Students Need Different Fall Test Prep Plans for Early Action Schools
For students who have carefully weighed their options, have settled on their choice school(s), and have decided to apply before the regular admissions deadline, an early application submission, or an early action (EA) plan, is a sensible move.
Students get an advantage with an EA plan by applying to their preferred school(s) before the admissions deadline without any required commitment should they get accepted.
EA plans allow students to let their top schools know that they are highly interested in them, but also enable students the time to carefully choose which of those schools they most want to attend.
With an EA plan, there is nothing set in stone until a student chooses to act on their acceptance. So, EA applicants are able to receive an early response from their school(s) of choice (typically around January or February) and can either secure or reject their seat by the national reply date of May 1st.
Early Action vs. Early Decision
While EA plans are flexible, early decision (ED) plans are binding. Students are only permitted to apply to one college through ED, so it must be their first and best choice. They are allowed to submit applications to other schools following the regular admissions process and schedule; however, should a student apply to a school as an ED applicant, they are required to attend that school upon acceptance and must rescind their applications to any other schools.
Whether students are interested in applying through early action (EA), early decision (ED), or both, the timetable is usually similar.
Early Action and Early Decision Deadlines Create a Real Urgency
EA and ED plans can lead students toward the same conundrum - they need to create a strong application, but it needs to be prepared early in their senior year. The entire application process needs to be accelerated so that students have all of their supporting documents completed and ready to submit before EA and ED deadlines.
As a test-prep professional, you need to prep your clients for this expedited process anywhere from months to a year in advance. Ideally, students who are interested in EA or ED plans should start their preparations in the spring of their junior year.
Here’s what they need to get done in order to be ready for an EA or ED college submission:
1. A solid ACT® or SAT® score - Most students choose to take the ACT® or SAT® several times in an attempt to improve their scores. With this in mind, students must leave themselves enough time for several opportunities to take their exams.
It is also important for you to remind your clients how a strong ACT® or SAT® score can help them stand apart on their college application, even for “test-optional” schools.
For seniors this year, the last opportunities to take their exams in time for EA and ED applications are:
ACT®: September 11, 2021
SAT®: October 2, 2021
(For more upcoming ACT® and SAT® test dates, click here).
2. Letters of Recommendation - Typically, it can take about a month, or more, for a student to receive a completed letter of recommendation from a teacher/counselor/coach. Students who have chosen EA or ED plans are even more pressed for time than typical applicants. Therefore, it’s not a bad idea for students to start requesting and collecting their letters of recommendation at the end of their junior year. This allows them plenty of time to receive their letters well before their EA or ED deadline and also ensures that they are getting recommendations from people who have gotten to know them well over the course of a year and can attest to their academic achievements.
3. College Essay(s) - A powerful personal essay takes time and careful planning. EA and ED applicants should allow themselves a few months to draft, edit, and revise their essay(s) to be sure that they are submitting their best work. The best time for this is the end of junior year and/or over the summer break before senior year begins.
4. Complete Application and Submit! - Once September rolls around, students should be close to, if not finished, completing their application requirements. Getting to the last leg of the race by September provides students with the month of October to proofread all supporting documents, make any last minute changes, add any additional information, and be ready to submit their EA or ED applications by the November deadline.
This timeline may seem daunting and the test dates may seem exceptionally soon, but nevertheless, with good planning and a strong, personalized test-prep curriculum, it can be done!
Maximize Test-Prep Time and Choose the Right Content to Prioritize
Working with your prospective EA and ED clients, you should be able to create an attainable, individualized test-prep curriculum to help them reach their academic goals. The most important parts of any test-prep, but particularly plans for EA and ED students, are maximizing the time they have to prepare and focusing on the content that they need help with the most.
Here are a few tips to help test-prep professionals support their EA and ED clients:
Use the calendar to keep goals timely and on track. Students and tutors should have a shared calendar to plot out their study plan. Start with getting the target test dates on the calendar and then plan how much time should be dedicated to that student's test prep.
Study plans should be individualized and tailored to each student. They will vary in length depending largely on each student's academic goals and the amount of time they can realistically dedicate.
Work closely with your clients to plot out their study plan on the calendar to make the most out of your prep time.
Use practice tests to identify low-hanging fruit. Practice tests are an easy way for tutors to establish which concepts are the easiest for their clients. These concepts are most ripe for improvement and early tastes of success can help build momentum for the tougher concepts that follow. Practice tests will also help to quickly determine which concepts require the most amount of time and attention.
Focus on what content is showing up the most often on the most recent practice tests (ACT® and College Board publish these regularly). An additional benefit of using practice tests is giving students a chance to experience the content that commonly appears. Practice tests are usually a great indicator of the content that students will face on test day.
Teach concepts that can be practiced independently. Tutoring sessions are not the ideal time to have your students practice the concepts they’re working on - be it drilling practice problems or writing practice essays. Any skill or concept that students can practice unassisted should be done during their own time in between test-prep sessions.
Teaching your students from the start to practice independently and holding them accountable for that autonomous work is essential to making the most of their test-prep plan.
EA and ED plan deadlines can be a pressing matter for students, but when there is no time to lose, capitalizing on test-prep time and choosing the priorities carefully will help students set and maintain the focus they need to reach their college goals.
This fall, be sure to consult with your clients and identify their college application goals and deadlines. While we are coming down to the wire for students just looking to start the EA or ED process(es) now, a focused and tailored approach to test prep and college application support can help students have the best chance to get accepted to their dream schools.
Looking for a test-prep curriculum that allows you to offer this type of differentiated and personalized approach? Schedule a free demo and see how Clear Choice Prep’s 100% custom-branded test-prep materials can give your tutoring staff the tools they need to get students ready for test day and beyond.
