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Does Test Prep Work? The other day I happened to be interviewed by Chapel Hill school that is high counselor, Kristen Hiemstra.

09Mar

Does Test Prep Work? The other day I happened to be interviewed by Chapel Hill school that is high counselor, Kristen Hiemstra.

You can listen to the complete meeting by pressing here.

We covered a complete lot of topics sets from why I believe they should leave the vocabulary on the SAT as is, to whether I believe test prep works. Among the many topics we talked about were:

  • Different types of test prep, which work and just why
  • Commercial test prep
  • Signs of good vs bad test prep
  • How exactly to encourage an adolescent
  • Exactly What the school Board is testing
  • The most useful time to tour colleges
  • Lessons I learned about the SAT
  • Lessons I learned as a mom

We also talked about my book that is upcoming Ideal get Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT and what it’s all about.

How Much Does the SAT Count in the Admissions Decision?

So how much does the SAT Count in the Admissions Decision?

SAT counts to get more than colleges will acknowledge to much less than students think.

The Academic Index the AI Calculator should shed light on ‘how much’ the SAT counts. Although AI was developed for athletes, they determine it for all students.

Never miss these Kitchen Table Math remarks, which add more insight, including one commenter who found a (somewhat old) College Board report that gives a wide range of information on the decision techniques used by many colleges.

[snip]

The part that is first based on your SAT scores, the second component is according to your SAT II scores, additionally the third part is dependant on your GPA. The website link above talks about a GPA table supplied to the eight universities, but it generally does not explain how the GPA is calculated. It seems to use a weighted scale where the most truly effective score is 4.3. I haven’t discovered just how this number is calculated. The spreadsheet then proceeds to choose the higher rating associated with each of the two GPA numbers. It’s constantly struck me that the SAT scores make up two-thirds with this index. Universities might include a fudge element if they know something about a senior school, but no option for that shows up in the example spreadsheet.

Quadruplets’ Mom Requirements SAT Advice

Dear Ms. Stier:

I recently found your website and I like it! Thanks for doing it.

I could actually use some advise on how best to approach test that is SAT for my quadruplets. [me: OMG]

I’ve 3 girls and 1 boy. They took the PSAT in sophomore and they will take the PSAT again this October year.

Certainly one of the drawbacks of having all my children the same age is that any mistakes we make affects all four. None of them benefit from me learning from my errors so I hope to get this as right as I can.

Do you might think I should have them study as being a little group together under my guidance (from experience it really is like attempting to herd cats); get a tutor for the four of these in a small group; have someone tutor them independently; or send them up to a test prep center that is SAT? Or perhaps a mix of all of these? I must view my costs too.

Just how do I find a good tutor? What is the test prep company that is best?

If these are concerns you can help me with I would personally appreciate it. Then that’s okay and I appreciate you taking your time to read my email if it is not something that you can help me.

Thanks again for the info that is website

Sincerely,

Multiple Mom

Dear Multiple Mom,

My gut says to do some interact with all four (e.g. plenty of vocab, full training shmoop write my essay free tests, and they can explain answers to each other because that’s a great way to learn), and do some preparation separately. If you can find a tutor( that is affordable), that’s the best means.

Listed here are a few pre-determined questions to ask a potential tutor (or test prep company):

1) would you modify your approach and, if so, how?

2) What’s your score that is average gain student? Many tutors won’t answer this concern because there are so variables that are many it’s nearly not fair to ask. Having said that, an excessive ‘average score gain’ should be a banner. e.g., 200 points in a month.

3) How long do you advise students to prepare for the SAT and how much will it cost? The answer that is right be individual and will be based on where the pupil begins and what the goal is.

4) What test prep materials can you use? ( If it’s not formal university Board material, be wary.)

5) just how much research will there be between sessions? (a tutor that is great have students do as much work as possible off the clock, such as vocab and practice tests.)

The first step is to own all four kids take an official university Board practice SAT. You need to use one through the College Board’s Blue Book, or a practice is had by the College Board test on its website.

You’ll want to determine what they have to work on and whether or not they need foundational work or more test prep polish that is traditional. My guess is as I did!) that they need foundational work, because so many kids do (plus. Make sure you pick a test or tutor prep company who is able to assess that well!

Regarding test prep companies, I’d stay away from anyone who does not primarily use university Board product (that would include most/if not all large, brand-name test prep companies).