Summertime and the College Essay
For high school juniors and seniors, summer can be a rush of jobs, practice, friends and needing down time to explore interests and ideas. It can also be a really generative time for thinking about college application essays. A student’s college application checklist contains all of the obvious pieces: grades, scores, activities, coursework. However, the overall picture, including essays, personal statements, and supplemental questions, can be challenging to pin down. Who is the student? What are their strengths and interests? What will they bring to the campus community? How will they contribute to the culture and mission of the school? Summer is a time when students have experiences they want to write about for their essay. Combining experience with navigating the application process is what our team at Liddane does so well.
Representing these more subtle aspects of a person can make writing a college application essay challenging for strong students as well as those who struggle with executive functioning skills or a less than “perfect” story to tell. Showing the true nature of oneself in a way that is compelling can be an incredible hurdle for many.
LTLS college application tutors have been trained to draw out the best elements that represent the student. Many people know how to write a good essay, but the expectations for college applications are unique. Having a qualified outside person step back and look at the entire application helps focus the writing and elevate the application toward a multi-dimensional view of the student. A trained eye can direct students toward distinctive topics and divert them from those that are overused. In an effort to tell a more complete story, college application tutors coach students to use their precious word count carefully and effectively. We want your student to feel positive about the story they are bringing to the table. Our one-on-one tutors are here to work with them. Fall dates for our Demystifying the College Application Process webinars about the entire process are open for registration now.
Test Prep: Our Approach
TEST PREP | OUR APPROACH
Our approach to test prep is unique. We believe students should strive for their personal, best score or a score range that aligns with their prospective schools. To make these goals feasible, our tutors help students build foundational skills where needed, hone strategies best suited to their individual needs, and instill the confidence needed to combat test anxiety. We emphasize study skills, time management, and organizational strategies in addition to providing content review, tips and tricks, and stress reduction tools to prepare students for test day.
Test prep can be all-consuming, but it is only one component of an application. We recognize that time is finite, and life-balance is important. Our tiered approach helps families efficiently manage and allocate time to test prep. This program serves students seeking a longer course of study as well as those requesting last-minute support.
TEST PREP | WHY WE’RE DIFFERENT
Our test prep program is comprehensive and available to students of all ages. We tutor elementary and middle school students taking the ISEE and the SSAT as well as high school students preparing for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. While elementary and middle school students may work with one of our tutors who can target all subjects, high school students benefit from working with subject-specific tutors to improve their math/science and humanities scores independently. We also offer executive coaching and select content tutoring for advanced tests and certifications; contact us for availability.
Not only do our tutors bring a variety of expertise to test prep, they are well-versed in learning differences and testing accommodations. Whether a student has academic accommodations, calls themself a “bad test-taker,” or is considered an accelerated learner, our tutors curate standardized test preparation to every individual.
In conjunction with our test prep program, Liddane Tutoring is a hub of college application information for students and their families and offers a host of resources, including college counseling, essay workshops, mock tests, and informational sessions. We contextualize standardized tests within the applications process and are available to answer related questions with nuanced advice. The impact high school test prep has on college paths and life goals is significant. We’re here for students and their families to ease the process and offer guidance along the way.
TEST PREP | OUR GOALS
Our utmost goal is to elevate students to perform their best and to encourage them to apply to schools where they will thrive. Standardized tests tend to invite comparisons and test anxiety, so we purposely steer away from classes in an effort to reduce additional social pressures from the preparation process. Our one-on-one tutoring supports students by meeting them where they are in their educational journey to determine personalized target scores. We also set out to familiarize our students with the test structure to reduce stress.
TEST PREP | FOR ALL LEARNERS
Our advice is honest and our advocacy for students with accommodations is unflinching. Accommodations, such as extended time, are an involved process but may result in meaningful difference in individual success. We’re here to clarify the process and ensure that students are successful in doing their personal best with a test suited to their learning profile.
TEST PREP | LEARN MORE
To inquire about test prep tutoring or for further test prep questions, please contact us and check out our full test prep program.
TEST ANXIETY: STRESS REDUCTION TIPS
Test Anxiety
Test anxiety is real, and although it can be present at any test, it is particularly prevalent during high stakes testing, such as final exams and standardized tests. Estimates vary, but according to the American Test Anxieties Association, about 20% of students appear to have truly “high” or “severe” anxiety while another 16% of students might be considered to have “moderately high” test anxiety.
At Liddane, our mission is to help students individualize their skills to best fit their learning needs. For students with test anxiety, we encourage you to try our suggestions below, discover what works for you, or use these as a launching point to try your own ideas! We hope these help you feel more successful and confident in approaching upcoming tests. As always, we offer one-on-one tutoring for even more individualized attention to these skills.
Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind:
Before the test:
Test day mantra
Mantras can raise awareness around negative self-talk, discourage comparison, and help calm nerves. We often hear, “I’m not a good test taker,” and this may thwart your efforts further. We recommend focusing on what you take pride in. Examples include,
“I know this material.”
“I’m prepared for this test.”
“I will give this my personal best effort.”
Visualization
Using positive visualization and affirmation promote preparedness prior to a test. Here’s what it could look like:
Imagine yourself in the setting (a classroom, for instance). What does it feel like to get comfortable with what is uncomfortable about the test? Can you pinpoint what nerves you have, specific to this test? What preventative work can you do ahead of time?
Anticipate what’s difficult in the moment and ask yourself how you will address it.
Recall a past success.
Think of the success you’ve had in preparation and in practice tests. What worked and what didn’t? Why do you think you experienced success in those moments?
DURING THE TEST:
Timing
Brain dump! Before you dive in, jot down all relevant information you can think of, especially information you feel apprehensive of remembering well. This may include formulas, history dates, all facts that come to mind, step-by-step processes, or acronyms.
Look ahead and preview the test. Note the length of each section, noting how many questions are in each section and how long you expect it to take.
Start where you’ll be most successful. You don’t have to start with number one.
Budget your time. Factor in 5 minutes for brain dump, familiarizing yourself, and deciding where to start.
Keep the focus on your work.
Ignore everyone else as best you can.
It’s okay to take the whole time. The time it takes to complete the test is individual.
Ignore past questions that you’ve struggled with and be present with the question you are currently tackling.
If you don’t know something,
Set it aside and come back to it.
Be aware of the negative self-talk and problem-solve instead.
Write down everything you DO know about the question and everything you’re looking for. Exhume all the information you have to give you new ideas to move forward with the question.
Don’t over analyze how the test was written.
Avoid looking for patterns in multiple choice answers. Just because B hasn’t come up in a while doesn’t mean that the next answer is B.
Focus on your senses when you are in the test and feeling stressed.
Lean back in your chair and take a few deep belly breaths with your hands on your stomach. Taking a deep breath (and spending a few extra seconds away from the test) can have high reward and result in clearer thinking and efficiency.
AFTER THE TEST:
Reward yourself!
Find an exciting way to treat yourself, either with a favorite relaxation activity or something fun.
Notice how you feel after the test. If you feel residual nerves, ask yourself what you need to wind down from the test.
Avoid rehashing the test to yourself and others.
Congratulate yourself on getting through the test!
PREPARING FOR FINAL EXAMS
“Make sure you study!” that is something that students hear right before final exams. What adults often don’t recognize is that, for some students, these words are empty. They may be brushed off with, “Yeah, I’ve got it,” or they may evoke a feeling of uncontrollable stress.
What does it mean to study for a test? Some students might think that simply looking at a list of vocabulary words or a study guide provided by their teacher is good enough. Classroom content and homework all made sense, so what else could there be?
STUDY SKILLS ARE SKILLS
Active study skills are not always explicitly taught. Instead, they are often implied in the way required assignments lead students through the steps of note-taking, graphic organizing, etc. Studying effectively means taking on more and more of these steps independently as students progress through school. For those who struggle academically, this implied practice might have been missed, and students can feel lost.
Some students, for example, may have spent so much energy trying to sit still and stay focused in class that the practical benefits of annotating text, distilling information down, or repeatedly working through complex math problems may not be obvious. They might not make the connection between specific study skills and how they feel on a test because distraction or anxiety makes it difficult to reflect.
Those labeled as “gifted” may have been able to skip specific study strategies up until the point that the curriculum became too challenging. These students now feel stuck and can be unsure about asking for help. All math through algebra II came relatively easily to them, but now that they are in precalculus, they aren’t sure how to thoroughly learn the challenging material placed before them. Where does one find practice problems? How does a person work through equations when the process isn’t clear? Is simply finishing the homework enough?
HOW A TUTOR MIGHT HELP WITH PREPARING FOR FINAL EXAMS
Working with a tutor is a great resource for having someone explain confusing content. In addition, tutors can make suggestions for and model study skills to help a student figure out what works for them, what doesn’t work, and how to make a study plan that fits their needs.Here are a few things that a tutor might do with a student:
Plot out a study calendar
Help students prioritize extracurriculars and other obligations prior to tests
Help with writing emails to set up meetings with teachers
Help students formulate questions for teachers
Organize notes
Make flash cards/study cards
Identify sections of textbooks for review
Review and explain the content
Find online resources for reinforcing information
Provide extra practice problems
Quiz students on content
Some students can use a tough experience to improve on their own, perhaps with the help of online videos (such as Crash Course Study Skills), but if figuring this out independently feels overwhelming, your student is not alone. Improving study habits can be like taking an independent study course. Unlike a study skills class or online videos, one-on-one tutors can work with an individual student’s roadblocks, help with problem-solving, and celebrate small successes. Tutors can adjust and respond when a student is feeling overwhelmed and one-size-fits-all solutions are not working.
Study skills are skills, and young people deserve specific, practical guidance when learning any new skill. For more, learn about our executive functioning skills support or schedule a free consultation to discuss how our tutors can help your student, before, during, or after finals.