A special Standardized Aptitude Test (SAT) prep course is being offered at FC for sophomore’s and junior’s. This course is brought by Apollo Prep and will be taught by Ting Wang. Apollo’s goal is to help young people prep more smartly. The price for this program was originally $1,090 but the cost has been cut specifically for FC, making the new price $890.
A unique attribute about this course is that it is offered in a four-week time period unlike public school prep courses that are offered in a single day. The class will commence every Saturday starting on April 6 until April 27. From 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. the class will be in session and will take place in the FC library.
All FC sophomore and junior students are offered this class along with students from Central Valley Christian Schools (CVC) and Immanuel Schools. FC alumnus George Kutnerian, ’01, contacted academic advisor Michelle Warkentin and offered from the company, Apollo Prep, to bring one of their classes to the school, to help students.
Kutnerian promotes Apollo Prep by telling of the differences between Apollo’s course then other SAT prep courses. This course strives to help each student individually.
“Admission rates to top colleges in the country are declining, so getitng in a college today is increasingly competitive,” Kutnerian said. “Basically, if you look at the market for SAT test prep you have a lot of cookie cutter approaches that are designed for only the average student. Nothing is wrong with that but the approach is very broad and nothing is specified. More advanced programs are geared to someone who wants to go to a more advanced school, and thats what Apollo Prep tries to accomplish.”
Apollo Prep began in October 2012, and normally focus’ on working one on one with students in preparing them for the SAT. This is the company’s first time teaching a class but they are highly qualified as told by Warkentin. Ron Purewal is the designer of the test the students will take on the first day of the course. Purewall is a six-time perfect 2400 scorer on the SAT.
“We are only offering it to the three schools because we want to keep the class size at a smaller number to ensure that our students receive the most individual instruction possible,” Warkentin said. “This class will be beneficial because it is catered to the needs of each students. They will take a practice test at the beginning which will target their problem areas. Homework assignments will be tailored to their individual needs. This is unlike other classes that are offered locally.”
Students will take a practice SAT test where the results each individual gets will determine the strong and weak points each student holds. From there, the program will try to help each student with their weak points on the test. The plan for helping the students is to provide them with homework to do over the week.
The tailored homework is functioned by Minerva, a special system Apollo Prep uses. Minerva breaks down the results of students’ practice exams all the way down to individual answer choices by subject, topic, strategy, difficult level and more. From there, Minerva adapts to the students changing needs with highly customized practice tests, targeting the exact ares the students need to focus on.
“I highly recommend this course because the curriculum is effective,” Warkentin said. “The teacher comes highly recommended, the ratio of teacher to student is very small, and it is a great transition for students taking the May/June tests. I obviously cannot guarantee a better SAT score after taking the class but I would be shocked if a student did not receive a higher score after the class.”
Campus students can register for the Apollo Prep class at Apollo Prep Advanced SAT Prep Class.
For more information, contact Warkentin [email protected], or call at 559.299.1965, ext. 126.
For more news, read the March 25 article, Feather receives Gold Crown, surpasses expectations .
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @han_avila.
