I killed the ACT, got scholarships, have 2 bachelor's degrees, and was miserable. Now I work retail at a pet store and have never been happier. Retired Gifted and Talented Kid finally healing from academic perfectionism pressure
i feel this. I’m so happy for you now! You live your life and do what YOU love! No one needs a test score to tell them their worth or what success means!!
I relate to that even if I didn't get scholarship I just looked at my high school credits which said that I got 24 credits even tho one of my teachers said I got 26 and I read on my paper that they said I was doing college type math. But now I am a stay at home teen who wants to be a housewife and as a Christian I'm taking a free bible course and even tho I graduated high school 2018 I'm glad that my life isn't revolved around college and I'm studying what I'm interested in on my own time.
Same here! Except my degrees got me no where and I've been at miserable dead-end jobs since I graduated from college (11 years ago). Continually looking for a job that makes me happy.
If you're interested, I can explain the pencil thing. Pencil graphite is graded according to hardness. #1 is the hardest, and as the numbers go up, the lead gets softer. Because the lead in a #1 pencil is so hard, it leaves a very light mark, so the scantron machine can't see the ovals you've colored in. Pencils softer than #2 will smear and potentially muck up the lenses of the scantron machine. The #2 pencil is the sweet spot that's dark enough to be visible, but doesn't snudge or produce a lot of residue. Most pencils softer than #2 are mainly found in art supply stores, because they're not great for writing, but they're excellent for shading.
yes! a #2 pencil is the same as a "2B" pencil in drawing kits. the pencils go up to HB (hard bold?) then 2h, 4h, 6h, and maybe 8H. 8 H being the hardest, 8B being very dark and smudgey. I'm not sure how high they go honestly because i don't really use graphite but yeah (it's the same idea s charcoal sticks/pencils/etc. just a little more info to add to yours!
I failed all those tests (in the Netherlands). They said that it would be best if I was doing a low level of education. I remember it so vividly. I was crying my eyes out, because I wanted to go to uni. I'm so glad the test results didn't stop me. I just finished my Clinical Psychology masters degree at the University of Leiden.
Congratulations! 🎉 I know i’m replying to this a year later but I’m in high school and really want to go into psychology when I go to college and after college and I was wondering if there was any advice you had? Things like what you wish you knew before college and what classes to take during high school. I would really appreciate it, I wish you the best 😁
SATS are horrible for people with test anxiety. I was a 4.23 student with horrible SAT scores. I’ve always thought it was economically biased too. If your parents can not afford a SAT tutor, it’s harder for lower income kids to passed the test. When I was in lower income public high school, they were teaching us to get ready for the job force. Not college. And my friends who went to school in a better wealthier neighborhood they were educating their students for college. It creates an endless cycle of poverty and loss opportunities for lower income students. Don’t get me wrong there are the outliers who are naturally smart and great test takers. But not even providing basic guidance and preparation for SATS is a ridiculous criteria for college.
This is similar to an exam called common entrance exam in the Caribbean that kids have to take at 11..also called 11 plus exam for entrance into secondary school and it is a bit classist and economically biased...same goes for the CXCs exam that they take when leaving school and since covid kids here in Barbados are under performing its only the high society kids and private schools excelling..unfortunately
I was a 4.32 student and even skipped my junior year. I did badly on the SAT and ACT. How you take a test should not determine your potential in life or even your potential in college. As you pointed out, some high schools do not even bother preparing you for these tests. You are more than one Saturday performance on a piece of paper.
Has the SAT changed? Cause I grew up poor, no tutor and I got a pretty decent score on the SAT just by studying on my own. I actually hid my score cause I thought I did terrible but my mom (Can't hide anything from Asian moms) found my test result and told me I did pretty well. In fact, I scored higher than our family friend's kid who went to SAT prep every Saturday. I honestly didn't think SAT was that bad but then again, I took it in 2004 so I'm old.......
This comment has nothing to do with today's Dark History but I just had to say this hoping Bailey sees this! I work in an elementary school and this week is spirit week. Today's spirit day was to dress like what they wanted to be when they grew up. My coworker had on a Suspish sweater saying when she grows up, she wants to be Bailey Sarian! 🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️
I actually never took the SAT or ACT and neither did my sister. Both of us are "non-traditional" college students (my job is paying for my degree and my sister is a 30-something mother of 5) and no one has ever asked for or request a copy of our scores. Employers don't care about how you did on them and they have zero influence on your potential success.
It really depends on what college you go to. The university in my town will not accept students without a high enough SAT score. On the other hand you can go to the community college and get the same degree and they do not ask for SAT scores. If you can't pass the SAT, the university will accept you if you've completed a certain set of courses at the community college first.
@Taylor Dani I've found that the only time universities MAY ask for your SAT/ACT score is if you are applying right out of high school. If you take a year or 2 to off before applying, typically, they don't seem to care about them. The only thing they cared about for both my sister and I was if we were at college level for English and Math. We took a placement test to determine if we needed extra math or English classes before taking the base college level courses. I'm sure there are still a handful of colleges that care about that, but the vast majority just don't. And once you start getting college credits, no one ever asks for your scores again. That's why I'm a big advocate of going to a community college first, if you can afford it. If you can get a 2-year degree or close to it on the community college level, then you'll save yourself a buttload of money and energy in the long-run. And no one cares about where your credits came from, only the school name on your degree.
Yuppp my anxiety hit hard, got tunnel vision and nauseated so I started filling in random bubbles so I could finish faster. The next year when I had to retake it I bailed and didn't take it.
My mom was one of the people who was an administrator of some of these tests. Mainly I.Q. and she used her knowledge to help place learning disabled people and she took it very seriously. Sometimes tests are necessary to help people advance within their learning capabilities. So, I think they're definitely useful if and when administered carefully. Great topic!
That should’ve helped, no? My fav teacher taught me that the only questions they could ask in exams were taken directly from the syllabus.. so he gave me the syllabus… explained how the exam would just modify the statements into questions, and all I needed to actually focus on studying to ace exams was the syllabus dot points. He was my hero.
The standardized testing in imperial China started in the Han dynasty… but was fully developed by the Qing (pronounced ching) dynasty (over a thousand years…) The scholar hat was a funky looking thing that was flat in the back… and Chinese kids with a flat head were thought to be more scholarly… I got a flat head… I test well, but I don’t retain info unless it’s fun… and I can’t wear a ponytail without looking weird cuz my head is weird shaped 😭 Edit: I took the ACT to get into nursing school… they asked me about rocks and clouds… almost lost my 💩… got a 27 or 28… cuz my ma said it cost money to take the test if I failed, I’m on my own, no more support… 😅😂 And our nursing school was contracted with Kaplan after we graduate… we get 2-3 weeks after graduation to study with the Kaplan people on how to take the test but my friend and I had taken so many test prep during school the lady got annoyed cuz we don’t do the “steps” they have on eliminating the wrong answer cuz we already know the answer… 😂
Oh the Kaplan prep course was miserable. It was a struggle to stay awake for. I can honestly say that the NCLEX and Kaplan are nothing like the real world of nursing
I just graduated as an English Major & had to take a few classes on early education classes. Almost all of my classes discussed how test taking is not effective and had alternative methods to test us, such as writing a personal report or creating a diagram of what we learned in the class.
I took my SATs twice. Once in 7th grade (part of a college program for John Hopkins University) and then again in 11th grade. When I applied to college, they used BOTH of my scores to decide whether they would accept me. I was really surprised at some of the schools that didn't accept me vs some that did with full scholarships. (Ie: I got full scholarships to Boston University and John Hopkins but didn't get accepted at all to some "lesser accredited" schools.) My daughter is currently a freshman and she goes to a private school and they start SAT and ACT prep in 9th grade and then depending on their career goals they help prep for other exams like the BAR or MCATS. But I have always told her that she shouldn't stress over them because it can make them a lot harder if you're constantly thinking you're entire future depends on one test. When she was in public school, I kept her home when they did the PSATs and state tests because I think they're BS. The only thing they're used for is school funding and grading teachers. Thankfully, they don't have them at the school she's in now.
I failed all the state tests and I was always pushed in reading classes that wasn’t even needed. Those tests were so hard to pass it was almost impossible. They don’t have the SATs anymore 😂 weird times for sure. Tests scores will never define you and your intelligence ❤
Greatest thing my mom ever told me was I wasn't smart enough to take the SATs and go to a 4 year college. The weight of the world got lifted off my shoulders! I got to go to community College and beauty school which is what I really wanted. I've been a makeup artist for 15 years now. Thanks for not believing in me mom.
I hated those exams! I would score 28 above on all portions of the exam except for 1, and it would give me such a low score! However, those scores didn't stop me! I ended up being published at a perstigous journal at a young age! Remember kids grades aren't forever!
I remember taking the ACT and no one being able to tell us if we needed the SAT too or not, like why did no one in our school administration know 💀 and now I’m like oh wow yeah that was a thing I had to pay to do in Highschool on a Saturday - it has never benefited me, yet I still remember my score 😂😅
My score was a 19 😂. On career day they had me at a dr.s office with a disgruntled old receptionist because that’s what kind of work I they told me that score would get me. Their reality is so far off from what actually happened in my career.
@@dezb8510 Are you kidding me? My college only required a 12 to enroll. When I took it, the top score was 32, and I remember because I got 32 on 1 or 2 sections. Reading comprehension, so science and history? I figured out you could skim the paragraph, read the question, and search for key words, so I aced those and was I proud of myself! (Plus I drilled a lot ahead of time....) Math brought my total down, though.... People in public school admin really boggle my mind.
Canadian here... I don't think we have SATs but of we did I sure don't remember them nor did they make any difference in my UBC path... so I feel ya!! 🇨🇦👍😬
I never even took the SATs. There was so much extra stuff they said you needed in high school that my classmates were always stressing out about, but when I looked at what they actually did I just didn’t get why they were bothering. That and I wasn’t much of an overachiever. I was just a regular achiever. 😂
Yay! SAT what? Where? Canadian here and I honestly have no recollection. If they still do them they literally have no effect on life or my UBC degree. 🇨🇦😆 love you too Bailey!!!!!!!
I took the PSAT and SAT’s in mid 90’s - and did AWFUL. I thought my life was over because of the weight it carried then. That was also the time when going to a 4 year college was ‘mandatory’ - and doing otherwise was frowned upon. Done so much with my Psychology degree 😂
Always a wonderful day when Bailey posts. It would be interesting to do a Dark History on European global colonization! 🖤🖤 Keep up the great work, sis!!
I'd love for you to do an episode on the history of income tax! 😁 I look forward to both your Monday & Thursday uploads every week. Thank you for all you do!
🌹🌹🌹I heard income tax was started to finance a US World War, and it was only wealthy people who were taxed. The US Government, being tricky as it is, eventually included everyone in paying income tax.🌹🌹🌹
Yes sometimes it's a more complete story watching the podcast...I listen on my way to and from work then watch the video makes it a more complete story
This story was very interesting. We had same tests way back in Korea as well. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but us Koreans are still to this day obsessed with tests, and test culture is a thing that extends throughout our whole lives until we quit our jobs or retire.
I wasn’t able to attend all of the workshops for ACT test prep my senior year, because I had to work to buy my own things. Kids that were wealthy went to them all. The wealthy kids I graduated with got $40,000 less in scholarships than I did because they didn’t have real life experience. So really, do your best and you’ll end up where you’re supposed to be 🤷🏻♀️
Let’s get into it😩 I would freak out about my grades and took the SATs every year in high school in order to get a better score so I could go to my dream college…. Cut to me meeting my husband and he told me (while he was IN COLLEGE) that he hadn’t taken any standardized tests since like 5th grade. I’m like HOW? Tests were literally the most important thing in the world😂
I remember my "college is a scam" essay where I pointed out 1) the more the government "pays" in scholarships and financial assistance the higher colleges bump up the price and 2) top ten things schools spend money on are not education related at all. They put in a 5th patio for lounging next to the Starbucks but refuse to upgrade any the outdated computers that can't even run the software IN THEIR COURSES. Everyone in my class had their own laptops because we couldn't complete most assignments on the school computers.
No one in my family has taken them lol … I’ve never been ashamed of it either… I’ve known college was BS since high school, and a degree didn’t equal a happy life, nor “smarts”. 😉
I bombed the ACT and never took the SAT because I graduated in two years (do not recommend), was a horrible student in grade school overall. My first college acted like they were doing me a favor by accepting me and my second college never cared to look into my ACT scores. Now I work in physics and tell kids all the time tests like this will not determine your future, just keep putting in effort where you can and know that asking for help is okay and encouraged.
I'm from Poland and we have our own test in the end of the highschool and I have to say.... stress is like 90% and 10% is knowledge. I was already working and supporting myself in the time of it so I was not studing or anything cause I just had no time for that and I knew I will fail the exams anyway. But ofcourse I was stressed AF. A few months later I could try again and this time I study a little bit but was not so stressed cause I knew that it didn't matter for me anyway. So this time I've had one of the Best scores in my school 🙊 and yet I didn't need it after all
I graduated 2021! I took the PSAT but when it came time to do the real SAT they rescheduled and then eventually cancelled it completely due to COVID it wasn’t needed for collage applications at all for my class.
45:35 My dad always let me listen to the Sunscreen Song: "Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know, didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't."
@@CowGirlKat8691 I hope she had many successes in her life! I went to school with a boy like that, he ended up being a doctor of some sort. I remember the math teachers saying he was better and faster at math than all of them haha
As a teacher to special needs high school students, it’s important to understand the history of testing. Thank you for bringing this topic up! My students have more job skills and life skills than many of their neuro-typical peers, but will never have a “normal” college experience because they cannot pass these tests. I feel that education has become a one size fits all and one is only “successful” because a piece of paper deems you are. There are of course many jobs that require university, but there are so many that also need skill training. My husband has ADHD and HATED school - he dropped out in high school. He’s now a successful business owner of a car transportation company and because of his success allowed me to afford college to follow my dream of teaching. Unfortunately, education is the first place to pull money from and also the last to evolve…
A Bailey upload on my birthday!!! Not only does she get me thru the week but it's like the best bday present ever!🎂🎉🥳 Thank you for the priceless gift of knowledge, bestie💕
My high school offered an SAT prep class. Because it was a school class you could opt to take, it was entirely free. My thoughts on standardized tests in general - they're not there to test our knowledge, they're there to see how well we follow directions to see if we will be a complacent citizen.
I graduated from a rural HS in 96. They didn't tell us to prepare. I didn't I got a 22 which was one of the highest scores in my class. I also had not taken algebra 2 yet. If you test well, it's not a big deal. In college anyone who made lower than an 18 had to retake HS courses ( they gave it a name but it basically sets you back because you can't take college level courses till you pass them)
that last bit where you said "so look were just humans and its okay and listen, most of all if you dont know what you wanna do with your life, thats okay." had me sobbing 😭
She is a sweetheart and helped me through losing my husband, I found her video's right after he passed away and she's helped through alot of long night's
There's an Anime called Colorcloud palace that actually showed how difficult these tests are to the point of dying especially for children and women in their times. I always thought they were based in Old Korea but I'm surprised to learn it's actually china plus the main heroine is also named Hong Shurei
I can't even remember if I had to take any of those tests because they were always testing us with so many other tests.. almost trying to normalize them. I wonder if they were thinking more kids would pass them in that way, so public funding wouldn't be pulled due to low scoring. 🤷🏼♀️
Some schools have been shut down due to low standardized testing. The failing schools were given a year to raise the scores, and if not all the public funding would be pulled. That is why there were so many test cheating scandals. Many teachers fell pressured to teach for the tests. And it's one of many reasons usa teachers a leaving the profession. P.s. I would love to be in the basement studying with you!
the crazy thing is the whole country gets the test but each state and even county have different curriculums based on the funding they recieve from local governments which limits the poorer communities even more :)
After getting a low score on my first SAT I begged my grandma to take Kaplan classes it costed $900 at the time ( around 2003) my score went up almost 200 points. They teach you how to take the test by taking practice tests every week.
Please please PLEASE tell us about the Taiping rebellion... Often you mention continuous learning like this in your videos but I'm intrigued to learn via your voice (because you're freakan amazing) about this 🙌🏻
When my son was in 5th grade ( he’s 22 now) his teacher told him and his friends they technically only needed to make a 40 on the task test to pass 🤯 I thought wth would you tell them that. Now they’re not even gona try!
We respect people who report facts and human suffering, and you are one of those people. We hope you will be useful to humanity and talk about Jawaher's story.
I have been an A/B student almost always (with the exception of math LOL) and I did terrible both times I took the ACT and those were the two times I could take it for free
My Brother got mad because he missed 1 question on the SAT. He was going to pay to take it again just to get a perfect score. The amount of eye rolls from my sister and I was strong. My mother told him to get a job...she is not paying for that. :P
i'm currently a junior in highschool, and i'm a year behind in most of my classes because i failed a ton during the pandemic. they're still making me take the SAT! i'm behind on the material and they're still making me do it
@Lavender Oh ... I think it depends where you live. I am from Indiana and my school administered the SAT last week. All juniors took the test and it is free.
*random* I got a new job cleaning houses and I use Bailey Sarian podcasts to learn how to regulate my time and get done in 3 hours. Thanks Bailey! You helped me change my life!
Ooff.. baileys calling me out lol. I didn’t take the sat in high school but I’m planning on taking it this year so I can go to college and get a degree. Love you Bailey, you look so beautiful today! ❤
I almost barely passed the pre act but the act is in a few weeks and I doubt I'll get close to even barely passing... I'm not even going to think of the sat rn