Read our Q&A with The Princeton Review: tutoring, new SAT & more

Preparing to apply to college can be a long and daunting task. Beginning junior year, high schoolers are faced with a heavy course load, the necessity to prepare for, and take, standardized tests, and the need to begin to the application process. We sat down with Megan Boland, Tutoring Manager at The Princeton Review and asked her some important questions: What's with the new SAT? How many times should a student take the SAT? What if a student can't afford tutoring? Read our interview to find out the answers to these questions and more. 

You have a great deal of experience as a teacher and literacy specialist. Why The Princeton Review?  

My experiences as a former classroom teacher help me every day in speaking with parents and students. The time I spent as a teacher has afforded me with a better understanding of individual student needs. I’ve been with The Princeton Review for just about 2 years now. I truly enjoy helping families navigate the world of standardized testing and ultimately helping them achieve their goals.

Is pairing a tutor with a student sort of like match-making? Explain   

Absolutely. When I speak with a family about their tutoring needs, I’ll not only ask questions about school performance and target or goals scores, I’ll also ask about extra-curricular activities, a students’ personality, and learning preferences. It’s just as important that a student feel comfortable, and gets along well with their tutor as it is that the tutor can effectively teach a student to perform well on the test.

Tutoring can be costly. What if a student needs help but cannot afford tutoring. Do you have options for that family?

Certainly, some students prefer a classroom option where they can learn in a group environment.  We also offer semi-private group instruction, which limits the class size to 3-4 students. Whether you are considering tutoring or a classroom course, I would always recommend speaking with a member of The Princeton Review team so that we can provide advice and help you formulate a plan that works for you.*

How many tutors does Princeton Review have?

We have approximately 45 tutors here in the Connecticut and Metro NY areas that are trained in standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, SAT Subject Tests, as well as AP and general academic areas. We also have 100s of online tutors for those students who prefer to meet online.

How many times should a student take the SAT or ACT?

Our motto is prepare like you are going to take it once, plan on taking it twice, and never take it more than three times.

There are many members of Princeton Review team including Collegewise. Do you work together?

Yes, while our local Princeton Review office is located in Westport, we have a vast network of Princeton Review locations worldwide. It’s great to be able to draw upon the expertise of team members from around the globe. We do also work very closely with Collegewise, which is a college counseling organization. Our local Westport Collegewise Counselor, Amy Chatterjee is also lucky enough to draw upon the expertise of other college counselors in her network. We feel it is important to be able to support families throughout the entire college admissions process. We also work with Amy to offer free college admissions seminars and events in and around Westport in order to share information about getting into college – and making that experience more enjoyable and stress-free.

Anything you wish I asked?

One thing I would like to mention is that there are many questions and uncertainties right now with the upcoming changes to the SAT in 2016. These changes will be pretty significant and they impact students in the class of 2017 and beyond. I would encourage anyone with questions to visit Princeton review.com or call us at 800-2-Review – we are staying on top of the latest updates from College Board and have up to date information that we are happy to share.

*The Princeton Review offers a Financial Aid program for their classroom courses. Chris Piane, Executive Director of The Princeton Review explains, “Students are offered scholarships based on need and we offer up to 50% off classroom courses.” Contact The Princeton Review to learn more.

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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