High school is a fun, challenging, and decisive point in one’s life. Academically, it’s the first time that your performance in classes will follow you and affect your future. It is also a time of great personal growth, and a time of starting to accept one’s responsibilities as a young adult. Because of all these rapid changes in an adolescent’s life, high school can be quite challenging. Through practicing with a sports team, hanging out with friends, and finding new hobbies and muses, finding the time and direction to do well in the often difficult classes packed into the four years can be quite challenging. This is where the Study Hut comes in. All of us tutors have gone through high school—we know what those years were like, even if it seems as though we’re too old to remember. The Study Hut is also a very community based organization, and the founders Rob and SP who grew up around Manhattan Beach, and many of tutors, know the greater Manhattan Beach area and its schools very well.

So Mira Costa high school students—let us help you get through these fruitful and challenging years. Study Hut has tutors proficient in everything from the mandatory mathematics of high school, to the more advanced AP courses of the sciences. Let us help you organize your planner, and make sure you’re armed with the best knowledge possible to do well in your classes and ace your tests.

High school is also the time for the SAT and ACT—those scary three lettered standardized tests which colleges and universities use as criteria for acceptance into their schools. At the Study Hut, we’ve got you covered. There are personalized SAT and ACT courses designed to teach you the fundamentals of test taking, so you know exactly what you’re going to get, and how to handle it during the test. Although challenging, there’s a method to these tests, and you too can learn to ace it.

So Mira Costa—come to the Study Hut… you’ll be happy you did.

When a students claims Junior status in HS, we realize it’s not only a moment for discrete gloating but also a time for stress and scrambling for steady ground. Juniors have the most coursework. Unfortunately, this is just how things work. Juniors have to mark down the upcoming SAT dates, ACT weekends, and AP exam weeks. On top of that, they have to start looking at colleges and majors. College Board is responsible for all the SAT & ACT exams. Juniors have to get off their FB accounts for a couple min, stop Twittering, and get onto the College Board website, make an account, and register for tests. Once you register, the stress starts. We will do all we can to ensure students meet their deadlines and are ready for the exam. We provide SAT, PSAT, ACT, and ISEE diagnostic tests. We assist not only in the academic coursework but also in how to juggle the immense workload of stuydying for the SAT, AP, and midterms in U.S. Government. ACT is optional, but if students find themselves splattering over the SAT, they have to take the ACT. So, how do students know if they need to take one or the other if the SAT and ACT registration dates are so close? SAT diagnostics. Juniors, whether they are confident in their ability or if they are not even planning to study, have to test the waters and check where they stand. Once they know where they stand, everything starts growing clearer — set a schedule, take another SAT diagnostic every other week, and stay for extra time at Study Hut to ensure you will know what you are doing when the awful date comes. We have cereal so feel free to stay — but no overnights…obviously. With SATs done, Juniors should be ready for AP exams. What the — ? While studying for the SAT, Juniors have to stay on top of their AP courses in order to prepare for the AP exams. Unfortunately, this is how it is. On top of all of that work, Juniors have to start thinking about Senior status. Start volunteering in community events to rack up the minutes, join a writing competition, work your stress away in track and field, juggle your academic coursework with extracurricular activities — it will all come back not only when college apps are due but also when you gloat about it in interviews and over Christmas when you are starting on the 30s. While this may be an overwhelming academic year for Juniors, Study Hut is there to set a schedule, give diagnostics, comment, give quizzes on the functions of the mitochondria and the political reasonings of the English Civil War. We will assist in the year of cramming and if students start hallucinating from the stress — we are there with crunchy granola with dark chocolate — and then it is back to grinding out information, constantly editing the weekly schedule to fit their needs, and prioritizing work to make things just a bit less stressful.

Aside from taking challenging high school courses, an important part of getting ready for college is
taking a college prep test like the ACT or SAT. Both tests have changed over the years, but the main goal
is to score high enough for the colleges you’re interested in attending.

Many students take the test twice—once as a trial run and again after they’ve gotten a feel for the test
and have discovered their strengths and the areas in which they need some improvement. It’s a good
way to present colleges with your best and brightest academic face. Taking the ACT or SAT twice can
give you the advantage you need to land the college acceptance letter you want.

Test prep for the first time

Before taking either test, it’s important to find out if the school you’d like to attend prefers one test
over the other; for some, either test will suffice, while others have a preference. Once you’ve decided
which tests to take, you’ll want to invest in study guides or classes. Many companies like Study Hut offer both instructor-led and self-guided courses,
as well as free strategy sessions and practice tests. You can also reach out to your fellow classmates and
start a study group.

The second time around

Taking the ACT or SAT for the first time can be somewhat of a challenge, so it can be tough to get
motivated for a second round. But studies show that taking the test a second time can improve
your score: a study by the College Board revealed that while some scores dropped, 55% of high school juniors
earned higher scores the second time they took the SAT. If your first score isn’t as high as you
anticipated, taking it a second time could be worth the effort.

Once you’ve gotten the results from the first test, you can tailor your studying to focus on the areas
where you need improvement; work with your teachers and parents to find assignments that can help
you boost your score. Finally, stay in contact with your school’s academic counselor to make sure you’re
plotting a steady course with college prep classes.

The road to college

Even if you’ve earned low-to-middling scores on your college prep tests, there’s no reason to despair.
Remember that even though your ACT and SAT scores are important, they’re just one part of your
overall portfolio as a student. And traditional colleges are no longer your only option for higher
education: online programs offer the
same quality education as in-class programs and can offer benefits like scheduling classes around your
busy life and allowing you to work at your own pace. Online education is becoming more common
for traditional colleges and universities: according to the Pew Research Center, more than 3/4 of colleges and universities offer classes online.

Getting into college is just the first step in your higher education. And to make sure you afford yourself

the best chances, stay focused, ask for help when you need it, and concentrate on improving your scores
if you choose to take the tests a second time. Planning for the ACT or SAT should be taken seriously. If
you commit to doing well, you can lay the foundation for a quality college education.