From the Never a Dull Moment Department:

Last week the big news was about the horrible glitches on the most recent SAT.

That was last week.  As of yesterday, we're dealing with close to 2,000 layoffs at the Department of Edumacation and what they mean for you if you're looking for financial aid.

Tonight, we're running an open Q&A about the SAT debacle, but anything goes, so bring ANY of your test prep, college admissions, financial aid or other related Q's about what this means for your kiddos, and we'll do our darndest to provide A's.

Here's the sign up info:

Live Q&A Registration

- Andy "Breaking College News" Lockwood

P.S.  Please feel free to pass along this invitation.

Have you heard about the recent disaster with the SAT?  (Answers being submitted before the student was ready, more.)

We're also hearing about problems with the rollout of new digital ACT.  The fun never stops.

Join me and our head tutor, Marissa U, for a brief overview, discussion and plenty of advice about how to cope with these issues.

It's tomorrow, Thursday, May 13. Details here:

Learn more...

- Andy "College 911" Lockwood

P.S.  Please feel free to pass this invitation onto any of your friends who could use this information.

Just when you thought test-optional was here to stay… colleges are FLIPPING THE SCRIPT.

Top universities are REINSTATING SAT & ACT requirements.
Merit scholarships? You'll NEED high test scores to get your hands on that lettuce!
Numerous state programs are demanding scores for merit aid.

Bottom line? You can't blow off the SAT or ACT.

If your teen doesn’t take these tests seriously, they’re falling behind. And let’s be real—college admissions is only getting MORE competitive.

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 20 at 8PM EST, we’re hosting a LIVE, no-cost, peel-back-the-curtain and tell-all webinar on the latest SAT & ACT changes and how to "weaponize" high scores for college acceptances and BIG TIME scholarship money.

It's called The Future of the SAT and ACT - What You Need to Know Now.

Spots are limited – don’t let your kid be left in the dust.

 Reserve your spot NOW before it’s too late!

ENROLL

- Andy "Don''t Test Me" Lockwood

P.S.  Please pass this along to anybody who cou...

Admissions "Cheat Code" Webinar

Whoopsies.

I meant to tell you about the webinar I'm running tomorrow (Wednesday 2/5), not the one in November (also scheduled but too early for registrations).

The sign up page is correct, but this morning's email mentioned the future, November event instead of tomorrow's.

My mistake!

But you can sign up for tomorrow's webinar here:

Admissions "Cheat Code"

- Andy "2nd Time's The Charm" Lockwood

P.S.   Topics for tomorrow's presentation include:

 The shocking percentage of families who pay full price for college—and how to avoid becoming one of them
 Why students with weaker GPAs and lower SAT scores STILL get into elite schools
 The hidden factors that REALLY matter in admissions (it’s not what they tell you and they’re not all politically correct)
 How financial aid is designed to punish families who saved—and how to fight back and beat the colleges at their own game
 How to negotiate for MORE money after your so-called “Final Offer” (yes, it...

Hi, I'll be quicker than a squirrel after a double espresso.

Tonight, our head tutor Marissa and I are doing a short, live, "Town Hall" on the recent changes to the SAT and ACT, and what they mean for you and your kiddos.

The SAT and ACT matter much, much more than last year or the year before, so if you have an 11th or 10th grader, definitely do whatever it takes to tune in.  Here's the information you need:

SAT/ACT Town Hall

See you later!

- Andy "Townie" Lockwood

P.S. Feel free to pass this around to your friends like the latest flu (Influenza A or B),  norovirus or whatever. 

P.P.S. On the signup page, you can pre-submit your "burning question," in order to get it answered, live, tonight!

Two quickie college admissions and financial aid announcements for you:

We still have seats left at the Bryant Library (Roslyn) tonight, 6pm, for my presentation, How to Get The Edge in Admission to an Ivy League or Other Elite College...and win boatloads of scholarships.

As of yesterday, they told me 16 were signed up, and I believe the room holds 25.

More details are here (if the link doesn't work that means the room is full and registration closed out):

Bryant Library 1/16/25

Proclamation Two:

Our head tutor Marissa and I just agreed to do a short, live, "Town Hall" on the recent changes to the SAT and ACT, and what they mean for you and your kiddos.

It's Sunday at 7pm, online.   

The SAT and ACT matter waaaay more than last year or the year before, so if you have an 11th or 10th grader, definitely do whatever it takes to tune in.  Here's the information you need:

Sunday 1/19/25 SAT/ACT Town Hall

That's it - over and out!

- Andy "Back to Your Regular Programming" Lockw...

Tutoring | Student/Parent Loan Relief

There are a few reasons why a child can achieve a high GPA but you-know-what the bed on the SAT or ACT.

It could be test anxiety.

It could be lack of preparation.

It could be lack of PROPER preparation (we see this with high school teachers who tutor on the side. Frequently these teachers cover the semester's worth of content, instead of focusing on the material that's actually tested on the SAT and ACT).

Or, it could be the widespread phenomenon of grade inflation.  More than 92% of students in high school have A averages today.  Where are the C students of yesteryear?

(Answer: they have 84 averages now.)

Regardless of the answer, there is a small, growing movement away from test-optional college applications that started two years ago, initially by Ivy League and comparable colleges (like MIT), but slowly spreading to other competitive colleges.  

To be clee-ah, as we say up in Beantown, test-optional is not dead.  But given the choice, a...

Tutoring | Student/Parent Loan Relief

Good morning!  We're delighted to start off 2025 with a banger of an offer for you, a big discount off our SAT and ACT Crusher small group tutoring classes:

125 bucks off, coupon code NEWYEAR.

Almost every one of our clients who got into Ivy and near-Ivy colleges submitted their scores, proffering evidence that "test-optional" is not everything that it was cracked up to be.

Ditto for merit scholarships: as these offers roll in, it's becoming clear as glass that colleges strongly prefer to see an SAT or ACT in order to be considered for merit-based aid.

That's why I've been beating the drum with this tri-part message for the last four years:

*Figure out Which Test Is Best

*Get that test score as high as humanly possible

*Decide on a school-by-school, case-by-case basis, in the context of the TOTALITY of the application, whether or not to submit that SAT or ACT score

Our ACT prep small group class starts tomorrow and we have four spots avail...

In a few hours, our head tutor Marissa is conducting a live test prep strategies presentation, 5 Score-Killing SAT and ACT Prep Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. 

The next ACT registration deadline is in four days (for the exam on 11/22), and the one for the SAT is later this month (see below).

Our next (guaranteed) ACT prep course starts tomorrow. Marissa will be offering a special discount coupon code on tonight's free workshop!  

Here's where to sign up for tonight's class

Drop whatever you're doing if you have a young-un taking the SAT or ACT in the near future.  Don't miss this class, who cares about the polling data, anyway! 

I'm Andy Lockwood and i approve of this message, mostly.

Tutoring | Financial Aid Apps Prep

I want to tell you about our guaranteed SAT and ACT prep courses, but first, I'd like to address a commonly asked question:

Should My Kid Bother to Take the SAT or ACT?

Let me lay it out for you, because I seriously doubt you'll get this information from your guidance counselor or any other "expert."

60% of a college application is based on academic credentials:

*GPA

*Rigor of course load

*Standardized testing

(I'll cover the 40% some other time.)

If you take away one of the Big Three academic components, then the other two take on more weight.  Simple logic.

So my first point is that there's a difference between applying test-optional and GETTING ACCEPTED test-optional.  If your scores are too low to submit, AND your GPA and rigor is also lacking, you're not competitive and merely wasting your application fee.

What about the "High GPA, Bad Test Taker Phenomenon?"

Not that unusual, thanks in large part to rampant grade inflation.  

Last w...