Sometimes students have teachers who simply do not teach in a way that is compatible with their learning style, which can keep them from making the grade they deserve. In cases like these, it is very beneficial to have regular tutoring appointments with someone who can cater specifically to the way that your child learns. At Study Hut, our tutors truly care about and get to know their students, so they are aware of what methods of teaching will and will not work with them.
Riley began coming to Study Hut because she was having trouble in her Chemistry and Geometry classes. Her Chemistry teacher was terrible at explaining difficult concepts and did not go over any practice problems with the class. They were just expected to go home and know how to do the homework. She worked with her tutor Charlsey on actually learning the material and putting it into practice on her homework. Actually understanding the content helped Riley complete her labs more easily and started making the grade on her tests. Charlsey observed that Riley did not really absorb the content without actually doing it in problems, so that was why she had been having trouble in Chemistry.
Geometry was the same way. Together, they went through which pieces of information Riley should plug in to the formulas she had been given so that she could get the correct answer. Reviewing topics from earlier in the year also helped her with trigonometry and setting up similar triangles.
For many students, Study Hut is not just their tutoring center, it’s almost like another home, especially Study Hut Seniors. They have come here for many years, and formed special bonds with their tutors. Their tutors have seen them through their most difficult tests and most impressive triumphs.
One special pair is Laura and her student Kelly. Kelly looks up to Laura like a big sister, and has spent the majority of her high school career as Laura’s student. Together the duo have tackled monstrous English essays for Kelly’s challenging AP Literature classes. Some nights Kelly would come in for hours and Laura would stay late just to make sure that every last line was absolutely perfect.
When it was time to work on test prep, Kelly didn’t want to work with anyone but Laura. This gave her an extra advantage because Laura was already familiar with Kelly’s learning style, so she was able to tailor their sessions so that Kelly could get the most out of them. Laura also knew how to present difficult content and the techniques for mastering the ACT in a way that was easy for Kelly to digest and practice. Working together, they were able to raise Kelly’s score.
Kelly also trusted Laura to help her on her final leg of college apps. From college application essays to the grueling senior capstone project, they have worked on everything together. They are both going to be so heartbroken when Kelly’s days at Study Hut come to an end. However, both of them are incredibly excited for Kelly’s promising future in the highly competitive USC Thornton School of Music.
Picking next year’s classes can be a scary and stressful experience. Should you take that extra year of a language? Do you want to do Honors, AP or Regular? Will you be able to juggle those four APs, yearbook, and two sports teams? The process can be incredibly overwhelming. There are a few things to keep in mind while trying to decide on your classes.
If you plan on applying to four year colleges, make sure to show them that you are challenging yourself. If you can handle another Honors or AP class and still maintain a good grade point average, go for it. Do not take more than you think you can handle. Being enrolled in six APs but having a horrible grade point average is not a good look.
Play to your strengths. If you are really good at your language, take the honors or AP version of the course next year, even if you do not completely love it. If you are amazing at your sport, make sure that you have time to make it to all your practices and training sessions for your various teams. There is no one-size-fits-all game plan for approaching classes to impress colleges. Make sure that yours is tailored to you.
If you still are not sure what you should take to impress the colleges you are looking at, come in and speak with one of our managers. They are very familiar with the college application process and all of the local high schools. They will sit down with you and look at the big picture and figure out what is right for you.
The summer is an excellent time for students to get started or finish up their preparation for the SAT or ACT standardized tests. Study Hut Summer Test Prep offers both one-on-one private tutoring and small group classes for each test. Students can even continue with private one-on-one tutoring after completing the group class.
Summer is a great time for test preparation for a variety of reasons. The most obvious reason is that students do not have regular schooling during the summer. Even if they are enrolled in summer school, the days are normally a few hours shorter than the normal academic school year. This gives students more time to focus on doing their test prep homework, and they will not be stressed about other assignments during their tutoring sessions. Many times students can see the preparation as an extracurricular during the school year, and let it take second priority to their normal coursework. Starting preparation over the summer circumvents this problem.
Another great reason to start preparation over summer is because there is usually an SAT test and an ACT test issued in May or June. Students can take the real thing and see what their initial starting score is. Then they know how much they want to improve and the level of commitment they are going to have to make. Another test is given around September, so students can take it before the new school year gets too hectic. This is perfect because they will be focused and refreshed, rather than frazzled like at the end of the school year.
Give us a call to learn about our rates and enroll in summer classes.
With the competition for college admissions getting more and more competitive by the year, high scores on the SAT and ACT standardized tests are becoming increasingly important. At Study Hut, we offer SAT and ACT small group classes that are limited to no more than ten students, as well as private one-on-one tutoring. For students who get easily distracted in a group environment or for those who just want extra practice, one-on-one tutoring is a great route.
Melanie came in once a week to work with her tutor Charlsey. She quickly realized that the time she was meeting was too late, and she was too tired to focus properly. She switched her time to earlier in the week with Laura. Laura and Melanie covered basic strategies for the critical reading, math, and writing sections, as well as the general structure for an SAT essay. She took a diagnostic test a few weeks into her test preparation package and she had already gone up one hundred points.
Allie worked with her tutor Charlsey to work on raising her SAT score. She originally was debating between the SAT and ACT and ended up settling on the SAT. She had good scores but wanted to work on fine tuning some of her weaker topics. She came in every week and did her online homework. She took regular diagnostics to see how her score was rising. She took the real SAT and saw her score on the math section improve by over one hundred points! She plans on taking another SAT after she completes her test preparation package so she can improve her scores further.
Mira began coming to Study Hut for Chemistry and Algebra 2 midway through her sophomore year. She had a decent handle on both classes, but the content was beginning to get much more challenging. She showed determination and found some extra help to make keeping her A that much easier. She worked on math and chemistry with her tutors Charlsey and Maher.
Maher and Mira worked together on her difficult chemistry homework. He taught her when to use different gas laws, and easy tricks to help her remember which was which. He also helped her through the tricky steps of finding the empirical formula for different types of chemical equations.
While Mira mostly got amazing grades in math, she bombed one of her tests on probability and permutations. It was difficult for her to determine when to use a permutation versus a combination. She was determined to ace her retake while learning her new material on sequences at the same time. She and Charlsey worked on memorizing the different sequence formulas and how to tell whether a sequence was geometric or arithmetic. Sequences were super easy for Mira, so they spent more time reviewing permutations, combinations, and other probability problems. They focused special attention on what words to look for in word problems that would signify whether Mira should use the formula for a permutation or combination. On top of that, she had to figure out when she would be dealing with repetition or not. The countless practice sheets and determination paid off, because Mira received a 95% on her make up probability test and a 97% on her sequences test!
Hayley started coming to Study Hut her freshman year of high school. She came almost every day to work on all of her challenging classes with her tutors. From studying for insane math tests to acing AP English, Study Hut has always had Hayley’s back when it came to helping her get her achieve her best.
When it came time to start looking at colleges and filling out her college applications, Hayley knew exactly who she wanted to have help her along the way. Hayley worked on everything related to college with her tutor Laura. Laura had watched her grow through the years both academically and personally. She helped Hayley narrow down her list of schools to apply to so they were left with only the schools that met all of Hayley’s requirements. They sorted through safety schools, reaches, and Hayley’s top choice: San Diego State University.
Hayley and Laura spent a lot of time making sure that Hayley’s personal statement was perfect. Because they had worked together for so long, Hayley felt comfortable opening up to Laura about her ADD. Together they crafted a series of car analogies that related her experiences with ADD to her school work and other areas of her life. They brain stormed and remembered Hayley’s greatest academic accomplishments and personal triumphs for the other sections of her applications, and made sure not a single question was left unanswered. They patiently waited to hear back from schools. As acceptances rolled in Hayley kept checking for SDSU. They were delighted when they found out she was accepted!
Mike works with his student Jack on Calculus at Study Hut every week. Most of the time Jack already knows his material, and together they just work on reinforcing the concepts so that Jack will have a solid foundation for the new material he will be learning. Mike says that it is incredibly rewarding to work with Jack because Jack asks in-depth questions and wants to go beyond the content he has been learning in class. Jack asks about the real world applications of what he is learning and if there are different ways to do his problems.
Once they have gone through Jack’s homework for the night, they explore Calculus more in-depth. They try working backward from the end of the problem to the beginning. Mike and Jack try to find multiple different ways of deriving the same formula and approach it in their own way.
Mike also works with his student Ken on Algebra 2 and Chemistry. Ken has a busy schedule with commuting to school, playing on the tennis team, and keeping up in all of his challenging classes. Together he and Mike still have time to discuss the real-world applications of the math he is learning, and how it is important in every day life. Coming in to Study Hut a few times a week makes the excessive amounts of homework more manageable. Studying with his tutor and reviewing concepts he is confused about on his study guide also helps Ken prevent himself from getting too stressed out. He is able to do all his after school activities and have an awesome GPA.
Emily comes in to work on math every week at Study Hut with her tutors Charlsey and Doug. Emily struggled with her Functions, Trigonometry, and Statistics class first semester. First semester she only came into Study Hut the day before a big test. She would try to learn an entire chapter’s worth of material in just an hour. While coming to Study Hut helped Emily understand some concepts better, it just was not enough when she did not keep up regularly in the class.
Emily decided to change her habits this semester and now comes to Study Hut every week. She goes over her homework and her notes for the class with each of her tutors. They review and fill out Emily’s notes and spend extra time on any material that she did not fully understand during her teacher’s lecture. Then they go through and do Emily’s homework together. Her tutors explain any problems that are difficult or challenging and make sure that Emily understands the concept. Now, when test week rolls around, she can do the majority of the problems on her practice tests on her own.
Coming in for weekly recurring sessions has not only helped Emily get a better grasp on the material, but has also boosted her confidence. Now when she goes in to take her tests, she knows that she can solve every problem, instead of just hoping she remembers what she learned the day before. All the concepts make sense and she is so happy!
Chemistry can be very difficult. Students have so many things to memorize: rules for naming compounds, charges for different elements on the periodic table, whether or not a solute and solvent will form a precipitate. All this information can quickly become overwhelming for students, especially as the year progresses and concepts build upon one another. It is helpful for students to go over chemistry outside of class with a tutor to review concepts the teacher may not have explained thoroughly enough.
Chemistry tutoring is especially helpful when covering more difficult and complex topics. Jason worked with his student, who had fallen behind in chemistry class and was struggling to catch up. They started with the basics: families in the periodic table, elemental charges, ionic vs. covalent bonds. These building blocks helped the student begin to understand the higher-level concepts. It was no longer a mystery why certain compounds formed and other elements could not combine, or why an anion was formed instead of a cation. Now that what elements came together to form compounds was no longer a mystery, it was time to move on to nomenclature. Together, Jason and his student went through all the rules for naming different kinds of compounds. There are different rules for ionic and covalent compounds. They also reviewed how to tell which version of certain metals formed, and how to tell when to use an –ic or –ous ending. All the extra review really helped and Jason’s student was able to bring his grade up twenty percent!
