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April 2018
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 “So I didn’t understand why so many of them were enrolled in the optional SAT prep section of our summer program. Why would such impressive high achievers spend their summer nights storming through a massive SAT book? Many of them already took weekend SAT prep courses back home. Did they just think it was fun to time one another on practice sets?” A story in the New York Times talks about a student from a modest background wondering why his rich co-students were taking summer SAT prep classes. His family and friends from home thought it was weird that he went to “school” during his summers. His fellow students saw it otherwise; they saw summer academic programs as normal and enjoyable. They approached studying for the SAT with a near-professional intensity that was alien to him. “I realized that they didn’t just want to score exceptionally well on the SAT. They were gunning for a score on the Preliminary SAT exams that would put them in the top percentile of students in the United States and make them National Merit Scholars in the fall.” The majority of low- and middle-income 11th graders he knew didn’t even sit for the preliminary exams. Most took the SAT cold. Few were privy to the upper-middle-class secret: To get into elite colleges, one must train for standardized tests with the intensity of an athlete.
Yes, train with the intensity of an athlete. How do you do that?
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 You are told if you are smart, you will get good grades and do really well on standardized tests. Nothing can be further from the truth. Just because a student is smart, it does not mean she will end up with good grades. Yesterday, we had a meeting with concerned parents and their talented and smart daughter, who was barely getting by in school. She was doing well, and then suddenly her grades fell. Her parents were concerned brought her to Hillview Prep to provide her with academic and test prep support. Her father kept on insisting that his daughter is smart. We did not disagree, as after talking to her we could tell that she is a typical smart and talented girl, who has too many things on her hand. She is active both in academics and in sports, and says she is not a good test-taker, but does all her homework. She said she does not like math and is not good at it, but loves science. Usually, when someone is good in science, they are good in math too. The problem is that students often do not know their learning style and skills they need to do well in academics and in tests. They just do things intuitively. They haven't learnt that one can be good in any subject. It all depends on learning good methods of learning. Do you know how to take control of your academic abilities? Do you know how to learn effectively? Well, if you are smart, why are you not good at taking tests? Test taking is fundamentally a skill, just like any other skill. Many parents and teachers don't want to equate intelligence or mastery with good grades. Intelligent kids often do poorly in tests, because they never were taught test-taking skills. This is especially true with timed tests. . Sometimes they find the test easy, so they overcomplicate it because of their need for a challenge. Overcomplicating a question or an inference can take away precious seconds and put them under time pressure. Time interval training using the Smart Scoring System can help with time management as well as finding out whether you are complicating questions by going too abstract rather than being literal and answering the question asked; whether you are skipping steps, doing mental math or not paying attention, so you make minor errors, etc. This is why even smart kids need to be taught the proper way to take a test. The ACT and the SAT are probably the most important tests that students will ever take, but it is also the most difficult and most stressful. Even a straight-A student who excels at test taking may struggle with the ACT and the SAT, so test prep is extremely important. The Smart Scoring System is the tool to teach students—any student—how to learn better and how to take tests better. How the Smart Scoring System helps smart students?
If you are interested in learning how the Smart Scoring System can help you or someone in your family, let us know. We offer assessments using the Smart Scoring System to evaluate where you stand: your learning style, your strengths and weaknesses, etc. Click below for an assessment.  College Consulting1. Admission Consulting. From anywhere, at any time and on any device. 2. College Credit. Earn college credits and reduce the cost of college. ​ N.B: Price is $150/hour
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There are many students who have perfect scores on the SAT. These students come all walks of life and have taken test prep from various places, from the name brands to individual tutors. If you were to choose a test prep course, and there are lots and lots of choices today, which one should you choose? Of course, we will say choose us, but what really differentiates us from the name brands like Kaplan and Princeton and from the many test prep schools out there. In short, why would you work with Hillview Prep?
The short answer is the Smart Scoring System. The Smart Scoring System is a learning tool. It can identify your academic strengths and weaknesses and understand your learning style. It is the ultimate guide for discovering the most effective methods and strategies that make you learn faster and succeed in less time.
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 Many students who are preparing for the SAT confuse or do not know definitions. Definitions are critical. They help you understand and differentiate a concept from others. They also help you retain the concept in a simple way. And finally, they help you answer the question on your SAT test.
Here are the most common SAT math definitions that you should become familiar with. You will see these words throughout the SAT math test, and you have to know how to use them.
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 You are an excellent student. You got good grades, but you bombed the SAT. You are disappointed and still want to go to a top school. What do you do now? Here are some tips.
1. Take the ACT! This is a no-brainer. If you have not taken the ACT, you must. It will enhance your chances of getting into an Ivy league school. Prepare for the ACT with the Hillview Prep's Smart Scoring System and get a great ACT score. The Smart Scoring Systems can quickly diagnose why you failed to obtain a great SAT score and help you pinpoint your weaknesses. Working with one of our tutors, you can use the Smart Scoring System to lean faster, test smarter and score higher. |
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