College of My Choice
Call Me 858-458-5930"What we learn to do we learn by doing." -Aristotle
Frequently Asked Questions
THE BASICS
Where are you located?
I tutor students privately from my home in La Jolla, just off the Gilman Drive exit on Interstate 5. Upon scheduling the first appointment, I will send the address and directions to my home.
What are your fees?
Please see the "Services" page of my website for the list of fees.
How do you prefer to be paid?
Clients can pay by cash, check, and credit card (through PayPal).
Must I sign a contract?
No.
Do you teach on the weekends?
During the school year, I teach Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. In the summer, I teach Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Do you ever come to a student's home?
No.
Do you have experience working with students with learning disabilities and/or ADD?
Yes! Private tutoring may be the best approach for these types of students. After the initial diagnostic, I give suggestions regarding the most appropriate course of tutoring.
Do you counsel students in the admission process?
I typically recommend hiring a private college counselor for a more in-depth approach to admissions. Please consult the "Resources" page of the website for a more complete list of college counselors in the San Diego area that I highly recommend.
TEST PREP
How much can I reasonably expect my child's scores to increase with your services?
My students consistently increase their scores 220+ points on the SAT and 3+ pts on the ACT. These score increases assume the student will take the SAT or ACT test 2-3 times and complete the program of study. Please see the score results for the Class of 2010 (pdf), Class of 2009 (pdf), and Class of 2008 (pdf) for a better indication of how my students perform.
Are there any exceptions?
Even with tutoring, some students will have trouble raising their scores. There are a few situations, in which score increases may be less predictable:
- Students with ADD/ADHD and/or other processing and/or cognitive issues
- Students who had previous preparation at another program (in which case the diagnostic score would be adjusted accordingly)
- Students with diagnostic scores below 1500, which typically means the student may be academically weak in a subject area (so the strategies may be less helpful because the student does not have the basics down)
- Students whose first language is not English, especially if the student came to the U.S. in junior high or high school
- Students who might be better suited for a different test (ACT vs. SAT)
Where do I go to register for the exams?
To register for the SAT or Subject Tests, please visit the College Board website at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/reg.html.
To register for the ACT, please visit http://www.actstudent.org.
When must I register for the tests?
The homepage of the website regularly updates the upcoming registration deadlines for the SAT and ACT. The above websites also post the deadlines.
I have heard that the ACT is an "easier" test. Is that true?
Easier for some students, but definitely not all. The pace of the test is faster, and it includes a scientific reasoning section (not on the SAT). In general, the test is less "tricky" and does not take points off for wrong answers. I usually recommend taking a practice ACT to obtain a diagnostic score, which can be compared to the PSAT or SAT scores. The Plan, the ACT's version of the PSAT, I find less reliable.
Do all schools accept ACT scores?
Ninety-nine percent of selective and highly selective schools accept ACT scores. In California, submission of ACT scores should not be a problem.
Should I take the ACT with Writing?
The ACT offers two versions of the test. I always recommend that students sign up for the ACT with Writing option, which requires students to write a short essay. Many schools, like the UC, require students to take this version of the test and will not accept the scores otherwise. So to play it safe, sign up for ACT with Writing.
Do colleges see the PSAT scores?
No.
How many times can a student take these tests?
There are no formal restrictions on how many times a student can take the SAT, ACT, or Subject Tests. But as a general rule, I typically recommend taking the SAT or the ACT no more than three times.
Have any of your clients received a perfect score?
Yes. I have had several clients receive "true" perfect scores (based on one sitting). To their credit, these students typically come to see me with already extremely high diagnostic scores (2100+) and just need a little coaching on the format of the test and the best strategies for tackling the harder questions.
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
What score does my child need to gain admissions to a "good" school?
Again, each student is different. What may be a safety for one student could be a reach for another.
A better approach is to evaluate the student’s current score, based on a diagnostic SAT and/or PSAT, add 200-250 pts to the score (assuming the child has not already undergone test preparation), and look for colleges that seem reasonably well-suited for admissions taking into account a student's GPA, extra-curricular activities, and academic interests.
For example, if your child has a diagnostic score of 1650, even with tutoring she may find it difficult to achieve more than 1850-1900 on the SAT. Admission to schools who regularly take students with scores of 2100 or above may not be attainable. And to put unreasonable pressure on the student to achieve such scores may hurt self-esteem and/or strain the parent/child relationship.
I advise setting high, yet achievable, goals for my students. Setting unreasonable SAT or ACT goals can damage a student's self-confidence, contribute to test anxiety, and be generally counter-productive in the college admissions process.
Can you select which SAT or ACT scores to send to a college?
Beginning with the Class of 2010, students will have several options to choose from when sending SAT scores to colleges. It is very important that students and parents understand which option a college requires for admission. For example, some colleges will allow students to "hide" certain test dates, and others require all scores be sent. For a more detailed summary of the new policy, please read my article "New SAT Score-Report Policy".
The policy remains unchanged for the ACT, which has always allowed students to select which score to send to the colleges.
What do the percentiles on the SAT and ACT score report mean? Do colleges use them to evaluate an applicant?
Percentiles are used to gauge how an individual's score compares to other test takers that day. Parents are sometimes dismayed at what may seem like a high score may not have a correspondingly high percentile ranking.
Since colleges do not see the percentile scores, I would largely ignore them for admission purposes. For evaluating a student's prospects for admission, I would rely mainly on the scores, not the percentiles.
When should I release my scores to the colleges?
Ideally, scores should be released no later than late October of senior year (perhaps earlier for early admission applications).
Do any schools NOT require test scores for admittance?
Yes! A growing number of colleges and universities are realizing the limitations of standardized tests in evaluating all applicants. Several highly selective schools, such as Bowdoin, Bard, Middlebury, Pitzer, and others, do not require that students submit SAT or ACT scores as part of the college application. Some do, however, require a 3.5+ GPA and/or submission of other tests (such as AP, IB, or Subject). For a list of hundreds (yes, hundreds) of schools that do not require SAT scores, please read my article "Test Optional Colleges".
I heard that colleges do not really use the Writing score on the New SAT? Is this true?
Most of the criticisms surrounding the Writing section of the New SAT center on how the essays are graded and what is actually measured in the timed writing. Although available for review by the colleges, the essays on the New SAT are not typically given much consideration when evaluating an applicant.
Also, the essay portion is only a fraction of the total score in the Writing Section. Seventy percent of the score is based on multiple-choice questions testing a student's grammar skills. So, the Writing score, I feel, still has some significance as a measurement of grammar knowledge.
As the test is more widely taken, colleges will most likely rely on the scores more, not less. At some schools, like University of California, the Writing score is equally weighted with the Reading and Math scores. Other schools discount the score or treat it more like a Subject Test.
