Mrs. Teri Nash
Guidance Counselor
Promoting College Readiness
San Marcos Academy’s Counseling and Guidance Program provides the resources our students need to promote academic achievement and college readiness. Guidance Counselor Teri Nash works with students and parents regarding college selection and applications, essays, resumes, letters of recommendation, SMA-sponsored tours of Texas colleges and universities, and standardized testing. She also assists the Academic Dean with course selection, scheduling of classes, graduation requirements, and student adjustment issues.
Mrs. Nash’s office is in the College Room, located in the Thomas Library. Students are welcome to drop in or make an appointment as their schedules allow. Students may look through the college viewbooks and other resources available outside the College Room at any time.
College and University Representatives: To schedule an admissions recruiting visit to our campus, please contact Mrs. Nash via email at nasht@smabears.org.
Parents and Students: View the presentation “To Graduation and Beyond” for help in navigating the college admissions process. TEA’s Graduation Toolkit is also a helpful resource.
Standardized Testing
On-Site and Off-Site Testing
San Marcos Academy provides our students with the opportunity to take a number of standardized tests necessary for their preparation and acceptance to most colleges and universities. These tests are either administered on campus or at nearby locations. Our college counselor works with students to ensure they have completed all the necessary exams for acceptance to the college or university of their choice.
The SAT is a globally accepted admissions test that covers the areas of reading, writing and mathematics. The SAT exam should be taken by students during their junior year and again during their senior year depending on the score on the first exam. The SAT results are accepted by all U.S. four year colleges and universities and should be taken no later than 2 months before application deadline to the college or university the student wishes to attend.
The ACT is a national college admissions exam that tests the areas of English, mathematics, reading and science as well as a writing test. The ACT results are accepted by all U.S. four-year colleges and universities and should be taken no later than 2 months before application deadline to the college or university the student wishes to attend.
The Preliminary SAT is a test that measures skills that are necessary for success in college in the areas of reading, math and science. It is given to provide students practice for the SAT that they will take later in their high school years. All sophomores and juniors take the PSAT prior to the SAT; freshmen take the PSAT in the spring. SMA also uses the PSAT scores to evaluate the academic achievement of our juniors (in lieu of another achievement test).
Students wishing to enroll in dual credit college courses while attending San Marcos Academy must first demonstrate eligibility with the TSIA2 test if they are not exempted with either their SAT or ACT scores. This test provides an evaluation of the student’s ability to successfully complete college-level courses.
Note: Students wishing to take dual credit classes for the 2021-22 school year must take the TSIA2. Students who cannot arrange to take the test during the summer may take it once school begins in August.
San Marcos Academy provides testing each year for students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses or students who desire to take an AP exam to test the student’s ability to perform at a college level. Colleges may grant credit to students based on their score on an AP exam. Student at the Academy may elect to take an AP exam whether or not they have taken the course. AP exams are given each year in May.
The Comprehensive Testing Program is an assessment of high achieving students in the areas of reading, listening, vocabulary, writing, science and mathematics. This test allows for the comparison of students with similar groups of achievers at a national level. The Academy administers the CTP test to students in the 1st – 8th grades each spring in order to track the performance of our students.
Our doors are always open to new students