In today’s ultra-competitive college admissions processes high test scores are a must-have should a student have any chance of being accepted to top universities. A student who decides not to prep could potentially be putting himself or herself at a distinct disadvantage against other students applying to the same colleges.
Experience and results. Very few, if any, programs or tutors have the consistent level of scoring improvements that College Ambitions LLC provides. The owner of College Ambitions LLC has logged over 20,000 hours of SAT and ACT tutoring over the last 13 years. One would be hard pressed to find any other test prep professional with half of the experience.
The simple answer is that such a score does not exist. We here at College Ambitions LLC strive to help students earn scores that will “not keep them out” of the schools they most desire. Generally, an SAT/ACT score within the top 25% of accepted applicants (from the previous year) at any school will suffice for any student to NOT be an immediate “No” for admission at many U.S. colleges.
No. The SAT is developed and administered by College Board, and the ACT is developed and administered by ACT.
There are many variables as to why this might have happened. We are not one to comment definitively, but we would be happy to give you our thoughts through personal correspondence with College Ambitions LLC. The good news is, however, that the test are very similar now, so the time it takes to prep for both exams has been drastically reduced!
This call can be a tough one to make. We provide extensive testing and discussion to help students choose the best test for them. We recommend that students weigh initial scoring percentiles for both exams with the test that “feels” better for them. The ACT offers on average much less time per question compared to the SAT, so students who can work quickly might benefit against other test takers when considering the harsher ACT time constraints. We generally recommend the SAT over the ACT when a student cannot get his or her reading and/or science ACT scores where they would like them to be. The ACT is currently the test preferred by my most of our students.
As many times as it takes to get the score your child desires. Every student will eventually reach a score that we believe is at the top of his or her ability levels. When that score is reached we discourage further prep and expense. Our typical student takes the real SAT or ACT at least once and then normally focuses on one test or the other for additional testing.
The ACT tends to be a test more about achievement than aptitude. The SAT is, and always has been, a reasoning test. The ACT can benefit students who have taken a more rigorous school curriculum. The SAT can benefit students who are better natural test takers. The ACT tests more grammar and punctuation while the SAT tests more rhetorical skills. The reading comprehension on the ACT is more about finding and recalling details in the passages while the SAT reading is more about author and character motives and about finding the deeper meaning within the passages. The ACT math is very school-based and straightforward while the SAT math is more about critical thinking and problem solving. The ACT has one math section on which a student may use a calculator while the SAT has both a non-calculator and calculator sections. The ACT has a dedicated Science section while the SAT works in data analysis questions into the Reading and Writing sections.
Not really. The ACT Science is far more about being proficient in data retrieval and analysis rather than having an extensive science knowledge base. Only 1-2 questions on each ACT Science section require that a student have any kind of outside science knowledge.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a U.S. academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). This is an affiliate company to College Board, and the PSAT test is basically a marginally shorter and easier version of the current SAT. Almost every high-school junior in the U.S. takes the PSAT in October of his or her junior year. The highest-achieving students in the National Merit Scholarship Program are designated as National Merit Semi-Finalists. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score, which may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named semi-finalists in their respective states. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis, contingent on the total number of entrants and in proportion to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% percent of the state’s senior students. The moral of the story here is that attaining a National Merit Semi-Finalist distinction can be very, very difficult. Most Semi-Finalists will receive much more scholarship money from the colleges to which they apply rather than from the scholarship competition itself. Scores on the PSAT are not accepted for college applications, so for the vast majority of students the PSAT amounts to nothing more than a practice SAT.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists have to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each semifinalist submits a detailed scholarship application, which includes essays and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also have to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance. From the semifinalist group, a certain number of students, varying from year to year, advance to finalist standing depending on the above criteria. Scholarship winners represent fewer than 1% of the initial pool of roughly 1.5 million student entrants.
There are many variables at play here. If a student has very high PSAT scores from his or her 10th grade years (195 or higher for the PSAT selection index) then starting to prep during the summer before his or her junior years is optimal. That way he or she can take aim a National Merit Semi-Finalist score and start prepping months in advance. Generally, our summer students take the PSAT in Oct and the SAT and ACT in the fall. Many of these students are done with their college testing by their winter breaks. Remember prepping the the PSAT is the same process as prepping for the SAT and ACT. If prepping for the PSAT is secondary to prepping for the SAT and/or ACT then starting later in a student’s junior year can work well. Our winter term students start to prep in the late Nov or early December in prep for the SAT and ACT test dates in the spring. We always couple students’ starting SAT and ACT scores with their college/scoring goals to provide a realistic plan for their testing. We do start with some student’s during their 10th grade years, but this is only done under special circumstances and normally has a lot to do with a student being recruited for athletics. Some alternative programs attempt to lock a family into paying for years of prep, so many of these programs encourage students as young as 8th grade to start prepping. Some companies require quite a large initial investment to prep your child. This initial investment tends to push many families to “stick with” their initial prep direction even though their children’s scores are not improving. We do not endorse this particular practice.
Practice tests created by the test makers themselves are the absolute best source of accurate scoring numbers with which to assess current student scoring levels as well as progress through our programs. Some other companies use proprietary exams of their own creation. These tests are often deliberately made much harder than the real exams. So, if a student takes one of these non-official tests he or she might believe that his or her numbers are lower than they would be on the actual exams. A “false-reading” like this can cause a student to panic and might cause a family to hastily choose their best direction for prep. Also, this practice can make a family believe that a particular prep program was more helpful to a student than it actually was. For instance, consider a student who takes a practice ACT exam engineered by another prep company and earns an average score of a 20. This student might do as well as a 22 or 23 on the real test on that same day. This student completes a prep program with the company that so woefully diagnosed his or her scoring deficiencies and earns a 25 on the real ACT a few months later. A family thinks the prep program helped their child improve five points. In reality, the program only helped 2 to 3 points. This practice is unethical, and College Ambitions LLC has never and will never manufacture score improvements in this manner.
The duration of the prep process will depend on a student’s starting scores, his or her scoring goals, and the time we have to prep before the actual testing dates. In general, the higher a student’s starting scores are the fewer the number of hours needed to successfully complete our programs. For example, a student with a top 5% starting scores could be fully prepped in 10-15 hours while an average student might need 18-24 hours of prep time. We do not endorse a one-size-fits-all test prep solution. We fully tailor our prep programs for each student. Generally, our winter term students have lower starting scores than do our summer into fall students, so the time required for the prep is longer.
These tests are additional exams that some schools require in addition to SAT and ACT scores. These exams are subject specific. (Physics, Math, History, etc.) Each of these exams is one hour in length and up to three of these exams may be taken on any given test date. These tests are generally administered on the same day and location and at the same time as the SAT. We encourage students to research the schools to which they have interest to see if any of their potential schools require the Subject Tests.
Absolutely. The scores on the SAT and ACT are curved based on each student who takes the tests on any given day. Each test uses a standard bell curve when converting raw scores to scaled scores. For instance, an average ACT score for a high-school senior is a 20 out of 36. If that student improves for a 20 to a 24 then his or her scoring percentile jumps from the 50th to the 74th nationally. However, if a student moves from a 24 to a 28 his or her percentile jumps from the 74th to the 90th. From a 28 to a 32 the percentile jumps from the 90th to the 98th. So the same number of points of improvement will not equate to an equal increase in scoring percentile. The take away here is that the higher a student scores the harder it will be to improve against his or her peers.
While each SAT and ACT is similar in difficulty from test date to test date some tests are found to be easier or harder depending on the student. The curving procedures will take care of the varying difficulties from exam to exam. This means that a student who scored a 1450 out of a 1600 on the SAT would earn the same score relative to his or her peers on another test date…even if he or she missed a few more questions on that particular test. Generally, the fall test dates (September through November) are utilized primarily by seniors. Many of these seniors are taking their tests for the second or third times and have prepped over the summer and between their previous exams. This fact means that the “pool” of test takers can be more capable overall, so “un-prepped” students might fare worse against their competition that testing day. We generally recommend that a junior sit for the exams in the fall only if he or she has strong scores that will stack up well against the curve. Most high school juniors focus on the spring test dates for their SAT and ACT exams. We always create the optimal testing plan for all of our students.
At this point almost all colleges accept both scores. Neither test is preferred over the other for most colleges in the U.S.. The revision of the SAT may have concerned colleges over the last few years, but that concern has been greatly mitigated. Over the years ACT has made only minor changes to its format and style, so the consistency of the ACT has caused many students (and potentially admissions officers as well) to “trust” the ACT over the SAT.
Absolutely not. We work with students of all ability and scoring levels. Whether it be a student currently earning a 12% score or one who has already broken the top 2%, our programs are tailored to the student. We teach our students in a way that they can learn optimally and efficiently. We create a no-pressure relationship that fosters trust and confidence.
Of course. In fact, over 30% of our students each year have some sort of testing accommodations. Our programs have a foundation that all students experience, but the pace and specialized testing content is always geared for a student to feel great about the prep experience. We understand that some students require more time to prep then do other students. No two students are the same.
No. The diagnostic exams we administer prior to starting the prep allow us to pinpoint a student’s areas of need. We believe in the adage “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.” This approach simply means that if a student is already scoring in the top 1-2% in a certain content area of the ACT or SAT then we will generally not push a student to engage in prep for that content area. We will certainly offer help if requested or if the need arises, but we do not force our clients to pay for prep lessons that might be of little to no benefit for their child. That said, the majority of our families do prefer to have their child complete the prep program in its entirety. Completing the entire prep program will give your child every advantage we can provide.
Yes. We understand that many families do not have an unlimited amount of money to spend to prep their child. Within reason we can work under a comfortable budget for your family. Using the results of our diagnostic exams we simply put the prep hours towards the areas that we believe will have the most positive impact on a student’s score. However counterintuitive it might seem, prepping a student on his or her weakest content area (score wise) is not always the best route to increase a student’s overall scoring numbers.
Yes. Although not our main area of focus we can provide school-based subject tutoring as well. Many families report that our work with their children in test prep has the added benefit of helping their school work as well. We encourage and foster study skills and organization that almost always translate into additional success at school. However, please remember that our principle aim is to help your child score as high as possible on his or her college entrance exams. Any and everything else is secondary to maximizing scoring numbers. Period.
Absolutely. Each student will generally have 1-2 hours’ worth of homework for each hour we meet together weekly. We understand that today’s students are asked to do more than ever, so we do not overload our students with homework. We do expect that our students complete their assignments in a timely matter to ensure retention and value.
While a standing day/time during the week is always great in theory sometimes it is just not possible. Sporting obligations, varying school activities, and family obligations require that we be as flexible with scheduling as possible. We do ask that all families be as considerate as possible with making our scheduled sessions. We prefer to schedule via group text with the student, instructor, and at least one parent on the text thread. We strive to make the scheduling process as painless as possible.
No. We do not require contracts locking in our families to a certain number of hours. Either party can end the tutoring relationship at any time for any reason. However, the vast majority of our families stay with us until they are fully satisfied with their scoring results.
Payment is always appreciated immediately after each session, but we remain flexible. Many of our clients pay for hours in advance while some prefer to be invoiced. Many families pay after each session. We accept personal checks, cash, bill-pay services, as well as electronic payments. We understand that we all live busy lives, so we really try to make payment for services rendered pain free. We are completely monetarily transparent.
Yes. There is an initial $30 fee to cover the first prep materials. These materials consist of a workbook and a notebook. Additional materials and costs might be incurred depending on the duration and direction of a student’s prep process. All costs are explained before payment is accepted.
Other than the costs of the materials and sessions there will be no other fees. We do not charge for phone calls, or emails, or texts in regards to our students as we believe that “nickel-and-diming” our clients is just bad business. We understand that parents occasionally want feedback as to the progress of their children. However, giving parents detailed feedback after each prep session is not logistically possible, and we hope that our clients will respect our “off-time” as well.
Each instructor who works for College Ambitions LLC must have verifiable test scores in the top 1% for the SAT and/or ACT. Period. Each instructor must successfully complete a 20 hour training conducted by Justin himself. Instructor training consists of lesson modeling, instructor to student role playing, content teach-backs, linguistics training, as well as teaching style training and feedback. Upon the completion of the training Justin provides "hands-on" involvement to each instructor in terms of scheduling logistics, weekly student feedback and progress, and student prep direction for the duration of an instructor's time with a student. Justin spends considerable time and effort "grooming" his instructors so that they are not only expert tutors but also valuable investments in the success of the students of College Ambitions LLC. Very few instructors have the talent, aptitude, and student-centered personality to teach for College Ambitions LLC.
The many factors associated with how a student performs on any given testing day make it impossible to guarantee a certain score improvement for any student. We can guarantee, however, that we endeavor in every way possible to pull greatness out of all of our students!