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March 17, 2014Get Smarter Prep

Benefits of Test Prep

You’ve spent countless years in school studying for tests and exams, writing papers, and doing group projects. You may be with aplomb that your grades can secure you that spot in your dream university and that you have just enough extracurricular activities on your resume, however there still is that dreaded test standing in your way. Whether you will take the SAT or ACT, the classes you took in school most likely weren’t designed to prepare you for your entrance exam.

Just as you prepared for your work in high school, it’s important to prepare for these exams because we want you to be able to select your undergraduate education, rather than allowing a college or university to select you. SAT and ACT scores are important for securing that acceptance letter, but if you need more detailed reasoning, here are our top benefits of preparing for your entrance exam with test prep courses.

Benefit #1: Test Prep Courses Teach the Exam Format

Test preparation courses teach you about the test and the various sections that are included. Understanding the format of the exam ahead of time will allow you to move quickly through the exam as you better understand what is expected of you. If you don’t need to spend time reading the introduction to each section, you’ll be able to jump right in and have more time to answer those tricky questions!

Benefit #2: Test Prep Courses Provide You with Timed Practice Exams and Evaluate Performance

Practice exams can help you discover your strengths and weaknesses, so you know what areas you need to focus your preparation. You’ll develop time management skills for the test as each section is strictly timed and rushing through questions can hurt your score.

After your practice test is scored, you’ll be able to examine what questions you guessed incorrectly or weren’t able to answer. Reviewing your work will allow you and your course coach to find a trend in the types of questions that gave you trouble, so you can focus on those areas as you prepare. If you nailed the math section, focus your efforts on writing and critical reading!

Timing is extremely important for these exams. If you discover you rushed through everything and finished early, but answered some of the easy questions wrong, take your time and read questions more thoroughly next time. If you didn’t finish in time, the course coaches will be able to provide proven test-taking tips and study guides to help you answer efficiently and accurately.

Benefit #3: Test Prep Courses Provide you with the Tools to Improve Your Score!

The points above prepared you for this outcome! Test prep courses can help you improve your score as you learn proven techniques for succeeding on the test. You’ll learn the format of the test and ways to manage your time while answering the questions correctly. You’ll learn how to craft responses that include each of the required sections and review some of those difficult Latin roots. By discovering your weaknesses, tutors are able to tailor their lessons to help you improve your score by tens or hundreds of points!

If you rocked your standardized exam, congratulations! If you need some more help preparing for your entrance exam, we’re always here to help and can provide you with a solution that works for your schedule. We want you to prepare effectively to overcome this hurdle!

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January 13, 2014Get Smarter Prep

Which School is Right for You: Two Big Factors

Which School Is Right For You?

You’ve studied and you’ve prepared, but what comes next? Determining what colleges to apply to and attend is difficult as there are so many factors to consider. Which school is right for you?  At Get Smarter Prep, we aim to help you achieve your highest possible test scores that provide you with the ability to choose the school that is best for you.

There are a multitude of considerations that contribute to this decision, including your goals and personality. We’ve narrowed it down to two top decision making factor: Size and Location. The benefits and considerations listed below are generalizations, so do not hesitate to reach out to a specific school to learn more about their programs.

Size

The size of the school affects the size of classrooms, size of athletic programs, and numerous other activities that will impact your overall experience.

Attend a Big University

Benefits that come with big colleges include a seemingly unlimited list of majors and minors, well-funded sports teams, diverse academics and student activities, state-of-the-art research facilities, and a variety of housing opportunities. A con for big schools could be that while the research facilities are top-notch, classes may be taught by a teacher’s assistant, rather than a professor.

Students who succeed in large colleges are not afraid to take advantage of the opportunities available and aren’t afraid to speak up. General education courses typically contain hundreds of students, which is a shock to many students.

Attend a Small University

Conversely, benefits of small colleges include personal attention from professors and more hands-on learning opportunities. While there may be fewer majors to choose from, there may be options to design your own major if you realize what you planned on studying isn’t the perfect fit. Smaller schools are able to knit a tighter community because you can meet a higher percentage of students and teachers than at a larger school.

Location

Location is one of the biggest factors since you’ll spend the next four years in this place. When deciding whether you want to go to a college that is a few miles from home or one across the country, take time to reflect on the following considerations.

Attend a University Close to Home

The pros to attending a college close to home include the ability to drive home to visit family more often. Not every school provides A+ food, so a home-cooked meal after a series of stressful exams could be just the ticket. With schools that offer in-state tuition, you and your family can save a significant amount of money, while still affording a top-notch education. Even if you are close to home, you don’t have to go home every weekend, as there are so many opportunities to make the campus your new home away from home.

Attend a University Far From Home

If you’re looking for a completely new experience and a chance to become more independent, going to a college in a different state is a good idea. You are already familiar with the area you grew up in, so why not take the chance to experience a new area and climate!

Nervousness is normal because you are taking a risk and pushing yourself to become more independent. You may fall in love with this new city and decide to continue living there after college. Besides, receiving care packages from family is a lot of fun, and you may have the chance to tag along with a new friends’ family over the holidays if you can’t fly home. There are also rideshare programs at most schools if you need to find a ride home.

While new adventures are great, airfare prices may restrict you from attending big family events or just seeing your family on a regular basis. Out-of-state tuition costs are typically higher, and you’ll need to figure out a game plan for shipping or storing your belongings during the summer.

Decisions, Decisions

Regardless of how close you are to home or what size college you attend, your college experience will be what you make of it. While size and location factors are definitely something to take into consideration, it’s important to choose the school that’s right for you.

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GSP & UMKC Partner
May 9, 2013Get Smarter Prep

GSP and UMKC Partner

GSP and UMKC Partner

As a recent alumnus of the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law and a current employee of Get Smarter Prep, I was thrilled to learn that the two were finally going to partner up for an LSAT class. To me, it seemed a match made in heaven and something that should have happened a long time ago. Get Smarter Prep is well-known in the Kansas City area for its ACT and SAT test prep and its individual attention to students’ needs.

UMKC law school is also known for its smaller class sizes and focus on individual students’ needs. The first class through the new partnership is in full swing and the class is set to finish right in time for the June LSAT.

Get Smarter Prep developed the material for the six week course and UMKC is providing the location as well as law school professors who are willing to work one-on-one with the students to help them determine what score they will need to get accept at UMKC. The law school professors are even willing to talk to the students about the other important aspects of law school admissions, such as the personal statements and their grades during undergrad.

I was fortunate enough to teach the first class of this brand new class this past week and I was extremely proud of each and every student after class. The first class was Logic Games and for most students, Logics Games are a struggle. In fact, when I took a poll in class, seventeen out of the twenty students raised their hands when I asked if Logic Games was the area they dreaded the most on the LSAT.

We started off the class rather slow but as the two hours went on, students became more engaged and the “light bulb” went off for some students who were really struggling at the beginning. The class as a whole worked really diligently throughout the two hours, which is no small feat when you are working on logic games after logic games.

During our short break and even at the end of class, students were coming up to me to ask questions and were really engaged. I felt that our first LSAT class as a GSP-UMKC team was successful and I am looking forward to seeing the students’ scores after the six weeks of class.

If you are interested in taking the LSAT test prep through GSP and/or attending UMKC School of Law, please do not hesitate to contact me as enrollment@getsmarterprep.com. I’m a strong believer in GSP and the results that can be produced from our test prep and I’m a UMKC roo through and through.

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April 11, 2013Get Smarter Prep

Springtime for Sophomores

Seniors have heard back from their schools and are finalizing their college choice in preparation for the May 1 deadline. Juniors are taking the ACT or SAT, SAT subject tests, and AP exams. Those two grades have clearly defined paths to college, but what about Sophomores? While spring of sophomore year seems far away from applying to college, there are three things you can do to strengthen your future college applications.

1. Take an ACT and SAT practice test and determine which test is a better test for you.

We recommend that the students take both an ACT and an SAT practice test near the end or just after their sophomore year. That way, you go into fall of junior year with a plan. Are you in range to be a National Merit scholar? If so, you can sign up for one of our summer classes in preparation for the PSAT. Do you play a winter sport and a spring sport? Another great reason to prepare in the summer and take one of the fall tests! Every student is different. Taking a practice test at the beginning of the summer ensures your student has time to decide which test and test date is best!

2. Finish the year with your highest possible grades.

Yes, this seems like an obvious one, but it really is important! If you have a bad test day, you can retake your SAT or ACT or driver’s license test, but once sophomore year is over, you are locked into those grades. Grades are a key piece of college admissions puzzle, so it is crucial to do your best.

3. Take advantage of the summer.

While it is tempting to spend the summer relaxing before the stress of junior year, you post-sophomore year summer is a great time to get a jump start on college. You are interested in botany but your high school doesn’t offer it? Take a course at a local college or community college. Not only will it look great on your resume, but it will be really interesting! Want to start saving money for college? Get a job! Jobs look great on your resume and give you a great opportunity to make business connections. An anecdotal example: my grandfather worked as a delivery runner for a law firm one summer; after graduating law school, he was hired by that same law firm! Too busy to have the set schedule of a job or class? You can always volunteer, write a paper to submit to your favorite magazine, research colleges, or take test prep!

Most sophomores have no idea where they might want to attend college, and that is perfectly okay! Following these three steps will ensure that when they do choose where to apply, they will have the highest amount of possibilities.

 

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