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  • Home
    • Disclosure Policy
    • About Me
  • What's New! (Blog)
  • Low-Carb Lifestyle!
    • Trim Healthy Mama-inspired Grocery Lists
    • THM-style Beverages >
      • Mock Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos
    • Family Favorite Recipes (Not Low Carb) >
      • Snacks >
        • Delicious Homemade Gooey Granola Bars!
        • Healthy Peanut Buttery Treats
      • Soups and Stews >
        • Jamaican Seafood Chowder
        • Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
      • Salads >
        • Red Cabbage Coleslaw
      • Main Dishes >
        • Beef >
          • Beef Stroganoff
        • Chicken >
          • Chicken Fiesta
          • Chicken Nachos
          • Marinated Zucchini and Chicken Sandwiches
          • Chicken or Turkey Enchiladas
          • Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
          • Green Chili Chicken Lasagna
        • Lamb >
          • Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder
        • Seafood >
          • Chilled Quinoa and Salmon Salad (E)
          • Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas
        • Pasta Recipes >
          • Baked Lemon Pasta
          • Paccheri (Pasta) with Cauliflower and Tomatoes
      • Desserts >
        • Cookies >
          • Free Christmas Cookie cookbook download!
          • Healthier Gingerbread Man Cookies
          • Healthier Holiday Cut-Out Cookes
          • Maple Leaf Cookies - YUMMM!
        • Donuts
        • Frozen Desserts >
          • Lemonade Ice Cream Pie
    • Recommended Ingredients and Foods >
      • Inspiration Mixes - Gluten/Dairy/Caseine/Wheat Free and delicious!
      • Organic Maple Syrup
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Curriculum & Product Reviews >
      • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews >
        • Art >
          • ARTistic Pursuits
          • Simply Draw!
        • Grammar >
          • All About Homophones - (Marie Rippel)
          • Time 4 Learning
          • Daily Grams
        • Handwriting >
          • Cursive Handwriting - New American Cursive
        • History >
          • The Mystery of History >
            • MOH vol. 3 Audio MP3's
          • Tapestry of Grace History
          • U.S. History >
            • America, The Last Best Hope (William Bennett)
          • Winter Promise
        • Latin >
          • Latina Christiana, by Memoria Press
          • Visual Latin
        • Literature-based Unit Studies >
          • Beyond Five in a Row
          • Further Up and Further In by Diane Pendergraft
        • Logic and Reasoning >
          • Building Thinking Skills (Critical Thinking Skills Co.)
        • Math >
          • Math Mammoth
          • Math Tutor DVD.com
          • MathRider: Horselovers' Math Facts Software Game!
        • Music and Composers
        • Online Educational Courses >
          • Aleks Online Courses
        • Science >
          • Apologia Science >
            • Apologia Science's Notebooking Journals
            • Zoology 1 - Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day
          • Science Weekly newsletters
        • Spelling >
          • Phonetic Zoo (by IEW)
        • Writing >
          • The Write Foundation: Level 2 - Paragraphs
          • WriteShop's StoryBuilders
      • Homeschool Product Reviews >
        • eBooks >
          • College Success Begins at Home (TOS eBook)
          • Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool
          • Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!
          • The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner
        • Online Educational Website Memberships >
          • KB Teacher
        • Science >
          • Polymer Crystals
    • Driver's Education for Homeschoolers
    • Foreign Language >
      • Latin >
        • Christmas Songs in Latin
        • Latina Christiana (Level 1) >
          • Latina Christiana Level 1 Lesson Links >
            • Charts and Helps
            • Year One Sayings
            • LC1 Intro and Lesson 1
      • Latina Christiana (Level II) >
        • Latina Christiana Level 2
        • LC2 Intro and Lesson 1
    • Forms and Charts >
      • "Week At A Glance" Planner
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
    • Free Audio Books to Download
    • Free Homeschool I.D. Cards!
    • Government and Civics
    • Handwriting
    • History: Classical / Chronological >
      • The Mystery of History, by Linda Lacour Hobar
      • The Middle Ages (MOH vol. 2)
      • Ancient History (MOH vol. 1) >
        • Ancient Rome >
          • Roman Architecture
          • Roman Houses
          • Roman Town (software game by Dig-It)
          • Roman Trade and Commerce
    • Language Arts
    • Science
  • Free Printables
    • Holidays >
      • Christmas
  • Book/DVD/Audio Reviews
    • Children's Movie/DVD Reviews
    • Other Product/Company Reviews
  • Home & Family
    • Frugal Living
    • Gardening and Herbs
    • Marriage - God's Way
    • Life at Home
    • Godly Kids & Teens >
      • Godly Womanhood
      • Sharing God With Your Children
      • Training Our Daughters to be Keepers at Home >
        • Keepers At Home - "Beginning of Club Year" Helps
        • Keepers At Home - "End of Club Year" Helps
        • KAH Skills >
          • Bible Memory >
            • Memorizing New Testament Books and Their Meanings
            • Proverbs 31:10-31
          • Cake Decorating
          • Card Making >
            • Stitched Cards
          • Computers
          • Character Studies >
            • Contentment and "I'm Bored" phrases
            • Willingness
          • Decoupage
          • Hospitality
          • Library Skills and Literature Pins
          • Sewing >
            • Beauty and the Pig - Goldie Doll
            • Edwardian-Style Aprons
            • Paper Piecing
      • Children >
        • Bible Study Bookmarks
        • The Church History ABCs (for kids!!!)
        • The Lord's Prayer - copywork
        • Some Thoughts...Family Bible Time
        • Running Away...with permission
      • Young Adults (Teens) >
        • Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss
        • Deeper Roots: Discovering Our Amazing God
  • Frugal Family Trips to Washington, D.C.
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College Prep Genius review - High School S.A.T. success!

11/15/2011

5 Comments

 
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     I know, I know; my oldest is only 13 years old.  But she's almost fourteen.  And we are already thinking ahead to prepare her for her college years, should she choose to attend college after her high school graduation.

     Up until we began using and reviewing College Prep Genius, my strategy for helping her do well on the S.A.T and the P.S.A.T. (her junior year) has been to make sure she is studying material and content that will help her to be a discerning, logical thinker.

     Now, my strategy is quite different...and yet still similar.

     Yes, we're still going to be hitting the curricula hard and working at a high school level.  But after using College Prep Genius for a few weeks, I've come to realize that much of the skill in taking the S.A.T. is simply knowing how to take this kind of test, NOT being a braniac in multiple educational subjects.

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Can I tell you that this is my favorite academic curriculum we've used and reviewed this school year?

     Since I'm reviewing this, it's important for me to sit alongside my 8th grader and view the material as she learns.  I thought it might be a little bit on the boring side.  WRONG!  It's not super flashy and filled with lots of unnecessary noise and bling.  In fact, the instructor is quite serious most of the time!  But we've seen some amazing techniques being taught so far in the DVD lessons and in the textbook and workbook.  It is NOT boring!

     Did you realize that most of the reading selection questions on the S.A.T. can be answered without having fully read the provided reading passage?

     Did you know that high schoolers may take the P.S.A.T. three times, even though it only counts toward scholarships during their junior year of high school?

     Did you know that by learning some simple acronyms, your teen will have memorized some excellent techniques on how to approach the various portions of the S.A.T. and P.S.A.T.?

     Did you know that the normal school tests often have subjective answers, whereas the S.A.T. only contains objective answers, allowing you to often eliminate some of the answer choices on questions?

     Did you know that strategies learned in College Prep Genius will also work for AP tests, CLEP, GRE, LSAT, ACCUPLACER tests, and more?

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     To start using College Prep Genius, I skimmed the first few chapters of the main book, and then we popped in the first DVD.  The lesson was very self-explanatory, and even though my daughter could have done this completely on her own, I appreciated being able to hear and see all of the tricks and tips offered by Jean Burk on the DVD lessons. 

     Here's what we thought after working through about one-fourth of the book and DVD lessons:

1.  This is super simple to use!  Most teens could easily use this material on their own.

2.  Every type of question on the SAT is addressed in this material.  We were amazed at the simple traps which are used to get students to answer incorrectly.  Once they are shown, it is easy to discern this in future practice tests.

3.  I almost wished I could go back in time and retake my high school SAT test, to put my new skills to use!  And all along, I had always thought that the SAT was actually measuring student knowledge.  Wrong!  It's measuring logical and critical thinking skills, which translates to . . . test-taking skills!

4.  Kelsi really liked working through the provided examples.  She liked the study techniques and acronyms. 



What we didn't like:  NOTHING! 

     This is very thorough!  Be prepared to spend some time on it, though.  College Prep Genius would be excellent to use beginning in the 8th grade and practicing with it through the high school years, especially in the summer. 

     We are very excited to continue using College Prep Genius!  We'll now read through and view the math lessons, although since Kelsi is finishing up pre-algebra, much of it may not be applicable yet.


BONUS!  At the back of the College Prep Genius book, we found sections on:
  • applying for scholarships, loans, and grants
  • links to scholarship websites
  • scholarship application tracking forms
  • journal forms to record student progress in studying for the SAT and PSAT
  • vocabulary prefixes/root words/suffixes
  • math vocabulary terms
  • a motivation test.
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     Right now you can get the complete program for $99 (a 25% discount), which includes the DVD and the Second Edition Textbook and Workbook.  (Please note that the complete program doesn't include the Vocab Café books shown on the left hand side of the above photo.)

     Here's a television video of how the author, Jean Burk, came to develop this curriculum as a homeschool parent:



     If you currently use College Prep Genius or have used it in the past, what were your impressions of this program?  Did it work for the young adults in your family?  Read more about what other TOS Crew members think of College Prep Genius! 
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Julieanne
Joy In Our Journey.com



Disclaimer:  I was provided with a complete DVD set of College Prep Genius in exchange for using and reviewing this program on my website.  My honest review is what you've read, and no other additional compensation was provided.
5 Comments
David
10/17/2012 08:03:18 am

May I still purchase the first editiion of your textbook. A fried borrowed and never brought it back. I have the rest of the set. driley754522002@yahoo.com

Reply
Julieanne link
9/23/2013 08:27:05 am

David, you'll need to order the textbook directly from College Prep Genius: http://collegeprepgenius.com/satprep/

Reply
Katrina
2/19/2015 01:43:17 pm

Hi Julieanne,

Since your review was written in 2011, I'm wondering if you still hold the same view of College Prep Genius? I have the complete set but only want to use one test prep program and want to make it count. There are so many on the market. Thank you!

Reply
Julieanne link
2/19/2015 02:10:18 pm

Hi, Katrina, I'm so glad you asked this question! :) Yes! We have been thrilled with the results our oldest daughter has had using College Prep Genius. She scored very high on the PSAT in October (her junior year) and quite high on her SAT last month. :) My younger daughter has started to study the material and will work on it more, especially this summer and fall 2015.

Reply
Charis
4/14/2015 02:48:38 pm

Do you have an affiliate link for the program I can buy it through? Your review was so helpful, just what I was wanting to know.

Reply



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    ​​Hi!  I'm Julieanne!
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