www.march2success.com