A New Reason to Avoid the Summer Brain Drain

When September rolls around and students begin test prep for fall and winter exams, we see the same thing happen every year. Suddenly thrust from their two and a half months of leisure, students find they are not as academically sharp as they were before summer began. Often called the “summer brain drain,” this loss of unpracticed skills over break is typically viewed as something between a mildly comical setback and a minor annoyance—nothing of real consequence.

However, there is now a good reason for high school upperclassmen to avoid the summer brain drain at all costs: the new SAT schedule. In the past, while the October and November SAT exams allowed seniors to receive scores before the regular college admissions deadlines, only the October SAT was early enough to receive scores by the early admission deadlines. Now, with the addition of an August SAT exam, there are two chances for seniors to receive scores before that critical early admissions deadline .

We highly encourage seniors to take advantage of this new opportunity and hit the ground running in August. Moreover, we also advise juniors to do some meaningful test prep during the summer. Junior year is a very busy time, with students trying to maintain high grades in challenging courses (especially honors and AP), stay committed to sports, engage in volunteer work, and excel in other extracurricular activities. By getting a strong head start on test prep over the summer, rising juniors can alleviate some of the pressure of this notoriously intense school year.

Many families have reached out to express an interest in preparing for high stakes exams over the summer, so Greenwich Education Group offers week-long SAT and ACT classes throughout the summer. From our diagnostic tests to our individualized curriculum, these small-group classes are customized to meet the needs of your student in a way that large, preprogrammed classes are not. This will ensure that your student’s skills will not only stay keen, but will in fact improve significantly before school begins again. Our current course schedules can be found: http://www.greenwichedgroup.co...

If your child prefers an even more individualized approach, we continue to offer flexible one-on-one
test prep and tutoring throughout the summer. Feel free to contact us for additional information and
any questions you may have. www.greenwichedgroup.com 203-661-1609