Dear customer,

Welcome to the November edition of ICON+’s University Access Newsletter. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you inquired about our test prep and/or admissions consulting services.

For many university programs, Early Decision admissions deadlines have past. This month, we refocus your energies to excel in Regular Decision applications and provide you some useful tips.

Early Decision and Early Action deadlines have for the most part come and gone!

Give yourself a pat on the back, and BREATHE. 1… 2… 3…

Now it’s time to get back on the horse and fight your way to the next deadlines! That’s right, you’re not done yet: Regular Decision deadlines are just around the corner.

You might ask, “Aren’t Regular Decision applications just a repeat of Early Decision and Early Action applications?”

Absolutely not.

If you are like most applicants, you applied to your top choice programs Early Decision or Early Action. That doesn’t mean Regular Decision schools aren’t important. Presumably, you applied to more selective schools earlier on, so you must face Regular Decision applications keeping in mind that you might not get into your top programs. Come on – you know that waiting to tackle Regular Decision essays after you receive replies from your Early Decision and Early Action schools in late December is a bad idea. Yes, students, that’s a reality check coming right at you!

However, with some college admissions experience under your belt, every essay you write, every interview you give, and every activities list you submit should not only come easier, but should also be more refined. Simply put, your Regular Decision applications should be better.

Learn here how you can ensure that’s the case.

Throughout high school or Junior College, we are told that without a good SAT we will not be admitted into a worthwhile US university, meaning we will never get a decent job! This kind of scenario places a huge amount of pressure on SAT takers. It’s true that a good SAT score will help you on your path to higher education; however, it is not a predictor for your success in life. That’s why I’ve found some famous celebrities and their SAT scores to illustrate that the test is only one part of getting into college and does not determine your chances of success.

Please remember all scores mentioned below are based on a maximum of 1600.  These celebrities took the SAT when the writing section was a separate exam.

Courtney Cox: More commonly known as Monica from the famous US television show Friends.  She apparently attained 1150 on the SAT and went on the study architecture in college. Instead of completing college, she left to pursue a career in modeling and acting!

Read more celebrities' SAT scores.

The TOEFL exam tests your proficiency in English. However, there are several ways to take the test.  The TOEFL Internet Based Test (iBT) was introduced in late 2005 and has revolutionized the English proficiency exam. The Computer Based Test (CBT) was then discontinued in September 2006, consequently making all CBT test scores invalid. In 2011, the TOEFL iBT is the most popular version taken. However, many countries still offer the Paper Based Test (PBT) TOEFL. Interestingly, Singapore only offers the iBT.

Click here to explore the key differences between the iBT and the PBT.