Does College Admittance
Seem Impossible?
Finding the right SAT tutor and college admissions
consultant can help.
by Svetlana Bochman, Ph.D.
TWEENS
& TEENS News May 2007
Colleges have become more selective,
requiring higher SAT scores and raising expectations
for GPA scores, extracurricular activities
and that ever-elusive sense of “well-roundedness.”
In response to the rigorous trend, high schools
are prepping students as young as age 13 for
the SAT and college admission process. Desperate
parents, however, often don’t know where
to turn when equipping their kids for college,
and many parents end up putting even more
pressure on tweens and teens.
What can kids do to cope? If you’re
college-bound, help can come in the form of
an SAT tutor or college admissions consultant
(someone who helps you apply to college).
Why Colleges Are So Selective
More people are applying to college than ever
before, making admittance to colleges extremely
difficult. Students trying to get accepted
at good colleges compete with kids from all
over the country, as well as kids from all
over the world. As if that doesn’t make
admissions hard enough, now parents and adults
of all ages are also returning to school.
All this can make kids fear (and often put
off) applying to college, while parents worry
that they’re not doing enough to help.
Because colleges have a plethora of applicants,
they’re picking people with incredibly
high SATs. Even kids who score above-average
nationally often don’t score enough
points on the SATs to get into top schools.
Also, because every high school is different—
“excellent” work in one school
may only merit “average” grades
in another— your SAT is the most important
“grade” colleges consider.
Private Tutors and College Consultants
Many families are now hiring SAT tutors and
admissions consultants. By helping you get
into school, as well as enhancing your personal
study habits, a tutor can vastly improve your
SAT score. One-on-one tutoring often works
better than big classes and study groups because
the private tutor can give you individual
attention, preparing you, rather than the
class, for the test.
Over the ten years I’ve helped students
study for the SAT and apply to college, I’ve
seen test results improve after just one session
with a good tutor. That’s because the
SAT doesn’t really test how well you
know English or math; it tests how well you
can take a tricky test.
SAT TIPS and TRICKS
General Guidelines
•Start taking full-length practice tests
a month before test day.
•Know the directions to each part of
the test.
•Always guess if you can eliminate at
least one answer.
•Don’t spend too much time on
any one question (make an educated guess and
move on).
•Look at the answer choices after thinking
of your own answer. Many choices are meant
to confuse you— don’t fall for
this trap. Instead, follow these rules:
1. Read the question carefully.
2. Cover up the answer choices.
3. Think of your own answer (a general answer
works fine).
4. Look at the answer choices.
5. Choose the answer that most closely resembles
your own.
Section-Specific Guidelines
Critical Reading Section
For “Passage-Based Reading” questions:
•Read all the questions for each passage
(but not the answer choices).
•Do the easiest questions first.
•Follow steps 1 through 5 above.
•Instead of reading and then re-reading
the whole passage, read just enough to find
the answer. Then move on.
Writing Section
For “Improving Sentences” questions:
•Follow tips 1 through 5, except this
time think of an exact answer.
•Write your answer down before looking
at the answer choices.
For “Identifying Sentence Errors”
questions:
•Follow steps 1 through 5, except this
time think of what’s wrong with the
sentence.
Mathematics Section
•Make sure you answer the question asked.
Even if you solved the problem correctly,
you’ll get it wrong if you answered
for “x” when the question asked
you to solve for “x + 1.”
•Write what you’re solving for
at the top of your scrap paper.
•Keep your scrap work neat, and take
a few extra seconds to draw figures carefully.
•When a figure is not drawn to scale,
redraw it.
•For tough algebra problems, pick numbers
for variables.
•For tough problems with numbers as
their answer choices, work backwards by plugging
the answer choices into the equation.
The Essay Section
•Practice writing in pencil.
•If your handwriting is illegible, improve
it prior to test time.
•Write an outline before completing
the essay.
•Leave time to proofread.
The SAT tests how well you can take a standardized
test. College applications “test”
how organized you are and how well you present
yourself. A good admissions consultant helps
you put your best foot forward— to write
creative personal statements that highlight
your best qualities, to get references to
write good letters of recommendation, to see
hidden opportunities in parts of your application
and to stay on track of an often confusing
process.
As anyone can call him or herself a tutor,
be careful of charlatans with no credentials
who offer to write your essay for you. Use
the following questions as a guide when screening
prospective helpers.
Questions To Ask A Potential Tutor
or Admissions Consultant
•What is your educational background?
•How much experience do you have?
•Have you worked one-on-one with high
school students?
•Can you prepare me for all parts of
the test (for tutors) or all parts of the
admissions process (for admissions consultants)?
•What is your rate? Can I take at least
one session before committing to a package
deal?
•What is included in the rate?
•Where will tutoring take place? (Never
go to someone’s house or have a stranger
come to your house if you’re alone.)
Dr. Svetlana Bochman, Ph.D., is a former
university English professor who has worked
at both Kaplan and the Princeton Review. She’s
the founder of Bochman Tutoring, which has
helped many students score high on the SAT
and get into top schools. Contact Bochman
with questions or comments at (646)641-1468
or ivyleaguetutor@mindspring.com.
