PSAT


What’s Next After the PSAT for Juniors: SAT or ACT?

For many CPE students, the answer is….YES! Please allow me to explain. You know how you can tell a really bad college advisor? S/he gives the same generic advice to every student regardless of college dreams/goals and level of academic and extracurricular achievement. AT CPE, we don’t do that. So to help begin answering the question of the moment—What’s Next After the PSAT for Juniors?—use the broad-strokes categories below. But also feel free to schedule a one-hour consultation with Dr. Yo to discuss specifics about your or your kid’s standardized testing strategies, overall academic program, and athletic/extracurricular/community service/school spirit goals. […]


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 […]


Why the PSAT is More Important than Ever

As most of us know, applying to college back in the day—and by “the day” I mean right through the turn of the twenty-first century—was MUCH less complicated than it is today. We were instructed simply to be “smart, well-rounded kids.” Do your best in school, play a couple of sports, and get involved in some extracurricular activities. Community service wasn’t a big college admissions deal yet. And standardized tests were in the dark ages: those of us on the East and West coasts took the SAT and those in the Midwest and South took the ACT– ONE OR THE […]


How and Why the PSAT “Counts”

As most of us know, applying to college back in the day—and by “the day” I mean right through the turn of the twenty-first century—was MUCH less complicated than it is today. We were instructed to aspire to become the “smart, well-rounded kids.” Do your best in school, play a couple of sports, and get involved in some extracurricular activities. Community service wasn’t a big college admissions deal yet. And standardized tests were in the dark ages: those of us on the East and West coasts took the SAT and those in the Midwest and South took the ACT—ONE OR […]


Why CPE’s 4-in-1 Super-Value Math Class Is Right for YOU Right Now

   For further details on the class, visit our 4-in-1 Super Value Math page Dr. Yo’s 4-in-1 Super-Value Math Class is one of those rare classes that makes excellent sense for the vast majority of high school students regardless of their achievement and regardless of the caliber schools they’re considering or hope to consider. The problem is, most students and parents either don’t know that it exists, or they don’t immediately see how it can prove so tremendously beneficial in their particular case. The purpose of this blog post is to redress those unfortuante circumtances. The concept underpinning the class is to offer high […]


Why CPE’s 4-on-1 Super-Value Math Class (for SAT, New PSAT, New ACT, & Level 1 Subject Test) Is a Great Idea

   For further details on the class, visit our 4-in-1 Super Value Math page Dr. Yo’s 4-in-1 Super-Value Math Class is one of those rare gems that makes excellent sense for the vast majority of high school students. The problem is, most students and parents either don’t know that it exists, or they don’t immediately see how it can prove so tremendously beneficial in their particular case. The purpose of this blog post is to redress that unfortunate situation. The concept underpinning the class is to offer high school students in grades 9-12 instruction and practice on the SPECIFIC BODY OF MATHEMATICAL […]


How to Interpret PSAT Scores in the College Admissions Game and What They Mean for your Standardized Test-Taking Future

It’s been about a month since your PSAT scores came back, so it’s high time you stepped out from the darkness of denial and into the light of Holy crap! Can I still get into college? Do they count? What do they mean? What’s with the funny scale? How do they translate to SAT scores? To ACT scores? Can I use them to decide whether I’d be better at SATs or ACTs? Am I having fun yet? Settle down, young grasshopper. We got you. Most importantly, the PSAT only counts if you do well :-). There’s no downside, no way […]


Dr. Yo’s Top 2 Tips for Reading Comprehension/Concentration on the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Literature Subject Test, and AP Lit exams

Reading  comprehension tests are, in most cases, a misnomer. Passages on the SAT, ACT, Literature Subject Test, and AP English exams do not typically test students’ ability to COMPREHEND the material; they test students’ ability to pay attention to what they’re reading. This is a very important distinction, particularly when it comes to confidence. When students perform poorly on a reading comprehension test, or at a level less than they’d expect,  the reason is not likely that they can’t COMPREHEND the passage, but rather than they weren’t paying close enough attention; that is, they weren’t concentrating on what they were reading. […]


SAT and ACT Prep: Peaking at the Right Time

First, three words about the “major” changes to the SAT coming in 2016: hype, hype, and HYPE. Don’t get me started about the ruse mounted by the College Board in creating more authentic test questions and bringing social justice to college admissions testing, the two huge flags they’re waving over this new campaign. Bottom line is that ANY test that asks ACADEMIC questions and forces you to work ALONE is inauthentic from the get-go: can you name ANY profession that requires you to answer academic questions and without the benefit of collaborating with colleagues? Besides teaching? And claiming to level […]


3 Things to Do with Your Recently Arrived PSAT Scores

 So your wake-up call came this week in the form of PSAT scores from the CollegeBoard. Now what? Decide whether you’re an SAT kid, an ACT kid, both, or neither. Because the PSAT is a really good indicator of how well you’d do on the SAT (just add a zero to each score; e.g., a 53 PSAT –> 530 SAT), we typically advise students take an ACT in December or February with which to compare to your PSAT results. Use any number of freely available conversion charts e.g., ACT’s charts, CollegeBoard’s charts) to help you decide how to allocate test-prep […]


The PSAT: Why It Matters and Why You Should Prep for It

The PSAT is an exam intended for college-bound students to take in the fall of their junior year. It’s just over half the length of the SAT (2 hr. 10 min., vs. 3 hr. 45 min.) and comprises the same three sections—Critical Reading (sentence completions and reading comprehension), Math, and Writing (I always chuckle at a test called Writing, but on which there is NO actual writing to do, only multiple choice grammar questions to answer). Unlike the SAT, there’s no essay on the PSAT, nor is there an experimental section. It is NOT required by any college, nor can […]


The 2012 PSATs are Over!….Now What?

Some of you took the PSAT on Wednesday this past week, and the rest of you will take it tomorrow. For many, so begins your foray into the wonderful world of high stakes, college admissions testing. That’s the bad news. The good news, though, is that you get a little standardized-test break in the otherwise nonstop bombardment that is the junior year in American high school. So what’s the next best move? Good question, glad you asked.  THREE suggestions: FOCUS ON YOUR SCHOOL WORK. Remember you’re in school primarily to, um, get an education. So buckle down and try that […]


PSATs are BACK! Standardized Test Planning and Prep

Listen to internet radio with CollegePrepExpress on Blog Talk Radio   PSAT scores arrived in mid-December, making this a great time to discuss standardized test calendar planning and test preparation for the remainder of the year. Dr. Yo will be joined by two teen experts–including Charis Freimen-Mendel (Choate ’15 and author of Cook Your Way Through the SAT) and Tyler Bonini (Avon HS ’12 and Middlebury ’16)–who will offer their experience and advice about when, why, and how to take a range of college entrance exams.   Topics include:   SATs or ACTs? SAT Subject Tests, which and when? When […]


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Score-Boosting SAT and ACT Prep Packs

Pick up our power-packed SAT and ACT study tools jammed with the strategies, rules and tips that WILL boost your scores! For $5.99, it’s really a no-brainer! Our SAT/PSAT Prep Pack includes: 15-slide SAT Overview of strategies and material for all three sections (Critical Reading, Math, and Writing) Best SAT Strategies: 3 pages that tell you how to conquer each of the three sections 10 Essential Grammar Rules to master the Writing Section Comprehensive Math Compilation (11 pages of formulas and math facts you need to know to get an 800) Tips for Good Writing: Writing tricks to impress examiners […]


The PSATs Are OVER!…Now What?!

So you took the PSATs this past week. For many of you, sophomores and juniors alike, that began your foray into the wonderful world of high-stakes (college entrance exam) testing. That’s the bad news. The good news is that sophomores have a really long break before the next one (PLAN and/or Subject Tests next spring) and juniors get a little break in the otherwise nonstop bombardment that is the junior year in American high school. As far as standardized testing goes, the vast majority of juniors don’t sit for another exam until January (SATs) or February (ACTs). Some may choose to […]

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