Answers, Plus

I like to live by this one and remind my tutorial students and test prep students of this all the time. I often look back in my life to when my husband and I decided we were going to move to California. It's funny - it was when everyone from CA was moving out of California to AZ and elsewhere and of course, we were going against the flow! I had just started my own tutoring business in Tucson about 6 months earlier when my husband landed a job in Fallbrook that would give ...us a way to move to the San Diego area. Somehow, with 4 kids, 2 dogs, and a cat we packed my husband up the day after Christmas and started on our California journey. Two days later we found a house that would rent to our troop and a day or two after that we left my husband and a giant trunk filled with a few essentials and a sleeping bag to manage alone in a 2 story 4 bedroom house while the rest of us headed back to Tucson. To this day I dont remember how I did it, but I wrapped up school for the 4 kids, packed, shut down the new business, painted, put the house on the market, sold it, and by the end of January, almost a month from when we dropped my husband off, the Fox family (all 6 of us at that time!) was officially in Oceanside, CA. It seemed impossible, and my husband and I still marvel at how we did that, and how we managed other more challenging times. I've realized that when you have to, you just put your head down and work to get it done! We are living proof of that today! No matter how hard it gets, if we just stay focused on what needs to get done and put one foot in front of the other, we CAN do the impossible! What's a time that something seemed impossible but somehow you managed to get it done? Share in the comments below...

Did you know that your Junior SHOULD still plan to take the SAT and ACT tests as soon as possible? I know, I get it . . . it's all so confusing and if you've registered for a test, they keep canceling the test dates! Plus, what the heck is going on with the SAT? Feeling a little overwhelmed? ... It's hard not to be!!! And that's where my job and Answers. Plus! comes in. Our classes and tutorials can help families and students figure ALL of this out! You're the first to get notifications, changes will be explained to you in detail, and our Seminar class students have support from when their classes start to December of Senior year! So, let's start to break some of it down - yes, SAT (College Board) is dropping their essay after the June testing of this year and it will no longer be an option after that. Colleges are no longer requiring the SAT essay as part of their admissions. We're still working on clarification about the ACT essay - so if you're registered, don't touch that one! If your student has registered for an SAT test + the writing option, just log into your College Board account, click on your test date information in your portal, and then there should be an option to cancel JUST the optional writing test. Cancel JUST the essay and ZAP!! you should get a refund! It should be that easy! So, if you're feeling like you want to just wait it out to see if colleges will choose NOT to require tests, I strongly recommend having scores if it's safe and possible. See some of the ways that your student can use scores in ADDITION to admissions in our post above! Was that helpful? Still have questions? Ask me in the comments below or send me a DM!

It's Friday Test Prep Tip time again and, whew, It's been a very busy week! Ah, and there's my camera hog, Kenji, my cat, sneaking into my feed and helping me type. (Make sure to hit play on this one! It decided it wanted to be a video!) Today's tip is an awesome one to make sure that we are getting basic straight forward questions correct on the math sections of the SAT and ACT test! Remember, we want to make sure that the questions that we do are getting us points! Sp...eeding isn't going to get you a better score! This one has some of my favorite tips! You MUST know your formulas - NONE are given to you on the ACT Math test with the slight exception of the volume of a sphere formula when it's part of a question. And while the SAT test does give you SOME formulas, I teach my ACT/SAT students the majority of what they need to know that IS NOT on either test! Know your circle area formula (if you don't know it instantly make a notecard!!!) and then this question also has a concept in it that will get you POINTS, POINTS, POINTS on the SAT and ACT tests! Know your Pythagorean Triples! (Make a Notecard and really memorize this one!). It will get you points in every math class too! This question has a multiple of the 3-4-5 right triangle triple and is a x2 multiple. This one is the #1 triple to know! I always want my students to know the top 3 Pythagorean Triples and if you've got at least the first 2, then add on the 4th! If you're reading this, here's the BONUS - here's all of the top 4. #1. 3-4-5. and 5 HAS to be the hypotenuse #2. 5-12-13 and 13 HAS to be the hypotenuse #3. (my favorite) 8-15-17 and 17 has to be the hypotenuse #4. 7-24-25 and 25 has to be the hypotenuse If you haven't been taught these, focus on the first 3 and you can always do the Pythagorean Theorem to figure out the 4th! Aren't you glad you kept reading! Did you learn something today? Let me know in the comments below if this was helpful and remember, I do the Test Prep Tips every Friday! Follow us for more!

I've got some cool news to share with all of my high school students AND parents of high school students! College Board just announced a series of 4 Virtual College Fairs as part of their Big Future program. These are all free and are organized by the section of the country where the colleges are located.... This is mainly for Sophomores and Juniors but other students can join as well! I have inside the post the link to register - only students may register - and you can sign up for 1, 2, 3, or even all 4 different virtual fairs! This is an exciting chance for your teenagers to see the real reason they want to work hard and do well in their classes! So which area is your target? Make sure to "Bookmark" those pages you want and share with a friend, or two or more! Pandemic, schmandemic! (yes, I did just did that! Too many months of Covid Lockdown!!!!). Now there's NO reason your student can't check out schools and ask questions of college reps during these sessions! Let me know in the comments below if you registered and which region you're most excited about!