College Prep during the Pandemic

Preparing for college during these unprecedented times can be somewhat of an overwhelming task.  With so many questions and variables, it can be hard to figure out where to start.

When do I start preparing?

Should I take the SAT’s?  

How can I really stand out? 

Admissions are becoming increasingly competitive.  With classwork, homework, extracurriculars, volunteering, and now, of course, a pandemic to juggle, life can quickly become overwhelming for the college bound student.

Listed below are some quick tips to help keep you on track with upcoming apps.

START EARLY

If you haven’t already started thinking about the college process, please consider it. Colleges like to see a strong track record of success in rigorous courses and deep, well-defined extracurricular interests.

For some programs, this may mean planning out your courses well in advance. For example: if you want to ensure you have AP Calculus on your transcript by senior year, this means you’ll need to plan accordingly (i.e. Algebra freshman year, Geometry sophomore year, Algebra II, etc.). Check out your school’s requirements so you’re not caught off-guard when it’s too late.

Even if you aren’t planning on taking AP courses, you should still make sure your grades are up to par and consistently improve. In short, this will indicate a level competence, maturity, and overall proficiency to the admissions team. 

Planning your academic coursework ahead is key in ensuring a strong transcript.  Keep in mind though that you must be consistent and work hard, as the competition is fierce.

TREAT OPTIONAL (SAT’s) AS REQUIRED

Yes.  It’s a hard (and maybe even controversial) decision to make, especially during the pandemic. Many schools have opted to make the SAT optional. And some experts even say this “trend” is here to stay.  So why then should you still take these 3 hour exams?  Tl;dr - It shows you’re motivated, determined, and serious about pursuing your academic future.  It also gives additional data-points for admissions officers to evaluate you on.

The one caveat: Only send scores if they are “good.” I.e. if you’ve taken the SAT and you’ve scored a perfect 1600, there’s absolutely no reason not to send in scores. If you’ve taken the exam and you didn’t do so hot – no worries there either. Simply don’t submit and the officers will know to place a higher weight on the contents you actually did submit.

CONTINUE TO PURSUE PASSIONS

Speaking of going that extra mile, extra-curricular activities are another important factor in college admissions.  “But, Platinum Edge,” you may ask, “How can I do extra-curricular activities when I can’t even leave my house?”  The answer may or may not be straightforward, depending on your individual circumstances, and you have to think outside of the box.

First think of your strengths and interests. Then think about what you can do with these to help others.  Let’s say you used to tutor at a math center down the street, but due to the pandemic it is closed.  Well, you might try reaching out to students who might need help with math and tutor them online.  Or perhaps, if you’re an artist, you can teach classes on Zoom to children wanting to learn art. 

Volunteer opportunities are also in abundance especially during the pandemic. Fundraising virtually for children in need of food or making bagged lunches for students are two quick ways to give back. In short, there are endless opportunities once you really start thinking and researching.

TL;DR

·      College prep doesn’t have to be overwhelming

·      Start Early

·      Treat Optional as Required

·      Continue to Pursue your Passions

5 Tips for Remote Learning

In March, the COVID-19 pandemic upended students’ educational experiences. Months later, we are still adjusting to a new world of remote instruction where students attend their classes at home, using Zoom and similar technologies. This is bringing new and unprecedented challenges to students and their families, but Platinum Edge Tutoring is here to help! In an effort to support you and your family during this challenging time, we have created a guide with tips to maximize your students’ remote learning experience.

1. Make a Schedule: Having a routine will help you stay organized and focused. However, don’t just set aside time for your classes. Break your work into manageable parts by dedicating other sections of time to exercising and enjoying the outdoors.

2. Dedicate a Space to School: Find an area in your house where you can attend your classes, store your academic materials, and study for quizzes and tests. Choose a space that is quiet and conducive to studying (ie: not close to a television).

3. Stay Organized: Use a planner to keep track of homework assignments, due dates, and major events. Remember to keep this planner handy so that you can add to it as needed.

4. Limit Distractions: When attending your classes, store your phone in another room and only use your computer for academic purposes. Also ensure that you attend your classes in a space where you will not be distracted by your family members.

5. Reach Out for Help: The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unprecedented challenges to students and their families. However, at Platinum Edge, we are here to help! Our team is composed of top-performers at schools including MIT and Cornell, and they are committed to helping K-12 students succeed during these challenging times!

Innovation during a time of Remote Learning

Following the shutdown of schools in late March due to COVID-19, schools, universities and families had the task of adapting to remote learning almost overnight. In large cities, including New York City, millions of students were to be accounted for and educators were forced to shifted gears. Despite challenges, many schools and families were able to make the most of the situation. Here’s how schools, educators, families and institutions tackled the challenges that came with remote learning, and what insights remote learning has provided educators.

Focusing on the Individual Student

Schools throughout the nation had to confront various consequences of remote learning, from platform usage to screen-time concerns. Schools and educators that had previous experience with some form of distance learning or online platforms had an advantage and fared better overall, as expected. More interestingly, however, schools that previously centered pedagogy around the individual student achieved greater success as they shifted to fully remote learning.

LEAP Innovations, a nonprofit based in Chicago, spoke to principals and schools over the course of three months in order to find out what strategies worked best overall; as a result, they creating a webinar series to help educators. The conclusion of their studies: focus on individual students by implementing personalized learning. Principal Katie Speth from Disney II Magnet School in Chicago spoke to the organization, describing personalized learning as “teaching kids to own their own learning," and highlighted schools whose focus was on “creating high levels of engagement and developing independent learning”.

The Innovation Academy at South Campus in North Carolina was able to achieve just that. The academy implemented personalized learning by assessing student needs; from the beginning, they made note of which students didn’t have access to WiFi or devices and provided them resources. The school prioritized student needs throughout remote learning, and has since focused on competency-based education. They were flexible with grading, and instead chose to focus on encouraging students themselves to seek feedback. By prioritizing relationships between students and parents, the Innovation Academy was able to maintain progress and increase motivation. Students were encouraged to see the challenge of switching to remote learning as an opportunity to showcase the values of the school, namely “adaptability, problem-solving, and courage,” and use the challenge to grow as students.

Creativity and Platform Innovation

While the majority of schools relied exclusively on Google Classroom and Google Meets, some schools were a step ahead, creating their own platforms. In controlling the creation and implementation of online platforms, these schools mitigated certain technological issues.

One such school is the Horace Mann school of New York. In March, the Horace Mann school launched their own online platform, HM Online, to ensure all aspect of school life continued. “We wanted to make sure that students gain as robust an educational experience during his time as they are used to finding at HM, while also enjoying the range of co-curricular activities to the best degree possible,” said HM Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly in a school news report. The platform included not only resources to Zoom and Google Meets, but also resources for maintaining arts education, physical education, and school offices like the Office for Identity, Culture and Institutional Equity. Flexibility in platform creation allowed the school to help implement personalized learning.

For schools that did not have the resources to create a platform from scratch, a variety of platforms remained at hand; some online platforms offered free services to schools, and organizations like UNESCO provided resources to educators. Educators around the world responded to the mass migration to remote learning with technological innovation and by partnering with companies; companies and organizations responded by deploying cloud servers, like in China, and by creating important internet tools, in Singapore. In California, school leaders utilized resources right near them: PBS stations. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) partnered with PBS SoCal and KCET to create local, public educational broadcasts for students. The broadcasts engaged students from pre-K through high school, and provided educational resources outside of the virtual classroom. Through the partnership, LA schools kept their students interested and focused.

Through their innovation, educators and organizations have provided important clues on remote learning moving forward, and give hope to schools around the nation as the year progresses.

How to Get into a Specialized High School

Are you looking to attend an advanced high school? Are you interested in specializing in a certain subject? If you answered yes to either of these questions, a specialized high school might be the place for you. Before you can gain attendance into a specialized high school, however, there are a few steps you should take.

What are Specialized High Schools?

Specialized high schools are advanced public high schools in New York City where students often specialize in certain subjects. Specialized high schools provide great opportunities. Smaller class sizes provide more individualized attention to students, and often have better quality educational resources. Specialized high schools are seen as some of the top schools in the country; these schools sometimes place within the top ten high schools in nation. Many students excel in these high schools and are provided support; they include English Language Learners and students with an IEP or 504 Plan.

There are nine specialized high schools:

• The Bronx High School of Science

• The Brooklyn Latin School

• Brooklyn Technical High School

• High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College of New York

• High School of American Studies at Lehman College

• Queens High School for the Sciences at York College

• Staten Island Technical High School

• Stuyvesant High School

• Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts

How do you apply?

New York City eight graders and first-time ninth graders are eligible to apply. Eight of the nine high schools require the Specialized High School Admissions Test (the SHSAT) for admission. LaGuardia High School does not require the SHSAT, but instead requires a portfolio and audition depending on the type of art the student is interested in specializing in.

For the other eight schools, the SHSAT is the only determining factor for admission into specialized high schools. These eight schools (including the Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Latin School, Brooklyn Technical High School, High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College of New York, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, Staten Island Technical High School and Stuyvesant High School) do not take into consideration a student’s academic records or extracurricular activities. That’s right - they only look at your SHSAT score!

What is the SHSAT? How do you prepare for the SHSAT?

The Specialized High School Admissions Test is a three hour exam composed of two sections; it is taken mid-October to early November yearly. The exam consists of a Math portion and an English Language Arts (ELA) portion. Students budget time between the two section as required.

1. English Language Arts Section:

   • Revising and Editing Questions

     • Test your stand-alone revising skills (for sentences). These skills include your understanding of parallel structure, punctuation, etc.

     • Test passage-based revising and editing skills. These skills include combining sentences or phrases, editing transitions and improving flow of passage.

   • Reading Comprehension questions:

     • Test your ability to see the main ideas and important details of passages.

     • Test your ability to make educated inferences and understand the function of details in passage.

2. Mathematics Section:

   • Number, Operations and Algebra questions

     • Tests ability to work out algebra problems, understand real and imaginary numbers, understand and work out factoring problems, and more.

   • Probability and Statistics questions

     • Tests ability to understand questions about averages, probabilities, frequency tables, etc.

   • Geometry questions

     • Tests ability to find area, perimeter and volume of different shapes; also tests ability to understand lines and coordinates.

Preparing for the SHSAT can take time, but constant and thorough practice is the best bet students have to excelling on the exam. The questions asked on the exam should reflect materials learned in school; so, even though a student’s grades are not taken into consideration, working on improving academic improvement can help improve overall SHSAT score as well.

By understanding the parts of the SHSAT and preparing in advance, your student can get into a specialized high school!

Remote Learning in the Time of COVID-19: SAT, AP, and other Exams

Students, are you aware of changes to any upcoming standardized exams you will take? College Board, ACT and other organizations are rescheduling and cancelling upcoming exams; prep courses are taking suit as well. By using online resources and organizing well, students can prepare for upcoming exams, even at home.

How is my exam being affected?

Organizations and schools are sharing news of test date changes, testing center closures, and more. Here are some of the most common exams and how they are being rescheduled.

• SAT - March and May SATs (including the March makeup SAT) are cancelled. The June 6 test date has not yet been cancelled. Students whose test dates have been cancelled are able to register for the June test date; higher institutions have been notified of test cancellations.

  • Students who are not able to take the newly registered exam can contact College Board to receive a refund for their respective test date.

  • Students should contact colleges to see how these changes affect admissions.

• ACT - The April 4th ACT has been rescheduled to June 13, 2020. Students previously registered will receive an email on how to register for the updated test date.

  • ACT can be contacted here.

• SSAT - All SSAT Flex and Benchmark administrations through April 15th are cancelled; students will be able to take later test dates. As of now, the April 25th exam has not been cancelled. If you have concerns about future test dates, you can contact the Enrollment Management Association.

• ISEE - Prometric test centers will be closed through April 16th. Rescheduling fees for both prometric and group testing are currently being waived. The ISEE Operations Office can be contacted here.

• AP Exams - In person AP exams will not be taken in May; instead, AP Central is allowing students to take 45-minute Free Response Questions specific to their exams at home. The full exam schedule, specific free-response question types that will be on each AP Exam, and additional testing details will be available by April 3.

  • Students should contact their school about future AP class scheduling.

What resources are available?

Organizations, schools and companies have provided a variety of online resources to assist students who will now have to self-study for standardized exams. Although it might seem daunting to study without in-person assistance, there are plenty of options available.

• AP Central is providing free, live classes for AP students. AP Teachers are also being provided resources to teach via AP Classroom.

  • There has been talk that AP exams will be open note; Trevor Packer, the Senior Vice President of the AP and Instruction at College Board, has stated that the exams will test general knowledge and students will be allowed to use their books and notes. This was not announced via College Board; follow College Board’s official AP site for more announcements.

  • You can find practice online AP exams for your respective subject here, here, and here.

  • If you do not have access to the internet, you can fill out this form to request materials.

• Khan Academy provides free online SAT practice tests and College Board approved test prep. College Board has provided other online resources as well.

• ACT Academy provides free online ACT resources, practice tests, daily quizzes, and more. ACT has provided other online resources and guides, as well.

  • Official practice tests can be found here.

• The Enrollment Management Association has provided SSAT resources here.

• EBLearn has provided ISEE resources here.

Instituting a weekly and daily regimen

You have the resources, now how do you schedule your time wisely to ensure you ace your exams? Prepping at home can be beneficial if done correctly. Continue doing daily, at home prep that you were doing before; if you are able to do online prep instead of in-person prep, continue that schedule as closely as possible. Use extra time you have to include more exercises, and be rigid with your studying - it should be timed with no electronics present. Have a family member monitor you if possible. Here is a sample SAT studying weekly schedule:

• Daily: 15 minute SAT practice using Khan Academy. Complete at least two math lessons a day to review already learned concepts and complete practice quizzes.

• Weekly: Alternate topics every day or every other day, making sure to brush up on math and reading & writing every week.

• Twice a week: Complete online tutoring classes for the SAT, such as ones offered by Platinum Edge Tutoring.

• Every two weeks: Take a full practice test available on College Board, Khan Academy, or on online prep resources.

What if I don’t have internet access?

Practice online exams are available to print for most standardized exams (such as here for AP exams, here for the SSAT, and here for ACT and SAT exams).

Organizations are also providing materials for students who do not have access to the internet. If you are taking AP exams and do not have access to a computer, you can fill out this form to request materials. You can also contact each organization using the contact information above; reach out to your local school as well to see what options they have available.

Use the extra time you have at home to create a strict, organized schedule for test prep; use the variety of resources you have available, and you will ace your exams!