SAT/ACT

Course Objective:

• To teach students the skills and techniques instrumental in achieving high scores on the SAT/ACT
• To familiarize students with the structure and nature of the test
• To illustrate the unique challenges of the SAT/ACT and help students to overcome them

Course Description: 

Developed by The Edge’s test preparation experts with over a decade of experience, The Edge’s SAT/ACT Essentials Course is designed to prepare students for the SAT revised in 2023/ACT assessment test. The Regular SAT/ACT Essentials Course consists of 10 classes at 2.5 hours each class. The SAT classes focus on individual sections of the test: Writing, Reading, and Math and the ACT classes focus on individual sections of the test: English, Math, Reading, Science, and the Essay.

Through 25 hours of instruction, the class learns the fundamental concepts tested by the SAT/ACT–such as geometry or English punctuation–as well as how these concepts are tested through classic questions and effective strategies for quickly and accurately answering questions. Students learn specific ways to approach SAT/ACT questions and common problems facing Hong Kong students. Alongside instruction and practice, SAT students take an online mock exam and ACT students take three mock exams over the duration of the course to map progress. They will receive personalized recommendations for further action upon completion of the 25 hours.

Recommended For: 

The Edge’s SAT/ACT Essentials Course is recommended for any and all students considering applying to US universities. After completing the course, students may move on to more advanced instruction, such as The Edge’s SAT Boot Drilling course and/or ACT Power Series course. 

Course Schedule: 

The Edge’s SAT Essentials Course – 25 Hours of Instruction (Cost: HK$16,300)

The Edge’s ACT Essentials Course – 25 Hours of Instruction & 3 Mock Tests  (Cost: HK$16,300)

Next Intake*:

SAT Essentials

Christmas Intensive B : 23 Dec 2023 – 6 Jan 2024 (Mon – Sat 14:00 – 16:30)

Winter Regular : 27 Jan – 2 Mar 2024^ (Wed 16:30 – 19:00 <Math> & Sat 10:00 – 12:30 <English>)

Chinese New Year Intensive A : 7 Feb – 15 Feb 2024^ (Mon – Sat 10:00 – 12:30 & 13:30 – 16:00)

Chinese New Year Intensive B : 7 – 17 Feb^, 24 Feb & 2, 9 Mar 2024 (Mon – Sat 10:00 – 12:30)

ACT Essentials

Winter Weekend Intensive B : 13 Jan – 23 Mar 2024^ (Sat 10:00 – 12:30)

Chinese New Year Intensive : 7 Feb – 15 Feb 2024^ (Sat 10:00 – 12:30 & 13:30 – 16:00)

Winter Regular : 20 Feb – 21 Mar 2024^ (Tue & Thur 16:30 – 19:00)

*Do not hesitate to reach out to our program team with any inquiries you may have regarding our Regular Courses and Chinese New Year Intensive Courses.

^No classes on Sundays and Public Holidays.

SSAT/ISEE

Course Objective: 

• To teach students the skills and techniques instrumental in achieving high scores on the SSAT/ISEE
• To familiarize students with the structure and nature of the test
• To illustrate the unique challenges of the SSAT/ISEE and help students to overcome them

Course Description: 

The course will prepare students for the SSAT/ISEE test. The SSAT/ISEE Essentials course consists of 10 classes at 2 hours each class.  Classes focus on individual sections of the test: Reading, Verbal, Quantitative, and the Essay.

Through 20 hours of instruction, the class learns the Fundamental concepts tested by the SSAT/ISEE –such as algebra or vocabulary–as well as how these concepts are tested through classic questions and effective strategies for quickly and accurately answering questions. Students learn specific ways to approach SSAT/ISEE questions and common problems facing Hong Kong students. Alongside instruction and practice, students take three mock exams over the duration of the course to map progress and receive personalized recommendations for further action upon completion of the 20 hours.

Recommended For: 

The Edge’s SSAT/ISEE Essentials course is recommended for any and all students considering applying to SSAT/ISEE secondary, private, or boarding schools. After completing the course, students may move on to more advanced instruction, such as The Edge’s SSAT/ISEE English Builder course.  

Course Schedule: 

20 Hours of Instruction & 2 Mock Tests (Cost: HK$9,800)

Next Intake*:

Winter Regular B : 27 Jan – 13 Apr 2024^ (Sat 11:00 – 13:00)

Chinese New Year Intensive : 7 – 15 Feb 2024^ (Mon – Sat 11:00 – 13:00 & 14:00 – 16:00)

*Do not hesitate to reach out to our program team with any inquiries you may have regarding our Regular Courses and Chinese New Year Intensive Courses.

^No classes on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Interested in one of the above courses?

Submit the form below if you want to be contacted by one of our staff to find the most suitable course for you.

About The Edge

Established in 2008, The Edge Learning Center has grown into a premier one-stop provider of educational services for Grade 6 through Grade 12, targeting students who intend to pursue overseas education. Our three departments – Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Admissions Consulting – offer a broad range of educational services spanning from SAT and IB Test Prep to colleges and boarding schools application counseling. The Edge Learning Center operates in multiple regions including Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam.

The post SAT/ACT/SSAT Essentials Course appeared first on The Edge.

Course Description:

The Edge’s Power Course uses tests specifically selected for their challenging questions in order to gain those last few points at the high end of the score scale. Students take a complete SAT test in the morning, which is then graded by Edge specialists. In the afternoon or evening, students meet with a tutor for two hours to cover specific problems and commonly missed questions. The course is rigorous and requires dedication.

Course Syllabus:

Day	Morning Activity	Afternoon Activity
1	Complete Power Series test #1	Explanations with tutor.
2	Complete Power Series test #2	Explanations with tutor.
3	Complete Power Series test #3	Explanations with tutor.
4	Complete Power Series test #4	Explanations with tutor.
5	Complete Power Series test #5	Explanations with tutor.

Course Schedule:

5 Mock Tests + 10 Hours of Review (Cost: HK$7,750)

Course Next Intake: 

29 October, 2022 – 26 November, 2022 (Saturday)

10:00 – 13:30 (Mock); 14:30 – 16:30 (Review)

Interested in the above course?

Contact us by submitting the form below or Whatsapp us (CWB) / (MK) for more details!

About The Edge

Established in 2008, The Edge Learning Center has grown into a premier one-stop provider of educational services for Grade 6 through Grade 12, targeting students who intend to pursue overseas education. Our three departments – Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Admissions Consulting – offer a broad range of educational services spanning from SAT and IB Test Prep to colleges and boarding schools application counseling. The Edge Learning Center operates in multiple regions including Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam.

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SAT/ACT

Course Objective:

• To reinforce the techniques and skills introduced in SAT/ACT Essentials in test conditions.
• To familiarize students with the speed and other pressures of SAT/ACT test day.
• To push students to more fully realize their potential through more difficult tests.

Course Description:

The Edge’s Power Course uses tests specifically selected for their challenging questions in order to gain those last few points at the high end of the score scale. Students take a complete SAT/ACT test in the morning, which is then graded by Edge specialists. In the afternoon or evening, students meet with a tutor for two hours to cover specific problems and commonly missed questions. The course is rigorous and requires dedication.

Recommended For:

Students interested in the Power Series should already be scoring 1250 or above on either real SATs/ACTs or mock tests. Those scoring below this threshold should consider The Edge’s SAT/ACT Essentials course, SAT/ACT Drilling courses, or private lessons with one of our test prep professionals.

Course Syllabus:

Day	Morning Activity	Afternoon Activity
1	Complete Power Series test #1	Explanations with tutor.
2	Complete Power Series test #2	Explanations with tutor.
3	Complete Power Series test #3	Explanations with tutor.
4	Complete Power Series test #4	Explanations with tutor.
5	Complete Power Series test #5	Explanations with tutor.

Course Schedule:

5 Mock Tests + 10 Hours of Review (Cost: HK$7,750)

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SSAT/ISEE

Course Objective:

• To reinforce the techniques and skills introduced in SSAT Essentials in test conditions.
• To familiarize students with the speed and other pressures of SSAT test day.
• To push students to more fully realize their potential through more difficult tests.

Course Description:

The Edge’s Power Course uses tests specifically selected for their challenging questions in order to gain those last few points at the high end of the score scale. Students take a complete SSAT test in the morning, which is then graded by Edge specialists. In the afternoon or evening, students meet with a tutor for two hours to cover specific problems and commonly missed questions. The course is rigorous and requires dedication.

Recommended For:

Students interested in the Power Series should already be scoring 2000 or above on either real SSATs or mock tests. Those who want to build their foundation should consider The Edge’s SSAT Essentials course, SSAT English Builder courses, or private lessons with one of our test prep professionals.

Course Syllabus:

Day	Morning Activity	Afternoon Activity
1	Complete Power Series test #1	Explanations with tutor.
2	Complete Power Series test #2	Explanations with tutor.
3	Complete Power Series test #3	Explanations with tutor.

Course Schedule:

3 Mock Tests + 6 Hours of Review (Cost: HK$4,650)

————————–

Interested in one of the above courses?

Contact us by submitting the form below or Whatsapp us (CWB) / (MK) for more details!

About The Edge

Established in 2008, The Edge Learning Center has grown into a premier one-stop provider of educational services for Grade 6 through Grade 12, targeting students who intend to pursue overseas education. Our three departments – Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Admissions Consulting – offer a broad range of educational services spanning from SAT and IB Test Prep to colleges and boarding schools application counseling. The Edge Learning Center operates in multiple regions including Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam.

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The festive season is here! Families are congregating, people are loving/hating their presents, and many Christmas carols are being sung to the merriment of all. Sadly, not content with disrupting the busy schedules of high school juniors, the SAT has even managed to steal Christmas from us by putting it into a practice Reading passage! What horseplay! What tomfoolery! Can I see this passage?

Below are two excerpts from the practice Reading passage in question. It is a narrative passage. At this point, our bibliophile narrator is about to receive a Christmas gift from a friendly bookstore:

One Christmas Sempere gave me the best gift I have ever received. It was an old volume, read and experienced to the full.

“Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens,” I read on the cover. 

(Lines 47-51)

…

That afternoon I took my new friend home, hidden under my clothes so that my father wouldn’t see it. It was a rainy winter, with days as gray as lead, and I read Great Expectations about nine times, partly because I had no other book at hand, partly because I did not think there could be a better one in the whole world and I was beginning to suspect that Mr. Dickens had written it just for me. Soon I was convinced that I didn’t want to do anything else in life but learn to do what Mr. Dickens had done. 

(Lines 59-68)

Let’s now use this Christmas-specific portion of the passage to examine a Detail-Evidence question pair from the passage’s accompanying questions:

Question 5 is what we call an Implicit Detail question. The word “inferred” tells us that we are looking for a detail from the passage that is not explicitly written down. However, the answer will be a detail that the reader can arrive at after combining two details that have been explicitly written down. 

First, let’s first recall the moment when the narrator introduces the gift:

One Christmas Sempere gave me the best gift I have ever received. It was an old volume, read and experienced to the full.

“Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens,” I read on the cover. 

(Lines 47-51)

We learn that Great Expectations was the best gift he had ever received. Next, let’s go to the moment where the narrator discusses his experience with Great Expectations:

That afternoon I took my new friend home, hidden under my clothes so that my father wouldn’t see it. It was a rainy winter, with days as gray as lead, and I read Great Expectations about nine times, partly because I had no other book at hand, partly because I did not think there could be a better one in the whole world and I was beginning to suspect that Mr. Dickens had written it just for me. Soon I was convinced that I didn’t want to do anything else in life but learn to do what Mr. Dickens had done. 

(Lines 59-68)

Based on the highlighted portions of the excerpt, we can see that the narrator:

1. 1. Thinks that there is no way there can be a better book than Great Expectations
   2. Wonders if Charles Dickens had written it just for him
   3. Wanted nothing else in life but to “learn to do what Mr. Dickens had done”

Notice how point 3) is just answer A), but reworded! Plus, if we use our logical reasoning, it’s perfectly reasonable to infer that the fact that Great Expectations is the narrator’s favorite book would be linked to how the book compelled him to want to be a writer (i.e. “learn to do what Mr. Dickens had done”). 

Of course, without the context of the entire passage, it’s valid for us to wonder if some of the other answer choices could also be acceptable. That’s where Q6, an Evidence question, comes in. These questions often follow a Detail question and will ask the test-taker to justify his or her choice for the previous qeustion. 

For this example, notice how Q6’s answer D) corresponds to the last sentence of the paragraph – the same one we used to work out the answer to Q5. Secure in the knowledge that we have found the evidence for Q5 that the test wanted us to find, we can go ahead answer A for Question 5 and D for Question 6.

Merry Christmas! For additional SAT help like this, or for help with the ACT, SSAT, English proficiency tests, or any other standardized tests, why not give us a ring to see how we can help.

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About The Edge

The Edge Learning Center is Hong Kong’s premier Test Preparation, Academic Tutoring, and Admissions Consulting services provider. Founded in 2008, The Edge has helped thousands of students improve their ACT and SAT scores as well as their IB and AP grades. The AC team has just finished off another successful EA/ED period in which student gained early acceptance to schools such as Stanford, University of Chicago, Brown, and more! Check out our latest Admissions Results!

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If you are or were an Edge Student and would like to share your score, please contact us at scores@theedge.com.hk

Are you looking for exam preparation courses? Simply give us a ring or contact us today to schedule a trial lesson with our tutors!

About The Edge

Established in 2008, The Edge Learning Center has grown into a premier one-stop provider of educational services for Grade 7 through Grade 12, targeting students who intend to pursue overseas education. Our three departments – Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Admissions Consulting – offer a broad range of educational services spanning from SAT and IB Test Prep to colleges and boarding schools application counseling. The Edge Learning Center operates in multiple regions including Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam.

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(Test Preparation (ACT/SAT/SSAT), English Literature, English Builder tutor at The Edge Learning Center)

For many students, the mathematics sections of standardized tests are like a skinny guy at a sumo competition: no big deal and nothing to really worry about. As YouTube teaches us (watch here), though, you can’t trust a skinny sumo wrestler. Here are six things you should know when approaching the math sections of the SAT, ACT, SSAT, and more.

Read more on Steve’s previous blog “Reading Dead Redemption”

1. Know Your Situation

Each test is different. They all test slightly different topics in slightly different ways with slightly different rules. The ACT, for example, lets you use a calculator on the entire math portion, but the SAT only allows calculators on one math section, and the SSAT doesn’t allow calculators at all (the jerks!). Similarly, the SAT, warns in its official documentation that it tests standard deviation, but it has yet to use the formula. It’s only been testing the general concept, so memorizing and practicing the algebra isn’t the best use of prep time. Knowing what you can and cannot do lets you plan better. Learning how to use your overclocked TI-9000 to solve polynomial division is great until you get to your desk on test day and discover that it’s not allowed. Rules and guidelines for the ACT are here and for the SAT here.

2. Know how to use your calculator

Okay, so your calculator’s on the approved list (good old TI-85!), but if you don’t know how to use it properly, it’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Many calculators, even simple scientific models, have powers beyond what their poor users know. Often, students don’t realize that they can use their calculator to find sin^-1 or to multiply the dread matrices. Take time to get comfortable with how to operate your machine quickly and effectively. User manuals and guidebooks are freely available online from manufacturers, and the internet has plenty of hacks and tricks from calculator cowboys. HOWEVER! Make sure to leave your calculator in factory condition! Modified calculators or downloaded apps and programs may be considered cheating, which leads to trouble nobody wants.

3. Know how not to use your calculator

That said, even the greatest calculator ever built can’t do everything, even if you’re allowed to use it. At any rate, the meat computer in your head is far more powerful than the silicon one in your hand. Practicing without a calculator exercises your brain’s math skills (when did you last review your multiplication tables? Prime numbers?) and also helps you understand when using the calculator might actually slow you down. Being able to solve any and all problems with raw mathematic brawn is awesome, but it might be slow and it’s certainly exhausting, especially under test conditions. Knowing when not to use your calculator means recognizing when you don’t need to actually crunch the numbers. How? Well….

 4. Know that there are patterns

Finding multiples of ten is easy: if it ends in a zero, it’s a multiple of ten. Fives are pretty easy, too, and then so are twos. This is probably written so deeply in your brain that you can’t remember if you were taught it or just always kinda-sorta knew. Seeing these patterns means you don’t have to go through the whole process of actual calculation, which is where simple mistakes creep in. There are way more of these patterns than you might realize, too. Some of them are general math ideas, like how raising any number to the power of 2 gives up a positive number, and others are more related to the specific ways certain tests approach certain concepts (if only there were somewhere you could go for that kind of expertise…). Similarly, a lot of ideas in math are related to other ideas, so if we can’t exactly find the “right” method, we can often figure out another way using a slightly different area of math. We can, for example, use our knowledge of functions to find the solutions to a system of equations Practice with both general math and your specific test is one of the best ways to start seeing these kinds of patterns.

5. Watch for simple mistakes

Ah, simple mistakes, the enemy of math-magicians everywhere. We’ve all missed points in math class because we missed a negative sign or made a simple calculation error. Even the best of the best of the best of math students make these simple mistakes, but there are things we can do to help prevent them. The first thing is to go back to the top of this list and read it all again. Everything here can help prevent simple mistakes and so does writing down all of your work. None of the tests we’re talking about offers style points for not showing your work, and trying to do a bunch of mental arithmetic in the stressful, timed conditions of test day leads to more and more simple mistakes. Sure, you might catch the errors in time, but how many minutes does that cost, and how many minutes do you have? This brings us nicely to our last point….

6. Know that test prep math isn’t exactly the same as classroom math

The goal in the classroom is knowledge. The teacher wants you to understand the ideas in the lesson. The goal on test day is the score. This subtle difference can greatly influence how you approach to test preparation. Your emphasis should be on efficiency, and your study plan should look at the best way to get points based on individual strengths and weaknesses. Now if only there were somewhere to go for that kind of expertise…. The Edge Learning Center.

Read more about Calculator Etiquette and Other Tips

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About The Edge

The Edge Learning Center is Hong Kong’s premier Test Preparation, Academic Tutoring, and Admissions Consulting services provider. Founded in 2008, The Edge has helped thousands of students improve their ACT and SAT scores as well as their IB and AP grades. The AC team has just finished off a very successful year in which 84.62% of their clients were accepted into one of their top 3 schools and an astounding 48.15% of their Ivy Plus* applicants were accepted. (The general acceptance rate was only 7.61% last year) Check out the rest of our 2017 Admissions Results!

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