Does your student face special challenges but still dream of achieving college admissions?

Jack is one of the most remarkable students we’ve ever worked with. When we assessed him, he did better on the ACT than the SAT, but his starting score was very low: 14 out of 36. (14 on ACT is equivalent to 800 on SAT.) Jack is a student with special needs, and his mother Christy wondered aloud if he would be able to reach the score of 21 he would need to reach his target schools of West Chester and Temple. (21 is equivalent to 1080 on SAT.) She told us he had no confidence around standardized tests and that his first experience of taking them was awful. We asked her how hard working he is. She assured us that Jack is incredibly earnest and very hardworking. When she sent us his IEP, his teachers echoed her sentiments. All of them said that Jack was incredibly diligent in trying to improve even when he encountered challenging work. At that point, we knew Jack could tackle ACT, and we told Christy we could help him.

Claire designed a program for Jack’s specific needs, she and Jack’s wonderful tutor worked hand-in-hand, week after week, to make sure he was progressing with the material. He was doing so well!  After a complete test prep program, he took his first “real” ACT and scored a 20 – a six point increase!  (20 on ACT is equivalent to 1040 on SAT.) Amazing work, but not all the way to his goal. Christy and Claire had a long talk, and Claire told her that she thought Jack could still reach his goal with a little more targeted work. To his great credit, Jack recommitted to the work.

Jack’s amazing tutor had moved out of the area, so another tutor worked with him on this second phase of tutoring. They zeroed in on both his strengths and weaknesses, shoring him up where he was weakest and especially working on helping Jack take his most careful, thoughtful test. When their tutor left their home after the last lesson, she told Christy it was totally up to Jack: if he took a careful, disciplined test, he would hit his score goal of 21.

When scores came in, Christy emailed us to tell us that she and Jack were jumping up and down and cheering! When we saw his score report, we screamed with joy. Jack had not hit his goal score of 21. He had reached a whopping 23! (A 23 on ACT is equivalent to 1140 on SAT.) He was so proud of himself; the student who was afraid of standardized tests had conquered the ACT! Christy said a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Now this kiddo, who she was worried would not be able to get into colleges, had a strong ACT score for his target schools. Christy said, “You definitely had such a huge impact on Jack’s performance. Jack now has proved to himself that commitment, hard work, and most importantly believing in himself really does pay off.”  The sky’s the limit, Jack, and we’re so proud of you!