My Aliso Niguel SAT Prep Branch - Week 2: When to Prepare

A question I hear from a lot of parents is this: When should my child start preparing for the SAT? Well, the best time to get started is the summer before junior year. For most students, junior year is the most difficult and stressful year of high school. Many students start taking AP classes and some teachers expect more from students. In addition, colleges look most closely at a student's junior year, as it is the most recent year for which admissions officers have a complete record. So junior year is busy.

During the summer, most students don't have the distractions they normally have during the school year, like academics, sports, extracurricular activities, etc. Plus, summer schedules allow for a more intensive test prep course. Instead of meeting just once or twice a week, a summer course can meet three or four times a week, allowing students to really focus on test prep. You don't need to spend the whole summer slaving away at test prep though. Take half the summer to focus on the test and have fun the other half!

In my case, I procrastinated until February of my junior year to think about the test. Then I found I didn't have enough time to take a full course, so I opted for an online course. It was helpful and I ended up doing well on the SAT, but looking back, I could have scored even better if I had taken the time to prepare during the summer and pursued some one-on-one tutoring. Having an actual person you can ask questions to, along with the discipline of a class schedule, is the most effective prep method for the majority of students.

If you're reading this and you're a rising senior or a parent of a senior, then don't worry! It's not too late to get comprehensive prep for the test. Most students going into their senior year have taken the test once or twice, although a few may have still put it off. As long as you get started now, you'll still have time to take the SAT once or twice more before college applications are due. As with rising juniors, this summer is the perfect chance to improve your score without the distractions of the school year. But it's also your last opportunity to get prepared, so you need to get started today!

I have a mix of rising juniors and seniors in my class. Both are continuing to improve as we move over some more advanced concepts and strategies in this second week. One of the things we talked about this week was the essay. The essay could be a blog topic of it's own, but I'll mention a few things here. The essay portion of the SAT scares a lot of students because it's right at the beginning of the test and most don't know what to expect. But like the rest of the test, it's nothing to worry too much about. No one is expecting a masterpiece in 25 minutes. I went over with my students that as long as you include a clear thesis and specific examples, you are more than halfway to conquering the essay. I've already started to notice some much stronger essays. With a little work, anyone can dramatically improve their essay score.

So for those of you who have been waiting to get started on test prep, the big message for today is stop delaying. You'll be happy with yourself later on for being ahead of everyone else who is freaking out once the school year starts. I still have some slots open for my late summer group course and private tutoring, so shoot me an email and we can talk about options. If you or your child is heading into junior or senior year, now's the time to sign up for a test prep program, before the summer gets away from you!

Contact me at Neil_Aronson@ivyinsiders.com

Neil Aronson, an Aliso Niguel High School alum, is a rising junior at Tufts University (a little Ivy right outside of Boston) where he's studying International Relations and Entrepreneurial Leadership. This summer he is starting and running a test prep branch through Ivy Insiders, a program offered by Revolution Prep that selects students from top schools who have scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and sends them back to their communities to help kids from their hometown improve their scores. Check back here every Friday for more tips and help on the SAT.