Which SAT prep academy in Irvine?

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
I can only speak for northwood. Can a kid get straight A, excellent sat and ap score without any tutoring? Yes. Can a kid get into good schools without being a superman and live a normal life (Sleep before 11pm, have time to pursue his own interest)? Yes. Can he get into any ivy? Yes if he is lucky.
 
Northwood is the best school of the entire IUSD. Even another parent stated that achievement alone is not enough for a top college acceptance. Most applicants don't see the happy "L" in the word "Luck". "F" is more like it when comes to top college acceptance.
 
Did anyone heard of college applicants using some sort of college admission specialist or consultant?

Heard from a friend that many Asians in So-Cal and Taiwan using some type of college admission service that provides besides the usual consulting and college admission preparation stuff,  they arrange atypical extra curricular activities like equestrian competition, volunteer at undeveloped countries, internship at high places for the students in order for them to be stand out and increase chance of acceptance to top colleges. 

I was told the the cost of these program can be as high as $40k.

 
lnc said:
Did anyone heard of college applicants using some sort of college admission specialist or consultant?

Heard from a friend that many Asians in So-Cal and Taiwan using some type of college admission service that provides besides the usual consulting and college admission preparation stuff,  they arrange atypical extra curricular activities like equestrian competition, volunteer at undeveloped countries, internship at high places for the students in order for them to be stand out and increase chance of acceptance to top colleges. 

I was told the the cost of these program can be as high as $40k.

This is not new. College admission consulting has been a thing for years. It's not asian exclusive either. There are several outfits in irvine that actually cater to a predominantly white (85%+) clientele (students from irvine, south county and the coastal cities).  Packages start at a couple thousand dollars. Hourly fees can range from $150+. Some of the asian SAT factories also do admission consulting.  Even crazier is in NYC, there are private preschool consultants. One charges like $10k to get your kid into the "right" preschool.
 
Some parents will pay that consulting fee because they don't have the time or don't want to spend the time on researching.
 
cost for raising an ivy overachievers:

tutoring + college consultation : $50k (assuming still attending public school)
cost of 4 year ivy over top UC college: $150k

total: $200k

if that's an investment you want to do and kids enjoy it, by all means go for it.
if you have too much money to throw, go for it. i am sure this money is peanuts to a lot of people.

i prefer the kids to go to a top UC and maybe go to a better graduate school later if they want to.
no tutoring needed and saved a bunch.
 
sentosa said:
no tuition needed and saved a bunch.

Unless they are on a scholarship or financial aid, they will still have to pay tuition at a UC, but not as much as a private schoold.
 
sentosa said:
cost for raising an ivy overachievers:

tutoring + college consultation : $50k (assuming still attending public school)
cost of 4 year ivy over top UC college: $150k

total: $200k

if that's an investment you want to do and kids enjoy it, by all means go for it.
if you have too much money to throw, go for it. i am sure this money is peanuts to a lot of people.

i prefer the kids to go to a top UC and maybe go to a better graduate school later if they want to.
no tuition needed and saved a bunch.

For some, they need to invest in order for their kid to get into a "top" UC. Don't assume all that tutoring/counseling is only for Ivys.  People of all student ability levels seek help. It's not just for the overachieving rich crowd.

Man this year's oscars is a snooze.
 
sentosa said:
eyephone said:
sentosa said:
no tuition needed and saved a bunch.

Unless they are on a scholarship or financial aid, they will still have to pay tuition at a UC, but not as much as a private schoold.

sorry about the  typo. i mean no tutoring needed.

I think you may need tutoring if you want to go to one of the top UC schools.

I think no tutoring is needed the kid goes to community college.
 
what i heard and experienced is that when the parents raise their hope too high, they put so much pressure onto the kids. and the kids take on more tasks than they can handle. e.g. sports team, band, several clubs, outside AP classes every summer, excessive volunteer activities etc.
now the kids don't have enough time for school work, sleep and normal life. and then their grades and health suffer. now they will need tutoring to keep it up. and still the they are always tired and hard to focus.

for northwood, every year there are about 30-40 kids being admitted to berkeley, and may be half of them will enroll. i am sure UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCI etc all have many kids being admitted every year from every irvine school.
so if you can pick your activities accordingly and try not to wear yourself out. you have a fairly good chance of being admitted to one of these schools.

but the problem is that most people are not happy with UCs.
and then look at the ivy admissions from irvine schools, every year none or only a couple being admitted from each school. so really parents and kids need to look at themselves and choose accordingly.
choose the school that fits you, not the school that your parents & yourself can be bragging about.
 
Is it really that tough to get into college now?  Back in my day, in my town of 5,000, We just showed up and took the SAT. No prep, nothing. No one got tutors. Same thing with the CPA exam, people would study over 3-4 months before the exam. I took the week off before the exam, studied 8-5, so about 45 hours worth, passed it. These people are nuts
 
FCBs are spending $400k to polish and enhance their kids academic and lifestyle resume to the top tier college applications over many years.  Unfortunately, mostly by default many applicants ended at Cal, UCLA and UCSD. A poor kid from El Monte could just as easily gotten in without burdening their parents $400k.
 
How to prep for the SAT and ACT for little or no money

Today, students have plenty of affordable ? and even free ? options when it comes to perfecting their test-taking strategies or simply picking up a few more key vocabulary words. Begin with homegrown websites, such as The Critical Reader and EriktheRed, which provide help at little to no charge. Add to that major test-prep companies, such as The Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep, which offer cheaper ($50 and under) printed and online training tools for motivated students who may not need the structure and support of classroom coaching.

New lower-cost options even abound for those who want the most personalized attention, as in one-on-one tutoring. ArborBridge, a California-based tutoring company, has just introduced truePrep, a service offering private SAT coaching for $75 an hour.
 
Skip the SAT. Junior colleges don't require a SAT score. Save on tuition and transfer to UCI after 2 years. Get good grades and attend a good graduate school. The only piece of paper that really matters is that last diploma.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Skip the SAT. Junior colleges don't require a SAT score. Save on tuition and transfer to UCI after 2 years. Get good grades and attend a good graduate school. The only piece of paper that really matters is that last diploma.

Excellent post. So true. The diploma will still read "UCI", not "UCI via IVC".
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Skip the SAT. Junior colleges don't require a SAT score. Save on tuition and transfer to UCI after 2 years. Get good grades and attend a good graduate school. The only piece of paper that really matters is that last diploma.
Otherwise known as the IHO-vy.
 
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