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xiggi · 05-27-2005, 01:23 AM

Since I am not a professional tutor -and not even an amateur tutor- I do not keep track of score improvements. You may have noticed that I do not even recommend a diagnostic test before starting the preparation. The reality is that most people I start talking to have taken a few tests and have earned some type of diagnostic score. In a way, I believe that students can self-diagnose their weaknesses after going through the starting phases. I plan to add a few posts tomorrow that will discuss how one progresses in his or her preparation.

However, I want to add something regarding scores. In the past years, I have helped a good number of people and they came to me from very different parts of the world and very different scores. I have helped people asking to boost a score of 850 with a 350 verbal, many 1100-1300 scorers, as well as helped others "grab" the last 60-100 points that separated them from a perfect score. In my neck of the woods, I have had dozens increases of 300 points, a fact made easier by living in an area that is predominantly represented by URM with a SAT average well below 1000.

Unlike the professional tutors, I cannot take credit for those results. I always felt that the credit belonged to the students. I do, however, want to make sure readers know that many people have increased their scores substantially by following the simple steps I have now started to outline. I also want to make sure that readers know that the only limitation that exists is the number 800. People who self-prepare do not necessarily reach an illusory plateau that requires the help of a professional to overcome. Actually, at the highest level, all improvements have to come from the student as the tutoring help reaches its own limit. Lance Armstrong has the best team and best supporting staff, but for the last miles of the Galibier or Mt Ventoux, he is the one who has to pedal his way up while the technical director sits in his car. While I do not keep track of statistics, I have been overjoyed by reading a lot of thank you emails confirming acceptances at dream schools during the past two admissions' seasons.

05-27-2005, 01:23 AM	#64
xiggi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Threads: 337 Posts: 6,004	A simple remark about scores' improvement Since I am not a professional tutor -and not even an amateur tutor- I do not keep track of score improvements. You may have noticed that I do not even recommend a diagnostic test before starting the preparation. The reality is that most people I start talking to have taken a few tests and have earned some type of diagnostic score. In a way, I believe that students can self-diagnose their weaknesses after going through the starting phases. I plan to add a few posts tomorrow that will discuss how one progresses in his or her preparation. However, I want to add something regarding scores. In the past years, I have helped a good number of people and they came to me from very different parts of the world and very different scores. I have helped people asking to boost a score of 850 with a 350 verbal, many 1100-1300 scorers, as well as helped others "grab" the last 60-100 points that separated them from a perfect score. In my neck of the woods, I have had dozens increases of 300 points, a fact made easier by living in an area that is predominantly represented by URM with a SAT average well below 1000. Unlike the professional tutors, I cannot take credit for those results. I always felt that the credit belonged to the students. I do, however, want to make sure readers know that many people have increased their scores substantially by following the simple steps I have now started to outline. I also want to make sure that readers know that the only limitation that exists is the number 800. People who self-prepare do not necessarily reach an illusory plateau that requires the help of a professional to overcome. Actually, at the highest level, all improvements have to come from the student as the tutoring help reaches its own limit. Lance Armstrong has the best team and best supporting staff, but for the last miles of the Galibier or Mt Ventoux, he is the one who has to pedal his way up while the technical director sits in his car. While I do not keep track of statistics, I have been overjoyed by reading a lot of thank you emails confirming acceptances at dream schools during the past two admissions' seasons.