Common Application Differences
By Stephanie Doty Hey, Rising Seniors! We are so excited to be launching our College Preparedness Series with you! Becoming a senior is just the beginning of your journey to college. To begin this journey, college applications are an incredibly important first step. Regardless of when you are intending to apply, early or regular decision, knowing the steps and differences of common apps is incredibly important. Check out this Step by Step Guide to Common Applications by our partners at InGenius Prep. This guide covers everything about how to use a common application and how to avoid mistakes in [...]
ACT and SAT Prep Timeline
By Stephanie Doty When should you start prepping? Well, it depends on what kind of scores you got on either the PSAT or a practice exam. If you are a student who scored from the 900 to 1100 range, beginning prep as early as you can after your PSAT in your junior year is important. This would provide you with plenty of time to take the exam and get your highest score before submitting applications before December of senior year. Enough preparation time can potentially benefit your score and make it more likely that if you have trouble with [...]
Covid-19 and What To Do Next
Today the College Board announced that it will cancel the June SAT. The exam will be offered in August with an administration of the test available every month after until December. This arrangement comes after the College Board rescheduled its March exam to June. This development can only add to the anxiety juniors are already feeling with regards to their applications in the fall. Who is to say that the August exams won’t be cancelled? If so, what options are available? Should I even bother taking the exam? What should I do if I’ve been shooting for the June [...]
SAT/ACT Test Prep Strategies
Stephanie Doty, Premier Tutor and Operations Coordinator Test Prep Strategies Blog Test prep can be daunting. Some students are already pretty overwhelmed with schoolwork, after school jobs, and various other daily tasks that making time to prep and knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. Usually, this is when parents enlist the help of tutors to give direction and help the students navigate through how to prep for the test. One major factor of test prep is understanding strategy and we really emphasize understanding here. You may have run into some tutors who say that simple tricks can make [...]
When Should You Start Preparing for the SAT Base on Your PSAT Score
When should you start preparing for your SAT after the PSAT? By Stephanie Doty, Operations Coordinator, Tutor Kyo Standard Now that you have taken your PSAT and hopefully have gotten your scores back, take a moment to congratulate yourself! You have successfully started the process into prepping for college. If you have not taken your PSAT yet, now is the chance to start up your test prep for the college entrance Exams. This begs the question of when you should start prepping. To answer this, you must look at a few factors such as the types of exams, your [...]
Everything You Need to Know about the PSAT
By Stephanie Doty, Operations Coordinator, Tutor Kyo Standard PSAT season, much like the fall season, is full of anticipation of what may come in the future. If you are a student or a parent of a student who will be taking the PSAT or have already taken it this past fall, understanding your score and how the whole PSAT Process works may ease some the nervous worries of testing time. While the exam occurs during October for many juniors, the scores do not get released until December. The release of these scores tend to be accompanied by a score [...]
Understand SAT and ACT Score Reports
By Jasmin Figueroa The SAT and ACT scoring systems may seem a little confusing and elusive to the general public. Most students try to understand their scores but at the end of the day, there might still be lingering questions. We wanted to create a reference for you to help you understand your test scores and have a general breakdown of what these scores might mean. Interpreting SAT Reports The SAT is scored on a 1600-point scale and is the sum of 2 section scores: Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. Each section has the ability to be from [...]
ACT and SAT Essay Writing Guides
While preparing for the SAT/ACT it’s important to know all parts of the exams well and to prepare for them effectively. While many schools do not require the essay portion, the schools that do really take it into consideration. Many students will avoid this entire section of the exam if their top schools do not require the essay portion but many of these schools do recommend students submit the essay. So not participating in this section of the exam might not be ideal for all. Additionally, each essay will require the student to look at exams in different ways and [...]
College Essay Hooks
By Stephanie Doty In the past few weeks, we have covered a variety of topics for College Readiness! We hope you’ve enjoyed this series and have found it helpful! For our final week of our College Readiness series, we are talking about college essays in a bit more detail. Since college essays are relatively short, remember they usually have a 650-word limit, what you say is extremely important. On the Common App, you have given them a lot of information about you, but your essay is where you get to decide how to use that information to convey a [...]
How to Get Into Top Colleges: Why Perfect Numbers Aren’t Enough
By Padya Paramita, InGenius Prep You might have the best grades in your class, or maybe you’ve struggled with maintaining A’s throughout high school. Regardless of where you stand, you could hold the belief that strong numbers are all it takes to get into schools like Harvard or Princeton. But, hold on a second. Did you know that hundreds of college applicants with perfect scores are turned down from prestigious universities every year? At first thought, it may seem confusing, but remember that grades and scores aren’t the only components colleges evaluate. As you consider the question of how [...]
Updates from the ACT
By Stephanie Doty We at Kyo Standard know a LOT is happening in the world of testing and we wanted to update you on everything we know regarding the ACT. As of now, the June ACT is still on! The ACT has stated that they are doing their best to work with testing sites to follow CDC guidelines and make sure each student can take their test in a healthy environment. If there are any changes for the exam, the ACT will be announcing that on May 22nd. One of the biggest updates for the exam coming this September [...]
The Future of the SAT
By Cindy Reyes-Cortes What does the SAT going online mean? The Shelter in Place order has been mandated nationwide in 43 states. We have adapted to many changes - one being our education system. Schools from kindergarten to post-graduate studies have all transitioned completely online in order to practice social distancing. In our world today practicing health safety is a priority and the College Board agrees, they are doing their best to adapt to the changes as well. On April 16th the College Board announced the cancellation of the SAT exam that was to be held on June 6th. [...]
College Acceptance Letters
College Acceptance Letters: How to Decide Where to Attend By Padya Paramita, InGenius Prep The wait is finally over, and you’ve received a handful (or more) of college acceptance letters from your top choices. First of all, congratulations! Your hard work throughout high school has paid off. Once you’ve celebrated, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and think about the options that lie ahead. When it comes to making the big decision for the next four years, how do you go about picking the school that’s a perfect fit for you? Every student has certain factors [...]