Whiz Kid offer

Math whizzes: Receive your first tutoring session for free!

To get your free session, contact me about tutoring and mention the words "Math Whiz." Include worked-out proofs for the Polynomial Remainder Theorem, the horizontal coordinate of the vertex of a parabola (-b/2a), and one trigonometric identity of your choice.

Hint: You can derive h = -b/2a by taking the derivative of a quadratic function in standard form, by using the quadratic formula, or by completing the square.

The offer expires on March 31, 2019.

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AP Chemistry Practice Tests

Update: I've added a link to the 2018 free-response questions.

As you may already know, the AP Chemistry test changed in 2014. It's now more like a college final exam than a high school test, and you can't study for it as you'd prepare for SAT Chemistry, which largely tests memorization.

The questions have become more conceptual, and there's a large focus on lab chemistry. They remind me of the SAT's Critical Reading section: if you're not extremely careful, you'll misread the something without realizing it.

These changes aren't fully reflected in the prep books, not even the 2017 Princeton Review book I recently looked at. Of the students who took the AP exam, only 12.6% received a 5 in 2018, as opposed to 18.2% in 2013.

The good news is that you can train yourself to be one of the top 9% who gets a perfect score. I recommend taking released exams and free-response questions two months before the AP test. Prepare a list of questions you'd like to review in each tutoring session.

If you need more practice material, do the hardest problems at the end of every chapter of your AP Chemistry textbook. Treat them like free-response questions: write out a paragraph-long explanation for explaining how you arrived at each answer. Since your book won't have free-response-style answers in the back, ask your tutor to check your explanations for completeness.

Practice Tests

Here are some official practice questions. Start at page 117 of the booklet, which is PDF page 126.
AP Chemistry sample multiple-choice questions and answers

The College Board has also released the free-response questions from actual AP exams:
2014 Free-response questions and answers
2015 Free-response questions and answers
2016 Free-response questions and answers
2017 Free-response questions and answers
2018 Free-response questions and answers

AP Chemistry is my favorite subject to tutor. If I didn't like the chemistry, I wouldn't have bothered to get two degrees in it! Contact me if you'd like to schedule a session.

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ACT Practice Tests

Here are six official ACT practice tests.

2018-19 ACT Practice Test

2016-17 ACT Practice Test (This is the test Compass Prep usually uses as a diagnostic tool.)

2014-15 ACT Practice Test

2011-12 ACT Practice Test

2008-09 ACT Practice Test

2005-06 ACT Practice Test

Since the ACT has slowly changed over time, start with the most recent version and work your way down the list.

I strongly suggest printing the tests out onto real paper. It's almost impossible to take notes, cross off answer choices, or double-check your bubbling unless you're working on paper!

If you need more practice tests, you can buy the Official ACT Prep Guide.

Have fun!

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Free Web Site Help AND a Free Tutoring Session

On January 28, the Contra Costa Small Business Development Center is offering a free three-hour seminar about building a Web site through Wordpress.

In the interest of helping students build an online presence, I'm offering a free tutoring session to any current or new student who attends. The link below has the seminar's location and time.

Web Site Building Basics: Building and Publishing Your Own Web Site

After the seminar, please contact me about tutoring and include the words "Web site building seminar." I'd be happy to help you with test prep, math, or chemistry. Alternatively, you can use the free session to learn how to use your new Web site to market yourself to colleges and potential employers.

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On Big Companies and Free Practice Tests

Big test prep companies offer free practice tests because it's a great way for them to make money.

They pay marketers, proctors, graders, administrative staff, bondholders, and shareholders - not to mention real estate costs - so you can get a score for free.

In exchange, you've become what salesmen call a warm lead: someone who's demonstrated interest in their product.

There's nothing wrong with this as long as you understand how the process works. Test prep companies offer practice tests, which are valuable to you, so they can get your attention, which is valuable to them.

They pay for this by charging $125-250 an hour for tutoring, ten sessions at a time, paid up front. Their tutors typically make $25-40 an hour, and the difference ($100/hour or more) is used to pay administrative costs and provide investors with a profit.

The breakeven point between teaching at a public school and working as an independent tutor is around $90/hour. Tutors who accept less than half of that amount typically have SAT scores of around 1400-1500. Those are good scores, but if you're paying $150/hour, your score target is probably already at or higher than 1500.

This is not going to change, as these tutors aren't being exploited. Test prep companies have large expenses every month that aren't going to go away if there's a recession. Most workers, including tutors, accept lower pay in order to have their employers shoulder that burden.

If you have time, it's best to take responsibility for your own education. Practice taking the SAT and ACT yourself, then compare the two scores. You can then choose SAT or ACT prep books and study on your own.

If you need a tutor, you have lots of options, including highly qualified independent tutors like myself. Go in with your eyes open, and you'll make a great choice.

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UC Schools Have Become More Selective

It's gotten harder to get into University of California schools: not just for your friends who were seniors last year, but for everyone.

I've included data below for the high school graduating classes of 2017 and 2018 with the information for UC Berkeley and UCLA highlighted.

While GPA ranges across the board have increased only slightly, test scores are consistently higher, and the percentage of applicants admitted has consistently moved lower from 2017 to 2018.

UC Data: Class of 2017

UC Data: Class of 2018

Audrey Slaughter was kind enough to share a Compass Prep article with me that breaks down ACT and SAT test score data from the past few years.

Compass finds that median scores haven't changed much, but more students are have been scoring at the high end of the range (1400-1600):

At the most competitive colleges, high test scores can be viewed as “necessary but not sufficient.” It is extremely difficult to gain admission to Stanford with a low SAT score, but getting a great score is far from a guarantee of admission. The net effect of the growth at the top ranges is to make a high score more essential but less sufficient.

After the dust settles each April, we often hear that “this was the worst year ever.” For 2018, that assessment feels fair. ACT and SAT scores at colleges have trended up over time, but it’s not simply higher scores that create anxiety — it’s also the added unpredictability. The combination of increased applicant numbers at competitive colleges and a higher percentage of top scores magnify the uncertainty that students experience.

So How Do I Get In?

In the end, grades, test scores, and a college degree itself are only imperfect measures of what really matters: your dedication, creativity, and life goals. Schools like Stanford know that, and they're looking for much more than just great numbers on your application.

Does your life thus far show that you have the potential to win a Nobel Prize or found your own company? That's what schools are looking for. Those are the things that get an alma mater noticed.

As a nation, we're obsessing more and more about the scoring well on the things that measure success without necessarily getting better at achieving success itself.

Test scores and grades matter because those are the things we've chosen to measure - but don't forget to live a life of dedication and meaning. It's that life that will get you involved in amazing extracurriculars and help you write essays that will get noticed.

Yes, UC schools have become more selective. Become the kind of person they would like to select.

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The Four Best Places to Find a Tutor

Update: I've added a link to Northgate High School's peer tutoring program.

Are you looking for a tutor? Our capitalistic economy provides a dizzying array of educational options, and part of my job is to help you sort through them, even if you end up working with someone else as a result.

Why would I purposefully direct you to tutor who's a better fit for you? Most of my business comes from word of mouth, and I believe that following the Golden Rule and giving to others will benefit me indirectly. (Check out this animation about win-win scenarios.) What's best for you is often what's best for me.

Full-time tutors start at $45/hour, and tutors with perfect SAT and ACT scores are $180-600/hour. Use the guide below to evaluate your options.

Peer Tutors

Most schools offer free or low-cost peer tutoring. I used to work as one of those tutors when I was in eighth grade. That's the lowest-end option and is suitable for help with homework, since those tutors are likely to be most familiar with the local curriculum.

If you go this route, you'll probably want to do sessions multiple times a week to stay caught up in school.

Using peer tutoring to get A's in math and English is an excellent way to prepare for the SAT and ACT and will reduce the number of sessions you'll need with a test prep specialist.

Similarly, you can get a peer tutor multiple times per week for an AP class and wait until March to hire a test prep specialist to help you prepare for the corresponding SAT Subject Test and AP exam.

You can find your school's peer tutoring page by searching Google for your school's name plus the word tutoring.

Northgate High School's peer tutoring program meets in the Multimedia Center.

I also have students with perfect SAT/ACT Math and Calculus BC scores who currently work as private tutors. They're good options at the high end of the peer tutoring spectrum.

Tutoring Companies

Medium-sized companies (JC Education, Lafayette Academy, Zenith Tutoring) and big companies (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Tried and True Tutoring, Compass Prep) charge two to five times what they pay out to tutors. They offer tutoring in the range of $45-250 an hour.

You'll be getting a lower-paid tutor, but the service is convenient, as those companies are one-stop shops for help in all subjects, including college admissions counseling.

In general, the larger the company, the more standardized its product will be. I personally go to huge corporations for commoditized services where I want predictability: gasoline (World Oil), book delivery (Amazon), and health food (Odwalla). Standardization is less of a benefit in situations where you have to learn a skill like swing dancing, writing, or math.

Mid-Tier Independent Subject Tutors

You can also hire independent educators through Web sites like Thumbtack and Wyzant, and you'll also find some advertising on NextDoor. You'll probably get more for your money than if you go through a big company.

A credentialed teacher who can tutor in most school subjects will run you about $70/hour, depending on the area you live in.

$70/hour is theoretically a bit low in California: the average high school teacher makes $75,000 a year. In order to be incentivized to tutor full-time, which is 20 hours a week of tutoring with 20 hours of driving and prep, the teacher needs to make around $75/hour AFTER paying business expenses and the extra taxes involved in being self-employed. That could end up being more like $90/hour gross of expenses, but I use $70/hour as an average because that's what I tend to observe in the market.

Of course, there are great tutors who charge less than $70/hour, just as there are great teachers who make less than $75,000 a year. (Un-unionized private school teachers - I used to be one - come to mind.) Just be aware that in general, you get what you pay for, and if you want something great at a relatively low rate, you have to be willing to evaluate a number of tutors to find the diamond in the rough.

Top-Tier Test Prep Specialists

Finally, there are independent specialists, each of whom focuses on one academic area and does it very well.

For example, I have a master's degree in chemistry from Stanford and perfect scores on most standardized tests, so I tutor mainly SAT/ACT, Math Level 2, calculus, and AP Chemistry. Audrey Slaughter specializes in college admissions counseling and spends a large portion of each year visiting college campuses and keeping up-to-date with changes in her field.

Specialized tutoring runs up to $600/hour and works best to address specific needs rather than as a long-term solution to raise grades. You may want to consider hiring a peer tutor to come multiple times per week and then supplement with a specialist two months before the AP test or four months before the SAT.

Tutors with perfect SAT and ACT scores are relatively rare, as they could be working at Google or founding startups instead of spending their weekends with high school students. They're usually high-value educators with multiple qualifications.

My own tutoring service compares favorably with other top-tier options. If you'd like to have ACT score gains of 5-10 points, SAT score gains of 180-350 points, or perfect scores on Subject Tests and AP tests, please contact me so I can help you create a study plan.

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