ACT, SAT & GRE – How I Never Had to Take Them and How to Potentially Avoid Them

The ACT and SAT are two widely accepted test many pre-college students take to assess their competence in math, English (writing), reading and science. However, it is easily possible to graduate college without ever needing to take these exams–if your academic journey is similar to mine. Below are three summarized options I took as an undergraduate to avoid standardized testing, including the GRE for graduate school admission. Also the “End Summaries” in red provide an even briefer summarization.

Home Schooling

I was never accustomed to taking standardized test even as a home schooled student. The majority of my exams were essay-based or project-based to broadly assess what I learned. Every subject had learning outcomes and my essays and projects needed to hit each learning outcome in detail or I would not get full scores. My GPA throughout high school was between 3.8-4.0.

End Summary: Standardized test are not the only way to assess what students know.

Associates Degree

This was ultimately the key in avoiding the ACT and SAT. Many students are now being told an associates degree is worthless.  This is highly inaccurate if it is used in the correct way.  Foremost, many community colleges have open admission policies, meaning they will assess your skills via a placement test instead of relying on the ACT/SAT. That said, I applied to my local community college, did not need ACT/SAT scores, and was easily admitted without them. After obtaining my Associates Degree, I transferred from Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) to Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and immediately took classes for my program at half the price since my Associates Degree handled all general education via the MACRAO transfer agreement. My GPA throughout both colleges was 3.5-4.0, I was an honors student at GRCC, and in a national leadership honor society (ΟΔΚ) at GVSU.

End Summary: If you know you want to obtain your Associates Degree first, look into their admission policy. If it is an open admission policy you may not need to take the ACT/SAT, which saves you time and money. However, be cautious if you decide to transfer before obtaining your Associates Degree, because many colleges and universities will still require you to take the ACT/SAT if you transfer with a low amount of credit hours.

Graduate Institution’s Discretion in Utilizing the GRE

The GRE stands for Graduate Records Examination and assesses prospective graduate students on fundamentals (general education) they would have learned as an undergraduate student. How the GRE is used differs significantly. For instance, ‘university A’ may require a set score for admission in any graduate program, ‘university B’  may only take into account the Literature in English section while ‘university C’ does not requite it at all for their programs. My graduate institution only required it if your GPA was below a set standard.

End Summary: Do your research before taking the GRE, depending on the university requirements and their program, you may not need to take it–which saves you time and money.

*Note–this article was not meant to discredit the ACT, SAT or GRE. This article is simply a testament that they are neither required to academically assess a student nor required to reach graduate study.

Mario Adkins is a graduate student in Grand Valley State University’s College Student Affairs Leadership masters program. When not drawing or playing his favorite video games, he can be found on campus collecting, assessing and process data as Research  Analyst in Teacher Education for GVSU’s College of Education. Follow him on Twitter @zerolocked

The Ultimate Study Guide

There are millions of study guides out there covering many subjects. However, The Ultimate Study Guide below has you covered for all your courses in three main areas.  Let readers know which works best for you or if you would add anything else in the comments section below (no registration required). And two lucky comments will be chosen for study supplies valued at $20. [Sweepstakes ends 02/10/13]

 

Write/Type It Out!

The main goal of any study guide is to help you retain the information. However, just reading a study guide over and over is not always the best way to retain information. (Ever read an entire textbook chapter and learn nothing? Yeah.) Writing or typing key terms and information can help you remember much better because it’s an active, engaging process. That said, take a scrap  piece of paper or open up a word processing file and type, write, type, write in addition to reading over a study guide.

 

Note Comparisons

How does your notes stack up against the student sitting behind you? What if they found that definition you were looking for? And ironically you know how to answer the short answer question they’re struggling with. Knowledge is a puzzle, though you can easily put the pieces together if you work together. Try and compare notes and study guides with classmates whenever possible, that way you all win.

 

Review, Review, Review!

This is the biggest. Aim to actively read your notes and study guides at least once everyday (or more) for all subjects. It’s all about consistency. A nice way to test yourself is to look at a term/question/concept and if you cannot immediately answer/define it then type/write it out! Also, discussing grey areas with classmates or having them test you also can find focus points.

 

Mario Adkins is a senior at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). When not drawing or playing his favorite video games, he can be found on campus facilitating programs and events as both a resident assistant and vice president of membership for GVSU’s OΔK Circle–a national leadership honor society. Follow him on Twitter @zerolocked.

What’s Your Type? [Examination Explanation]

There are many types of majors available to college students, requiring different styles of learning and studying. Throughout these dividing factors there will always be a factor that links us all together; examinations. Reading textbooks, reviewing flashcards and studying notes are all in preparation for these tests. Exams are typically classified in one of four categories: true or false, multi-choice, short answer/define and essay/presentation. Many exam formats use a mix of the four, a single category or use them all! Let’s ‘examine’ all four types and pinpoint their pros and cons.

True or False

Answering the classic true or false questions can make a student feel like a gambler; especially if answering it correctly is really up to chance. You’re not only betting on a 50 percent chance of guessing it right, but your risking the actual point value of the question if you luck out! Another stake true or false questions present can be its very format by wording a true statement as false and a false statement as true. These wager-heavy questions truly test your knowledge, so studying the entire context of the subject is the key to hitting the jackpot.

Multi-choice

Multi-choice questions are a common test format, giving visual answer options with the presented questions. The key to mastering multi-choice exams is simple mathematics. Though I have seen up to seven multi-choice options for a question in my college experiences, let’s focus on four. You have four options; subtract two by process of elimination. Divide the remaining answers into separate options before adding that recollection of knowledge from studying. Do this times the number of remaining answers and you’re all set, no calculator required! And remember, “all of the above” is not always the quick, right answer, trust me.

 Short Answer / Define 

Short answer and define sections let students give creative answers, giving many professors and instructors the opportunity to gauge in-depth understanding of the course work. For short answer sections keep it short and to the point. The best way to prepare for these sections is to memorize key points and build off them to create a coherent answer. This same rule applies to defining a word, phrase or event. If this is done in the classroom on paper, incorrectly spelled words will not be underlined in red for you so practice spelling, especially for those highly-technical terms.

Essay / Presentation

Essays written on your own time are typically graded more rigorously because professors and instructors expect that you used that time out of class to write a high-quality paper. Make sure to do research on recommended sites, because the sight of a non-cited essay that required it is not good at all. And easy enough, presentations that involving speaking to the class can be aced if practiced with family and friends for feedback. Here’s a reversing trick for mastering the two: For essays, reading them out loud helps find errors while reading a speech to yourself helps to memorize it; that way you can focus more on your audience and less on reading from a paper.

Every semester I have a mix of these exam options, and find that they all work well if studied right. With all that said, what’s your favorite type of exam and why?

Mario Adkins is a senior at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). When not drawing or playing his favorite video games, he can be found on campus facilitating programs and events as both a resident assistant and vice president of membership for GVSU’s OΔK Circle–a national leadership honor society. Follow him on Twitter @zerolocked.