Thanks again to all our readers – both students and parents – who have rapidly made ePrep.com such a great success!

I am excited to introduce ePrep’s first two guest experts, the esteemed Fred Hargadon and the esteemed Don Betterton. Fred Hargadon served as Dean of Admission at Princeton University, Stanford University and Swarthmore College. He is well known for the personal attention he gave each and every application during his decades of service. Don Betterton served Princeton University as director of financial aid for thirty (30) years. He was the architect of Princeton’s innovative no-loan program. Don is a Certified College Planner who is familiar with every aspect of enrollment management.

Selective colleges require more than good grades high test scores. They require applicants to successfully navigate the oft-complex and ever-changing fields of admissions and financial aid. Both Fred and Don have a unique way of taking difficult subject matter and making it understandable — the hallmark of an ePrep expert.

I am hopeful that Fred and Don will help make your family’s college planning experience one that is truly rewarding. Stay tuned!

There’s a lot of discussion these days at what I’ll call the “professionalization” of college admissions. Twenty years ago, a college degree was considered somewhat special and a hard earned right of passage into the workforce. Today, you’re behind the curve if you don’t ultimately achieve some sort of graduate school education. (more…)

This is the fourth and final video focused on helping young students and their parents understand the basics of the SSAT test. What is the SSAT you ask? See the first SSAT video focused on 5th & 6th graders for the answer (more…)

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This is the third of four (4) videos focused on helping young students and their parents understand the basics of the SSAT test. What is the SSAT you ask? See the first SSAT video focused on 5th & 6th graders for the answer.

Students in the 8th and 9th grades will take the “Upper Level” SSAT test, which is geared toward students in grades 8 all the way up to grade 11 (Junior Year). Thus, you can expect the test to be challenging. Join me in this video as I discuss what you can expect on the SSAT. –/>

This is the second of four (4) videos focused on helping young students and their parents understand the basics of the SSAT test. What is the SSAT you ask? See the first SSAT video focused on 5th & 6th graders for the answer So here we go….SSAT Test Prep for 7th Graders: (more…)

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This is the first of four (4) videos focused on helping young students and their parents understand the basics of the SSAT test. What is the SSAT you ask? The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is an examination required for applicants to many U.S. private secondary day and boarding (more…)

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The quiz below was sent to me by a friend via e-mail today. I am not sure who authored it, but I decided to post it because I think it tests the kind of mental sharpness that the SAT and other standardized tests reward. The answers are posted in the first comment below. (I’ll admit that I missed one of them myself.) (more…)

On August 10, 2006, I posted a video entitled “Critical Reading Another Way – Sam’s Story.” In that “SAT prep” video I described how a student of mine, Sam, crushed a critical reading section the first time he experimented with a new technique. The technique involved reading the questions first and referring to the reading passage only as needed. At the end of that video, (more…)

As many of you make final preparations for taking this Saturday’s SAT test, I’d like to share a few simple but important tips on what to do the night before and the morning of the test. You’ve worked hard on your test prep up to this point – now take some time to review some basic, but often overlooked, pre-game strategies. (more…)

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Every SAT test includes one 25-minute “experimental” section where the College Board tests new questions and material. It could be a math, reading or verbal section. The trouble is that you will not know which section is “experimental”, so you’re better off treating EVERY question like it counts! (more…)

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