www.ccprep.org/finals

-Natalie Hupp (Corona Del Mar HS, Class of 2010)

Robert’s class was amazing! Not only was it helpful, but it was super fun. The tricks that he teaches are truly genius and improved my ACT score dramatically.

His ACT class even improved my SAT score!

- Nicolette Tran (Aliso Niguel HS, Class of 2012)

We thought it would be fun to have a March Madness competition between the students, and any other high school student in Orange County. So invite your friends to join!

To register and fill out your brackets, please go to: http://ccprep.mayhem.cbssports.com/e

Password for our group is “ccprep”

We will be giving out prices to the top 5 brackets, thanks to Italian Kitchen in Laguna Niguel. Prizes will be:

1^st place=Gigantic 20” pizza with 2 topping

2^nd place=Extra large pizza with 2 topping

3^rd place =Large with 1 topping

4^th place=Medium with 1 topping

5^th place= Personal cheese piz

Please make sure to give your real email address when registering so that we can contact you. And we will be adding you to our newsletter list – deal with it. Oh, and Italian Kitchen will probably send you a coupon or two, so that’s pretty cool.

HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK!!

We are happy to announce that after the holidays, we will be moving to a new suite, but it’s not too far. It’s just 3 doors to the right, Suite 109. So just turn that 6 upside-down and everything is good.

As part of our move we are happy to announce that we will be offering more services to our students – many of which we’ve heard numerous requests for. We are happy to now offer:

- Affordable on-site tutoring for high school courses
- Writing Specialist
- Specialized follow-up course for those retaking an SAT or ACT
- Reading Strategies course
- Expanded college planning services

We are also planning a Grand Reopening on January 2nd with free food, free seminars and much more.

Comprehensive College Prep (CCPrep) is offering free workshops to high school students and parents to celebrate their Grand Re-opening on Sunday January 2^nd from 10:00am-2:00pm. Topics include; Tips for Student Athletes and California Colleges Update. In response to high demand from students and the increased need for high quality low cost educational services CCPrep is moving to a new larger facility and expanding their services in order to better serve the community. Class size increases, high counselor/advisor case loads and the current competitive college environment are all reasons families are seeking professional individualized assistance. CC Prep has worked with over 500 Orange County high school students. They now offer; Test Prep for the SAT, Subject tests, ACT, and AP, College Planning, and tutoring all in one student friendly convenient location. To sign up for a workshop or for more information please contact tutors@ccprep.org or go to www.mycollegeplan.net.  Drop-ins are welcome.

The SAT and ACT are designed to test the level of a high school student’s readiness to perform in a college classroom; they’re not designed to see who has the money to spend on expensive test prep courses. Then why do so many students attend test prep classes? And why do these test prep classes claim success in raising scores?

The answer can be found at the gym. No one needs a personal trainer – we know how to exercise and lose weight. Run here, do push up there, it’s natural. But why are there so many personal trainers? 2 reasons: (1) to show you the best way to do it and (2) to make sure you do it. The same reasons applies to SAT/ACT test prep.

Does anyone have a child just begging for their parents to purchase them the SAT practice book so that he or she can sit down on weekends and read it cover to cover? I didn’t think so. That’s why you need test prep. To make sure your student practices the tests – and practices them the “right” way – in order to maximize his or her score. I cannot tell you how many students I’ve come across who do not score up to their intellectual and academic level on their first practice test simply because they don’t like tests. Test prep helps students get past that mental block and achieve the score they deserve.

Now that we know we need the assistance of an expert, the next questions is “When?” My personal recommendation is to begin prep during the summer between Sophomore and Junior year. This allows students to take the SAT and ACT in October and determine which they they are better at. Colleges only need one test, but some students are naturally better at one over the other. Once you know which test is “the test” for your student, additional practice should be done for a retake of that one test. This retake should be done between January and April, before the rigorous studying for AP test or IB exams begins. Hopefully students can be done at this point, leaving their May and June exams open for Subject Tests and simply studying for finals instead of stressing over the SAT and ACT. In addition they don’t have to spend the next summer doing prep and can instead devote it to the other parts of the college applications – community service, research,
internships, etc.

The final question is “How Much?” We never want to stress our students out or overload them with so much prep that they burn out. So it’s a fine line we walk between helping them be as prepared as possible and remembering that they are teenagers who would like to have a life outside of school work. There are those that ignore the social need of students and throw their children at intensive programs that meet for hours a days and assign so much homework that students aren’t able to see the light of day. Then there are those who don’t do any prep and just roll the dice on their score. I believe in a moderate and reasonable approach. I want students to be prepared, but not over-prepared. We all know that students have a breaking point at which they don’t try anymore, so the trick is getting as close as you can to that without crossing it. After all, if the student doesn’t give 100% then there is no improvement.

This is why my test prep programs limit class lengths to 90 minutes, because honestly after that point the student has stopped listening. And my homework is not overwhelming, no more than an hour a week. But I do keep small group classes of 3-6 students because I feel that individual attention is one of the most important parts of test prep. Once I combine all of these together I’m able to come up with a course that isn’t only reasonable, but reasonably priced. Only $250 for SAT or $325 for both tests. Test prep shouldn’t cost and arm and a leg – because, well, it isn’t needed…

Robert is an amazing tutor. He saved our daughter when she took Chemistry as a junior. Since then he has been helping her successfully navigate through all her college prep work along with her Trigonometry class. His ACT tutoring helped raise her score an unbelievable 7 points! He is one of the smartest people we know, but also has a great sense of humor which can make the toughest subjects fun.

- Margaret Jervis (Brethren Christian HS, Class of 2009)

We have worked with other tutors and other tutoring programs prior to working with Robert and CCPrep, and the quality provided is by far superior to other tutoring services available. Not only is Robert reliable, accountable and extremely knowledgeable, but he is a role model for those he works with. My son has improved his grades, his study habits and his ability to learn and retain information. Thank you Robert and CCPrep!

- Shari Woolbert (Northwood HS, Class of 2010)

CCPrep was the key to our son’s success in taking the ACT and SAT. Robert developed an individual study plan after identifying both strengths and weaknesses, allowing him to optimize his score. Thanks to CCPrep, our son is off to his first-choice college in the fall!

- Sara Winokur (Laguna Beach HS, Class of 2009)