? >> you're watching "teen kids news." i'm livia. here's this week's top story. we alle choices in life.ly wheno college. and as amelia reports, some of those choices can start pretty early. >> what do you plan to do after graduating high scol? >> my plan is to go to college. >> going to basic training in fort leo wood in missouri. >> go to university. >> i plan on going to college. >> after graduating high school,

college and pursue hr educigheation. >> so, if you're intending to apply to college, do you know what you want to major in? >> i hope to major in biology. >> perhaps international relations. >> become a lawyer. >> economics. >> i plan on going to college for pathology. >> i'd like to major in world politics or international relations. >> i really want to major in biopsychology or something in child development. >> i'm really interested in biology, perhaps becoming a doctor. pretty undecided at this point. >> i don't know what i want to major in. >> i still don't know yet. i still like have a lot of interests like literature, science, and theater, and even politics, so i need to figure that out. >> that's okay. a lot of students start college without deciding on their major. but here are two more decisions you'll have to make before even applying. are you going to take one of the standardized tests, meaning the sat or the act? if so, do you know the

>> i don't really know. >> [ laughs ] i don't know. difference between the act and t.the sa >> i honestly don't know. i know that they score different, but i don't know all the differences. >> i don't know the differences between the two tests. and if i have to take the tests to get into the college, i would. but other than that i don't really want to. >> [ chuckles ] you're not alone. most of us look forward to the same enthusiasm as getting a tooth pulled. but as they say, "knowledge is power." so when we return, we'll tell you what you need to know so that you'll have the power to decide which test is best for you. "teen kids news" will be right back. >> closed captioning is brought

>> when we were asking kids if they knew the difference between th answerthed like is... >> no, i don't know the differen between the act and the sat. >> but then we came across this young dy. >> the sat is a standardized testing. it was founded in the early 1900s by a eugenicist. >> a eugenicist was someone who believed you could improve the human population by controlling what genes are passed on. >> and the act is a different type of test that involves science, which is different from the sat. and the sat was then changed to

2,400 scale, which it was in the previous years. >> wow! not sure i got all that, but it sounded like a pretty impressive answer. anyway, let's turn to thexpert to get the down-low. joining us is rob fran he's from the princeton review. hi. >> good to be here. thanks for inviting me. >> just so we're all on the same page, what is the princeton review? >> the princeton review is an education services company. we started a little over 30 years ago to help students master the sat and the act, bu over the last 30 years we've been helping students with standardized tests, as well as college admissions advice, as well as financial aid. >> during your career, you've worked in college admissions, as well as a test prep teacher. so you should know. which is the bettetest for >> aha.s to take? it's an important question, and one th comes up all the time. and the answer is really easy. the better test for you to take is the one that you're going to perform best on. when we think about it, admissions teams at schools large and small, are going to

the majority of the 4,000 schools that are out there will super-set your scores, meaning that you'll take the best verbal or math for the sat, or the best four components from the act, and mix them up, to put you, again, in the best light academically for them to consider. >> what's the difference between the two tests? >> well, first the sat and act are the most important standardized tests for the college admissions process. and they're both interchangeable in that admissions teams will use them in the same way. the sat and thace have lots of similarities and lots of differences. they are roughly about 3 hours a piece. both of the essay components, the writing components, are optional for students. what we've found is that the act mirrors a high schooexam, so most of the questions are very straight-forward. for the sat, many of the questions require extra time for students to understand what they're asking, and once

the sat or the act. >> do colleges prefer one test over the other? >> it's a question, again, that comes up, and the answer is always no. the sat and the act are treated completely equal through the eyes of admissions counselors and admissions committees that are going to be looking at your applications. >> okay, but there have been reports recently that more and more colleges are no longer requiring either test. does that mean some of us can skip taking these tests completely? >> it does mean that some act completely, but let's put some numbers around this. there are about 4,000 four-year colleges andniversities in the u.s. alone. nearly 900 of those schools are test-optional. but two things to keep in mind. those schools will not require that you put in your sat or your act scores for academic admission, but many of those schools will ask for your sat and act scores later on when you're considered for scholarship dollars, financial aid, money that you don't have

may ask for those sat and act scores again. so when i'm guiding students i say that although the sat and the act are a chore, they ar navigable chore, but they are a chore, and they could still be us in the admissions process ev for test-optional schools. >> all right, so let's say the school i want to apply to requires the sat or act. how can i tell which one is better for me? >> this is going to und like a hard answer toet through our heads, but the truth is, that you should sit for a practice full-length sat and a practice full-length act. you can do that on websites, you can do it in offices, you can do it in any number of ways at home. if you take the full-length sat and full-length act and see that you score dramatically better on one or thether, then i would ep for that exam, because remember, ey're treated exactly the same way in the admissions process, but if you know that you're going to do dramatically better on one or the other, i would choose that one. >> a final advice? >> one, that the sat and the act

academic review that admissions counselors are going to gowhen r application. the first and the most important piece of the college admissions application is going to be how well you did in gh school. did you challenge yourself with advanced-level courses, ap-level courses, ib-level courses. the second most important thing, and again, for the majority of those 4,000 schools out there, are still going to be the sat and the act, and remember they are completely navigable and coachable exams. thanks, rob. >> you're welcome. good to be here. >> believe it or not, but the ancient greeks offered some advice more than 2,000 years ago that's still rather helpful. in the temple dedicated to the god apollo, these words were inscribed -- "know thyself."gu ess when it comes to figuring out which test to take, that's pretty good advice. for "teen kids news," i'm amelia. >> coming up, students in arizona are kicking butts, but not in the way that you're

>> using tobacco is really bad for you. in fact, students in arizona't . scott explains. >> teens from the group known as stand against tobacco journeyed to phoenix, the state capital, to give the government a piece of their mind. they came together for national kick bts day, a day to raise awabout the negativeareness effects tobacco has on the teenagdy.e bo studts showed paintings, mad posters, and did all kinds of community service projects. it's a tar jar. it'sasically a year's worth of tar from one paca day of smoking cigarettes. this is how much tarill be in your lung. >> the plastic box is a bunch of cigarette butts. and what we're showing is that cigarette butts are a huge

environment, and people litter them all the time, and so those are some of the butts that we picked up at our local park. >> those teens are trying to have tobacco products banned from public parks by getting their local government to pass legislation. >> i think the young people are great. the group i was speaking to in particular has been in front of our city council in my city numerous times to talk about issues, and for them to come up to the legislature, that is spectacular. >> i think youth involved in the legislative process is know the process, how it works, and are getting involved in their civic duties as they're young is gonna lay a good foundation for them as they get older, and staying involved in what happens in their area. >> at lunch, students were able to share personal stories with one another about how tobacco has affected their lives. >> one thing we know is that kids listen to each other more than they listen to people like me, and we can get that word out peer to peer. we know we can get a lot of action.

students got to spend some one-on-one time with legislators and get a behind-the-scenes look at the state senate building. >> we were able to show them the house of representatives and the state senate, and let them see that it's normal folks that are here, and they could potentially be one of those normal folks in the future serving the state of arizona. >> i think young people can actually make the most change because we're so young and we're so passionate. i feel that that serhows oth people that really do want to make something better in our community and that wdo have a voice and that we also have a say in what goes on. and it's not just like, "oh, this is happening and this is happening." no, we're actually being part of our society d making an input, and that we'reoing to just not g decisions for us. >> you know, their voices are just as important as adults and so, i think it's really important for kids to get and le process so that they can effec change that's positive, as they

lives. students from red mountain high school actually built a robot in support of kick butts day. that's right -- a robot. >> okay, that's straightdo it. >> oh! so close! >> this robot here was to promote the prevention of smoking tobacco and young teens. so, what is does is, students are asked questions. question is what percent of adult smokers started in their teens or younger. so, different questions like that. and you'll answer them down the line what you think the correct and after you answer them you'll move right on throw some frisbees. >> for every question a stent got right, they were able to shoot a frisbee at certain targets. [ cheers and applause ]

hopper, and they're able to control the robot going back and forth. they can either make an easy shot in the low, or they can try a little bit more of a challenge and aim higher so, it's not guaranteed go in, but it's a lot of fun for the kids. >> if that isn't amazing enough, this frisbee-shooting robot was built entirely. >> the most challenging part would have to be shoing, because it shoots every so often and sometimes it even shoots two frisbees, and so aiming it and shooting it correctly is really hard. >> if you're helping your town or neighborhood to kick some butt, you can find out more information at kickbuttsday.org. for "teen kids news," i'm scott. >> next, i'll tell you about some of the things you need to know before you go looking for a part-time job. "teen kids news" will be right

>> schoolwork, homework, studying can sometimes be stressful. and we can all use advice to help us strive for success. so here's christin with this week's "make the grade." >> while no one will argue that doing well in school is our first priority, many teens want -- or need -- to make a little extra money in their spare time. but you have to do some work before you start working. that means you need to find out how many hours the government allows you to work. if you're 14 or 15 years old, there are lots of legal restrictions.

papers. you can find out what you need to know byoing g to your state's department of labor website. of course, you can alsget some good guidance from your school guidance counselor. but remember, if you're already having a hard time keeping up at school, the bestind of work for you is probay your school work. i'm christin helping you to make the grade. ?? >> northern ohio borders part of lake erie. sootecting their fish, ohioans don't d around. at least i don't think they kid around. after all, they passed a law making it illegal to get a fish drunk. even if the fish is over 21. guess in ohio you can lead a fish to water, but you can't make it drink...alcohol. and i think that's a fin -- i

important message, brought to you by the national road safety foundation. >> this is kati. and i'm -- well, you knowho i am. life's going great for kati. class president, ctain of her soer team, and just aced her sats, and she loves to text. doesn't.ow something she see that intersection? a car will be going through it in precisely three seconds. i'll give her today. but torrow, who knows?

>> while many of us like to bake, for some of us, it doesn't come easy...until now that i katie explains. >> what's the history of bake sales? >> well, katie, bake sales have been around since the 1950s. as a matter of fact, the first bake sales were done in schools as fundraisers. >> a bake sale, but i'm not an experienced baker. well, i suggest starting out with a no-bake pie. they're really easy to make. i ink suld go ahead and okay, that's what we're set up for. so, here is a cream fillin okay, that we are going to add some milk to. and that's going to give us that cream base. >> okay. stir it up? >> okay. give it a nice stir. we really want to incorporate

stir it. >> so it'll get all creamy? >> it's gonna get nice and creamy. >> okay. and how much milk do we have to add? >> we added 1 1/3 cup. and some people have some nsitivity to milk, so you could use soy milk, you could also use almond milk. is that mixed? >> i would probably mix it up just a little bit more. we're gonna just want that thicker. >> really thick, like creamy. >> almost pudding thick, yeah. >> okay. and you should only use a whisk for that? >> a whisk is great or if you have a mixer, a mixer works just as well. >> okay. >> okay, that's looking good. >> is th thick? >> that looks fantastic. yep, it's gonna thicken up, too, all right, so, let's just set this off to the side.

bananas. we're just gonna finish it up, so we'll have a total of three bananas in our pie. so if you want to go ahead and great. this, that would be and add it to the rest of our bananas. >> should i use the ends? >> yeah, aolutely. all right. add that in. >> so they should be pretty thin? >>ust uniform.th at looks perfect. >> okay. okay, so what's next? >> okay, so, now what we're gonna do is we're gonna add our bananas to our cream filling. >> okay. and how do wmix it up? >> with spoon. just gently fold it. >> okay.

>> yep. exactly. and this is gonna set up, too, in the refrigerar. >> okay. >> that looks fantastic. so i'm going to just transfer our cream filling/banana mix into our pie. >> what kind of crust is that? >> this is a gra >> mmm. >> ...pie crust. all right. now, what i've done aheaof time is i have whipped up some whipped cream. okay, this is gonna go right on top. >> okay. >> so, what we're gonna do -- let me just finishhis off. all this gets ght on top. >>h, it oks tasty. >> i like to put it right in the center, and this way we can spread it. this way you don't have to worry about trying to get to the ends

i like to pick it up. you don't have to but i can get a real good vi oewwhat i'm doing at this angle. and just spread thisll around. >> do you ve to go all the way to thedge >> i think it has a nice appearance if you do. you know, just get it real close. >> okay. >> as close as you can.ght. and give it a nice little swirl. and then the very last thing we're going to do is add a lelitt bit of chocolate. >> and i'm just gonna give it a ir. and we're going to drizzle it right on top, so bpatient as it kind of starts to drizzle and then we'reonna start to move it. >> okay. >> okay. >>oh. that makes it look so pretty. >> and that did not take long did it? >> no, it was really short. >> here we go.

we are done. that is how easyt is to ma a pie. and it's a no-bake pie. >> mmm. and you can make this pie from a kit? >> from a kit. they are elizabeth jean's pie kits. everything but the fruit is included to make this delicious pie. so you get your crust, cream filling, whipped topping, and your chocolate caramel sauce. >> elizabe jean's pie kits make baking as easy as -- well, as easy as pie. week. but be sure to tune ingain next week for more "teen kids news."

mili across this couny that look just like any other family. but there's something dierent. a loved one who has made a commitment to defend the united states of america and our way of life. military makeover - brace yourself because here it comes! oo-rah! (music) (voice over) time for us to show our appreciation and give back to those who have sacrificed. this military makeover. and it little family. nowsent them away on a little r & r and are doing some badly needed renovations, from the overhead to the deck. first off, maybe we should see who stephen is. i'm sure that wod help. (guitar music) i was born and raised in monc corner, south car which is just olina,a li