Tag: freshman year

The Value of Your Vocabulary

Posted by: admin on August 19th, 2019

Congratulations! You’ve made it past middle school. For some of you, that means those pesky secondary school admissions tests are long behind you. You may also have even heard your older siblings or friends talk about the fact that there are no vocabulary questions on the SAT or ACT. Excellent! This certainly means you can […]

Choosing an Educational Counselor

Posted by: admin on March 31st, 2019

The fundamental role of an independent educational counselor (IEC) is to help students make decisions about their educational journey experience. That responsibility includes helping students explore high school opportunities, college options, and, often, career pathways, in order for them to succeed both academically and socially. IECs don’t get students admitted: they help students by offering […]

Should I Retake the SAT or ACT?

Posted by: admin on March 14th, 2019

Tuesday was the first day of spring, which is great news for most people but perhaps not if you’re a high school junior. Spring brings term papers, APs, and, possibly, another go at the SAT or ACT. You likely have taken at least one test at this point and might be wondering, “Should I take […]

Buzzword: Delayed Gratification

Posted by: admin on March 14th, 2019

Your high school years represent more than just classes and homework. Just as important as earning your best grades is reflecting on the kind of person you are now and the kind of person you are becoming. We’ve all seen movie and television tropes about high school: the math nerd, the cocky jock, the mean […]

School-Year Habits

Posted by: admin on March 14th, 2019

The start of the school year is a rollercoaster of emotions. There are new school supplies and old friends, new classes … and the same old homework. But for most students, there is a moment sometime in the first month or so of school when they look at a clock to see how much time […]

Study Skills to Break the Vicious Cycle

Posted by: admin on March 14th, 2019

Raise your hand if you’d like to spend less time studying and get better grades. No, no, not both hands, and stop jumping up and down! Seriously, though … if you’re like most of my students, you might feel trapped in a bit of a vicious cycle right about now: you stay up late to […]

Sophomore SAT? Maybe if it’s a Subject Test

Posted by: admin on March 14th, 2019

Originally published January 30, 2019; updated January 15, 2020 Many of you took a PSAT this year, and that’s great. Your results will be super helpful when you begin thinking about whether the SAT or the ACT is right for you. But please don’t worry about that yet. Unless you’re a heavily recruited five-star athlete […]

College Cousins: Bucknell and Colgate

Posted by: admin on March 3rd, 2019

This month we take a look at Bucknell University (in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) and Colgate University (in Hamilton, New York). Both have been around for quite a while – Colgate since 1819 and Bucknell, a relative upstart, since 1846. Both institutions have had ample opportunity to work out how to offer the best they have to […]

A Student’s Story: Choosing a Path in Science

Posted by: admin on March 1st, 2019

Air, space and sun. Do those sound like the interests of a dreamer, a lightweight? Well, not if your interests run to astrophysics and solar technology. You may know someone like that if you’ve worked with Adam Trebach at PrepMatters. Adam is one of PM’s tutors and hopes to add more clients to his schedule […]

4 Ways Students Can Relieve Stress

Posted by: admin on February 27th, 2019

Knowing the meanings of laconic, loquacious, or lugubrious does not prove you are smart. Nor does knowing the rules of logarithms, apostrophes, or parallel structure. Not knowing things can feel scary, and it’s easy to mistakenly conflate knowledge with intelligence. But tests, including the ACT and SAT, measure acquired knowledge and skills. You can expect […]