One of the perks of getting a high SAT or ACT score is that you can avail of opportunities for entering a selective college or being a recipient of a substantial college financial aid. So how can you gain enough information about the most suitable colleges or scholarships?
Many high school students are asking the same question, and the College Board has an answer to this through their Student Search Service program. It’s totally for free and voluntary. By way of the Student Search Service, you and other willing students get to be connected to various information about colleges and opportunities for financial aid. Joining this Service, you can choose from over 1,900 colleges and universities, scholarships and educational programs that correspond to your academic and financial goals.
How do you participate in the College Board’s Student Search Service? You can signify that you want to take part in it when you take the SAT, NMSQT, PSAT and PSAT 10. If you opt into this service, you’re permitting the College Board to share your name along with other limited information to pertinent colleges and scholarships that are looking for students that fit their requirements.
You opt into the Student Search Service by responding to the student questionnaire upon taking the SAT. Otherwise, you may do the same when taking the NMSQT, PSAT or PSAT 10 on the answer sheets. If you are a good fit for the programs and communities of eligible colleges that partnered with the Student Search Service, these said institutions may get in touch with you. The questions often asked by these colleges and universities include your cumulative GPA, your expected graduation date and the college major of your choice. Colleges and universities tend to search for students via the attributes that they provide when they opted in for the Service. Exceptions to these are the parental income that you reported, disability, phone number, Social Security number as well as your test scores.
Steps On How To Join The Student Search Service
- When taking the SAT, NMSQT, PSAT or PSAT 10, you’ll come across a Student Search Service question found on the answer sheet. Reply with a “yes” to it.
- When you register for the SAT, opt into the said Service.
- Every time you take an assessment, opt into the same in order to include new data.
- Note that participation to the Student Search Service is voluntary and you can cancel your membership anytime.
The Benefits Of Participating In The Student Search Service
The main reason why you would want to participate to the Service is to be able to have access to information about the more or less 1,900 colleges and scholarship opportunities that you can avail of without solicitations from commercial entities. It will also enable you to benefit from the scholarships tendered by the College Board’s new partners.
Although you are likely to appreciate getting news from the colleges that you already know, it may be an advantage to hear from institutions that you are not familiar with. The Student Search Service provides a valuable way to gain information about the opportunities offered by different colleges together with their campus life, scholarship packages, and application processes.
Student Search Does Not Sell Your Information
The College Board implements a strict policy signifying that they do not sell information about their student participants to test prep companies, especially those that are not affiliated to them.
Consider the following precautions if you receive unsolicited calls from people who identify themselves as being connected to test prep companies.
- Don’t give your credit card number.
- No matter how much they persuade you, don’t commit to buying anything from the caller.
- Ask for the contact information of the company and the name of the caller. Get their callback number.
- If the company persists in calling you, again and again, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), your local consumer affairs office or Better Business Bureau.
Knowing how to use the College Board Student Search Service accordingly can significantly benefit you, particularly when it comes to widening your options for your college education and opportunities for valuable financial aids.