Educational Consultants
Standardized tests get a bad rap. Students get stressed, parents get stressed and then students feel their parents’ stress and wig out some more. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Albert Ellis, author of How To Stubbornly Refuse To Make Yourself Miserable About Anything-yes, Anything and critically acclaimed psychotherapist explains how we create … Read more
How do you choose between whether and if? And how often does it matter? On the GMAT it doesn’t matter that often thankfully, but here are the highlights for times that may matter: Use “whether,” not “if,” before infinitives. I can’t decide whether to cook dinner or order takeout. Use “whether” in a two-part question … Read more
Here are some resources to aid your writing and speaking skills particularly if you are not a native American English speaker. If you have recommendations, please add them in the comments below. The first few are resources that are uniformly robust and are useful to my former students. These are not resources for total beginners. … Read more
Think you have grammar chopz? These two questions are in a quiz listed by the Baltimore Sun. Link to the full quiz is below. I’ll put up my take on how the GMAT would respond next Monday. If you think you have the chopz, make your case in the comments below. (1) Miss Mann is … Read more
So you have your SAT score back . . . you may be happy it’s over, pumped / bummed /confused / angry or just a big mixed bag of messy. Hey, we’ve all been there. Here’s the good news: I can tell you what your score really means, and what you need to do next. … Read more
The SAT is stressful. All year long for some students! Not only can your score seem to determine your fate in college applications, but also can cause great competition with your friends. Are you the Dreamer? Or the Know-it-all?? Use our SAT Personality tool to find out. Who has the coolest title? Loading…
It’s that time again, the SAT is a few days away and the bulk of your study efforts are complete. Now what? Is there anything you can do the week of the test to maximize test performance? Yes! While the material you study this week can help you refine, you aren’t likely to Move Mega … Read more
If you are taking advantage of the summer to hit the books to prepare for the SAT, follow our advice to feed your brain what it needs. These ingredients will help you retain information and produce energy! Try out the following tips before the test date and see how your brain reacts. Eggs Eggs will … Read more
Summer time is known for its sunshine, leafy trees and great expectations of fun. It’s also a great opportunity to study for the SAT! Away from daily responsibilities as students, the summer allows students to focus on increasing their scores, establishing new targets and working on their strengths and weaknesses in greater depth. 1. Take … Read more
Quick Term Cheat Sheet: SAT – formerly an aptitude test, now an achievement test, tomorrow?? ACT – Achievement test Common Core – The curriculum designed to make sure US kids cover some body of knowledge relevant to our future. “It is time for an admissions assessment that makes it clear that the road to success … Read more
The College Board has announced more details about the SAT changes. Here’s an example question: “The coming decades will likely see more intense clustering of jobs, innovation, and productivity in a smaller number of bigger cities and city-regions.” The word “intense” most nearly means: (A) emotional (B) concentrated (C) brilliant (D) determined (answer below) What … Read more
Po-ta-toe, Pa-tah-toe, To-may-toe, To-mah-toe . . . Favorite moments in SAT history, aka why some people say SATs and others say SAT. Let’s dial back to the dark ages of the SAT. The year is 1926. And it turns out – your (Great) Grandparents really did walk uphill both ways . . . at least … Read more
Teachers, prep books, and tutoring services often recommend memorization as the best and sometimes only way improve your score on the SAT. You memorize vocabulary for the English section, formulas for the math section. Sometimes you even memorize question types. We’ve already explained why vocabulary memorization is ineffective and what you can do instead. But … Read more
We remember things better when they have some meaning to us. It’s not too surprising that seeing the word tyro on a flashcard is harder to remember than hearing it in reference to a first grader who’d just started learning how to write. So while you may remember a few words paired only with their … Read more
Practice makes perfect, whether you’re a violinist or a student. Students studying for the SAT and other tests are encouraged to take practice tests and solve many of the same type of problem. But a violinist will get nowhere if he does not first learn where to place his fingers. The same applies to SAT … Read more
Truly internalized knowledge goes beyond memorization. As you read these words, your body is functioning largely without you. Pause to consider this and you may become aware of your breathing and blinking, only two of the many physiological functions your body takes care of for you. 2 million cells will die and be born in … Read more
College admissions used to be simpler. Now in addition to dealing with the daunting application process, you also have the responsibility of choosing, studying for, and taking the right admissions test. This may have you confused: how do you decide if you should take the SAT, the SAT subject tests, or the ACT? Keeping these … Read more
You’ve taken your PSAT. You’ve done one or two SAT practice tests. The results are in, and now you have some numbers – what do you do with them? How many points you should aim to increase your score? There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Many tutors and tutoring services discuss results in terms of numbers, … Read more
I was recently approached by the mother of a 7th grader about SAT tutoring for her child. That got me wondering, is it ever too early to start studying for the SAT? My answer is start early but not too early. We sometimes forget that SAT prep is always going on – by attending school, … Read more
If you’re a high school student studying for the SAT, you may be doing it wrong. You can have the best tutor, buy the best books, and still not see the benefit you believe you should be seeing. That’s because you might be overlooking a critical aspect of studying – when you do it. You … Read more