Monthly Archives: March 2012


Choking: Testing and Performing Well Under Pressure

Listen to internet radio with CollegePrepExpress on Blog Talk Radio   Have you ever choked on a big test? Have you ever done a bunch of practice tests and felt confident going into the SATs, ACTs, or a final, only to get far worse results on the actual exam? Have you ever missed a goal with a wide open net when the team was counting on you to put it in? Find out why and what you can do about it as Dr. Yo discusses the phenomenon of underperforming in high stakes situations with Dr. Sian Beilock, Ph.D., Professor of […]


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5 Tips To High Scores on SAT and ACT Essays

Disclaimer: This blog is NOT intended to contain great—even good—writing instruction. I am doffing my English teacher’s hat and donning my SAT/ACT coach’s cap. Why? Because what you need to get high scores on the SAT and ACT essays is not what you need to become a good writer.  All you have to know is what the scorers are looking for and how to give it to them.   I am not alone in my cynicism about standardized test writing. Dr. Les Perelman, one of the directors of undergraduate writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, did doctoral work on testing and […]


Neurotic Parents’ Guide to the College Admissions Game

Listen to internet radio with CollegePrepExpress on Blog Talk Radio   Admissions rates of 6%? Kids applying to 32 colleges? 16 year olds with more impressive resumes than Fortune 500 CEOs? Has the nation lost its mind?   Why yes, it has!   Join Dr. Yo with special guest, author J.D. Rothman, as they discuss her fabulous new book and all the frustrations, rewards, and humor that come with helping your kids navigate the turbulent waters in the college admissions game. SaveSave


10 Words on the SAT That Don’t Mean What You Think

One of the three bodies of material covered on the SAT is vocabulary. It’s a substantial body of material, to be sure, but since the days of the Princeton Review’s Hit Parade and other lists culled from ACTUAL, PUBLISHED SATs, at least the CollegeBoard’s word bank isn’t a mystery any more. Any real student of the test can discover what words are on the exam, and those words can be systematically studied in preparation. At CollegePrepExpress, for example, we give students access to all the challenging vocabulary, Critical Reading section by Critical Reading Section in the CollegeBoard’s Official Guide to the […]