The Night Before
Sleep is a tricky thing. It’s never consistent. Sometimes it evades us, other times it’s right there when we need it, or it may suddenly come out of left field and hit you without warning. Some people want to sleep but don’t have time, others can sleep but not for long, and some people sleep all the time. However, many people have experienced difficulties falling asleep the day before something important. This may be you on the night of March 11th. March 12th is the day all of your hours of preparation will come into… Continue Reading
Summer Reading: Keep Your Brain Active
It’s already past a month into your summer break! I know you’re enjoying the freedom but have you been actively keeping your brain busy? Remember, this is the perfect time to prepare for the upcoming school year and study for the SAT and/or ACT. Yet, I know that studying itself can be tiresome. Instead, why don’t you consider reading some books? It’s a great way to keep your brain thinking while reading about captivating plots and entertaining new possibilities. In particular, look for books that stretch your intellectual possibilities. While the Harry Potter series is… Continue Reading
A Foolproof Way To Increase Your Critical Reading Score
If you’re having a hard time with the SAT, I’ll bet that you have trouble solving the critical reading section. Critical reading is what we at Excel see people struggling with the most, and it’s easy to see why. Grammar and math consist of complicated but concrete rules that you can break down into recognizable patterns and strategies. Critical Reading is a different game. It requires abstract thinking, knowledge of archaic vocab, and a high tolerance for reading passages. So if you’ve practiced and practiced and you’re still not seeing your score rise, what should… Continue Reading
Breaking Down Vocabulary
So you’ve been studying your vocabulary list for the last few weeks, and you’ve gotten the hang of it. You know definitions and you feel pretty comfortable about understanding the words in context, but what about the other hundreds of thousands of words in the English language? One thing that you can do to prepare yourself when you encounter the more remote words is learn to dissect words and figure out their meanings based on the roots. By dividing words into familiar parts, you can learn how to decode even the strangest vocabulary words. You… Continue Reading
Free At Last…. Now What?
Congratulations on graduating high school! We both know that you’re excited about entering college in the upcoming fall semester. You now have two (or three) months of peaceful catch-ups and socializing to make up for the grueling months of studying you’ve just endured. However, there are ways to prepare even further for college that won’t take up all of your summer vacation to consider: Summer classes: Although you’ve just finished 4 years of schoolwork, this journey never stops. Every college will have certain elective credits that are necessary to pass in order to graduate. As… Continue Reading