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Finals Preparation

January 15th, 2016

Finals, for some of you, are in just over a week! Hopefully your reaction to that isn’t to start crying or throwing your books across the room. Hopefully you’ve been diligent all year, you’ve turned in all of your homework, you’ve stayed organized, and you’ve started your finals preparation weeks in advance.

If somehow, this isn’t you-you still don’t need to go all Britney Spears 2007 on us.

We are here to help! Here are some steps to success!

Prioritize

  1. At this point, it’s too late to thoroughly prepare for all of your classes. Take stock of what needs the most triage. Which class is teetering right between grades? Where is there the most chance for affecting change?

Missing Work/Low Test Scores

  1. Do you have homeworks missing? These are zeros that are so easily remedy-it’s the first place to check. If your teacher accepts late work, make a list of homework zeros and bust them out.
  2. Does your teacher have a retake option? If so, find your lowest test score, and schedule a make up time to take that test. The time you put in for this make up test will also be productive towards a cumulative final.

Set aside SPECIFIED time to study

  1. Sitting around, complaining about how much you need to study doesn’t count. Write into your schedule when and where you will be studying. If you tend to blow this off, get someone (Mom, sister, brother, friend) on board to help hold you accountable. It’s crunch time now-there’s no more excuses.

finals preparation

Focus on the biggest holes

  1. So you’ve picked the 2-3 classes that you’re going to spend the most time on. This narrows the field, but still leave a lot of material to cover in one week. When you sit down to study, you should spend less time on the chapters you did well on in the past, and more time on chapters with which you struggled. It is NOT a good idea to throw the struggle-chapters aside as a hopeless after thought.

COME TO STUDY HUT

  1. Our experienced tutors will help you zero in on what’s most important, and will help you master the material quickly. We’ve got tons of resources, and because our sessions are one-on-one we can tailor it to whatever you need: an hour on adding fractions-that’s fine! 45 minutes devoted to factoring quadratics-let’s do it.

Finals Preparation

Fill out the contact form on the right side of this page to start using your time most efficiently for finals preparation!

Summer Test Prep Classes

July 7th, 2014

With summer underway and the Independence Day holiday weekend behind us, our enrichment programs at Study Hut are in full force, and learning is back on the agenda.

Tonight we begin our ACT small-group course, which runs Monday and Wednesday evenings for the remainder of summer.  Our SAT small-group course also begins tomorrow evening, and runs through the rest of summer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Students are excited to learn concepts that they either missed in high school or have not yet learned, and they are even more eager to go over their practice tests and learn time management and question prioritization strategies for both the ACT and SAT.  Students in previous classes at Study Hut Tutoring have learned all about the tremendous benefits of having an ACT tutor or an SAT tutor in their corner.

Whether a student needs help with SAT math, critical reading, writing, or some combination of these, having a top Study Hut tutor has shown to make a huge difference in students’ scores.  Our small group ACT and SAT classes have helped to earn students an average of over 200 points of improvement from their original scores, and many students improve 300 or more points.

At the Hut, we strongly suggest making a game-plan early so as to ensure that your son or daughter has the maximum amount of time to make the gains that he or she desires.  The test preparation process is, after all, about opening as many doors as possible, both for college and for opportunities beyond.

If your son or daughter has not yet taken a practice SAT or ACT, now is the time to see where you stand.  We offer free full-length SAT and ACT diagnostic tests, and we also provide free consultations to parents and students after the test so that you can fully understand your results.  Please email info@studyhut.com today to sign up at any of our beach-front locations.

Top 8 Study Tips for Finals

June 13th, 2014
Top 8 Study Tips for Finals

1. Start Early! – This is the most important one. The internet provides plenty of ways to waste your study time, but you’ll be happy you stayed away from Netflix and Reddit when the final finally comes.

2. Study in Chunks – Your brain works best in 50 minute intervals. You may feel studious after your 6 hour study marathon, but a tired brain doesn’t absorb information like a fresh one. Take 5-10 minutes breaks every hour to make sure you’re making the most of your study time.

3. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place – Studying in bed may sound like a good idea, but once you’re in bed, so will a nap. Find a place that works for you. It should be somewhere where you can focus, spread out your notes, and get in a studying groove. And if you get sick of one place, switch it up!

4. Know Your Teacher – Ask questions, take notes, review old worksheets. Figure out what your teacher thinks is important because that’s what will show up on the final.

5. Study Alone – Start with what you don’t know. Review your old tests, quizzes, and homeworks, and take notes on what you missed. Then spend some time on your own with each of these topics. Write down any questions you have because the next step is…

6. Study in Groups – Once you’ve figured out your own strengths and weaknesses in each subject, form a study group. Here you can ask questions you had on your own and answer some of your study buddies’. Explaining concepts and hearing them explained in new ways will strengthen your understanding of the material.

7. Exercise – Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and you may need all the brain blood you can get for finals week. It’s also a great way to take a break from book to soak up some sun.

8. Sleep – It may be tempting to cram all night, but
it may not help as much as you think. Give your brain a rest! When the night before the test comes around, be confident in the studying you’ve been doing all week and get some extra sleep.

The BIG Secret to Preparing for finals

June 11th, 2014

Title: The BIG Secret to Preparing for finals

 

Do you have any friends who seem to breeze through their finals? While your friends are chilling out, are you stressing out?

 

How do they do it!?!

 

They know something you don’t know.

 

Don’t tell anybody, but I am about to let you in on a big secret. This secret will quite literally change your life- it can make you healthier, less stressed out, and happier.

 

Here’s the secret to properly preparing for finals: stop cramming.

 

That’s right, to ace your finals and to be less stressed out about them you need to stop cramming. Cramming up to the last minute pulling marathon all nighters is an inefficient and unhealthy way to study.

 

Instead of cramming, you need to spread out the work. Starting now, you should take a bit of time (not too little but also not too much) to begin reviewing old notes, problem sets, and exams. The key is for this to be a regimented and manageable review process. If you stick with it and do a little bit each day you will not have to do a lot the weekend before your exams.

 

 

The bottom line is that you are going pay now or pay later in terms of preparation.

You can coast now and “pay later” with caffeine-fueled evenings reviewing a semester’s worth of materials in a few days. This is the “drinking from a fire hose” approach. Not fun.

Or you can “pay now” by doing a little bit of preparation each night and spreading out the workload into something more manageable. Being well rested and healthy indisputably helps you perform better exams, this approach of spreading out the work means you will be able to cover more material in a smart way.

 

An additional benefit of being ahead of the curve when it comes to preparation is if you come across any questions you can ask friends or instructor for extra help and advice.

 

As Mark Twain (or maybe Agatha Christie) once said, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started.” There is no time to wait, start this process now without the unhealthy late-night heroics, and your mind, body, and report card will thank you.

FINALS SEASON – Winter 2014

January 13th, 2014

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It’s that time of the year again… that cliche statement.. “the most wonderful time of the year”… Ok, not really… but it is FINALS SEASON.

This month will be one of the busiest weeks for our offices!! PV takes finals this week, followed by Torrance and Manhattan Beach and then Redondo Beach!

We are in communication with RUEF about doing preparation for finals week so e-mail the principal with your support!

This weekend we will be going to both West (Friday 3 to 6pm) and West (Saturday  9am to 12noon) for free Finals Tutoring.

We hope our 7th grade students are having fun at science camp this week.

We were at Peninsula High and at Palos Verdes High for about 5 hours!  This past weekend the Study Hut went to both Peninsula High and Palos Verdes High to work with their AVID programs. We had about 10 tutors that volunteered to help out and tutor in all different subjects.

The Study Hut will be open on Monday January 20st – Martin Luther King Jr Day – since schools have off that day.

Please contact the correct branch to schedule appointments with us. Redondo Beach (310)540-5888, Manhattan Beach (310)546-2408, El Segundo, and Newport Beach.

All our students have worked very hard this semester and we are anxious to know how everyone does on finals!

Once finals are over the students in Manhattan can start to prepare for Ski Week the 2nd week of February!

 

The Correlation of Winter Break and Short-term Senioritis

December 12th, 2012

As the year comes to an end, and the holidays are just around the corner, students and tutors alike spend more and more time wishing for the holidays and less and less time burrowing into books and texts. Unfortunately, Mira Costa’s finals are set just after the winter break. The combination of a prolonged break and the holiday festivities predictably will result in temporary “senioritis” in all grade levels. This manifests itself in last minute cram sessions in the days, hours, and minute’s right before finals. Not only that, many teachers will assign lengthy projects to be done over the break. And, just like studying for finals get crammed in at the last minute. This can be avoided with good time management and staying on top of your kids class work. Be aware that finals are coming up and what projects will be assigned for the break.

To accommodate this relaxed state of being carried over from Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter, Study Hut is now brimming with a plethora of new tutors, all ready to make sure our students stay on top of their academics, even through the winter season. We will make sure that your kids are still working and finishing those pesky winter break projects and upcoming finals. Come in and check out our magnificent Douglas fir and our vibrantly crimson poinsettias, the festive Christmas decorations and lights, and the array of stockings representing each and every tutor in the Hut. Study and still enjoy the holiday spirit!

Great Finals Tutor Newport Beach

May 21st, 2012

As the year is winding down for elementary, middle, and high school students alike, it may not be the time to give up quite yet. The dreaded end of year tradition—finals—is just around the corner. With about four weeks left to study, now is the best time to start thinking about finals, especially with a tough curriculum, like Newport Harbor High School. Why spend the night before your test cramming a semester’s worth of information into your head? Why spend day after day last-minute-studying and not getting enough sleep?

Do your future self a favor—DON’T procrastinate. Start working on study tools now. Study Hut is a great place to start. Make a phone call and get to work with a cool Newport Beach tutor; someone who is fresh out of college–someone is already prepping with other students from Newport Beach. Start making those flashcards and study guides. A Study Hut tutor in Newport Beach can make sure you are focusing on the exact material that will be on your test. When it comes time to push yourself into full final-mode, all you’ll have to do is whip out those pre-made flashcards and study guides and get going. Sounds pretty stress-free compared to the coffee-drinking and study-snacking that would occur after four weeks of procrastination.

Start out by outlining a general study plan for each subject. Will you make a study guide or look over old tests for your history final? Will you memorize math formulas from practice problems or flashcards? Your local Newport Beach Study Hut tutor can help you get this process started. Once you have created an active study plan, you will only have to do a little bit of work each day to prepare.

Study now, so you can stress less and sleep more later.