February 25th ACT for Kansas Juniors
There are quite a few ACT dates to choose from throughout the year including the new February 25th test date for Kansas Juniors. This is actually the second year Kansas has offered a free ACT to all public-school Juniors. Last year, the test date was postponed from the end of February to the very beginning of April due to a snowstorm.
What does this mean for Juniors? There are two ACT dates for February. One on February 8th, which is a national test date, and of course February 25th, exclusively for Kansas Juniors attending public school. Those specific Juniors can take the ACT twice in February. You will have to sign up for both in advance. You can’t simply take the February 8th test, receive your scores back approximately 10 days later around the 18th, and if you’re not satisfied with your score then sign up for the February 25th test. The deadline for the Feb 25th test date is usually toward the middle of December. The deadlines for both test dates are below.
| February 8th ACT | February 25th ACT | |
| Registration Deadline | January 10th | Mid-December |
| Late Registration Deadline | January 17th | Check with your school |
Students will want to check with their high school as some schools opt-in every Junior automatically and other schools require students to opt-in for the test instead of automatically enrolling the students.
Since this is Kansas and there could possibly be another blizzard in February, ACT.org has planned an alternate date for a make up date for April 7th.
Testing with Accommodations
If you have testing accommodations such as time and half or testing on numerous dates, then your window is between February 25-28, 2020 and March 2-6, 2020 for a make up date.
Online Testing
Students will have access to online testing for this ACT as well. The initial testing window is February 25-27, 2020 and March 3-5, 2020.
The makeup online testing window is April 7-9, 2020 and April 14-16, 2020.
ACT Prep
Get Smarter Prep is offering a specific ACT prep class for the February 25th ACT date. We are holding an ACT Prep Course at our Leawood location. Classes are more than likely to fill quickly, so make sure you register before December 20th. Semi-Private and Private Tutoring is always available.
We are also offering our Standard and Advanced Course for the February 8th ACT date at our Mission location as well as Semi-Private and Private Tutoring. Classes start soon, so be sure to register before December 18th.
Partnership with Team Cura
Partnership with Team CuraSM
Get Smarter Prep is excited to announce a new partnership with Overland Park-based, Team CuraSM. Team CuraSM is a digital education provider specializing in personal brand development for high school athletes that show potential to play at the next level.
As a member of their Skills Beyond DrillsSM Training Program, your athlete receives a series of short videos and guides. Each interactive video offers detailed steps to help your athlete gain confidence in the areas such as social media smarts, professionalism, time management, personal brand development, leadership, and more.
Each athlete will receive a series of videos, guides, E-books and activities, giving them a variety of ways to learn. Every resource offers detailed steps to help you student gain confidence in developing their personal brand.
Their team makes it easy for busy students to have access to the Skills Beyond DrillsSM training program by providing availability on smart phones, tablets and computers.
Team Cura’s goal is to help every student-athlete build their personal brand while effectively being able to communicate to their teammates, parents, teachers, and coaches throughout their high school career and onto college or beyond.
To learn more about Team CuraSM, visit their website.
College Admissions Scandal – Update
It’s been a hot topic since this spring when the story first hit the press, but what’s the latest information in the College Admissions Scandal and what does this mean for parents?
When the story first broke about famous actors and uber rich parents buying their way into colleges, everyone was shocked. Now that there are more details coming out and those same parents facing additional charges, the scandal has become quite the headline.
Charges and Outcomes
Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli, along with nine other parents, now face additional bribery charges. Conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy fraud are two charges these families are already facing.
Some parents are already in prison, including actress Felicity Huffman, who after pleading guilty, received 14 days in a low-security prison for paying $15,000 to increase her daughter’s SAT score by 400 points.
Some parents apparently paid as little as $200,000 and upwards of $6.5 million to have their students admitted to various colleges and universities throughout the United States. A few of those colleges include USC, Yale, Wake Forest, Georgetown, and Stanford among others.
Honesty is the best policy
Was it worth it? Of course not. You know what is worth it? Hard work and dedication for starters. There are things in life that will not be handed to you. You simply have to work for it. Getting a good ACT or SAT score is one of those things.
That’s why here at Get Smarter Prep, we offer eight different levels of tutoring to help students study for the ACT. We offer an ACT Prep Course, Semi-Private Tutoring as well as Private Tutoring with three varying levels of tutors for both Semi-Private and Private Tutoring. Each student is different, that’s why we like to customize tutoring sessions to fit the student.
Our goal with each student is for them to get the score they need for the school they want by them working diligently towards that said score. We help students reach their goals through strategies and knowledge gained from each session with their tutor, completed homework, and attending Office Hours to ask additional questions.
To find out more about the college admissions scandal, listen to our podcast, Simply Smarter, where Premier-Level Tutor, Caleb Pierce and Marketing Director, Jill Purcell unpack the details of the scheme that rocked prestigious colleges and universities across the United States.
We Are Hiring
If you’ve ever had an inkling to teach others, now is the time to get on board. Get Smarter Prep is hiring tutors. We are always looking for great tutors, but we are starting teacher training the beginning of November. If you want flexible hours with great pay, apply online now.
For the most part, we tutor students for the ACT, SAT, graduate exams, and other standardized tests. However, we also work with students on Study Skills and College Counseling. We offer both classroom and private, one-on-one, instruction depending upon the student’s needs. For every class you take on, you’ll be working 2 hrs/wk teaching. This means that your schedule varies depending on the volume of clients we have and on your availability. Some of our teachers have eight hours of availability a week and some have 30 – it will depend on your schedule!
Practice Test
Of course, we want our tutors to also score well on the ACT, so we make sure our candidates score around a 30 composite score before we even consider hiring them. If it’s been a few years since you took an ACT, no problem. We have practice tests available for you to take.
Interview Process
The interview process starts with an audition and interview. For the audition we ask that you prepare a 5-minute lesson on any topic in which you think you’re an expert. Candidates have taught us everything from how to multiply numbers in a less than conventional way to what to do if you encounter a bear in the wild to how to identify a true Wisconsin Cheese Head. Be yourself, as well as demonstrate communication skills that can be extrapolated to a teaching environment! Next, the real fun begins. Training will always begin with the ACT, which lasts 3-4 weeks and consists of a maximum of 10 hours per week. It’s a great time to learn our strategies, practice your teaching, and meet our other tutors!
What some of our Tutors are saying
“I enjoy helping high school students through the worst part of high school. I want my students to know this test is only a part of the big picture. I will help them manage the ACT.” – Austin Motley
“Being a tutor is great because I get to set my own hours. It’s completely flexible with great pay.” – Caleb Pierce
“I love working with high school students, sharing their hopes and dreams for the future, and helping them get closer to their goals.” – Ilana Garon
A Road Map to Success
High school can be confusing for many reasons, but at Get Smarter Prep, we want the road to success to be clear. That’s why we’ve created a Road Map to Success to help students put their best foot forward and easily navigate the college preparation process. From Middle School to the career you’ve always dreamed of, we are here to help you along the way.
Middle School
Starting in Middle School, specifically seventh grade, students may be invited to be a part of Duke TIP, which is for a program for students who qualify for the 7th Grade Talent Search by scoring in the top 5th percentile on grade-level state standardized tests. If you are chosen, it will give you opportunity to be recognized for your academic talent and give access to multiple resources to help students connect with contests, scholarships, and other programs.
The eighth grade is when you want to start thinking about High School placement tests. If a student has been in a private school or home schooled and going to a public school for the ninth grade, then you must take a High School placement test. Check with your school and see if they offer the test, chances are they do.
If studying simply overwhelms you and you have no idea how to tackle subject tests or need direction learning how to properly study, then study skills tutoring is a great fit for you and something to consider. Now is the perfect time to obtain the skills it takes to study efficiently and properly.
High School
It’s time to dig into your classes and put your best foot forward. Every grade will count towards your overall Grade Point Average (GPA) and be a big part of what colleges and universities look at when considering applicants.
Freshmen:
Freshman year is a great time to start putting together your resume. Make a note of all the different clubs, organizations, volunteer groups, and awards you receive throughout your high school career. Starting your resume as a Freshman will give you a clear view of what you’ve accomplished and save you time from trying to remember what you’ve done throughout your entire high school career.
Sophomores:
If you are taking Pre-Calc or Calculus a good time to take the ACT/SAT is at the end of Sophomore year. Otherwise, plan key activities, take leadership roles within clubs, start thinking about visiting colleges, and make sure you are concentrating on your grades.
Juniors:
If taking Algebra II take the ACT/SAT anytime your Junior year. Get Smarter Prep offers multiple options for test prep including our ACT Course, Semi-Private Tutoring, and Private Tutoring.
Do not slack on your grades. We know your Junior year is super busy, but earning good grades throughout the year is so important! By now, you should have great study habits and effective time management, therefore your grades should be steady.
Seniors:
If you haven’t gotten the ACT score you need for the school you want, you have a couple more opportunities to achieve your goal. Once you’ve grabbed the ACT score you’ve been studying for, start the college application process. Don’t forget to maintain your good grades, volunteer, and of course, have fun!
Sometime between your Sophomore and Senior year, you’ll want to start think about the college application process, from building a college list, to crafting your best essays, to submitting the button on your college applications. Students often find it helping to take a career/major assessment that will gauge your learning style, interests, personality, and career focus. A counselor will go over the results of your assessment and discuss possibilities and paths through your feedback and conversation – discussing careers, as well as possible majors.
Your Road Map to Success doesn’t have to stop after high school nor should it stop after high school! After you get into the college of your dreams, there are other options such as preparing for the LSAT, GRE, MCAT, GMAT or just study skills tutorials. Get Smarter Prep offers classes and private tutoring to help our students succeed through all walks of life.