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Test Prep

Through our rigorous and individualized tutoring programs, students gain the skills, strategies, and poise needed for test day. Whether preparing for the ACT, SAT, or other standardized tests, students can be assured they will receive the right guidance from our college test prep experts at Galin Education.

And the benefits last beyond test day. Through our programming, students’ track their own progress, challenge themselves, see the growth in their skills, and leave our program more confident and ready to tackle the next academic challenge.

Students deserve a meaningful college test prep experience, and we’re excited to provide it.

Approach

No two test-takers are the same. That’s why our college test prep process begins with a diagnostic exam so our tutors can understand each student’s specific strengths, weaknesses, and test-taking styles. With that insight, we create a personalized curriculum to cater to every student’s needs to boost confidence and test scores.

High school student works on their college test prep at Galin Education.
High school students does test prep at Galin Education.

Individualized Tutoring

Tests may be standardized, but test preparation is not. The journey to test day is different for each student. By building strong relationships, our tutors quickly learn how to best challenge and encourage their students to reach their highest potential. This personalized approach is not only more effective, but more enjoyable too.

Long-Term Prep

Our comprehensive approach to test preparation requires students to commit to a steady regimen of tutoring sessions, homework exercises, and practice exams. Step-by-step, day-by-day, our tutors guide students through the ins-and-outs of the test so students understand the content and master the test-taking strategies needed to perform their best on test day. Our rigorous, long-term approach helps students maximize their scores on all sections of the exam.

Students work on test prep at Galin Education.
Two students work together on college test prep at Galin Education.

Practice, Practice, Practice

At Galin Education we believe in the power of practice tests. Students take multiple timed practice tests throughout their program to gain familiarity with the test, build up endurance, and practice the skills and strategies they’ve been working on with their tutors. Our tutors review tests with the students to celebrate progress, highlight areas for improvement, and game plan for upcoming sessions. To register for a practice test, please click here.

ACT vs SAT

75 questions / 45 minutes

The English section tests students ability to analyze text for grammatical and rhetorical correctness. Many students rely on their “ear” to help determine which of four answer choices may be the answer. This, however, leads students to wrong options – the way we speak is not always (and probably most often) proper English. We emphasize the basic rules the ACT is testing, from subject-verb agreement to paragraph organization. The English section is broken down into two major parts: Usage/Mechanics (53% of this section, including punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence structure) and Rhetorical Skills (47% of this section, including strategy, organization, and style).

60 Questions / 60 Minutes

The Math section draws upon students’ skills in a variety of high school math subjects. With the volume of math concepts covered, many students need significant review of the basic math topics they learned many years ago. There are also students who have not mastered high school level material that need re-teaching. The Math section is broken down into roughly six content areas: Pre-Algebra (23% of this section), Elementary Algebra (17%), Intermediate Algebra (15%), Coordinate Geometry (15%), Plane Geometry (23%), and Trigonometry (7%)

52 Questions / 65 Minutes

Our Critical Reading materials emphasize both the vocabulary essential to a student’s ability to grasp college-level material and the ability to read, digest, and extract essential information from a given text. We help students recognize recurrent question types and differentiate right from wrong answers. Our students become more attuned to the significance of word choice and more adept at discerning an author's meaning, skills that are useful in any college career. Moreover, we have developed a series of vocabulary lists representing the words most frequently tested on the SAT. The mastery of these words helps students improve their accuracy in sentence completion questions, while also aiding them in the assessment of vocabulary-driven critical reading questions.

44 Questions / 35 Minutes

Our Critical Reading materials emphasize both the vocabulary essential to a student’s ability to grasp college-level material and the ability to read, digest, and extract essential information from a given text. We help students recognize recurrent question types and differentiate right from wrong answers. Our students become more attuned to the significance of word choice and more adept at discerning an author's meaning, skills that are useful in any college career. Moreover, we have developed a series of vocabulary lists representing the words most frequently tested on the SAT. The mastery of these words helps students improve their accuracy in sentence completion questions, while also aiding them in the assessment of vocabulary-driven critical reading questions.

40 Questions / 35 Minutes

Known as the fastest section of the test, the Reading section is mischaracterized as a speed reading test as opposed to a comprehension assessment. Most students think they need to finish every question of a test without regard to how that speed affects his or her ultimate score. We train students to effectively and efficiently read the passages and then spend a lot of time on the questions themselves. Our training helps students determine patterns in question stems and answer choices. Rather than spending precious minutes debating over answer choices, we teach students how to quickly find the correct answer and to quickly eliminate incorrect answers. The Reading section has four passages always presented in the same order: Prose Fiction, Humanities, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. And, of course, with three-fourths of the section devoted to non-fiction, we push our students to dedicate time each night to reading articles, newspapers, journals, and magazines that we hand select for them.

40 Questions / 35 Minutes

The Science section is also misinterpreted by most people. After taking the test, many students realize that they are not really being tested on their “science” knowledge, but, rather, their ability to understand scientific studies presented to them along with the charts and graphs provided. We teach our students the high school level scientific method along with experimental design techniques. We also help students become proficient at reading the various charts and graphs that are presented on the test. This section is broken up into seven passages, in three formats: Data Representation (3 passages / 15 questions = 38% of the section), Research Summaries (3 passages / 18 questions = 45%), and Conflicting Viewpoints (1 passage / 7 questions)

20 Questions / 25 Minutes

We emphasize the facts, concepts, and principles underlying Math questions. Our materials identify the mathematical terms and the recurring question types in Numbers and Operations, Algebra and Functions, Geometry and Measurement, Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability, topics that have appeared on the official SAT. These terms and question types can be found, with levels of difficulty commensurate to those on the official test, in our math exercises, problem sets, and summary reviews. Students may and should use calculators on the Math portions of the test. We teach students how to use a calculator effectively on the exam. We also teach them how to work efficiently through the no-calculator section, emphasizing logic and reasoning skills.

38 Questions / 55 Minutes

We emphasize the facts, concepts, and principles underlying Math questions. Our materials identify the mathematical terms and the recurring question types in Numbers and Operations, Algebra and Functions, Geometry and Measurement, Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability, topics that have appeared on the official SAT. These terms and question types can be found, with levels of difficulty commensurate to those on the official test, in our math exercises, problem sets, and summary reviews. Students may and should use calculators on the Math portions of the test. We teach students how to use a calculator effectively on the exam. We also teach them how to work efficiently through the no-calculator section, emphasizing logic and reasoning skills.

1 Question / 40 Minutes

The optional Writing section is recommended or required by many colleges throughout the country. If students know where they are applying, they can look up each school’s requirements. If not, it is best to take the writing test just in case. A searchable list of college writing requirements can be found here. The writing sample asks students to consider multiple perspectives on a controversial issue in modern society and then take a position. Students are expected to use relevant examples from history, current events and literature to support their position. Past prompts have included topics such as censorship, public health, and the automation of the work force.

1 Question / 50 Minutes

In preparing students for the Essay component, we emphasize the fundamental structure and fluidity of expression inherent in a strong written composition. Although students must address a new topic question on each test, they can still practice and refine the process of evaluating a given topic and assembling a coherent and persuasive response in a limited period. Through essay practice—with pointed, individualized comments and suggestions from their tutors—students gain the confidence to approach this section, knowing that they can develop a well-rounded, thoughtful essay despite having limited time to reflect upon the topic.

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