Students who desire to attend most colleges are required to take the SAT exam or the ACT exam.  Some students take both tests and submit their best scores.  The dates of the tests for the 2009 – 2010 school year are provided below.  The test sites and online registration for the tests are provided for the SAT on www.sat.org and for the ACT on www.act.org .

SAT:  COLLEGE ENTRANCE TEST PREPARATION

The SAT consists of the following parts:  two Critical Reading sections (25 and 20 minutes), consisting of sentence completions and critical reading questions; three Math sections (25, 25, and 20 minutes), consisting of multiple choice and student-produced responses; two Writing sections (25 and 10 minutes), consisting of error identification and paragraph and sentence structure improvement; one Essay section (25 minutes); and one Experimental section (25 minutes).    
When students are familiar with the various aspects of the test, they approach it with greater confidence.  Preparation for the SAT consists of a review of appropriate math skills, reading comprehension and grammar practice, vocabulary building, a critique (of grammar, spelling, punctuation, content, and organization) of the Essay sample, and a discussion of test-taking strategies and techniques.

  KTS offers SAT prep in private tutoring sessions, at a mutually agreed upon time and place, for the private tutoring rate, plus a one-time fee to cover the cost of the book and materials.
A student’s SAT score is derived by taking the highest score in each subject from all of the SAT tests the student has taken.  Thus, the Math score may come from the March exam, the Critical Reading score from the June exam, and the Writing score from the October exam.    When a student only needs to improve in one or two areas, private tutoring can be particularly useful, and many students are increasingly choosing this option over group classes, so that their individual needs can be addressed.

            To see what people are saying about Kaplan Tutoring Services’ SAT tutoring, please check out the Home page.  Please continue reading for information on ACT test preparation. 

ACT:  COLLEGE ENTRANCE TEST PREPARATION

The ACT exam is growing in popularity as most colleges are accepting it in lieu of the SAT exam.  In many ways the ACT is more “user friendly” than the SAT, and some students perform better on the ACT than the SAT.  The test consists of five parts:  English (45 minutes); Math (60 minutes); Reading (35 minutes); Science (35 minutes); and Essay Writing (30 minutes).  While each section is graded separately, only one composite score is produced.  Students may retake the exam and report the highest composite score.  KTS provides preparation and test-taking strategies for all sections of the ACT exam.  The dates and locations of the tests and online registration for the tests are provided on www.act.org.

COLLEGE ESSAY PREPARATION

The college essay is a very important part of the application to a college, as it is the thing that differentiates one student from another when SAT scores, GPAs, and student activities are very similar.  Whether a senior is preparing an essay for a particular college or creating an essay for the Common Application, Kaplan Tutoring Services can offer valuable assistance.  A KTS tutor can help the student during any part of the process—from developing an idea to proofreading the final product.  Having an objective critic, who is also an expert in grammar, can make a big difference.  The tutor always makes sure that the essay is a reflection of the student, presented in its best possible form.

SAT & ACT TEST SCHEDULE 2009—2010

SAT SCHEDULE (www.SAT.org)

Test Date         Registration Deadline (without penalty)                                           

                                                Oct. 10, 2009              Sept. 9, 2009
                                                Nov. 7, 2009               Oct. 1, 2009
                                                Dec. 5, 2009               Oct. 30, 2009
                                                Jan. 23, 2010              Dec. 15, 2010
                                                Mar. 13, 2010             Feb. 4, 2010                (No Subject Tests)
                                                May 1, 2010                Mar. 25, 2010
                                                June 5, 2010                April 29, 2010

ACT SCHEDULE (www.ACT.org)

Test Date         Registration Deadline (without penalty)

Sept. 12, 2009             Aug. 7, 2009
   Oct. 24, 2009              Sept. 18, 2009
  Dec. 12, 2009              Nov. 6, 2009
  Feb. 6, 2010                Jan. 5, 2010
   Apr. 10, 2010              Mar. 5, 2010
   June 12, 2010              May 7, 2010
    Sept. ?, 2010               Aug. ?, 2010

Note that early registration helps to guarantee the desired test site