Preparing for College: The SAT and Beyond

Getting into college is becoming more competitive than ever. Students not only need to get the best grades and be involved in numerous after school activities, but their (SAT) scores are what colleges and universities use to compare students all across the country. It is a standard that most colleges and universities use these days to assess the students applying to their schools.

If your child's SAT scores are lacking, there are plenty of services located throughout Westchester County promising to boost their scores and confidence levels.

Ivy Bound

Mark Greenstein, the creator of Ivy Bound, has been teaching high school students how to take the SAT for 20 years. "I was just out of college and looking for a job, and worked for Kaplan," said Greenstein. He always liked teaching, and decided to start his own tutoring company. "Ninety percent of our business is the SAT," said Greenstein.

Greenstein believes Ivy Bound possesses two qualities that make it different from other SAT preparation courses: flexibility and small at-home classes. "We offer private and semi-private classes," said Greenstein. Families can also get together to form an "at-home class," and split the cost of the course. "They need a minimum of four students, and the instructor will come to you," said Greenstein.

Ivy Bound also licenses all their practice tests from the College Board. "We pay a lot of money to do that," said Greenstein. The instructors at Ivy Bound are considered by Greenstein to be top notch. "We have a top one percent instruction standard - they need to have received a 1500 or better on their SAT," said Greenstein.

Ivy Bound offers its students a standard goal - a 100 point improvement on an SAT test compared to a previous score, or half their money back.

Greenstein asks those who are interested in improving their SAT score to give Ivy Bound a three to five month commitment. Students should expect to spend between 30 and 40 hours of classroom time, and between 40 and 60 hours of home study.