by Claire Russell – Founder, Russell Tutoring

Every day, parents ask me why they should invest in test prep for their students at RTC. Though many top universities bringing SAT and ACT requirements back, many schools are still test-optional. Test prep is an investment in time, work, and resources. Why then, do so many college consultants send me all their students?

Why do so many families choose to invest in test prep at RTC?

RTC’s test prep addresses the skills a whole student needs to be successful in college. Whether we wish to admit it or not, the SAT and ACT measure critical college-readiness skills, and the pandemic has caused students to lose these skills rapidly. Only a few years ago, the national average score on ACT was 21; now it’s below 20 for the first time in over 30 years. Fully 42% of high school seniors tested by ACT last year didn’t hit any of the college readiness benchmarks for college. Our nation’s students are woefully behind.

What’s more, students need to learn to perform in pressured situations as young people if they are to succeed as adults. We attract students to SAT and ACT test prep not because they need their scores now, but because they want to go to medical school: they know they can only take the MCAT twice. Clever students come to us now to overcome their test anxiety. In learning test-taking and mind-body regulation practices now, they’ll be well ahead of the game.

Interestingly, since students are being treated as consumers by colleges, they are often no longer leaving higher education with career preparedness. Recently, I worked on essay writing with a graduate student who was getting all A’s in his classes, but who could not write a coherent essay. This was only my most recent experience; this is everywhere. This means that increasingly, employers are bringing back multiple-choice skills screening exams for hiring. Tests are everywhere, and we can’t avoid them.

Many students come to RTC for test prep telling us they want to reach a higher score on SAT or ACT, but not yet capable of doing the work that a test prep program requires. Many of these students have been highly successful in high school, but have never had to structure themselves in a study program before: their test prep program is the first time they have learned how to study effectively, and they return to us saying ACT prep is what set them up for success to reach the Dean’s List their first semester of college.

Some students come to us profoundly afraid of test-taking for a variety of reasons, including test anxiety, perfectionism, or previous perceived failure. Their test prep program is where they find their confidence by becoming expert test-takers, and find their calm and focus by learning proven mind-body practices, so that they can remove all barriers to taking their best test on test day.

Do you have a student with all the confidence, test-taking and study skills, and academic knowledge to be successful in college? If you do, in my experience, you have a rare student, and we can quickly teach them to succeed on the SAT or ACT. If not? At RTC, our mission is helping students grow into their best selves, at their speed and with their autonomy, through exceptional teaching and mentoring.

Every day, I see students not only reach their score goals on SAT and ACT, but also utilize the skills they’ve learned in test prep to become happier, healthier versions of themselves. At the end of the day, my greatest happiness comes not in college acceptances or merit aid – though those are huge! – but in hearing a student say, “ACT prep taught me achieving my goals starts with my mindset, and I want everything I accomplish to be started with positive thinking, determination, and self-confidence.”

At RTC, we impact students’ futures through test prep, and we know test prep matters. We’d love to help your student take that next step in their future. Your child’s future matters to us.®