{"id":9158,"date":"2016-02-02T04:30:33","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T10:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/?p=9158"},"modified":"2016-01-31T18:58:36","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T00:58:36","slug":"college-prospects-shouldnt-wait-to-take-standardized-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/college-prospects-shouldnt-wait-to-take-standardized-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"College prospects shouldn’t wait to take standardized tests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prep<\/a>
High school athletes need a sound plan to build a great academic resume.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

National Scouting Report scouts run into this problem all across the country: junior and senior prospects who still haven’t taken the SAT or ACT.<\/p>\n

High school prospects are — plain and simple — given bad advice on this important topic. \u00a0Those telling prospects to wait until they are seniors to take these tests are no doubt well-meaning, but they are wrong when it comes to aspiring college student-athletes.<\/p>\n

For the general student body, waiting to take standardized tests makes sense. \u00a0Seldom is there a need to rush into it. But not for athletes planning to be recruited by college coaches.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

College coaches are evaluating prospects earlier than ever. Some are targeting eighth- and ninth-graders. But that’s the exception, frankly. \u00a0Only NCAA Division I schools are doing this. \u00a0Most other coaches, including all of Division II, Division III and NAIA, are satisfied to initially identify, scout and connect with prospects in their sophomore and junior years.<\/p>\n

Regardless, once a coach identifies a potential prospect as being a viable talent for his or her program, the next stage is to determine if the prospect will have qualifying grades and test scores via the NCAA Eligibility Center. \u00a0That process is called clearing the Eligibility Center.<\/p>\n

Next, a coach will want to determine if the prospect has grades and test scores\u00a0good enough to be admitted to their institution, which can have higher standards than the NCAA requires.<\/p>\n

Finally, if a prospect qualifies on those two counts, are his or her academic records strong enough for academic awards from the school?<\/p>\n

All of this takes time. \u00a0And time is not a luxury college coaches have in abundance. \u00a0Hence, coaches want to be able to make these determinations ASAP.<\/p>\n

To aid college coaches in this process, prospects should be prepared to readily offer their full academic qualifications. \u00a0This ideally should happen no later than the end of the sophomore year, but certainly not beyond mid-semester of prospects’ junior year in high school.<\/p>\n

Consequently, there is no advantage to waiting to take the SAT and ACT. \u00a0In fact, the earlier the better.<\/p>\n

Knowing this, work NSR scouts encourage prospects to register and take one or both of the tests by the end of their junior year. \u00a0And if the athlete becomes an NSR prospect sooner, our scouts carefully guide families\u00a0by explaining the downsides\u00a0to waiting.<\/p>\n

\"Making<\/a>
Making academics a daily priority early in high school is the key.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no restrictions on how many times a prospect is permitted to take the SAT or ACT. \u00a0And finding out early where he or she may need improvement is a big advantage in preparing for upcoming tests.<\/p>\n

All that considered, when college coaches have the flexibility of pinpointing a prospect whose academics are on track for admittance to their school, the coaches can then give the recruit more attention and begin the all-important relationship-building process. That is a clear advantage for both the coach, the prospect and the entire family. The more of these relationships a prospect can create, the more options the prospect will have their senior year at the designated signing periods.<\/p>\n

Many prospects fear taking standardized tests early because, as counseled\u00a0by some, they still have many more core courses to take. However, rarely does a student-athlete’s test scores jump significantly from the sophomore to senior years.<\/p>\n

Why? If a prospect is schooled on how to take the test, then his or her score will usually fall within the same ranges over time, rarely climbing more than 50 points from the first to the last tests taken.<\/p>\n

Here are four ways high student-athletes can best influence their academic position:<\/p>\n