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ILUMIN Blog

Helpful tips about college admissions, test preparation and just being a better student, leader and person from ILUMIN Education.

Filtering by Category: Testing and Test Prep

Webinar Transcript: 2023 Admissions Trends: What’s Changed?

Elton Lin

We're tackling a pretty interesting topic tonight – because now that summer's here (happy June!) we're going to look back at this past 2022-2023 admissions cycle, and talk through some of the trends we've been seeing in college admissions.

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Is Standardized Testing Back?

Elton Lin

Was “test-optional” just a COVID anomaly?

The idea of ditching “standardized” testing isn’t new. Test-optional policies have been around long before COVID-19. All that the pandemic did was push many schools to put it into practice – a live “test run,” if you will.

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Webinar Transcript: Live Q&A with Cuca Acosta, UCSB Associate Director of Admissions

Elton Lin

Welcome to everybody who's joining us on our webinar series. Before we get started, go on to the chat, and we always like hearing where people are calling in from. For our webinar series we've had people from like all over the United States, all over the world, all over everywhere!

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The new, digital SAT

Elton Lin

Over the last several years, the SAT has undergone some phenomenal changes. For parents who took the test themselves to get into college, and are now hoping to help their children do the same… unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. This guide will catch you up to where the SAT is in 2022.

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What 9th Grade Students Should Do to Start the Year off Strong

Elton Lin

Ninth graders’ first steps in their four-year plan should revolve around exploring their interests. Which class subjects capture their attention? Which club or extracurricular gets them excited? Figuring out these interests will be essential in guiding your ninth grade student through their college-focused high school career.

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What 10th Grade Students Should Do to Start the Year off Strong

Elton Lin

Welcome to the tenth grade! After this past year of largely remote learning, going back to school this fall semester may feel like you’re adjusting to high school again for the first time. Here’s some advice on steps to take as you adjust to your tenth grade experience.

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What 11th Grade Students Should Do to Start the Year off Strong

Elton Lin

Congrats! You are already halfway done with high school, and college applications are looming over the horizon. While there’s still distance between you and your senior year, there’s much that 11th graders should do now to set themselves up for strong admissions results in their senior year.

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Is "Test Optional" Really Test Optional?

Elton Lin

It’s been over a year since the University of California veered towards eliminating all test requirements by 2025. Colleges across the nation, and most notably the Ivy League, declared that college applications would be test-optional this year. Some colleges have maintained that their test-optional policies are temporary, while others, such as Scripps, have declared their applications test-optional permanently. They

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Webinar Transcript: Navigating The Changing Standardized Testing Landscape

Elton Lin

This webinar occurred on February 27, 2021 and featured Anthony Su, Katie Young, and Dayna Meyer. Some of the school policies and changes mentioned in the webinar may have been updated by the time you are reading this article.

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The Act’s New Normal: The Cbt (Computer-Based Test)

Elton Lin

With the goal of always improving the test-taking experience – and making students’ scores more reflective of how they’ll really perform in college, rather than how they were feeling on one particular day -- ACT (the nonprofit that administers the test) offers several options for students to improve their test-taking experience and scoring.

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