You have a great many demands on your time as a student; essays to write, problem sets to complete, countless activities to travel to and partake in. There are a limited number of hours in each day, and that makes choosing how you spend each incredibly important. With such limited time, many students ask if spending any of it doing test prep is a good investment.
In this article, we’re going to demonstrate how and why doing test prep can be a good use of your time, by looking at some examples from past Ivy Scholars students. These students were much the same as you are now; busy, intelligent, motivated, and each in turn benefited greatly from our help preparing for these tests. Let’s find out how!
The SSAT and High School Apps: Eva’s Story
Eva came to us in the spring of her seventh grade year. She was already looking forward to high school, and wanted to attend a top private school. She was a developing artist, and already finding her voice through long hours of work perfecting her craft. She wanted to attend a school that would support her ambitions, and give her the kind of education that would set her up to attend a top college.
She came to us to help her find such a high school, and to help her get into it. Our first step was to get a sense of where she stood academically; her grades were quite good, but private high schools care a lot about standardized test scores, since middle schools differ so drastically in how they assign and grade coursework.
Eva took the SSAT and ISEE tests to get a ballpark of where she stood (you can read more about the difference between these two tests here). It was clear that the SSAT suited her strengths better, so we decided to focus our efforts on preparing solely for that, and not apply to any schools which would only accept the ISEE.
Next, we helped Eva apply for accommodations on the test. She was already receiving these at her school, so we helped her parents find and file the necessary forms to give Eva the accommodations she needed. This is a key step; the point of these tests is to evaluate students on a level playing field, and accommodations make sure that is possible.
With that done, the work of actually preparing for the SSAT began. This is somewhat different from preparing for the SAT; there are no full official practice tests, so this mostly consisted of reviewing the material that would be on the test, and working on different test-taking techniques to help calm the nerves and flow through the material smoothly once the actual test begins.
Eva had an incredibly busy schedule, both with her school work, and in the amount of time she dedicated to perfecting her art. We worked to develop a schedule that would ensure she was able to prepare for her tests around this, and develop time management and scheduling techniques to make sure everything was able to get done.
Of course, this wasn’t all we did; test prep is just one part of the application process, even if it is a very important one. We also helped Eva choose which schools fit her needs best, draft and edit her essays, request stellar letters of recommendation, and get everything in by the deadline.
Eva’s hard work and constant practice paid off on the SSAT, and she scored in a much higher percentile on her second test than the first. This helped her get into a number of the schools she was looking at, and she is now doing quite well in high school, having found a fit that supports both her academic and artistic ambitions.
If you are considering applying to a private high school, you should know that standardized tests are often a very important component, even more so than for college in many cases. On top of that, these companies have only released limited resources to help students prepare for these tests, making studying on your own often quite difficult. If you want to talk with an expert about how to best prepare for these tests, or apply to a top rated private high school, schedule a free consultation with us today. We’re always happy to hear from you.
How Test Scores can Take a College App to the Next Level: Max
Max was a very bright and academically talented student when he came to us, full of interesting ideas and a genuine passion for exploring the world around him. His grades were quite high across the board, and he was clearly very academically talented. His test scores were good, but not to the same level as his other academic performance.
On practice tests, he scored a 1440 on the SAT. Now, this is a very good score, but top colleges are frequently not content with very good. In our article on average scores at top colleges, you can see just how much these colleges expect from students and their test scores. Max was reasonably pleased with his strong early showing, but he knew he could do better, and that his applications would be stronger if he did.
Our work with Max focused on techniques to help him approach the test better on its terms. He had a very good handle on the material itself; it was the format of the test which caused issues, as is so often the case. The SAT and ACT are unlike any other tests you will take in high school, and this formatting disconnect often throws students off their game.
Max also began working with our college application mentors, in order to understand which schools would best serve his many and varied interests. Top colleges often blend together, but each has its own unique strengths and quirks, and what works well for one student may not suit another at all. After examining his options, Max decided that Rice University best suited his personal interests – now he just needed to get in.
The first step was getting his scores up, and here Max’s hard work with his test prep mentor paid off. After only a few weeks of review and learning test-taking strategies, he was able to increase his score by a full 120 points, to 1560. This is well within the range that Rice is looking for, and a testament to how hard he worked.
The work Max did with his college application mentor helped to position his candidacy for Rice, highlighting his intellectual interests and broad range of activities through his essays. In combination with his high test scores, this made him a great candidate for Rice. Since it was his first choice, he applied Early Decision, to demonstrate his commitment to the school.
He was accepted into Rice, and is currently pursuing his degree. We are glad we could help him make the most of his application, and reach the heights he was capable of.
Test Prep and You
There are a lot of demands on your time as a student, between school, homework, extracurriculars, and your family responsibilities. Test prep is just another piece you need to fit into this already packed schedule.
Ivy Scholars test prep is designed to fit within your schedule and needs, depending on where you are, and what goals you have. Whether you are trying to maximize your score to apply to a top university, or just get your scores into the range you know you are capable of achieving, we have a program to help you out. Here’s how it works in detail.
First, we determine where you are. This is based on a diagnostic test; even if you have already taken the SAT or ACT, a diagnostic test gives our mentors a comprehensive breakdown of how you performed on certain aspects of the test, so that they know where to focus their efforts. Our goal is to do work efficiently; this means we have to know which areas you most need help with.
Once we know this, we begin our program to assist you. This starts by approaching any issues systemically. If there are areas of content you are weaker on, we help you master them. If there are kinds of questions where the wording habitually trips you up, we’ll help you drill those until you fully understand what these tests are asking, and how to answer them efficiently.
On top of that, we’ll help you master test taking techniques; how to answer questions in a timely manner, when and how to skip a question that’s tripping you up and come back to it, and how to manage your stress when preparing for the exams. This is all structured based on how much time you have before the tests, and how much time you can devote to preparing each week.
This is all designed to help you prepare for the tests around your schedule. This does require a somewhat significant time investment on your part, both in terms of meeting with your mentor, and in the work you will need to do on your own. We do help students who need it with managing their schedules, and learning techniques to study and manage their time more efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Standardized tests are not the only aspect of an application, but they are one of the things that colleges always look at when determining if you are academically prepared for the work that a college will require of you. We work with a great many students on this every year, helping them to prepare for these tests, and work with the scores as a part of your larger application.
If you want to hear more about how we can help you, or an evaluation of how your scores fit in with your overall college strategy, reach out to us today for a free consultation. We have a depth of experience helping students make the most of their time when preparing for these tests, and are always happy to hear from you.
