In addition, standardized tests, including the ACT and the infamous SAT, loom over seniors like the bogeyman. Because many teens apply to an average of five to seven universities, the work multiplies. There is no doubt that admission officers are receiving more applications every year. A similar situation exists at Cornell University in New York, where seven students applied for every spot in its freshman class last year. However, students are also beginning to apply to schools more carefully as they use resources such as the Internet in researching to find schools that are right for them.
Students have an advantage if they are knowledgeable about the college to which they are applying.
To relieve some of their application anxiety, students are using a number of services, which promise to make the entire process more pleasant. Academic Coaching Services, a locally based company, offers help with applications, aid in essay-editing and standardized testing tutoring for seniors and juniors, usually over a period of several months to a year. Educational consultant and ACS president Clarence W. Coakley adds that the service also tries to help seniors with the basic academic skills that they will need throughout their college careers. And seniors aren't the only ones taking advantage of these and other programs. Some juniors use prep courses such as Ivy West and Kaplan to help improve their SAT and ACT scores, already beginning to fear the senior year approaching.