Time Management


Shedding Light on the Dark Ages of Junior Year

Back when I was in high school, revisionist history notwithstanding, teachers sometimes referred to the Middle Ages the Dark Ages.  Perhaps a misnomer, the term Dark Ages was meant to suggest that during the Middle Ages—the period in Western History between Antiquity (Greeks and Romans) and the European Renaissance—nothing very interesting happened as far as historians were concerned. Hence, it was dark. (Sidebar: Readers of Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior know there’s something interesting happening every moment, but the term was coined long before the book was written ;-)). By analogy, the long period in the junior year sandwiched between […]


Summer Strategies for High School Students

With standardized test preparation, application writing, and summer reading assignments ramping up as the fall looms on the distant horizon, summer is no time to go academically soft. Just as athletes lose ground without regular practice and training, students can forget math facts and vocabulary words, or begin to slip in writing skills and study habits, if they aren’t intellectually challenged through the summer months. There are three specific areas in which students can get substantially ahead during the school break: standardized test preparation, academic (math, English, and other study) skills, and summer reading. Prepping for Standardized Tests Junior year […]


Writing College Applications in the Sweet Spot: June, July & August

Many college-bound students make one of two critical mistakes when it comes time to thinking through and writing college applications: they do it too soon, or they do it too late.  Too soon, you say? Clearly you haven’t met my mother. Is there really such a thing? Yes, there really is. Emphatically so. Many high school teachers and administrators, both public and private, do their juniors a disservice when they stress them out about writing college applications during the spring of junior year. It’s one thing to go through the personal essay prompts and even write a MOCK essay for the […]


Six Quality Summer Activities for Success in the College Admissions Game

Ah, summertime. The long awaited break from the rigors of academia during the seemingly interminable haul between September and June. Time to sleep in every day and finally get to new levels in all your favorite video games and indulge all your other couch potato fantasies.  Right? Um, wrong! The last thing you want to do in the college admissions game is be a complete couch potato over the whole summer. There are plenty of productive, meaningful, and FUN things to do between final exams and back-to-school BBQs that will give you a feeling of accomplishment AND impress college admissions […]


Don’t Make This Classic Mistake! Time-Management Tips for Fall Seniors

Year after year we see senior after senior making the same time management mistake as they play their last quarter in the college admissions game. It’s a mistake that has two negative consequences: first, it prevents them from doing their best work, and second, it inevitably leads to greater stress for them and their families. And their #1 accomplice in this crime? Their well-intentioned parents who simply want them to get their applications done… NOW! Most of the seniors with whom we work at CollegePrepExpress are busy during the fall getting the best grades they can, preparing for their last […]

Clipboard with check mark

4 Tips for Using Your Vacation Wisely to Prep for Winter and Spring SATs, ACTs, and SSATs

You’ve worked hard this semester—or at least that’s what you’ve told your parents ;-). You deserve a relaxing vacation, and at CPE we wish you a great time skiing, beaching, playing, hanging, reading, vegging, keeping your mask on and social distancing from others, and whatever else you like to do to unwind and recharge your batteries for the second semester. If you’re facing February-June SATs, ACTs, or SSATs (see dates here) and you’re honest with yourself, you know you can have a kick-butt vacation, do all the things you want to do, and/or spend LOTS of time doing nothing at […]


Leaving Soon for College? Dr. Yo’s 7 Simple Tips for Guaranteed Success (What are YOURS?)

If you’re lucky enough to have a college open to attend this fall, this one’s for you! I wouldn’t take much of the advice I have to offer. If you know me as a friend, or if you’ve been working with me a while, you know I’m full of all kinds of advice (cut it out, not just full of it). If I start telling you where to invest your money, or what car you should buy next, politely nod and walk away. Quickly, if you know what’s good for you. But when it comes to getting the most out […]


6 Reasons and 1 Analogy Why Many CT Juniors Should Take TWO SATs in March

Many states now require high school juniors to take either the SAT or ACT (see, for example, Education Week) for the states’ federal accountability, a fact that presents new strategic standardized testing options for college bound students. This year here in Connecticut, public school juniors will take an SAT (NOTE without the Essay, or even the option to pay for and add the Essay) on the state’s nickel on March 27 or April 4 (check with your school) with makeup dates on April 23 and 24.  For students applying to competitive colleges, the best strategy to maximize their scores and […]


6 Reasons and 1 Analogy Why Most CT Juniors Applying to Competitive Colleges Should Take Two SATs in March

Students/Parents to whom this post does NOT apply: Those in private schools, which do not administer the free SAT on March 21, this year’s date for the CT state public high school assessment test. (The CT Dept of Education replaced the old state assessment test with the redesigned SAT last year.) Those who know based on prior exam results that they will be sending ACT scores not SAT scores to colleges or applying only to test optional colleges. Those who already have an SAT score that is good enough to get into all the schools on their list (according to […]


2 Reasons Why CT Juniors Should Take 2 SATs in 4 Days

Why did the CollegeBoard make their flagship exam, which was already too long to begin with, nearly an hour longer? They didn’t think very hard about it. They didn’t read any scholarly research on the subject. They value marathon runners over sprinters. They don’t care a whit about students. Don’t worry, this is NOT a rant, I just couldn’t resist. Truth be told, there is much about the redesigned SAT rolling out in March that appeals to my inner educator. But three hours and 50 minutes? Seriously? To be fair, it’s a mere three hours without the “optional” essay section, […]


Shedding Light on the Dark Ages of Junior Year

Back when I was in school, teachers sometimes liked to call the Middle Ages the Dark Ages.  Perhaps a misnomer, the term Dark Ages was meant to suggest that during the Middle Ages—the period in Western History between Antiquity (Greeks and Romans) and the Renaissance—nothing very interesting happened as far as historians were concerned.  Hence, it was dark. By analogy, the long period in the junior year sandwiched between Oct PSATs and winter/spring SATs/ACTs might well be called the Dark Ages of the Junior year. I see it happen to well-intentioned, high-achieving students every year: not a lot going on in terms […]


ACTs Less Than a Week Away? 5 Pro Tips to Raise Your Scores REALLY Fast

Good time management on the ACT, even more than on the SAT, is crucial for getting high scores. And the cool thing is, relatively speaking, it doesn’t take long to master or to see its impact on your composite score. Is a few days enough time? Yup, if you’re dedicated. It’s basically a matter of knowing the format of each of the five tests really well. You don’t want to be the kid who, when the proctor says turn the page and begin, blurts out, “Hey! There’s Science on this test?!”   Those who become students of the exam–that is, […]


Dr. Yo’s Short- and Long-Term Steps to Higher SAT Scores

There are basically two ways to prep for the SATs and ACTs, otherwise known as the college entrance exams: slow-and-steady and cram-like-hell. Know which one’s better? BOTH.  If your goal is to be competitive at the nation’s top colleges, I recommend you prep slow-and-steady over the long haul (one to two years for most) AND cram like hell at the end. For those with less ambitious goals or where there are constraints of time and/or budget, you may choose to select a one vs. the other approach. This week I offer you CollegePrepExpress’s plans for short- and long-term prep for the SAT for students sitting for the exam between October 2014 […]


Got ACT on 9/21? 5 Tips for Cramming

If you’re taking the ACT next weekend and haven’t been able to prepare as thoroughly as you’d like—hey, we understand, end of summer, start of school, yada yada yada—do not despair. Because there’s no vocabulary on the exam, you don’t need to spend nearly as much time studying as you do for the SAT. The ACT is, in fact, a much more “beatable” test than the SAT, especially when time is short. There are two bodies of material you need to know: math (key topics in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and a wee bit of Trig) and 10 key […]


5-Point Checklist to Prep for the ACT in a Week…or Less!

If you’re taking the ACTs this weekend and haven’t been able to prepare as thoroughly as you’d like—understandable given the SATs and/or January midterms many of you faced—do not despair. Because there’s no vocabulary on the exam, you don’t need to spend nearly as much time studying as you do for the SAT. The ACT is, in fact,   a much more “beatable” test than the SAT, especially when time is short. Whereas the SAT requires a huge chunk of STUDY time to master all the abstruse vocabulary (see what I did there?), ACT prep places a premium on taking […]