There is no question that preparing your child for college while in elementary school is way too early. But it's also possible to start too late. For most students, the application process will begin junior year, but freshman year is when decisions about coursework and extracurricular activities count. In order to create a sound foundation for [...]
If you want to see what these tests look like to your kids, the Youtube video linked below will give you a fairly good idea. In it, three college grads – one from Yale, one from Stanford, and one from UC Berkeley – try out a couple of questions from standardized test given in South [...]
Whether you understand the meaning of a test question or not may depend on whether you’re the one who wrote the test, or are the one who’s taking it. As experienced teachers, we've seen this first hand. We would write questions for tests that seemed perfectly fair. The material had been covered in class, [...]
When it’s time for the writing section on the test, you will very likely do just fine using the writing methods you’ve been taught in class. So while you don’t want to try to learn any new style, since this is a timed writing sample, there are a few strategies to know before you sharpen [...]
It’s not easy to put together a good writing sample on the test if you don’t know what your schools will think is good. Do they want formal writing? Should there be astounding thoughts that unlock the secrets of the universe? Should it be in iambic pentameter? Don’t worry. None of those things [...]
The first thing to know about the reading comprehension section of any test is that it is not a test of how well you read. It's a test of how well you take a reading test. What this means for test takers is that to do well on this test section, [...]
It is very difficult watching your child feel stress, especially when you are feeling the same way. This is what I commonly hear from the parents I counsel during the admission process. So, how do we help our children and ourselves during this oftentimes anxiety-filled time? Here is my advice on how to demystify [...]
One of the great myths out there is that students who know the material taught in class will be prepared for standardized tests. But the reality is that except for a few naturally great test takers, knowing only the academic material is going in half-prepared. One concept we try to instill in our students is that [...]
During the admissions process, parents and student applicants will be asked to participate in an interview. This might be with someone from the admissions office, a teacher, or even a student if you're applying to secondary school. It's natural for parents and students to feel somewhat anxious about this step in the admissions process. Don't let that [...]
The SSAT and ISEE test dates are here! In preparing for your exam, there is nothing better than continued, ongoing practice to make testing language second nature. But if you’re gearing up to test in the coming days and haven’t had a chance to formally prepare, there are three pointers that by keeping them in mind can [...]
