What to Read This Summer
Summer is just around the corner, and for high school students, that means that pretty soon you’ll be getting your summer reading assignments. It doesn’t matter if you’re a natural reader with a full bookshelf—nobody really likes having to slog through a list of “classics” before the fall semester starts up. Reading skills are crucial for teenagers, though, and developing any skill takes practice. Reading regularly can help make even the most difficult novels easier to get through, and as a lifelong bookworm, I’ve got plenty of recommendations. These are titles that I find myself returning to over and over because I actually enjoy them, and some of them might already be on your required reading list anyway. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner. This beautiful work of historical fiction depicts two women’s intertwined lives in Afghanistan through the Afghan-Soviet war and the rise…
The Case for the September ACT
The traditional testing paradigm has high school juniors struggling to fit SATs and ACTs in at the end of the academic year, just as Spring Break, APs, finals, prom, and creeping summeritis set in. Some traditions deserve to be consigned to the trash heap of history along with bull fighting and jello salad. Instead, embrace a new way of looking at testing: juniors should test as early in the academic year as makes sense based on their goals and activities. For many juniors, that philosophy reveals September as the perfect time to take the ACT. Seniors, of course, are already lining up in droves for the September ACT. The traditionalists who took the June tests–at least the ones who didn’t plan for the July test date–have been waiting for months for another crack at the test. Testing in September presents plenty of upside with minimal risk for 12th graders. September…
Why Is Summer The Best Time for Test Prep?
The College Board administers the SAT in August, October, November, December, March, May, and June. ACT, Inc. follows suit by offering the ACT in September, October, December, February, April, June, and July (everywhere but New York). So if students can only take the SAT or ACT during the school year, why should they prep during the 2.5-month summer span when they can’t? The answer is obvious: because there’s no school! Today’s college-bound high school students are busier than ever before. No, that’s not a cliché. As admissions standards spiral ever higher (along with tuition), students strive to differentiate themselves through advanced classes, sports, clubs, jobs, and every other activity they can fit into each overscheduled week. This frenzy of activity reaches its peak in junior year, from the beginning of fall sports until the end of finals. Considering how many important commitments students are asked to juggle, why not try…
Summer Only Works if You Do
The question, if you’re looking for your best SAT & ACT scores, is never whether you are going to prep. Of course you will prepare for these influential yet eminently coachable exams. Instead, the right questions revolve around how to prep and when. If you’re reading this, you probably already recognize the best way to prep for the SAT & ACT. And you may already know the best time. For years, we’ve been preaching the perfection of summer for test preparation. The benefits to working over the summer are obvious, starting with the part about “no more teachers, no more books” and extending that sentiment to “no more coaches, no more clubs.” Even students who work, travel, or go to camp can find time to prepare. So how do you make the best of summer? 1. START The astonishingly productive Right Honourable John Lubbock famously said, “Rest is not idleness,…
The Case for the August SAT
The traditional academic year spanning from around Labor Day to well past Memorial Day feels like a marathon designed to test the endurance and focus of any participant (students and teachers alike!) Today’s high schoolers juggle so many academic, extracurricular, volunteer, family, social, and even work commitments that every hour in a week becomes scheduled far in advance. Adding insult to injury, college bound teens have to carve out time during the school year to take–and hopefully also prep–for SAT and/or ACT exams that are only administered from September through June. At least, that is, until now. The College Board may not elicit much praise from the teens who feel compelled to take the organization’s array of standardized tests, but who could complain about a new August administration of the SAT and SAT Subject Tests? I consider an August SAT the best news–and best option–we’ve received in a long time,…
Summer Prep Classes in Rochester and Syracuse
bly wasn’t even thinking about how perfect summer is for test prep. But around here, our busy, motivated teens appreciate how easy preparing for the SAT & ACT can be when school is out and days are long. If a prep class is right for you, consider the rich array of options in our most expansive summer schedule yet. Not only will you find comprehensive SAT/ACT classes in Brighton, Victor, Honeoye Falls, and East Syracuse, but we even have Single-Day Study Ups in Gates! SAT/ACT Intensive Class Get ready for the August 25 SAT and September 6 ACT! Our innovative, unified SAT/ACT Intensive Class has everything you need for success: an incredible amount of content and proven strategies combined with two full-length proctored practice tests and review sessions for just $500. Ask about discounts for early enrollment. BRIGHTON Chariot Learning, 2425 Clover St, Rochester 14618 JULY CLASS – Instructional…