Abacus Mom

Why You May Want to Start Your Child's ISEE Prep this Spring

Many of our educational consulting clients from public school and even many private schools complain that their children's vocabulary, writing skills and/or math skills are lacking.  For these students, early prep can help not only with ISEE or SSAT test scores, but also with school grades and essay writing.

Here's what we offer at Private School Authority:

Jump Start Math Program

For students who need that extra bit of help with their math performance, we provide our Jump Start Math Program.  During this program, we focus on the fundamentals of the quantitative reasoning portions of each exam, teaching our students strategies, formulas, tactics, and processes to improve their scores and lower their anxiety.  Students in our Jump Start Math program receive full, comprehensive instruction in all areas where they need the help most.

Jump Start Verbal Program

For students who need that extra bit of help on the verbal portions of the exam, we provide our Jump Start Verbal Program.  During this program, we focus on the fundamentals of the verbal  reasoning portions of each exam, teaching our students strategies, vocabulary, tactics, and grammatical concepts to improve their scores and lower their anxiety.  Students in our Jump Start Verbal program receive full, comprehensive instruction in all areas where they need the help most.

 Jump Start Writing Program

For students who need help writing their ISEE / SSAT essays, we offer the Jump Start Writing program.  Our 10-hour program teaches students the fundamentals of proper essay writing, introducing them to such topics as thesis construction, topic sentence formation, and general essay structure.  The benefits of this program reach far beyond test scores - Jump Start Writing will teach your child how to construct and edit perfect essays for the rest of his or her academic career.

What New York City and Westchester Private Schools Don't Tell You: 5 Admissions Secrets

1.  Your child should prep for the ERB.   

Whether it's the ERB (also called the ECAA or WPPSI) for kindergarten, prekindergarten, or 1st grade, the ERB (also called the ECAA or WISC) for 2nd through 4th grade, or the ERB (also called the ISEE, the SSAT is another option) for 5th grade and up, test scores matter in private school admission and prepped kids do better.

2.  Nobody can tell that your child prepped for the ERB.

Word on the street is that private schools will suss out that your young child has prepped.  Then, to punish you, they'll ban your child from admission.  In practice, now that the Educational Records Bureau itself releases ERB prep materials and many nursery schools prep or recommend prep tutors, prepping is everywhere.

3. If you're not a fluent writer, you can get secret help with your private school application essays.

Strongly written private school application essays that showcase your child's unique strengths and accomplishments matter.  You can get expert help, and nobody will know.

The good news is that not everybody devotes their career to reviewing private school admissions essays.  If they did, nobody would be a cancer researcher, philanthropist, professor, or sit-com actress, like some of my recent clients. 

4.  You and your middle school and high school applicant child will be under the spotlight at your parent and child interviews. 

Luckily, you can practice in advance with me so you're polished and ready for your big day, when it counts.

5.  Your child is good enough and smart enough, and private schools admissions decisions, especially at age 4, are largely a load of nonsense.

While we'd all like to think we're living in a meritocracy, the fact is that private schools put a huge amount of emphasis on a broad range of factors.  My job as a school advisor is to tip you off as to what these factors are, and how you can best play them.

I am starting to fill my 2012-2013 schedule.  Call now:  212-712-2228 or email eglickman(at)abacusguide.com  Please book early--in 2011 as well as previous years Private School Admissions Support closed out and I had to turn parents away.

Private School Authority Relocating Clients Accepted Into Top New York City Private Schools

ERB / ISEE tutor Anthony-James Green and I are delighted that a number of our Private School Authority clients whom we assisted with ISEE test prep, interviewing, applications, and essays have just been accepted into elite Manhattan private schools off the regular admissions cycle.  One client just emailed me this afternoon:

<Child's name> has been accepted to the school starting in September so it is fantastic news for us. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your assistance which has been great for us. It has been a pleasure to work this through with you and please add me on your reference list of happy clients. Again thank you very much.

Private School Authority Snags Renowned ISEE and SSAT Tutor Nick Ordway

Abacus Guide's ERB / ISEE and SSAT tutoring division, Private School Authority, is expanding rapidly.  Families throughout Manhattan (and also interestingly Westchester, Boston, LA, Germany, and Singapore) are signing up for our uniquely personalized and efficient program, geared exclusively toward ERB /ISEE and SSAT test success. 

Our specialty is motivating our students - progress can only be made once a student wants to make progress.  We internalize students’ desire for success, and then from there we develop strategies and tactics to improve ERB / ISEE and SSAT test scores.

We're delighted that Nick Ordway is joining our team as Master Tutor.  Since 2003, Nick Ordway has been a tutor specializing in standardized test prep, quickly gaining gratitude from his students and respect from his peers.  Nick received a BA in English literature, with a minor in theater, from Princeton University and an MFA in film production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. When he’s not tutoring, Nick teaches film at the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Nick started his teaching career with an established tutoring company, working in their offices in Connecticut and Thailand. Later he began tutoring independently, with families hearing about him from satisfied friends.  Besides the SSAT and ISEE, Nick has tutored the SAT, ACT, GRE, TOEFL, various SAT II subject tests, physics, chemistry, writing, and mathematics from pre-algebra all the way through to calculus.  

Nick combines exceptional warmth, listening skills and flexibility, teaching to students' individual levels and helping them reach them their greatest potential.  He is a favorite of both students and parents.

If your child will be taking the ERB / ISEE or SSAT now is the time to call for our Jump Start or Blaster Program.  212-712-2228 or email info(at)privateschoolauthority.com

NYC ERB / ISEE and SSAT Test Prep and Tutoring: Now is the Time to Book for Fall 2011

If you live in NYC and you're still dithering about ERB/ ISEE or SSATtest prep for Manhattan or Riverdale private high school or middle school admission, now is the time to get cracking. 

We know your child is about to leave for camp.  Unfortunately the ERB / ISEE is still right around the corner.  Tutoring definitely helps improve scores, and you want to hire a compassionate, savvy, efficient tutor who can get the job done right, minimizing your family's stress.

Luckily, in many cases, tutoring can start in the fall, but you want to book now because the best ERB / ISEE tutors can service only a limited number of students.  Private School Authority's Anthony-James Green is already nearly at full ERB capacity, and our second-in-command, Nick, is right behind him.

Right now, you can get a free ERB ISEE Guide for a limited time.  The guide demystifies the testing process.

If you sign up in the next few weeks for ERB ISEE tutoring, we will work our hardest to ensure that Anthony or Nick come to you at the day and time that work best for your family's fall schedule.  We give scheduling priority on a first-come, first-served basis, recognizing that your fall may not be finalized yet.

We look forward to hearing from you about your ISEE needs:  212-712-2228 or info@privateschoolauthority.com

 

 

Free NYC ISEE and SSAT Guide for Private High School and Middle School Entrance

For a limited time, you can receive a Free NYC ISEE and SSAT Guide for Private High School and Middle School Entrance.

You'll learn about the ISEE and SSAT tests, tutoring, and what's required for top NYC private high school and middle school entrance.

How Do You Choose an Excellent ISEE or SSAT Tutor?

I've been helping students get into top Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale, and Westchester private high schools and middle schools for over twelve years.  Before that, for five years I worked at a well-known national test prep tutoring company.

Through these experiences, I've had the opportunity to meet many tutors.  Some were academics who knew subject matter but very little about test tactics, strategy, and timing. Others were young folks who connected to kids but who were unreliable and unprofessional, showing up to tutoring sessions late or unprepared. Finally, I met uninspiring, dull professionals who took kids off on tangents, talking vaguely about material that had nothing to do with the test.

Test prep tutoring is an art and a science, and while many practice it, few do it well.

In starting Private School Authority, I was determined to partner with a test prep tutor and curriculum developer par excellence, which is why I reached out to Anthony-James Green, who had been recommended to me by numerous clients and education professionals. 

Whether you hope your child can work with Anthony, one of our other expert Private School Authority ERB (ISEE) and SSAT Tutors, or a tutor from elsewhere, I would vet the tutor carefully to make sure you make the right choice.  Tutors are expensive, and your child only has one chance to take the ISEE.  You want to choose the best tutor right off the bat.

• Check your ISEE / SSAT tutor's credentials.  Is she a moonlighting teacher out to make a few extra bucks, or someone who really knows the ISEE and SSAT and best test-taking strategy and timing techniques?

• See how the ISEE / SSAT tutor interacts with your child.  Is he warm, positive, enthusiastic, and engaging?

• See how the ISEE / SSAT tutor interacts with you.  Does she show up on time, stay the full hour, and communicate easily with you about what she has accomplished in that tutoring session?

• Does the ISEE / SSAT tutor have a gameplan?  Does he start the program with a diagnostic eval, so he can share with you where your student is starting on the ISEE or SSAT and how far he can go?

• Does the ISEE / SSAT tutor assign homework?  In test prep, homework matters and good ISEE and SSAT tutors take the time to assign it and correct it.

If you want to work with us at Private School Authority, call 212-712-2228 or info(at)privateschoolauthority.com.  Good luck!

Manhattan Overflowing with Gifted Preschoolers, Naturally

Barbara Martinez of The Wall Street Journal today addresses the growth in the number of children testing as gifted:  Parents Fret as Kids Seek 'Gifted' Status 

Martinez writes that the number of incoming kindergarteners taking the OLSAT and Bracken to get into NYC G & T programs increased by 13%, as did the number of children who scored in the 90th percentile or above. (28% of kids scored in the top 10%--that's Manhattan math.)

I said:

"The amount of work and uncertainty to get into kindergarten has escalated dramatically in the last two years," said Emily Glickman, president of Abacus Guide Educational Consulting, which guides parents through private-school admissions.

Students who don't get into a private school, charter school or a gifted program can't necessarily rely on a spot in the top neighborhood schools, either. Population growth has led to waiting lists at some of the most popular schools—even for children who live in the immediate area.

"I used to say if private school doesn't work out, you can go to your neighborhood school," Ms. Glickman said. "Not any more."

The increase in children scoring in the gifted category in public schools matches a similar increase in kids taking private school tests, according to Ms. Glickman.

She said it's a clear sign of the "test-prep effect."

New York Magazine's Daily Intel also covered Martinez's story:  Even Raising a Child Genius Might Not Get Your Kindergartner Into a Good School

How Do You Get Into Top NYC Private High Schools and Middle Schools?

What exactly do top private high schools and middle schools want from applicants?

In short, private high schools and middle schools want students who have it all:

• Top ERB (ISEE) or SSAT scores
• Excellent grades
• Strong extracurriculars
• Impressive student interviews
• Well written and interesting essays

As you might expect, private schools look for the same qualities and experiences from students that colleges seek, but on a more junior level.

Private schools also don’t mind parents who add a certain something to their application pool:

• Interesting professions
• Unusual backgrounds
• Connections, wealth, and volunteering time

At Private School Authority, we help students and parents maximize their admissions profiles.

ERB (ISEE): When Should I Take the ERB (ISEE) to Get Into a NYC Private High School or Middle School?

Generally, it's best to take the ERB (ISEE) in December.  The ISEE is an academic-based test, the more you have learned, the better you do.  You're graded against a same-grade based peer group.

From the ERB, the people who administer the ISEE:

It is important to note that the ISEE may not be taken for practice; it may be taken only for the purpose of providing scores to participating schools as part of the admissions process. An applicant may take the ISEE only once per admission season or six month window.

Tutor Anthony-James Green is currently working with students applying to NYC private school who want to improve their math, vocabulary, and writing ISEE and SSAT skills.  To learn more, contact me at 212-712-2228 or eglickman(at)abacusguide.com or contact Manhattan's top ISEE tutor, Anthony-James Green, at 914-400-3859 or anthonyjamesgreen@gmail.com.  Good luck!  www.privateschoolauthority.com