Chyten’s Summer Boot Camp dates announced

Chyten is offering special, one-week Summer Boot Camps to prepare students for the SAT and ACT. Twenty-five hours of instruction, a full-length practice test and diagnostic report, and all books and materials are included in this special summer offering.

Boot Camps are perfect for busy students and athletes, delivering all of Chyten’s key strategies in a short, intense timeframe, and offering a highly effective method for students to prepare for their fall exams:

CLASS TYPE DATES TIME
SAT CLASS July 15 – 19 9:00 – 2:00
SAT CLASS July 22 – 26 9:00 – 2:00
SAT CLASS July 29 – August 2 9:00 – 2:00
SAT CLASS August 5 – 9 9:00 – 2:00
SAT CLASS August 12 – 16 9:00 – 2:00

Summer boot camp tuition is $985. The classes meet here at our center, and tuition includes registration, books, and all materials!

A complete listing of Chyten’s upcoming SAT and ACT classes is located here! Call 505-2495 to register.

 

Three Common Myths About the SAT

Here are some of the biggest myths about the SAT, debunked!

Myth 1: Colleges prefer the SAT over the ACT

All four-year colleges in the U.S. now accept the ACT, and it is highly regarded. Some admissions professionals will even tell you that they prefer it over the SAT because it is based more on coursework and better reflects how a student will perform in college. From a student’s perspective, the ACT will fulfill the need for SAT Subject Tests at many colleges. Is your student interested in the ACT? They can take a free ACT vs SAT Comparison Test at Chyten to determine which is their best match.

Myth 2: Colleges only see the scores I send them

This is often accompanied by rumors like “it doesn’t matter how many times I take the SAT because colleges won’t see it,” or “I will just focus on one section of the SAT at a time because colleges will take my highest score for each section.”

Score Choice was implemented by the College Board in 2008, but colleges are allowed to set their own rules on what scores they require. A few of the more popular colleges that require all test scores include: Colgate, Cornell, Columbia, GW, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Stanford, Tufts, Maryland, Penn, and Wesleyan. While many of these colleges state that they will still “superscore” (use the highest section across multiple test dates), the jury is still out on why they want all the scores. Some believe that they want to see how many times a student took the test. Most think it is simply in the interest of making certain that they have all the correct data to select the highest scores.

Myth 3: I don’t need to take SAT Subject Tests

First of all, you will need them if you are applying to the Ivy League, many small competitive liberal arts colleges (Amherst, Haverford, Williams, Vassar, etc.) or some popular universities like BC, BU, Duke, Georgetown, Tufts or UVA. Second, there is a large group of colleges that “recommend” SAT Subject Tests, let’s just say it’s a strong recommendation — they really like to see them. These institutions include: American University, George Washington, NYU, Northwestern, UNC-Chapel Hill and USC. Finally, some colleges that don’t require SAT Subject Tests in general, do require them for certain programs like engineering or nursing. A few even specify which subjects they require (Bio, Chem, Math Level II, etc.). The bottom line is that junior year is too early to cut off any options as to where you will be applying. And the best time to take them is at the end of sophomore or junior year for subjects you have just completed (i.e. if you just took U.S. History and Chemistry, take those tests); that way the material is fresh in your mind. To read more about SAT Subject tests, go here.

Changes to the Common App for 2013 Announced

The Common Application,which is a universal form that allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities, will be implementing some surprising new changes to the essay rules. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the Common App will be going web-only in 2013, and also will eliminate the “topic of your choice” essay option. Students will be forced to choose a prompt from the ones presented on the form, and these four or five topics will change from year to year.

The new form will debut on Aug. 1, 2013.

The new Common App will also be a stickler for essay lengths. The 250-word minimum word count will be enforced, and students who exceed the 500-word maximum will receive an error message.

Chyten Announces Spring ACT Class

Chyten has announced a new ACT test preparation class, which will get students ready for the April ACT. Students will learn how to master the ACT material in this six-session class, which features unique strategies, content mastery and more!

Chyten’s classes are unique and effective from start to finish. Because we value the experience and expertise of teachers, all Chyten’s instructors are real teachers with Master’s degree or higher. Because we design amazing strategies, the strategic lessons learned will last a lifetime. Because we value relationships, all classes are kept small, so that teachers can get to know their students.

For practice and skill-building, Chyten has extensive banks of ACT questions of all types, actual and original. For strategy development, Chyten’s manual provides insights into the ACT you cannot get anywhere else. Classes take place on Saturdays from 12:00 – 4:00, and include two full length Magnostic ACT Diagnostic exams and all books and materials.

ACT Test Preparation Class

DAY DATE TIME
Saturday February 23, 2013 12:00 – 4:00
Saturday March 2, 2013 12:00 – 4:00
Saturday March 9, 2013 12:00 – 4:00
Saturday March 16, 2013 12:00 – 4:00
Saturday March 23, 2013 12:00 – 4:00
Saturday April 6, 2013 12:00 – 4:00

Course tuition is $985, and this includes all books, materials, and two free practice tests! To sign up, please call Chyten at (828) 505-2495 or click here to request more information.

Call to schedule! Classes fill up quickly!

Spring SAT Prep Class Being Offered!

Chyten Tutors and Test Preparation of Asheville has announced a Comprehensive SAT Prep course which will run across six Sundays, beginning March 10, 2013. This course is timed specifically so that students will be ready and warmed up for the May 4, 2013 test!

Chyten’s SAT classes offer a comprehensive overview of the SAT, and include a combination of skill-building exercises and test-taking strategies for tackling the test’s hardest questions. Students will learn:

Chyten’s Zig Zag MethodSM for Critical Reading breaks down traditional reading barriers and dramatically increases reading speed and comprehension. It makes rereading unnecessary, preserving valuable minutes. In addition, Chyten students are taught how to recognize and resist trap answers.

Chyten’s Grammar Simplification StrategySM turns even grammar-phobic students into excellent performers on the SAT. By breaking SAT grammar into its five major components and drilling with more than 600 original, categorized questions, Chyten students gain a sense of grammar mastery. Then, by practicing on up to 20 full-length tests, Chyten students earn a sense of test mastery.

Chyten’s Adaptable Essay Strategy allows students to craft a top-scoring essay that contains all the essential components necessary to earn top scores. Chyten’s essay methods have been so successful that Chyten students earn perfect essay scores at 50 times the national rate. According to the Boston Globe, “Prepping high-scoring essays using Chyten’s method can be enough to boost scores to heart-thumping numbers.”

Chyten’s SAT Math Strategies, complete with a topic breakdown and relative weighting of each question type. It then teaches students a series of subject-specific strategies along with general SAT Math strategies that include numeric and visual approximation, backward solving and strategic guessing. Chyten’s original Math Question Banks help student achieve mastery of all SAT Math topics.

SAT Test Preparation Class

Six Sundays, Beginning March 10, 2013 • Preparation for May 4th SAT

Each Sunday from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM | 24 hours of expert instruction

DAY DATE TIME
Sunday March 10, 2013 1:00 – 5:00
Sunday March 17, 2013 1:00 – 5:00
Sunday April 7, 2013 1:00 – 5:00
Sunday April 14, 2013 1:00 – 5:00
Sunday April 21, 2013 1:00 – 5:00
Sunday April 28, 2013 1:00 – 5:00

The Three Biggest College Admissions Lies

Steve Cohen, The Daily Beast

Do SAT scores matter anymore? Will asking for financial aid hurt your chances? And does everyone get a fair shot? As application season kicks into high gear, some hard truths about getting in this year.

“The check is in the mail. I gave at the office. And …”

There are too many bad jokes that begin “The three biggest lies are …” What’s happening in college admissions, however, is no joke. Three big lies are gaining traction with families as they embark on this year’s tougher-than-ever college-admissions sweepstakes. Believing some of these lies will cost families money. Others can make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.

Lie No. 1: Standardized Tests Are Less Important

Colleges today are relying on standardized test scores when making admissions decisions to a far larger degree than they have in years. One reason is that the number of applications at most top colleges is soaring. That’s not because there are more 18-year-olds graduating from high school. It is because more kids are applying to more colleges. And with little increase in the size of their admissions staffs, schools are using SAT and ACT scores to make a fast, easy cut of the applicant pool.

Of course, no college is going to admit this. Colleges love a big applicant pool, not just to craft a more attractive class but to show the ranking services just how selective they are. (In the perverse rankings world, more rejections equal a higher ranking.) Instead, colleges are using several forms of numbers subterfuge to obfuscate what is really going on.

The SAT Range: Almost every college publishes the range of SAT scores that kids in the last entering class achieved. The schools call this the 25th to 75th percentile range. In other words, 50 percent of last year’s entering class had scores within this range.

So if a kid sees a school’s 25th–75th range as 1280 to 1430, the student might reasonably think that their 1300 SAT score gives them a fair shot at admission. Wrong. In reality, the bottom 25 percent, below 1280, is reserved for the school’s “special interests”: athletes, students of color, development (big donors). For example, Vanderbilt reports its 25th–75th SAT range as 1380 to 1550. In reality, most of its admittees had SAT scores above 1500.

Test Optional Doesn’t Always Mean Test Optional: A number of very good colleges have a “test optional” policy. For kids who have good grades but test-anxiety, that can be a real blessing. Are test-optional colleges adopting a kindler, gentler approach to admissions? No, they’re chasing rankings. Think about it. When a school declares SAT scores optional, which students report their scores? Only students with high test scores. This boosts the average SAT scores at the college, and the school moves up a rung on the rankings ladder.

The Magic 700: At the very selective colleges and universities, if you don’t have a 700/700 score, you’re just not getting in—unless you have a very special hook. The 680/690 kid is a dime a dozen.

Cheating Goes Both Ways: In the past year, headlines have screamed about cheating scandals not just at Long Island high schools and at New York City’s Stuyvesant High School but at colleges. Both Claremont-McKenna and Emory admitted to playing with test scores in order to make them look better in the rankings.

Standardized test scores are just as important on the money side.

“It’s pretty simple,” says Ian Welham, a college-funding specialist with Complete College Planning Solutions in Springfield, N.J. “If you want more money, increase your test scores. Regardless of what the college tour guide or the glitzy brochure says, the kid with the 800 in math will get the money over the kid with straight A’s.”

Lie No. 2: Asking for Financial Aid Won’t Affect the Admissions Decision

Ah, for the good old days—the days before the Great Recession. Back then, when a college said it was “need blind,” it probably was need blind. That meant admissions decisions were made without the admissions staff knowing whether the kid was applying for financial aid.

Today, more and more college admissions officers want, and need, to know whether the kid can pay full freight. And if there is a choice between two virtually identical applicants, one who needs financial aid and one who doesn’t, the fat envelope is going to go to the kid who can pay full tuition.

Some very good schools, such as Wesleyan, are coming forward and acknowledging that they can’t afford to be 100 percent need-blind. Similarly, some of the most selective colleges are quietly moving away from their “no loans” financial aid policy. Pre-2007 many of the nation’s wealthiest and most selective colleges said they would eliminate loans from the financial-aid packages they gave students. Today there is a family-income level that must be met before a no-loan financial aid package is offered.

Cornell University recently announced that no-loan financial aid would be available only to families earning less than $60,000 a year. Similarly, Dartmouth and Williams announced that their no-loan policy would be limited to students at the lowest end of the income-distribution scale.

There is good news, however, for families who can afford to pay full tuition, and especially out-of-state tuitions. Acceptance rates at top state universities for out-of-state applicants reached an all-time high last year. And the number of foreign students accepted at many colleges has doubled or tripled in the last four years.

But not all well-heeled parents are willing to write the big checks. Welham, the college-funding adviser, reports a trend he’s seeing among his clients. “There used to be a certain percentage of parents who told us, ‘I want my kid to get into the best name school, I don’t care what it costs.’ Now, take a family with three to four kids. Even upper-income families are balking at paying $750,000 to $1 million for college. Instead, they’re telling us, ‘Show us some options where we don’t pay sticker price.’”

Lie No. 3: It’s a Level Playing Field

Let’s go back to the foreign-student situation. It should be no surprise that many foreign students applying to American colleges have very high SAT scores. Colleges love that. Unfortunately, a shockingly large number of Chinese applicants also lie about their English abilities and academic transcripts. And colleges are pretending they don’t know this. That combination of high scores and full tuition is simply too enticing to ignore.

The worst-kept secret of college admissions is that colleges are looking for the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid. They want some real scholars for every department, some superb athletes, some great musicians and actors, a few rich kids whose parents can build a library wing, and some legacies to keep the alumni happy. The applicant who is attractive but not really special in any one category is going to have a much tougher time getting in.

And while early decision really does improve one’s chances, there are caveats. Many of the early-decision slots are reserved for kids the school wants for athletic or other recruiting purposes. Second, the early-decision applicant pool typically has higher grades and SAT scores than the regular pool. There is a self-limiting element to who is applying early. So if a school is a “reach” for a student, the student should not apply early. His odds of getting rejected are greater. The early decision-applicant pool is simply better credentialed.

A last truism: it is often said that there is a college for everyone. That is certainly true. What is more elusive, but equally true, is there is a right-fit college for everyone. But most kids and their parents never find that school because they are too caught up in trying to get into the “best” school rather than the right school.

Instead of relying on magazine rankings, which reflect the subjectivity of the editors couched in often-meaningless statistical inputs or is based a single visit to a college that can be colored by a backward-walking student tour guide, students really should do smarter research. It takes a bit more effort, but kids should sit in on a college class. They should spend a night on campus. Sure, it’s tough and expensive to arrange such trips. But it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a poor fit.

To read the full article at the Daily Beast, please click here.

Chyten’s new ACT Mini Course will begin February 11!

A four session class for sophomores and juniors, the ACT Mini Course provides an overview of the test format, timing and questions types with strategies for all sections of the test. Although not intended as full test preparation, the mini-course will give students familiarity and knowledge of the content so they don’t walk into the test “cold”.

Classes will meet on February 11, 18, 25 and March 3 from 2:00-5:00. Tuition cost is $495, which includes all books and materials. To learn more, please call (828) 505-2495!

Chyten featured in ‘The Life in Biltmore Park’

Chyten was featured in the January 2012 edition of ‘The Life in Biltmore Park’ magazine.

What is Chyten?
Chyten is a tutoring and test preparation company that originated in Boston. The company’s founder, Neil Chyten, was a tutor for many of the Harvard professors’ children, and he began opening centers where highly motivated students could be taken to the next level. Currently, there are 40 Chyten centers across the country, including 4 in North Carolina. Our specialty is one-on-one, private tutoring, using proprietary techniques to teach our amazing test-taking strategies for the ACT and SAT.

Where did you grow up? How long have you lived in the area?
My name is Stacey Caskey. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Brooklyn College and Queens College. A National Board-certified educator, I taught in the NYC school system for eleven years before moving to Asheville in 2001. I taught at Claxton Elementary from 2001-2010 and am now the educational director and co-owner of Chyten Tutors and Test Prep. My husband, Brian, grew up in DeLand, Florida, where he earned his degree in Biology from Stetson University. Our daughter, Allison, is a third grader at Bell Elementary.

Brian and Stacey Caskey

Brian and Stacey Caskey

What interested you in opening a tutoring and test prep center?
Throughout the years, there were many times when a parent would ask me where they could supplement their child’s education; and really, there were no outstanding local options. Asheville has had a need for educational services that remediate, enrich, and allow a child to achieve academic success. Chyten’s philosophy helps students excel, as well as to get into the colleges of their dreams.

What makes Chyten different?
At Chyten, we firmly believe that tutoring leads to achievement. We also believe that parent involvement is crucial, which is why parents have real-time, online access to the tutor’s session notes and are part of the dialogue. At Chyten, we require our tutors to possess at least a Master’s degree! When you bring your child to work with one of our tutors, they have been matched with an expert.

Why are college admissions tests, like the ACT and SAT, so important?
College admissions are much more competitive now. In 2010, Harvard accepted only 6% of their applicants, Stanford 7%, Duke 14%, and UNC 29%. What does that mean for your student? Excellent ACT and SAT scores are needed before students will even be considered by a college admissions committee. Grades, extracurriculars, and class ranking remain important, but test scores make a very important first impression.

What does Chyten offer to academically gifted students?
With budget cuts in our schools, students are receiving less and less AIG services. Having taught the gifted program in New York for many years, I realize the importance of constantly challenging bright students. Many gifted students are bored in the classroom and struggle to maintain intellectual curiosity. At Chyten, we offer enrichment programs for students to keep them at the top of their game. Our E.N.R.I.C.H. program is taught by a certified AIG specialist, and teaches students to synthesize knowledge and inquiry.

Given your educational expertise, what advice can you offer to residents?
The best gift you can bestow upon your child is the opportunity to excel. Better test scores and grades will open doors to experiences that previously seemed out of reach. Younger students gain self-confidence and self-esteem when they perform well in school.

Pre-learning is not a new concept. When students are introduced to upcoming school topics beforehand, especially at the AP or Honors level, they excel. They enter the classroom prepared and confident. Chyten works extensively with local principals, teachers and curriculum experts to keep your child a few steps ahead at all times.

The best and most important advice I can offer to parents is to be proactive in their child’s education, and to always expect academic success.

We invite our Asheville neighbors to stop in at our state-of-the-art educational center, take a look around, have a cup of coffee, and talk to us about their child’s academic needs.

9 Testing Tips for College Applicants

Peter Van Buskirk, US News

As the college application process picks up steam, no credential sparks more consternation among applicants than standardized testing. The following are tips for managing your test results as you apply for admission.

1. Consider your options: Review your testing experience to determine which scores (SAT, ACT, or both) you want to send to each school. Every college in the country now uses the SAT and the ACT interchangeably. Submit the set of results that puts you in the most competitive light.

2. Decide which tests you will take this fall: If you have already taken the SAT two times and are disappointed by the results, you might be facing a point of diminishing returns. Consider turning your attention to the ACT. Achieving a respectable score on the ACT means that admissions officers have options with regard to the test results they can use to rationalize offering you a place in their respective classes.

3. Consider waiting to see the results first: For tests taken this fall, you may want to wait until you have seen the results before deciding to have official score reports sent to colleges. This is an option afforded you through Score Choice by both testing agencies (College Board and ACT) in acknowledgement of the fact that you own the results and can control where they are sent. With Score Choice, you can choose, for a fee, the test results that are to be submitted to each college.

4. Keep the “superscore” in mind: At most colleges, admissions officers will look at the best combination of scores. If you have taken the SAT two to three times, your best Critical Reading score might have come on your third test while your best math score might have come on your second test. In order for colleges to pull results from different test administrations for a “superscore,” you will need to submit scores from each. The prevalence of “superscoring” makes Score Choice an unnecessary consideration at most colleges.

5. Arrange for test results to be sent directly to schools: Colleges strongly prefer to receive SAT and ACT test results directly from the testing services. Make arrangements with the appropriate testing service to have your results sent directly to the colleges to which you are applying. If you are electing the Score Choice option, you will need to designate the date(s) of the test administration(s) for which you want scores submitted.

6. Find out which colleges require SAT Subject Tests: Some will require specific tests while others simply indicate that you must submit a certain number of test results for subjects that you may choose.

7. Submit your college applications: Don’t hold off on submitting your applications for admission until you have all of the results from tests to be taken this fall or winter. You shouldn’t have to report actual scores on your applications. As long as you register with the testing service to have your scores sent to the colleges in question, the results of fall testing will be forwarded automatically to those colleges within two to three weeks.

8. Consider test-optional opportunities: Compare your results with the range of scores reported for each test-optional college. If your scores fall in the bottom 50 percent of the score ranges, logic would suggest that you elect not to submit your scores, as they will do nothing to enhance your application. A complete list of test-optional colleges can be found online at The National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest).

9. Choose colleges at which your testing profile is a good fit: Remember, colleges are fond of reporting high scores for their entering classes. Target schools where your scores are in the top 25 percent of those reported for enrolled students—they will establish you as a viable candidate. The further your scores fall below the midpoint of the reported range of scores at a college, the less likely you will be admitted at that college.

See the full article at US News Education.

What Should High School Juniors Do to Prepare for College?

As sure as the sun will rise, students will start to get visions of lakes, barbecues, and sleeping in past noon as the weather gets warmer and the school year comes to a close. Seniors have already been through the admissions process and now juniors start their search for the school that’s best for them. Andrew S., a junior from Renton, Wash., wants to know the best things to do over the summer to get a leg up in the college admissions race:

Q: As a junior looking to stay on top of my college admissions timeline, what are the most important things for me to be doing before senior year starts?

A: Good for you: Set your ‘game plan’ now!
Nancy Meislahn, dean of admissions and financial aid, Wesleyan University

Being organized in your communications with colleges will put—and keep—you on the right path. Decide now what E-mail address you will use for all your correspondence with colleges. Choose an address that will give colleges a good first impression (nothing cutesy or suggestive). And, commit to reading that E-mail regularly, at least weekly now and more frequently once you’ve made applications. Discuss with your family how to deal with college-related mail, where to put mail before you’ve sorted it, and how to file things for reference. Start a ‘college calendar’ with important test dates, deadlines and program invitations/open houses you might want to attend.

A: Position yourself for freshman success.
Eric Furda, dean of admissions, University of Pennsylvania

As a junior, the choices you make on your senior curriculum are important, not because of ‘how it looks to colleges’, rather, ‘how will these courses prepare me for the expectations and realities of the college curriculum’. I have a great deal to say on this subject, but will keep my comments at a fairly high level:

1. In the United States you don’t have a major in high school. Taking senior level courses in English, math, natural science, language, and a social science is essential. Of course there are exceptions, but this should be the rule.

2. For engineering students, take a second level of physics, even if you want to enter a field like bioengineering.

3. Taking calculus at the highest level available in line with your math background is the preferable senior year math selection for college level work.

A: Get a jump on testing.

Dr. Michele Hernandez, president and founder, HernandezCollegeConsulting.com and ApplicationBootCamp.com

The most important advice for juniors is to plan out testing early in the year so that you are done with the SAT or ACT by March at the latest and can save May and June for subject tests and AP’s. Senior fall testing should only be a fall back, one more chance to push up a score, not the first time you’re seeing a score. The reason: it’s near impossible to target schools to visit unless you have a good grasp of where your SAT/ACT, subject tests, and AP scores fall. After testing, the main thing is to have a great junior year in terms of academic performance. Colleges want to see an upward grade trend as classes get progressively harder. Finally, be sure to go ‘above and beyond’ in your classes and develop relationships with your teachers and your guidance counselor so they will know you well enough to write a great teacher evaluation. These are extremely important in the process and can help applicants stand out in a hyper-competitive applicant pool.

A: Construct a roadmap for your future.

Don Fraser Jr., Director of Education and Training, National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

Develop a roadmap complete with month-by-month action items and goals related to the college application process (e.g., working on your essay, continuing in-depth research of a variety of postsecondary opportunities, and planning campus visits). Visiting multiple college campuses, for example, requires coordination and careful planning that will be more difficult to do once the school year starts. Admission offices are open in the summer and typically less busy, so pick up the phone and ask about their fall visits as well as any interesting events going on in the fall. That might help you select dates for your visit.

A: Plan, don’t panic. Enjoy junior year.

Ralph Figueroa, director of college guidance, Albuquerque Academy

The college timeline seems so rushed today. That is artificial. Plan, but don’t panic. Junior year is a great time to explore college options through websites, guidebooks, and most helpful of all—college visits. Visit colleges of various sizes and locations, the more, the better. Fill out visit cards even if you are on the mailing list; they keep track. Also, focus on doing the best you can academically, this year is critical to your application. Mostly, though, enjoy being a junior. The future is important, but don’t lose sight of your high school years—you will miss them later.

See full article at US News.