Monday, May 31, 2010

TOS Crew: College Prep Genius


High school. Two words that strike fear into the hearts of most homeschool moms I know. Add “college prep” and you crank up the fear factor.

One of the moms in our homeschool group has been an invaluable resource on the topic of preparing for college. She has a gift for researching and synthesizing information, and we ask her every year to share the information she’s garnered with the group. This includes things like record-keeping, choosing courses to take, researching scholarships, and putting together a transcript. She also a timeline for college-bound students: when to take the various tests (PSAT, SAT, AP, CLEP). She hasn’t said much about test preparation, and before the course from College Prep Genius arrived, frankly, I never gave it much thought. I should have, though, considering how high the stakes are. (Once again, I must express how thankful I am for the TOS Crew, and being introduced to new products and new ideas, things we needed but didn’t even know we needed!)

College Prep Genius has a proven DVD course, Master the SAT Class. This 10-hour class will help you plan and prepare for the SAT (and incidentally the PSAT).

This is a course on four DVDs, plus textbook and workbook, intended for an individual student. (You need to get the publisher’s permission to use the material in a group setting.)

The first DVD contains introductory material. There’s lots of good stuff here, including an exploration of 13 myths about the SAT, an overview of the various sections of the test, the timing involved in taking the SAT (you can take it early and often), and even a brief discussion why students who are not college-bound should take the test.

Each of the other three DVDs are concerned with a specific area of the SAT: Critical Reading, Math, and Writing.

The textbook is more than just SAT preparation. Yes, there’s plenty of test prep here — strategies, mnemonic devices, tips and techniques — but there is also information on obtaining grants and scholarships, preparing for college in other areas than standardized testing, and tackling the college interview.

The workbook combines clever acronyms for problem solving with practice problems.

Together, the DVDs, textbook, and workbook make a complete and practical course in learning to work out the logic involved in successful test-taking.

To order, go to the College Prep Genius website.

Pricing
Regular pricing:
4-DVD set $79
Textbook  $39.95
Workbook $15.95

However, the publisher is currently running a special: Order the DVDs, textbook and workbook together for $79, at a savings of 30%.

To read more TOS Crew reviews about this product, click here.

Disclaimer: Members of the TOS Crew were given a set of DVDs, textbook and workbook for their families’ use. They were asked to post two reviews each, an informational review and then a second review detailing their experience with the course. You can find both reviews at the TOS Crew review link above.