High School Entrance Exam Prep at Study Hut
With every year that the college admissions race becomes more fierce and intimidating, the beginning of the “fast track” seems to push back further, starting kids younger and younger. Once it seemed that students could save all their energy for their junior and senior years; now, the pressure bears down upon students as early as in eighth grade to get into the “right” high school.
We understand the stress, and rather than encourage hysteria, we’d like to make the process easier on students who will be encountering competitive standardized tests for the first time: the high school entrance exams.
What Entrance Exams Do We Cover?
At the Study Hut, we offer preparation courses for four predominant high school entrance exams:
- High School Placement Test (HSPT)
- Cooperative (COOP) Admissions Examination Program Exam
- Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools (TACHS)
- Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE)
We can also help prepare students for other school-specific high school entrance exams, but this is determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on how much information a school will release about its admissions test.
One-on-One Test Prep for Maximum Results
As with all our tutoring, test prep sessions are one-on-one, which invariably proves more effective than classroom courses. The advantage is obvious:
- We tailor the session to how each student learns and what they need the most help with.
- We don’t have to appeal to a common denominator of personality or academic ability.
- Our tutors focus all their energy on one student at a time, rather than diffusing it across a group.
Test Prep: High School Entrance Exams
Our Test Prep Process
We start each student with a diagnostic test—a full-length retired test that matches what they will encounter on test day. From there, we analyze the results to determine:
- Which subjects need the most work
- Which types of questions pose the biggest challenges
Understanding material and taking a test—that is, applying one’s mind to such an exercise—are two different skills, and we teach them in tandem.
Once we’ve determined key focus areas, we develop a structured plan based on:
- How many sessions we will have
- The length of each session
- How much time the student must set aside for homework, sports, and other activities
Why Start Now?
This process is as much an exercise in discipline as in test prep. Students must set and keep a schedule with us while balancing test prep homework alongside their schoolwork. It’s quite rigorous—quite the balancing act for a middle school student!
Yet most of the students who come to their sessions with zeal to match our own have gone on to score well on the high school entrance exams and attend the high schools of their choice.
Don’t Wait—Start Preparing Today!
If you are a student preparing to apply to competitive high schools, don’t put off getting help with your test prep. The longer we have to help you prepare, the better!
Whether your test date is months or just weeks away, we can help by teaching test-taking skills and organizing study time to ensure your score reflects your full ability.