1. Verbal Excellence SAT & PSAT Prep
Our Immersion Breakthrough method enables students to achieve substantial score gains by improving their ability to
comprehend college level English (what the SAT tests).
Verbal Excellence Plus 650 to 700 + Club: A power-packed course that develops college-level verbal skills. Designed
for students whose goal is to attend a top- tier college or university and need the competitive advantage of high SAT
reading and writing scores.
Unlike most SAT verbal prep courses, which emphasize test practice and test-taking strategies, this is an intensive course
that strengthens reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills.
Students will be assigned extensive reading covering a wide range of literature (similar to the passages found in the SAT
reading section) and will learn all the high frequency SAT vocabulary words. The writing component focuses on
grammar and essay writing. Students will learn to generate ideas quickly from a given a topic, outline their thoughts,
and compose a compelling essay.
We also teach test-taking strategies and give practice tests but what we have found through the years is that a power-
packed holistic approach that improves reading & writing skills is the only approach that not only ensures substantial
gains on the SAT but provides
the basis for superior performance in the humanities and social sciences.
What differentiates this course from typical SAT prep courses is our emphasis on strengthening the foundational skills of
reading and writing college-level English.
Why do we take this approach?
Despite what many test prep companies say about their amazing score gains, independent studies show that score gains
for most students who have taken one or more typical prep courses are limited, especially on the verbal portion of the
test. In fact, one 2001 study shows that the average score gain on the verbal section after taking a prep course is a mere
8 points. We believe that the reason why score gains are so minimal for the verbal section is because quick band-aid
approaches that teach mainly test-taking strategies, gimmicks and word memorization just do not work well.
Based on our experience tutoring students, we have designed a program that is much more intensive and
comprehensive, one that will provide the groundwork for substantial verbal score gains on the SAT. If students attend all
classes and complete all assignments, this course will give them the best chance of improving their critical reading and
writing scores.
This brings us to the final reason why we have taken such an intensive approach to strengthening verbal skills. We
believe that preparing for the SAT is important as the SAT is an important factor in college admissions. But we believe
that strong verbal skills are important beyond just the SAT. Not only will verbal ability influence college performance
but poor verbal skills (and even average verbal skills) will limit one’s career choices and may adversely affect one’s
chances for success later in life.
