There are lots of resources available to prep for the SAT and ACT tests, free or not free. It's foolish, in my opinion, not to devote time to trying to score well on these tests, if your child wants to go to a competitive college. That is why you see so many perfect SATs now.
I used to teach SAT/ACT and MCAT in college and med school for Kaplan. You can really pump your scores up by taking prep courses.
It's not enough to be "bright." "Everyone" is bright.
I don't support paying $100,000 for a college consultant but you can be savvy about it. You can read (for free) about successful applications to colleges for free on the internet. I've interviewed kids for top-level school and have passed that knowledge on (for free) to friends and their kids.
You'd be surprised how many kids cannot write up a decent resume. They expect teachers to write great letters of reference without a resume, etc. It's really sad.
It has gotten alot more competitive to get into good colleges. More kids are applying.
I will say that taking a test prep can help boost your scores. At a minimum, it will make you aware of how the test is constructed- what the time constraints? What are your weakest points for the test? Etc. It's not enough to be a reader.
Last edited by jack'smom; 05/30/11 10:50 AM.
