Congratulations to Vineet Kosaraju, who received a perfect score on the SAT after taking Excel’s classes and practice tests! Hailing from The Harker School, Vineet is heavily involved with the campus newspaper. “Last year I was a copy editor, which meant that I reviewed most of the articles before they went into print,” he said. “This year I moved to the online publication, where I’m one of the assistant tech editors. I review all of the articles that are based on science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, and sometimes business as well.” In addition to his… Continue Reading
The SAT The SAT is an exam administered by the College Board that evaluates students’ levels of knowledge of material covered in High School that they are expected to know before entering college. Although the exam is not required for most college admissions both in and out of the United States, you are still highly encouraged to take it and submit it with your application. This exam is generally taken by students in high school between their 10th and 12th grade years. Seniors should have already taken the SAT if they want to be… Continue Reading
An incoming senior at Cupertino High School, Prayag scored a perfect 36 on the ACT exam. In his preliminary perfect score questionnaire, Prayag explained all the ways that Excel’s classes and supplemental services helped make his perfect score possible. He admits early on to being unfamiliar with the college admissions exams, and he initially chose to take a course simply to get a feel for how they actually work. “I liked the balance between practice and teaching,” he notes when describing what he likes best about Excel’s approach. “I do not believe that I would… Continue Reading
This is a good, and a very common, question! Our answer is simple: Whatever score gets you into the college you want. It may seem cliché, but it’s the best answer we can give for such a question. The SAT is not a measure of your worth or intelligence. It’s just one part of the complicated decision process admissions officers use to figure out whether or not you’re a good fit for their school. The score you need to get into a particular school may be completely different from the score your friend needs. And,… Continue Reading
If you’re having a hard time with the SAT, I’ll bet that you have trouble solving the critical reading section. Critical reading is what we at Excel see people struggling with the most, and it’s easy to see why. Grammar and math consist of complicated but concrete rules that you can break down into recognizable patterns and strategies. Critical Reading is a different game. It requires abstract thinking, knowledge of archaic vocab, and a high tolerance for reading passages. So if you’ve practiced and practiced and you’re still not seeing your score rise, what should… Continue Reading