A SPECIAL REPORT
Joe Ruvido, a senior at Weymouth High School, agreed to allow The Patriot Ledger to follow him through his final year. This is his story, to be updated periodically throughout the school year.
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A SPECIAL REPORT |
Joe Ruvido, a senior at Weymouth High School, agreed to allow The Patriot Ledger to follow him through his final year. This is his story, to be updated periodically throughout the school year. |
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Oct. 17, 2005 By MARK FONTECCHIO Everything went smoother this time when Joe Ruvido sat down to take the SAT test. His calculator was working and he had his identification with him last Saturday, both of which weren’t true when he took the test in June. And this time he went to bed at a decent hour – at about 10 p.m – the night before. This time, too, he arrived for the test before it was under way.
“I took it in the spring,” he said. “That was a disaster. I walked in, and the writing essay was starting.” When he took the test in the spring, he scored about average for the schools to which he’ll probably apply, schools that include the University of Connecticut, Providence College, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. This time he wanted to send a better impression. “Maybe if I score a little bit higher, it will help me get into the schools a little bit easier,” he said. Though it was hard to tell, Ruvido was nervous a week ago Saturday as he settled in to take the test, but he said being on the cross country team helped because he has to deal with pressure there as well. “I kind of calmed my nerves,” he said. “I mean, I was really nervous.” Still, now that it’s done, Ruvido has some perspective and isn’t sweating it until later this month, when he finds out how he scored.
“What I get is what I get,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to deal with it.” The SATs, short for Scholastic Assessment Test, is an exam most college-bound juniors and seniors take. It has three sections – writing, critical reading, and mathematics – worth 800 points each. The highest score is 2400. Ruvido is one of 2 million people who will pay $41.50 to take the test this year, according to The College Board, which administers it. There are other tests as well, such as the ACT and Advanced Placement exams, but the SAT is the most widely used. “The SAT has always been a relevant entrance exam,” said Kay Dietrich, an educational manager in the New England office of the College Board. “It helps to predict how a student will do at a particular college.” Most of those in the know – college admissions officers, high school guidance counselors, tutors – say the SAT is still important, but they think it may be less important than it was 10 or 15 years ago. “When I started 22 years ago, people pretty much got a review book and went in and took the SAT,’’ said Lisa Jacobson, president of Newton tutoring company Inspirica. “If you got good scores and you got good grades you would have a chance at a quote, ‘good school.’”
Jacobson said school grades and the SAT are what college admissions offices examine first. What takes an application over the top are the extras: class rank, quality of courses, extracurricular activities, or a killer admissions essay. Richard Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, said colleges seem to be relying less on the SAT as a major factor. The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, a member of the association, just dropped its SAT requirement this year. Other colleges in the state where SAT scores are optional include Mount Ida and Wheaton. “We’ve seen a few colleges each year dropping SATs as a requirement, and I think that those that still ask for SATs are placing a little less weight on them in the admissions process,” Doherty said. Still, Weymouth High School guidance counselor Bonnie Miller said students fret over the exam. She attended a college admissions workshop in Orlando, Fla. this summer. Most there said colleges look first at the quality and difficulty of courses taken in high school. They always mention the SAT as a factor, however, and some students cling to that because it represents a quantifiable measurement, a number. “On the whole, it’s still there, it’s still part of the criteria, and they’re worried about it because it’s a measure of who they are,” Miller said. “We definitely weigh the SATs,” said Lee Melvin, admissions director at the University of Connecticut. “It is probably one of the higher factors in the application but not the primary one.” So on Oct. 8, schools were filled with sweaty palms. With college applications due in the next few months, this could be seniors last chance to score big. Ruvido knew it. In June he scored in the low 1700s. “I don’t know. I felt like it went better than last time,” he said after the test. Ruvido arrived at Weymouth High School around 7:45 a.m., eating a banana and readying himself for a three-hour exam in a cramped classroom. Students congregated in the lobby, clumped together like soldiers preparing for battle. They sipped coffee and chatted of how tired they were, how nervous. Their eyes took turns scanning a wall that listed room assignments; Ruvido was in 103. Then the word came from a teacher that it was time. So they scattered. Amanda Corbett, a high school foreign language teacher, greeted students as they arrived and pointed them to their seats. They settled in and unloaded their arsenals: snacks, drinks, No. 2 pencils, calculators. One student sat on his desk and swung his legs like pendulums. Another chewed her fingernails. By 8:15, Corbett started reading directions. By 8:30, the pencils were scribbling. “You know, it’s long,” Ruvido said afterward. “You’re in there for a long time. The rules are very strict. Every time you came back from breaks she had to check your ID again.” Ruvido will find out his score later this month on the Web or by phone. The College Board will mail them to him in early November. “This time around I was much more prepared mentally,” he said. “Hopefully I improved.” Mark Fontecchio may be reached at mfontecchio@ledger.com.
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June 16, 2006: Saying goodbye 
