Mackler Associates

Paying for College

Jason Marks — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:41:49 +0000

U.S. News has a blog post about paying for college in the current economic climate. The advice they offer is one we have been giving for years: Maximize grades and test scores; apply early; do your homework.

With changes come opportunities. Students who wish to attend top schools can make the dream reality…if they put in the hard work. Take a rigorous class schedule. Get high grades. Ace the SAT and ACT. Apply for scholarships. Hitting the magic numbers in grades and test scores opens doors. Once schools find you an attractive candidate, they will roll out the merit aid — particularly if your application comes in early before the aid runs out!

An investment in the Mackler Advantage carries a lifetime return on investment. Students who work with us see anywhere from 2 to 10 times the return in scholarship money alone!

Easier to go to Cal?

Jason Marks — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:35:27 +0000

The Regents of the California colleges has changed its admissions procedures. No longer will they require two SAT Subject Tests for admission. And they have lowered the guaranteed percentage of top California graduates to 9%. And they have established a new review process to consider applicants whose numbers do not trigger automatic consideration.

While all these changes seem an attempt to create a more diverse class and evade some of the strictures of Prop 209 (affirmative action), it seems it will have a boon for out-of-state applicants by freeing up previously guaranteed spots at the top end. So…those who thought a California state college seemed too much of a pipedream have a better chance for admission starting in 2011.

Missouri Not Taking Advantage of AP

Jason Marks — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:39:39 +0000

The College Board has released its Report to the Nation on 2008 AP results. Nationally, 15.2% of students taking an AP test scored a 3 or higher. Maryland had the highest state percentage — 23.4%. Missouri had a rather dismal 6.5%, one of the lowest in the nation. Nationally, 25% of high school students took at least one AP exam; in Missouri, only 10.8% did so. The most popular subject areas in Missouri were Social Sciences (15.4% of all high school students) and English (12.2%), with math at 9.3%. With regard to results, 8.4% of Missouri students earned a 3 or higher on one of the Social Science AP exams, 7.1% did so in English and 5.6% did so in math. This means that between only 50% and 60% of students taking an AP exam in Missouri are earning at least a 3. Colleges usually require a 4 to earn transfer credit. The most popular AP exams in Missouri were English Literature, U.S. History, English Language, Government, Calculus and Psychology.

So…Missouri students do not take advantage of the AP exams and, when they do, fail to perform at a high enough level. One could draw many conclusions from this data about the quality of the courses offered, but that would be risky since we do not know the school-by-school breakdown and the percentage of students in each class taking the test compared with the grade they received.

But…we can conclude that Missouri students are wasting a great opportunity. The AP represents the chance to enter college with enough credits to start as a sophomore. In today’s economic climate, that is an unbelievable bargain. To earn that credit requires acing the AP exams, and that takes additional work and preparation. But look at the benefit…one year of college, which can range from $15,000 to $50,000!

We encourage students to take AP courses and seize the credits, and we help them maximize study time and work on year long preparation for the exam. If done properly, AP courses offer not only better educational opportunities for learning, but also the chance to save thousands of dollars in college tuition!

Happy New Year!

Jason Marks — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:24:38 +0000

We want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Watch for posts on the impact of the financial crisis on colleges — you might be surprised at some of the counterintuitive results we have found!