College

Admissions
Newsletter

2015 October SAT

What you can expect...

Whats Inside

College News
Six Reasons To Take AP Classes
3 Biggest Lies in College Admissions
SAT Analysis
The 2015 October SAT format?
The three year trend
Reading Sections analyzed
What are levels on the SAT?
Score comparison charts
What is needed to score above
2200 on the SAT
Mega Prep guarantees 2200 on SAT
Get Free Assessments

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015

2015 Oct. SAT I will reflect

the changes in 2016 New SAT I
Distinctive Features

Science passages may

be paired with questions
focused on hypotheses,
experimentation, and
data.
Literature passages may
be paired with questions
focused on theme, mood,
and characterization.
SAT words: the SAT
will focus on words that
derive their meaning from
the contexts in which they
are used.

Evidence Based Reading

Evidence reading: Students will need to find the

evidence in a passage that
best supports the answer to
a previous question or that
serves as the basis for a
reasonable conclusion.
The analysis of an argument: Students will need
to identify the way authors
use evidence to support
their claims.
The analysis of quantitative information: Students
will need to examine
informational graphics
and relate the information
conveyed by them to the
information and ideas conveyed through words.
Read more on page 3
Source: collegeboard.com

Issue 1: May 2015

College
Admissions

6 Reasons

3 Biggest Lies

why you should take AP Classes

Source: Forbes Magazine 2013

Impress College Admissions

Counselors

Taking AP Courses shows your dedication

and seriousness.

SAT and ACT scores are

less and less important

There is a level playing

field in college admissions

2
3

Develop College-Level
Academic Skills

Colleges are actually relying increasingly more on

SAT and ACT scores.

Colleges want a
well-rounded class, not a
well-rounded student.

The number of people applying to colleges is soaring, with more 18 year olds
graduating high school.

More students from foreign

countries are applying to
US colleges.

Colleges want some real

scholars for every department, some superb athletes,
great musicians and actors,
and some legacy to keep
alumni happy.

Do I have a better chance

of getting in via early
decision than through the
regular admission pool?
It improves your chances,
but slots are reserved for
students the school really
wants (athletes, legacy,
etc).

DO NOT apply early decision to a reach school.

4
5
6

High AP Scores show that you can handle

college level courses.

Save Money

If you take enough AP classes and pass

the AP exam, you can potentially graduate
from college a semester or even a year
early, resulting in saving tens of thousands of dollars. Some private colleges,
however, do not give credit for AP.

Choose a Major Sooner

Each course provides an in-depth introduction to a specific subject area.

A high score on the exam often fulfills
one of a colleges general education
requirements.

Take More Elective Classes in

College

Elective classes- classes that are not

required for graduation. General education requirements and major requirements
leave little room for fun and exploratory
classes. If you want to take the interesting
class on glass blowing, AP credits will
allow you to fit it in your schedule.

People now apply to multiple colleges at once.

There is little increase in

the size of admission staff.

Colleges use SAT and ACT

scores as a fast, easy cut of
the applicant pool.

Asking for financial aid

wont have an impact on
the admission decision

Colleges are no longer

need blind.

If there is a choice between

two virtually-identical
applicants but one needs
financial aid and the other
does not, the admission is
going to the one who can
pay full tuition.

Today, families must meet

a certain income level before a no-loan financial aid
package is offered.

Add a Minor or Second

Major Easily
Testing out of certain classes via the AP
exam will allow you to add more classes
that will result in graduating with possibly
two majors.
Source: Forbes Magazine 2013

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015

Page: 2

SAT

Analysis

2015 October SAT 1

What will it be like?
The past three year trends provide the foresight
of the 2015 October SAT.

Three Year Trend of SAT Reading Sections

Understanding the Table and the Trend

Raw Score

Maximum Score

Number of questions

The Raw score is

an unconverted
score based on the
total number of
correct answers
minus the number
of incorrect answers and penalties.

The Maximum
Score is achieved
if all the questions
up to that level are
answered correctly
and if all the questions above that
level are answered
incorrectly.

Total Reading = 67
Total Vocabulary = 19
Total Passage Based = 48

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015

Understanding the levels

SAT questions
are divided
into 5 levels,
ranging from
level 1 (the
easiest) to
level 5 (the
hardest). The
top tables
show possible
reading scores
for each level.
For example,

if you answer
all the questions from
level 1 to 4
correctly but
miss all the
level 5 questions on 2014
October test,
your reading
score is 650.

Page: 3

What does the trend mean?

Overall Trend

Reading Trend

The Proportion

1. Reading passage questions are getting harder, whereas the vocabulary

questions are getting easier.
2. Math questions are getting easier.
3. Writing questions remain the same.

The percentage of level 5

reading questions is increasing, whereas the percentage of
math and vocabulary questions is becoming smaller.

The proportion of reading level 5 questions has increased

every year: 33% in 2012, 43%
in 2013, and 60% in 2014.
This trend shows that getting
a high score on the SAT depends on the students reading
skills. High-level reading
questions test students not
on their skills on identifying
information and ideas but on
their analyses of rhetoric and
synthesis.

The trend in the number of level 5 questions.

By Number

2012 O
October
2012
2012 October
ctober
27%
27%
27%

33%
33%
33%

By Percentage
40%
40%
40%

Reading
Reading
Reading
Math
Math
Math
Wri4ng
Wri4ng
Wri4ng

2013 O
October
2013
2013 October
ctober
43%
29%
29%
29%

Why is level 5 Important?

If you answer all the level
5 questions incorrectly,
the maximum scores you
can get are:
The scores are based on
the essay score of 10 out
of 12.
Top colleges prefer a reading score of 760 or above.

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015

28%
28%
28%

43%
43%
Reading
Reading
Reading
Math
Math
Math
Wri4ng
Wri4ng
Wri4ng

2014 O
October
2014
2014 October
ctober
27%
27%
27%
13%
13%
13%

60%
60%
60%

Reading
Reading
Reading
Math
Math
Math
Wri4ng
Wri4ng
Wri4ng

Page: 4

MEGA PREP
Guarantee
How we can guarantee:

The Result
2014 Notable Improvements
Just by finishing
the advanced
classes, 90% of
our students
get over 2200
on SAT or 33
on ACT, with
average increase
of 375 (SAT) and
5 (ACT).

2015 Notable Improvements

Guarantee

Get into our

advanced classes,
and you are guaranteed to score at
least 2200 on SAT
or 33 on ACT. If
you do not get
above 2200 or 33,
we will teach you
at no charge until
you do.

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015

Page: 5

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Copyright 2015 HCSI, Inc., MEGA PREP, Students Education Media (SEM). All rights reserved. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was
not involved in the production of and does not endorse this product. ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Forbes or Fobes MAgazine is a registered trademark of Forbes, Inc., which was not involved in the production of and does not endorse this product. PSAT/NMSQT is a trademark jointly owned by the College
Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which were not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. None of the trademark
holders are affiliated with HCSI, Inc, Mega Prep, or SEM or their websites.

SEM (Students Education Media) 2015