SAT Remains Heavy Hitter in College Admissions Process - Ivy Bound Test Prep Provides Tips to Help College-Bound Students Excel on the SAT

WEST HARTFORD, Conn.--(Business Wire)--
Despite recent reports, the SAT remains a heavy hitter in the college admissions
game. Seventy percent of the 2,500 accredited four-year institutions in the U.S.
require the SAT. A recent study commissioned by the National Association of
College Admission Counseling, found that 20 to 40 percent of colleges agreed
that "a 20-point math increase or a 10-point reading increase would
significantly improve a student`s chance of admission."

"Colleges and universities use students` standardized test results as a key part
of the admissions process," said Lee Stetson, former dean of admissions at the
University of Pennsylvania and college admissions expert. "They use the highest
scores reported when evaluating a student."

According to Mark Greenstein, founder and lead instructor of Connecticut-based
Ivy Bound Test Prep (www.ivybound.net), the importance of SAT scores is
encouraging for high school juniors and seniors who want to improve or maintain
their college credentials.

"By second semester of junior year, the SAT score is the element a student can
burnish most in a college application," said Greenstein. "After five semesters
of high school, grade point average and 'transcript toughness' are largely set.
The best way for students to improve their college credentials in the final two
semesters is by improving their SAT scores."

Donald Heller, a professor of education at Pennsylvania State University and a
financial aid expert who was quoted in a 2006 New York Times article about the
SAT, stated that many colleges impose SAT cut-offs for scholarships and
financial aid. Heller said students need to score above a certain score to be
eligible and if they don`t they don`t receive the scholarship.

What can students do to improve their chances of SAT success? Below are some SAT
test taking tips provided by Mark Greenstein of Ivy Bound Test Prep
(www.ivybound.net).

1. Take the SAT multiple times. Most colleges take the best score.

2. Don`t read directions. Learn the directions in advance. Get right to the
questions.

3. Minimize the times you look at the clock. Looking at the clock is a
distraction. Work on the problems at the best pace you can. If you have to look
at the clock, wait until you`ve completed the sentence completions and one
Reading Comp page.

4. Answer easy questions first. Mark skipped questions so you can quickly return
to them later.

5. Predict the answer. On sentence completion questions, and certain grammar
questions,try to predict the answer before looking at the choices.

6. Guess. If you can eliminate at least one choice guess.

7. Find clear support for your Reading Comp answers. The SAT does not reward
distant inferences; if you can't find direct or strongly suggested support for
an answer, it's wrong.

8. Avoid silly author`s attitudes. The following adjectives will not describe
the test`s authors - surprised, dumbfounded, bewildered, completely
dispassionate, detached and remote.

9.Look at each question from the author`s viewpoint, not necessarily your own.

Approximately 2.2 million SAT tests are taken annually. This number is expected
to increase even though the college-bound American population is no longer
growing. According to Greenstein the rise is due to more foreigners competing
for slots at prestigious American universities, the importance of attending a
well-regarded college, and the advantage of taking the SAT multiple times.

Ivy Bound Test Prep is a national provider of SAT, SAT II, PSAT, ACT and LSAT
tutoring and courses, and college essay brainstorming and editing. Ivy Bound
features first-rate instructors who take the SAT, ACT and SAT II regularly and
maintain scores in the top one percent, versus the five percent industry
standard. In 2008, Ivy Bound students reported a 171.3 point increase in Math
and Critical Reading compared to previous SAT and PSAT scores. Ivy Bound is
based in Connecticut but has tutors available in 23 states and internationally.
Ivy Bound runs holiday "Boot Camps" to give juniors, sophomores and even
freshmen an early launch to SAT success. For more information please call Ivy
Bound Test Prep at 877-975-1600 or visit www.ivybound.net.

Wiggin Communications
Jeanne Wiggin, 860-305-3828
wiggincomm@comcast.net

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