Blog Archives

By: Ben Sexton December 2nd, 2023 marks the final administration of the paper-and-pencil SAT. The pervasive image of the bubble sheet with pencils lying across it will ride off into the sunset. A way of life – frantically scribbling in […]

By Ben Sexton For current high school seniors, the college process has just wrapped up; for younger students applying to private schools, however, the application process is just getting started. I remember going through that process myself in 6th grade, […]

By: Ben Sexton Artificial intelligence and essay writing are in the news once again, but this time, it’s the detection software that’s getting all the attention. An AI detector recently concluded that the US Constitution was very likely written by artificial […]

By: Ben Sexton Cheating (and learning) as we know it has completely changed. Long gone are the days of peeking over at a neighboring student’s paper. Technology, at this point, can do most basic and intermediate aspects of a student’s homework. […]

By Ben Sexton People may be surprised to learn that only rarely do I hear from former clients about where they will be attending college. For most of my students, the test preparation process ends well before those acceptance letters arrive […]

By Ben Sexton Without exaggeration, I’d say the college application process is more confusing than ever. One by one, each element of the application – from testing to grades, from teacher recommendations to essays – has come under fire. As a […]

By Ben Sexton This question appears simple enough. Much like asking, “what’s a good temperature to cookswordfish on the grill?” But ask professional tutors, and many of them will give somewhatwishy-washy answers, many of which amount to “it depends on […]

Choosing test-optional is not always a simple decision. Everyone would love, of course, to know whether to go test-optional right from the start of the college process. But, despite the best efforts of all parties involved, sometimes a student does […]

By: Ben Sexton Welcome back in 2023. More than any other year, students took a break from tutoring and academics over Winter Break, which I think was a great idea. Celebration and relaxation are important! Now that we’re back to the […]

Almost anyone who has followed the news the past couple of weeks has heard about ChatGPT, the AI bot that can write essays, solve ACT questions, write computer code, and even tell jokes. Our industry quickly realized that a student could […]