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Congratulations 2013
Honorees and Graduates!

Honor's Day Program & 2012 Graduates

High School and College

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World Outreach Style 2011 Graduation

CONGRATS-GRADS!

Thinking about Tests?

ACT or SAT: It all depends on you!

In spite of their differences, neither test is more likely than the other to produce a great score. In fact, when viewing a comparison of the ACT and SAT, the vast majority of students perform comparably on both tests.

You may not even need to think in terms of ACT vs. SAT. If the colleges you're interested in accept scores from either test, you may want to consider taking both admissions tests. Each one tests you in a different way, so you might opt to take both to see which one you perform better on.

However, if you're short on time and money and want to put your efforts towards test prep for only one of the tests, your best bet is to take a few practice exams. There are free and low-cost practice exams available electronically and in-print. If you are starting early and considering the tests as a sophomore, you may still have time to take the PLAN, which is similar to a practice ACT, or the PSAT, which is similar to a practice SAT.

If you're undecided about taking the ACT or SAT, you may feel more strongly about one or the other once you become familiar with the format of both. You can then evaluate your test performance before heading off for the real thing.

GRADUATE TESTS~

Miller Analogies Test (MAT)

The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) has been used by colleges and universties for more than 60 years as an integral component of the graduate admissions process. The MAT is a high-level mental ability test requiring the solution of problems stated as analogies. It consists of 100 partial analogies that are to be completed in 50 minutes.

The MAT contains analogies in each of nine content categories, including language usage, mathematics, physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, history, literature, philosophy, fine arts, and general information. The examinee is not required to be a specialist in any of the areas. An applicant to graduate school will typically have been exposed to most, if not all, of the information necessary to complete each analogy.

Each of the analogies included on the MAT falls into one of the 14 categories:

  • Similarity
  • Contrast
  • Prediction
  • Subordination
  • Coordination
  • Subordination
  • Coordination
  • Superordination
  • Completion
  • Part-whole
  • Whole-part
  • Equality
  • Negation
  • Sound relationships
  • Letter relationships
  • Or word relationships

This mix of relationship categories requires

examinees to explore all possible connections

between pairs of concepts.

What is the GRE?

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) consists of two separate tests: the General Test and the Subject Test in psychology. The General Test is composed of three parts--verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing. The verbal and the quantitative tests each yield a separate score between 200-800. Scores on the analytical writing test are reported in ½-point increments along a scale of 0 to 6. The Subject Test, required by only some programs, measures knowledge of psychological concepts that are essential to graduate study; it also yields a score of from 200-800. The book, Graduate Study in Psychology, will tell you whether schools require the GRE as well as the minimum scores they require for admission.

More than anything else, your admission to graduate school will depend on your scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE (not the Subject Test). It is essential that you do well--at least 550 on each test (600+ is even better)--to get into most doctoral programs. Master's programs are less competitive, so lower scores (450-500 on each of the tests) are less of a problem. You will probably have trouble being admitted into any program with scores less than 450 on one of the tests.

To ensure that you score as high as you can, it is essential to prepare for the GRE. Buy one of the review books and develop a systematic plan that will enable you to brush up on your skills in vocabulary, reading comprehension, analogies, algebra, and geometry.

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