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Spotlight on the SAT and the ACT

The ACT is on the rise. Attending the National Association for College Admission Counseling annual meeting in Maryland, I could clearly see that the SAT is continuing to lose ground to its longstanding rival. During a well attended session, SAT Test Prep: Sharing What Works, as soon as one college counselor mentioned the success his students were having prepping for the ACT, heads began nodding in agreement throughout the auditorium. More and more schools, college counselors, educational consultants and tutors are shifting their energies toward this alternative to the SAT.

People love to attack the SAT, which has become a magnet for controversy. Over the years, the SAT has been blamed for many of the ills, shortcomings and inequities of the US educational system. In my research I have found dozens of critiques and analyses of the SAT, exploring its biases, lack of predictive strength and various other failings, whereas critiques of the ACT are conspicuously rare. Most educational researchers have chosen to overlook the ACT, which in turn has benefitted from the relative lack of public scrutiny.  The few researchers who have examined the ACT in the same light as the SAT have discovered that the ACT is not a corrective for the SAT; the ACT shares many of its flaws, privileging the same groups and creating the same social, racial and economic divisions as the SAT.

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Appelrouth Tutoring Services is the proud parent of a brand new bundle of joy! No, no one had a baby. But after years of meticulous analysis and hard work, The Fabulous Guide to the SAT is now complete. Consider this Extreme Makeover: SAT Edition. While this new study guide is based on the same foundation of proven strategies that have helped hundreds of our students get their dream scores, it has seriously bulked up on practice problems and content.

The Fabulous Guide to the SAT is filled with humor, creativity, illustrations and diagrams designed for visual learners. Included in the book are sample study schedules for students to follow whether they have 1 day or 3 months to prepare and a 7-week, 600-word vocabulary plan to increase students’ scores. It teaches students a revolutionary way to think about Critical Reading and instructs them in all the key Math and Writing concepts. Learn how to rock the essay, guess strategically, manage time effectively, spot wrong answers, and conquer test anxiety.
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Outside of a  session at the National Association for College Admission Counseling annual meeting in Maryland, I spent a good deal of time talking with other tutoring operators at the conference. Numerous operators are pushing prep at a very early age and encouraging students to make enormous investments of time and energy towards their score goals. One company in Pennsylvania, catering primarily to Asian-American students, is pushing parents to begin SAT prep in the 7th grade and continue through senior year. Another company advocated 2-hour prep sessions, twice a week, throughout the entirety of junior year, in addition to bi-monthly mock tests: an investment of over 200+ hours. Another operator encouraged his students to cancel the score of their first actual SAT or ACT, simply to give them a feel for the testing process. These recommendations troubled me. I believe in economy of prep and finding the minimum amount of tutoring needed to gain the maximum result. Preparing for the SAT or ACT should not be a full-time job for students, nor should it span 5 years! Students have enough on their plates as it is, and we need to get the SAT or ACT over and done with as efficiently as possible to allow students to return to their busy lives.

What? SAT Prep cool?! What is Demetri Martin thinking? If you need a quick pick-me-up to help you escape the SAT doldrums before Saturday’s test, watch the short video below. And then go look up the word alacrity.

The Chinese are Coming! This emphatic title lured me and dozens of fellow NACAC (National Association of College Admissions Counselors) conference attendees into a session exploring the expanding impact of Chinese nationals on college admissions in America. It turns out this title was only a setup for a punch line: The Chinese are Coming? The Chinese are here. And this is not news. The presence of China is now firmly established on the world stage. Anyone who happened to watch the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, anyone who has stepped foot into a Walmart in the last decade, anyone who has taken a peek at the US trade balance or our list of national creditors knows unequivocally that the Chinese are here.

And it’s no surprise that Chinese nationals are entering our universities in record numbers. Our institutions of higher learning have always been the crown jewels of the US educational system. For decades highly talented and ambitious Chinese nationals have made their way to our shores to attend our graduate schools, and now they are coming with increasing numbers to our undergraduate schools.

Perhaps we should be flattered that our institutions of higher learning are so esteemed. Perhaps we should be a bit nervous, as the title of this session insinuated. Perhaps we simply need to adapt to the new reality. Other sessions at NACAC advocated this course of action, boasting titles such as: How to Recruit Chinese Nationals.

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Starting January 2010, we will be offering our Signature SAT Small Groups in an online format. You will get the same great tutors, 20 hours of group tutoring, 4 hours of private mock test review and flash cards. In addition, you will be connected to your tutor and classmates using the latest online collaboration technology from Cisco™ Webex. With the included headset, webcam and digital writing tablet, students will get the group experience from the comfort of their own homes. Our online small groups come with the same Score Increase Guarantee that our in-person groups have.

For a limited time, all online small groups in January will have a special price of $695 (plus enrollment). Future groups will be priced at $795.

Check out our web site for more information about online tutoring and upcoming Signature SAT Small Group dates. We will be adding more dates for January and February in the next few days.

A new year means new opportunities here at Appelrouth Tutoring in Atlanta! We have always prided ourselves in providing our students with exceptional tutors and the best curriculum and materials. 2010 will be no different! Our current tutors are the most experienced and highest performing tutors we have ever had. January will see the introduction of our newest version of the Fabulous Guide to the SAT, a brand new set of Writing Flash Cards and an online practice problem bank. To help retain our amazing staff, attract the most talented new tutors and continue to develop cutting-edge materials, new Atlanta clients will see a price increase of only $5/hr for all our private test prep tutoring beginning January 1, 2010. This does not affect currently enrolled clients or prospective clients that lock in their rate by paying your enrollment fee by January 1. Contact us for more information.

Do NOT bring a mechanical pencil to the SAT or the ACT. They are PROHIBITED. You are only allowed to take the exams with standard, No. 2 pencils. You have been warned.

When taking the SAT or ACT, it is crucial that you not bring a cell phone or any other device that is capable of vibrating, beeping, or making any noise whatsoever.  Every month, hundreds of students nationwide are dismissed from their exam because their cell phones go off.  Your scores are canceled, and you must wait until the next test date to re-test. Besides just being a larger-than-life hassle, having to take the test again can have serious consequences:
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Appelrouth Tutoring Service is holding a mock PSAT on October 3rd for students who believe they are close to the cut-off for National Merit Commendation. Our data indicate that most students will get a “bump” on the 2nd and 3rd iterations of taking the PSAT. Generally, the most significant increase will occur on the 2nd test followed by an additional “bump” on the 3rd test. There is clearly a “testing” effect, in which familiarity and increased comfort with the test lead to enhanced performance.

Your child is cordially invited to take a FREE practice exam at our site, conveniently located in Toco Hills at the corner of Briarcliff and Lavista, on October 3rd at 9:15 AM.

Seating is limited to the first 50 students.

Join Jed Appelrouth for his Everything College Admissions Seminar and learn all the ins and outs of the college admissions process:

• Wednesday, September 16 in Atlanta, GA (with Lida Griest & Wendy Williams)
• Thursday, September 17 in Washington, DC
• Wednesday, September 23 in Alpharetta, GA

Don’t miss this FREE opportunity to help your child get ahead.

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As a college-bound high school student you probably took the PSAT in the fall of your sophomore year. Whether you did well, or not so well, those scores are not used for consideration in the program. About a year later, as a junior, you will take the PSAT again – this one counts. Sometime during the spring of your junior year, the NMSC (National Merit Scholarship Committee) determines a qualifying score for “Commended” recognition—this usually goes to the top 50,000 scores (generally around the 96th percentile).

What happens if you made it past the “Commended” cut?

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Online education and online tutoring are not all about students sitting in a dark room by themselves, plowing through problem after problem. With today’s advancements in social networking technology and communication over the internet, learning online has become as personal as being in the classroom.

And it might even be more effective…

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We’ve fixed the audio issues some attendees had with our last webinar!

Join ATS founder Jed Appelrouth on August 26, 2009 at 7:00 PM EDT as he talks admissions, applications and standardized testing. The presentation will also be streamed live over the internet. Email or Twitter message us your questions ahead of time, and Jed will answer as many as possible live during the webcast. Links to register for the event can be found below based on how you plan to attend:

• I Will Attend Online
• I Will Attend In Person

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Are you jaded with your SAT vocabulary list?  Have you spent your tranquil summer cultivating your knowledge of the English language? Are you resigned to learning a truncated list of words that may appear on the SAT? Well how felicitous that you stumbled upon this blog post. We have recently compiled an additional vocabulary list of the most often occurring vocabulary words on the SAT that didn’t make our first cut. This list will be available to tutors in the next few weeks. We will also add additional Overachiever vocab quizzes online for your further edification.

Are you interested in online tutoring with ATS, but not sure exactly how it works? Check out this brand new video demonstration of our new system. (Your computer is not broken; there is currently no audio. We are working on it.)

Visit the site for more info, we’ll have additional demonstration videos up soon.

Okay, you’re a junior, now what? Junior year is the absolute best time to begin the test-preparation process. Almost all college-bound juniors will take the PSAT in October of their junior year. If you get a good score on the PSAT, we highly recommend taking your first SAT in November or December of that same year. If not, plan to take your first SAT in January or March after you have prepped a little.

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These days we all do pretty much everything online: read newspapers, check weather and traffic, pay bills, even talk on the phone with voice over IP programs. Are you ready to add one more thing to your list? How about first-rate tutoring with a real, live Appelrouth tutor? Oh, yes. I said ‘live’; no zombies here–and no pre-recorded videos or audio tracks. We are now offering our effective test prep course online, taught by our very own highly qualified tutors. Your student will have private, one-on-one sessions with a tutor from the comfort of your own home (or anywhere with high speed internet). Students will not only be able to see and hear their online tutor, but they will also be able to talk with them, ask questions, and work directly on actual SAT problems on a custom-made digital whiteboard.

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Have you ever wanted to attend a free college admissions seminar with ATS founder Jed Appelrouth but didn’t have the time or realized that you live on the other side of the country? Then mark down July 22, 2009 on your calendar as the day you can watch the presentation live, streamed over the internet. Watch from home, at the beach or anywhere with an internet connection. The event kicks off at 7:30 PM Eastern with an hour long presentation and 30 minutes of questions and answers with parents and students. Email or Twitter message us your questions ahead of time and Jed will answer as many as possible live during the webcast. To watch the live stream, just visit our homepage that Wednesday night.

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Sorry, pop music fans, we are not giving away tickets. But there are some new tests on NYU’s block. NYU is now offering different testing options starting with students who are applying for the 2010-2011 school year. The SAT and the ACT no longer stand supreme. NYU will now accept a myriad of different testing combinations.