June 8, 2011 // Local

ND students offer free SAT and ACT preparation courses

Todays Catholic

FORT WAYNE — This summer, University of Notre Dame student and Bishop Dwenger High School graduate Mariel Lee has been selected to launch one of the Fort Wayne branches of Ivy Insiders, an innovative SAT/ACT preparation program that was started by undergraduates at Harvard University in 2003 and has since grown into a national test prep leader thanks to the highest student score improvements in the industry.

Using the first-hand insights of top college test-takers to help high school students beat standardized tests, Revolution Prep selects student-entrepreneurs from the country’s top colleges to return to their hometowns each summer to manage and teach their SAT/ACT prep businesses.

Ivy Insiders’ programs deliver unmatched results due to three key differentiators: brilliant instructors, an intensive format, and outstanding results.

The college-aged instructors are selected for their 99th percentile SAT scores and experience as mentors and role models to high school students. These instructor-mentors provide a personalized approach that targets each student’s problem areas and customizes instruction to every student’s needs.

The program’s structure provides intensive delivery of a three-week period during which students can avoid the typical school-year distractions and focus entirely on the SAT or ACT. And, over the last eight years, Ivy Insiders programs have helped nearly 10,000 students achieve SAT score improvements of 254 points and ACT score improvements of 4.4 points on average-nearly twice the improvement achieved by traditional test prep companies.

According to the company’s founders, the reason Ivy Insiders has had so much success is that it takes a student-centered approach to the test. The Ivy Insiders curriculum approaches the SAT like a game to be beaten and exposes students to some of its best players — top-tier undergraduates who beat the exam themselves. By simplifying the test’s content, spinning it like a game, and focusing on results, it produces score jumps that are unprecedented.

Additional information is available by contacting Lee at the following: [email protected], or (260) 241 2368. Visit www.revolutionprep.com/ivy/mariel_l for course information or to enroll.

Lee is offering four free events this summer, including practice SAT and ACT exams and two test-taking tips and strategies workshops: a mock SAT exam on Tuesday, June 14; a SAT workshop on Thursday, June 16; a mock ACT exam on Thursday, June 23; and an ACT workshop on Thursday, June 30. The events will be held at Bishop Dwenger High School.

Another Notre Dame student, Brennan Fitzgerald, of Huntington, is also excited to bring this innovative approach to test preparation to Huntington. See www.revolutionprep.com/ivy/brennan_f for his bio and schedule of free events and courses.