News

Prep In-Person or Virtually

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In response to the current pandemic, students have the option to take our SAT and ACT Courses in-person or virtually.  Our courses are capped at a max of 5 students in person, and we follow the standard social distancing and health guidelines.  In addition, students have the option to do our programs virtually as well.  This applies to group or individual courses.  Students who opt to do one of our group courses will view the course using Zoom according to the set class schedule.  Our next group class begins December 21st at 4 pm to prepare for the January PSAT.  Please give us a call if you are interested at 817-451-6200.  View Schedule

Classes for SAT, PSAT, and ACT

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SAT, PSAT, and ACT Classes**

Prep for January PSAT**

  • Premium SAT/PSAT ® Class  - Tuesday/Thursday  4:00 - 6:20 pm,  December 21* - January 21st.  *Class begins on Monday, December 21st, then meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays except, 12/24.  **Class available in-person or virtually.

Prep for February 6th ACT**

  • Premium ACT ® Class  - Mon/Wed,  4:00 - 6:00 pm,  January 4th - February 4th.  **Class available in-person or virtually.

Prep for March 13 SAT**

  • Premium SAT/PSAT ® Class  - Tues/Thurs,  4:00 - 6:00 pm,  February 2nd - March 11th.  **Class available in-person or virtually.

Our students increase an average of 152 points on the new SAT.  88% increase by at least 100 points.  Some students even increase by more than 300 points.  Our ACT students typically improve between 4 and 6 points.  Follow link below for more details.

https://knowledgeguides.net/sat-psat-programs/premium-program/

Feel free to contact us at 817-451-6200 for more information or to sign up.  Or, you can sign up online.

5 Reasons Test Prep Can Help Your Child Succeed

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College admissions tests are difficult, but they don’t have to be.  Here are 5 Reasons that our SAT and ACT Classes are beneficial and how they can help your child succeed:

  1. Prep Builds Confidence.  By practicing on the SAT and ACT, students learn what to expect.  They learn the rules and get a feel for the content and difficulty level.
  2. Prep Lets Students Practice Pacing.  Students get to practice on each section and figure out what pace works best for them.
  3. It’s a Chance to Review.  By the time students are juniors, it may have been over several years since they learned algebra I and Geometry and at least a years since Algebra II, at least for some.  By spending some time preparing, students get a chance to review and practice on math or grammar concepts that they may be rusty on.
  4.  Kids learn Strategies.  Some strategies are subject specific and focus on math or Grammar.  Whereas some strategies apply throughout, such as elimination.  Anything kids can do to eliminate wrong answers will improve their odds.
  5. Practice and preparation helps kids do their best.  Kids start with a baseline and then learn strategies and techniques in our course that help them improve their scores.  They find out that a lot of the questions they miss are caused by simple errors they can correct.

To find out where to start, check out our Summer Prep schedule by clicking on this link:  Summer Schedule

College Prep for 10th Graders

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This post includes some test prep suggestions for students heading into their 10th grade year.  This will be followed by posts with suggestions for Honors 10th graders and posts for 11th graders.  Please feel free to contact us to respond to this post.  You are welcome to ask questions or make comments.

First, I will provide some suggestions for students in regular classes and then give some suggestions for honors and AP Students in subsequent posts.

10th Grade Year: Take the PSAT during the Fall - Non-Honors Students

Most school counselors will urge their Advanced Placement (AP) and honors-track students to take the PSAT their 10th grade year. However, many schools do not encourage non-honors students to take the PSAT. This is unfortunate because many of these non-honors students will wind up going to college. Talk to your child’s counselor and school administrators and make sure you get your child signed up for this test. Taking this test will benefit non-honors students in several ways.

First, it gives them a diagnostic test that shows strengths and areas needing improvement. Having this knowledge in the 10th grade year will help you determine if you need to sign your child up for remedial tutoring. You may then use this as a baseline to track improvement on the next PSAT and later SATs.

Second, it will be valuable as a practice exercise in which your student will become more familiar with the PSAT and SAT. They will learn the standard test format including question types and content.

Third, they will have an additional chance to practice their test-taking skills. My experience is that students become better test takers with practice, so take advantage of every opportunity. Finally, if they do well — for example, score better than the 70th percentile or so — on the composite score, you may want to prep them for the 11th grade PSAT to try to qualify for a National Merit Award.

Excerpt from The Parent's Guide to the SAT and ACT, by James Pipkin

College Prep Tips for 11th graders

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11th Grade Year: All College-Bound Students Should Take the PSAT in the Fall

Honors students need to take the PSAT as juniors to try to qualify for National Merit Awards. In addition to the scholarships given to Award Finalists, students may qualify for other merit scholarships and special scholarships given out to National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students.

In my experience, students who are commended or become semifinalists receive a lot of interest from colleges who want them to attend. The colleges vigorously recruit these students because it brings prestige to the college that they choose to attend.

Other awards given to students who score high on the PSAT the fall of their junior year include the National Achievement Award, given to African-American students, and the National Hispanic Achievement Award, given to Hispanic students.

11th Grade Year: All college-bound juniors should consider taking the SAT and ACT in the Spring.

Taking the SAT and ACT during the junior year is important because if the student can get a good score, he or she can focus on taking college visits and finishing applications during the summer and early part of the fall of the senior year. Having a good score by the spring of the junior year will open doors and give the student more choices and more time to find the right fit. 

In addition, if the student does not get the score up to what they need, they have an opportunity to work on it in the late spring or summer before their senior year and then take the test during the fall of their senior year.

I strongly advise against postponing the SAT and ACT to the senior year — in other words, not taking either test at all until the student is a senior. It may take a few months to address any weaknesses the student may have. It is best to work on these deficiencies prior to the student’s senior year, if possible.

Next SAT Tests will be in the Fall

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The June 6th National SAT was cancelled today by the College Board.  The next opportunity to take the SAT will be the test on August 29th.  The College Board is planning to add a test in September to accommodate demand.  Our Summer SAT classes will begin on June 26th.  We also have an ACT Class beginning on June 15th.  Click here to see the Summer Class Schedule:  Summer Schedule  Also, here is a link with more information from the College Board:  Announcement

New prep subscription service

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We have added a new monthly subscription service that students can use to in their SAT and ACT prep plan.  It is ideal for longer term learning and will include video examples, mini-lessons on strategy and concepts, as well as practice activities.  We will add new content every week.  The monthly fee is $34 but there is a 15% off discount available for a limited time.  Here is the link for the service:  https://knowledge-guides.teachable.com/p/weekly-sat-and-act-prep

If you have questions about this service, please contact us at 817-451-6200

Enroll Now

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Online SAT Prep Course

This 10 session online SAT class prepares students for PSAT/SAT testing. This course is designed for students who want higher test scores to improve their college and scholarship choices. Our in-house program has an average score increase of 152 points, and some kids improve by more than 200 points. This online version will include the same strategies and concepts that we teach in our in-house course.  Please contact us if you would like more information or you can follow this link:  Course Sign Up Page

Learn about all our online options:  Find out more!

SAT and PSAT Prep Online

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We’re online if you need us.  We wanted to let everyone know that we have recently started offering SAT and ACT Prep online in response to the current situation.  We hope everyone is safe and adjusting to this current challenge in the best way possible given the circumstances.  We have scheduled an online SAT Class to begin April 10th with the first lesson to be available at that time.  This class will consist of 10 lessons with 2 lessons added per week.  In addition to the SAT Class, we plan to offer other classes as well such as ACT class in the near future.  Parents can also choose to set up individual online tutoring as well through Skype or Zoom along with an online whiteboard.  Here is a link to more information about our online offerings:  Online Courses .  Please let us know how we can be of assistance.

Which kids stand the most to gain from test prep?

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I assert that about 99% of students can benefit from preparation. Unless the student is in the top 1% on the ACT or SAT, he or she has room to improve.

In making your decision, look at the admission factors at the colleges your child is applying to and decide if a better score would make a difference with respect to admission or in the bid for a scholarship.

Look at where your child currently stands. How do their class rank and test scores compare with what it usually takes to gain admission to those colleges?

For example, say your child has an ACT score of 26 and is in the top 5% of their class, and you have determined that they have a very strong shot of being admitted. You have decided that they do not need a higher ACT score to get in, but you are not sure about scholarships.

Next, you call the school and find out that if your child raised their score to a 28, they would qualify for a $3000 annual scholarship. This is a situation where they stand to gain a lot from raising their score. $12,000 is on the line — getting a score of 28 will not be easy. It will take some work and I would advise that you locate the best preparatory program available to you and go for it.

Excerpt from The Parent's Guide to the SAT and ACT by James Pipkin

James is the gold standard for assisting your child with preparation for the PSAT and SAT. He works hard, and is organized, patient, and encouraging. He is also easy to communicate with (for parents and children). Our child improved her score substantially, which will give her a real opportunity to be admitted into the university she has focused on attending. We are so very thankful for his help.

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