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It's a perfect score of 2400 for George Kim on the October SAT! Congratulations George. Thanks for working with Spartan Academy!

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For information on the importance of passion over perfect schedules, check out Spartan Academy's Director Samuel Kim's article in the Korea Daily (September 14, 2014): http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=2809326 English translation below. Passion Versus Perfect Plans...Continue reading

Check out Spartan Academy's Director Samuel Kim's article in the Korea Daily (October 20, 2014): http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp! English translation below. What Every High School Student Should Know...Continue reading

Spartan SAT Tip #6 (Math): On the Math Section, the thing to keep in mind is that there is a shortcut, at least most of the time. This is different from the math that you may do in school, which usually requires you to solve a problem variable by variable. Keep this in mind as you take a look at the following example: 4. If 3x = 13, then 9x - 7 =... (A) 14 (B) 15 (C) 16 (D) 17 (E) 18 Now you may be tempted to first solve for x (which would be 13/3) and then substitute. This is perfectly fine, and you will get the right answer (which is 32 by the way). However, that would require an unnecessary step. The quicker (and recommended) way to solve this problem is to notice that 9x is three times 3x (or three times 13). Doing a little mental math, you substitute 39 for 9x. 39 - 7 = 32. For an easy problem such as this one, the saved time may seem negligible. But make a habit of finding shortcuts that bypass having to solve for every variable. You will notice the difference on more difficult problems, such as the following: 14. If x and y are nonzero integers, and 5x + y = 8, then (10x + 2y) / (5x - y) = (A) 6.5 (B) 7 (C) 7.5 (D) 8 (E) 8.5 The answer will appear at the end of Spartan SAT Tip #7, so Like us and check back for another one of our helpful hints.

Spartan SAT Tip #5 (Writing): On the Writing Section, you often see two verbs in a sentence and may ask yourself the question, "Which is the MAIN VERB of the sentence?" Here is an example: 17. The rescue team tasked with the objective of reaching the survivors of the landslide faced difficulties negotiating the precipitous cliffs of remote mountainside. ... The two possibilities for the MAIN VERB are "tasked" and "faced." In this problem, you know that "rescue team" is the MAIN SUBJECT. Take the verb closest to the subject (in this case "tasked") and try adding "that was" in front. Does the sentence make more sense now? Let's try it out: 17. The rescue team that was tasked with the objective of reaching the survivors of the landslide faced difficulties negotiating the precipitous cliffs of remote mountainside. Everything seems good once you add "that was." The word "tasked" is a participle. It precedes a phrase that becomes a NOUN PHRASE that functions as a modifier. You can then determine that "faced" is the MAIN VERB. Participles can be in the present form (writing, singing, or raising) or the past form (written, sung, raised). They are supposed to have indicators such as "that was, that is, that were, that are" in front, but what makes them difficult to identify is that these indicators may be omitted. Just remember: Add an indicator to the verb closest to the MAIN SUBJECT and see if the sentence makes more sense. Like Spartan Academy if you enjoyed this tip and want to get more Spartan SAT Tips.

Spartan SAT Tip #4 (Critical Reading): On the Critical Reading Section, you will run across problems that ask about tone. There are four tone categories: 1. Positive... 2. Negative 3. Neutral 4. Any guess what the fourth one is? Probably the most important term that you should know for this question type is AMBIVALENT. Do not make the mistake of confusing AMBIVALENT with neutral. Neutral connotes no opinion. AMBIVALENT connotes both positive AND negative opinions. Here is an example: "Upon my escape from the provincial sea town, the setting of my formative years, I succumbed to the allure of The City. My senses were stimulated in a way I had never known. But in the midst of neon-colored nights and siren-filled days, I yearned for smell of the salty morning dew of the docks." How does the narrator feel about his new life in The City? His "senses were stimulated." That sounds positive. However, he missed the "salty morning dew." That is negative. Given that he is torn between two opposing attitudes, the tone is AMBIVALENT. So why is AMBIVALENT the most important term for TONE QUESTIONS? Because it is there is only one word for AMBIVALENT. All other tone categories have multiple variations. Positive can be overjoyed, supportive, or congratulatory. Negative can be derogatory, miffed, or baffled. Neutral can be analytical, objective, detached. Only AMBIVALENT means AMBIVALENT. And word to the wise: It is a very common answer choice. Like our page, and look out for future Spartan SAT Tips!

Spartan SAT Tip #3 (Math): On the Math Section, a common problem type may ask what is the greatest value of a variable. Here is an example: #14. If x and y are integers such that x + y = 11 and xy = 24, what is the largest possible value of 7x - 4y ?... The key to this problem is the minus sign (-) between 7x and 4y. This tells you which variable you want to increase. Since 7x is positive and 4y is negative, it makes sense that you would want x to be as large as possible to make the expression 7x - 4y as large as possible. What are the options for x and y? 3 and 8 are the only two numbers that add up to 11 and multiply to give 24. So you want x to be 8 and y to be 3. What is the answer? 44. For the problem type that asks for the largest possible value of something, first identify which variable you want to be larger. Then, look at the possibilities. In this case, the two equations "x + y = 11" and "xy = 24" narrow down your options. Finally, assign the largest value to the variable that you want to be the largest. Found this helpful? Then Like our page and be updated on Spartan Academy news and SAT Tips.

"Spartan Academy is pleased to announced Mike Cho was accepted into Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania for 2014. Congratulations Mike. Glad we could help."

Spartan SAT Tip #2 (Writing): SUBJECT-VERB (SV) agreement is one of the most, if not the most, common problem type on the Writing Section. These seem to be relatively easy: just find the subject and then the verb, right? Not if the SAT testmakers can help it. They have several schemes to make SV errors more difficult to spot than you might think. Here is an example:... #12. After struggling mightily all semester with constant dissension, the members of the school committee in charge of welcoming foreign-exchange students meets on a weekly basis to undergo team-building exercises. The main verb of the sentence is meets, but what is the main subject? Is it students? committee? members? How can you tell? The trick to this type of SV problem is to look past the distraction words and get to where the ANSWER is. The phrase in charge of welcoming foreign-exchange students describes committee, so the ANSWER probably is not here. That leaves the members of the committee. In this situation in which you have UNITS of a GROUP, the UNITS (or in others words, the noun in front of of) is the main subject. Since members is the main subject and meets is the verb, they do not agree (Find ANSWER here). For further Spartan SAT Tips, Like our page and contact us about how we can serve you.

Congrats Erica Lee! Have fun at UC Berkeley! Glad we could be a part of your college application process!

Spartan SAT Tip #1 (Critical Reading): Questions that contain the phrase "Lines ____serve to" or "Lines ____ mention ____in order to" are PURPOSE QUESTIONS. The trick is to know that the referenced lines usually DO NOT contain the answer. Instead, these lines contain a detail or illustration that serves as evidence for a previous statement (Find ANSWER here).... Like our page to get updates for the next Spartan SAT Tip!