Is the SAT Black Book Good? Nicholas LaPoma, Esq. AKA NickTheTutor Disclaimer: Neither I nor Curvebreakers Test Prep have any affiliation with the SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published or Mike and Patrick Barrett. I do, however, own a test prep company, and I wanted to share my informed opinion. Right now, the most popular …
How to Study for the TACHS
By Nicholas LaPoma, Esq. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Archdiocese of New York has decided to replace the Catholic High School Entrance Exam (CHSEE) with an online Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools (TACHS). Unfortunately, like your grandmother’s meatball recipes, the TACHS exam is very secretive. Outside of the few sample questions in TACHS’s self-published, annual handbook, …
Top 5 Essay Topics to Avoid
The college essay is a major component of the college application process. This is your last opportunity to show a college what you’re all about. This essay ought to be about you and reflect who you are as a person. What are your values? What are you all about? Pro tip: Do NOT write your essay about someone else. Essay …
Test Optional, Test Flexible, and Test Blind Explained!
It seems like nowadays every other word we hear regarding college is, test optional, test flexible, and test blind. There are thousands of schools this year going test optional due to COVID-19, which is great for the many students that have been unable to take the test. But what exactly do these terms mean? Test optional:A college or university is …
SAT, ACT, APs and More: The Current Status on Testing During the Pandemic
This will be a defining year for all of us – as Americans and global citizens. No country, no industry, and sadly no person will go unchanged in the wake of COVID-19. How we respond and what we do during this crisis matters. This is a teachable moment – for all of us. I work with students and families every …
COVID-19 Update: Impacts on the SAT, ACT & AP Exams
From The CollegeBoard (SAT) Website Students whose March SAT exam was cancelled will receive a refund and can schedule for another exam. More info here. The May SAT has also been cancelled. Make sure you’re registered for the June SAT Exam. Regarding AP Exams: Update from March 16, 2020 The AP Program is developing resources to help schools support student …
Why Doesn’t My SAT Score Match My Grades?
Guest blog post by James T. My mother didn’t trust me to dress myself until I was in sixth grade. Even now, she’ll still remind me that my outfit doesn’t “match.” I’m unsure of what she means, but her obsession that my shirt and pants follow her aesthetically-pleasing color scheme underscores our intrinsic need to establish order and harmony. I …
What is the Best Calculator for the SAT or ACT?
By Blaise P. Episode 10, Season 34 of NBC’s hit show Saturday Night Live was, without a doubt, the most glorious moment in television history. At least, it was for me. John Malkovich — known for his roles in Bird Box (a recent Netflix horror hit) and Warm Bodies (the only dystopian rom-com I’ve ever seen) — hosted, with rapper …
What Should You Do the Night Before the SAT or ACT?
Guest blog post by Pierre F. Think back to the classic cartoons, where an unlucky antagonist gets caught in an avalanche before plunging downhill as a colossal snowball accrues around him. It might be fitting to compare this hilarious moment to the stress that many students feel the night before their big test. Months of preparation coalesce into one giant …
Back-to-School Goals
Check out these first semester goals for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. By Andrew W. I always loathed back-to-school shopping. The week before Labor Day each year, my siblings and I would trudge towards a nearby Staples as my mother prodded us onward like a cowboy herding cattle across the Great Plains. It was a painful reminder that summer, …