Author: Jared Wells

I’ve been working with SAT students for over 15 years, and students who see very significant score improvement share some common traits. The great thing about these traits is that they are also traits that lead to success as adults (which is one of the reasons that SAT/ACT prep is my favorite work that we do: I get a chance to help students develop some important mindsets they’ll need for success in college and life!)

Here are the most important traits/mindsets when it comes to improving SAT scores

Curiosity: Why?

Questions are the key to unlocking more of what the student knows about any given problem, and questions ABOUT the questions will allow students to learn more about the types of mistakes they make. The more questions a student comes into their session with, the more they will get out of their sessions. “I don’t know how to do this problem” might be a true statement, but too many students end their exploration there. Asking questions like:

“What does this word mean? What is the part of speech?”

“What is the purpose of this passage/paragraph/sentence?”

“What do I understand about this passage/paragraph/sentence?”

“What is the question asking?”

“What concepts does this problem deal with? What do I know about those concepts?”

“Can I draw a picture? Can I plug numbers in? Can I use my calculator?”

“What kind of mistakes am I most likely to make on a problem like this?”

“What is confusing about this question/passage?”

…and many, many more…

lead to students’ realizing that they understand more, often much more, than they thought they did (and being able to answer questions that they didn’t think they could initially.

How a student can develop curiosity in their test prep: Take a “fake it until you make it” approach. Create a checklist of questions to ask when you get stuck on a problem (from the list above, or questions that you find useful). When you miss a problem, work backwards to try to figure out what questions you COULD have asked to avoid the error you made. Think of a question that could apply to many situations rather than JUST this problem.

Discipline: The way you do anything is the way you do everything

It’s one thing to sit in a session with an instructor and talk about writing the purpose of the passage, using the process of elimination, underlining the question, checking your work, plugging in numbers, etc, etc. It’s another to do those things, on problem after problem, without fail, in your practice. It’s even another thing to do those things for 4-5 hours straight under testing conditions during a practice exam (or the real thing!) In fact, it’s the discipline to do every problem to the best of your ability in your practice that leads to doing it on the real test. Every practice problem is an opportunity to reinforce good (or bad) habits.

How a student can improve discipline on the test: Make sure that any practice is done only when the student is in a state of positive mental energy. No staying up late to get SAT practice done, because in low energy conditions, it’s more likely the student will take shortcuts, not make second efforts, not show and check work, etc. Planning ahead can help ensure that homework is done when the student is at maximum mental energy. Have a checklist of your most common lapses in discipline, and have that with you when you practice. Stay strong and develop good habits!

Jordan Setayesh, one of our fantastic instructors, recently took some time off to study for the MCAT. When he came back to work, we talked about what his preparation process was like, and I was so impressed with it, I decided to record a conversation about it. I think that our students (and our instructors!) can learn a lot about how to prepare for high-stakes tests (like SAT’s, AP’s, and finals) from this conversation.

Here are some of the most important takeaways from our conversation:

You have to start with a study plan.

What is a study plan? According to Jordan, it means getting clear about your goals, then determining what actions

-Will ensure that you achieve those goals

-Are actually sustainable and realistic (planning to study 10 hours a day for a month is not realistic!)

When a student is getting ready for an AP test, for example, the amount of material to cover is enormous. Just cracking open the book and starting to read is not going necessarily lead to a successful outcome (though it’s better than nothing!)

The first thing that a student needs to do is to get a list of topics that they need to know, and from that, decide which items are high and low priority, and which items the student feels more and less confident. Every topic should be reviewed at least once, but some topics will need further review. Once the student understands what needs to be reviewed, the student should make a day-to-day plan about what actions need to be taken that are realistic, but will help the student achieve their goals (in the video we talk about a few different ways Jordan reviewed the material, and those aren’t the only methods a student can use!)

Take practice exams!

It’s one thing to understand a fact in your AP US history book. It’s another to be able to USE that fact to answer a question on the test. Taking practice exams can help you identify holes in your knowledge (especially in areas that you felt strong in!) It can also help you get a sense of the pacing you need to keep, and the stamina you need to have (these are long tests!). Make sure that you really dig into the questions that you miss. What about the answer you picked was incorrect? Why didn’t you notice the correct answer? Make sure you do more than just look at the right answer. Review the concept and its context.

Over-prepare.

What I mean by that is that students should not be satisfied with recognition. With barely understanding. That level of understanding is not going to last until the test, and isn’t going to hold up under the pressure of a high-stakes test. Students should aim to understand the material to the point that they can teach the concept to other students. Study groups are a great way to facilitate this (not to mention, scheduling time to study is a great way to make sure that studying happens!)

How can a tutor help?

The most important roles that a tutor can play are:

1. Coach. Tutors can help make sure that students have a study plan that will work, and that they are sticking to it.
2. Subject matter expert: Sessions with a tutor should, ideally, be about reviewing the material that the student has already studied, with the goal of a) answering questions the student has and b) determining whether the student understands the material as well as he or she thinks!

Give us a call to schedule some time with one of our instructors to start getting ready for the upcoming AP exams!

It’s tough when a student is doing everything they know how, and it isn’t enough.

One of the questions I ask potential instructors during our interview process is “What are some reasons that well-intentioned, hard-working students don’t see the kinds of success they think they should?”

It’s an important question, because although many student who look for tutoring help come in knowing exactly what they need help with, many students come in and don’t really know why they are struggling. They feel frustrated because they are putting time and effort into their work (it’s not uncommon to hear that students are staying up until 11pm every weeknight studying/doing homework!)

But while every student has unique challenges and every class and teacher is different, there are some common threads among the majority of students in this situation (and in each of these, there are some behaviors that the student can change to see improvement).

They don’t write things down

I always tell my students, instructors, and administrators that “Writing is doing” (and to be fair to them, it’s a lesson that life keeps teaching me as well!)

Where does not writing things down cause problems?

-A student doesn’t write their test date in their planner, and forgets about it until two days before the test, meaning they need to cram

-A student doesn’t write down a step in an algebra problem, leading to a frustrating careless error, needing to re-work a problem from the beginning. Without the work shown, it’s also more difficult for the student to find the source of error.

-A student doesn’t take notes on the reading, which means it’s more likely his mind wanders as he reads, leading to needing to re-read, with less retention (and more frustration).

-A student doesn’t write out a plan for what each step of a project needs to be, and when each step should be done, instead thinking “I know what I need to do”. This leads to procrastination, and, in the end, a lower quality project.

The common thread here is that writing is the evidence that the student fully thought through the idea (and can even be the trigger to fully think it through!)

Learning to use a planner well (and even a pocket notebook like a memo pad) can be a huge benefit for students (for school and the future)

They think “I did what the teacher said to do” means “I am ready for the test”

Teachers and students frequently have a very different view of homework. Teachers look at homework as an opportunity to practice the skills being taught in class. They grade homework to a) make sure students are getting the practice they need and b) give student the opportunity to boost their grades in case tests aren’t going as well and c) help the student find the topics that they need additional practice on

Students look at homework as a) a task they need to complete because their grade will drop if they don’t do it and b) their preparation for the test.

Students should treat assigned work as the minimum that must be done in order to be ready for a test. For some students, for some classes, doing assigned homework is enough to do well on the test. But for students who are doing the homework and reading, and still struggling need to ask themselves (and/or teachers/parents/tutors) “What more can I do to prepare?” Some ideas include:

1. Pre-reading

2. Taking Cornell notes on the reading

3. Working through problems until they can answer 5 in a row correctly without a mistake

4. Teaching the chapter to a family member

5. Creating a study group that meets 1-2 times per week

6. Making a mind map of the chapter

7. Making work maps for difficult vocabulary

and many, many more. But the most important idea is this: students should treat homework as an opportunity to find out what they don’t know, and, as Judy Garland said, practice “until you can’t get it wrong” and, if what you are doing isn’t working, try something different.

Study time is not “focus time”

Think back to a day at work when you were just unstoppable. You got so much done, you were amazed at the quantity and quality. On your way home from work, you were happy and proud of what you accomplished.  I bet that day at work, you weren’t constantly checking emails, going to meetings, or having people “drop in” to your office. Those days stick out for a lot of people, because we find ourselves constantly interrupted (or we are subconsciously seeking out interruptions!) and those interruptions cause us to get off track of our important work.

Students experience exactly the same thing. If you were to watch the majority of students study, it doesn’t look like an uninterrupted flow state. What it looks like is reading for a couple of minutes, and then checking their phone/computer/getting up to get a snack/etc. It takes time to get into a groove when it comes to doing any kind of thinking work…it only takes a few seconds to knock you out of it.

The key is to consciously set up a time and place that is devoid of distractions with phone put away or on airplane mode. A great option for families is the “Forest” app on ios/android. Turn it on as a group to hold each other accountable for not touching the phone for a period of time (anyone who does breaks the streak for the whole group! Schedule study time, beforehand get all materials and information ready (and all un-needed materials put away!), and commit to doing nothing but studying for the full period of time (even if it is a short period of time.) If students practice spending their time exactly as they intended, they’ll not only see their grades improve, but they’ll gain a skill that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Is your son or daughter struggling without knowing what they are doing wrong? Call us a 858.551.2650 or email at help@wellsacademics.com today to discuss how we can help!

The idea of getting ahead in their classes might sound impossible to students. As much as they might realize that part of the reason they are struggling is because they are constantly reacting (rather than pro-acting), they often don’t feel like they have time to get ahead. Instead of listening to lectures with sense of familiarity and engagement, students end up frantically taking notes.

To help your kids learn how to be in a primed “ready state” in class, try this preview technique to get a jump-start on their next textbook chapter. The goal is to get the student to actively preview the material so that when they sit down for a lecture, they’ve already got an idea of the big picture of the chapter, making the lecture more valuable (and making notes they take more useful). The best part? This exercise only takes 30-60 minutes.

Pre-Reading: A Simple Technique To Help Students Learn More Effectively

Here is how it works. The weekend before the student begins a new chapter in their class, they should open up the textbook to the first page of the chapter. The student should read the title of the chapter, then take out a sticky note and complete the following sentences:

Step 1: Complete the sentence “I know…”

The student should complete this sentence by saying something he or she knows about the title. This could be a simple as the definition of a word in the title, or something they learned in the last chapter that might connect to this next chapter. For example, in a US History chapter entitled, “Economic Transformation 1820-1860” some “I know”s might include:

• “I know ‘economic’ means something about money or trade.”
• “I know that a transformation means that there was a big change.”
• “I know that the slave trade was banned before this.”

Completing this sentence primes the student to look for connections between what they already know, and what they are about to learn.

Step 2: Complete the sentence “I predict…”

The student should complete this sentence by saying something he or she predicts will be covered in the chapter, section, or subsection. Predictions should be as specific as the student dares (no points lost for being wrong!) but should be based on evidence or the student’s gut feelings.

• “I predict that this will talk about the California Gold Rush.”
• “I predict this will have something to do with the cotton gin.”
• “I predict that this chapter will talk about cities getting bigger.”

Completing this sentence helps the student to make inferences about the material. When the student actually reads the chapter, they’ll be able to see which of their predictions were correct, and think about why the incorrect ones were incorrect.

Step 3: Complete the sentence “I wonder…”

The student should complete this sentence by writing something that he doesn’t know, but might learn about in this chapter or section.

• “I wonder if these economic changes had something to do with slavery.”
• “I wonder if people got richer during this time.”
• “I wonder why there was an economic transformation.”

Completing this sentence gives the student a task to focus on as they read: what is the answer to the question? Having a purpose as the student reads will help keep the student more engaged and active as they read.

Once the sticky note is completed, it should be left in the book right under the heading it was written about.

Becoming a conscious and motivated reader

Like many study techniques, the key to active engagement is doing something more than just reading. Certainly, a conscious and motivated reader can be actively engaged in the material without writing, but it is very easy to slip into passivity if you are just moving your eyes down the page.

The great thing about this technique is it is not very time consuming. It’s rare that doing this kind of preview would take longer than an hour, usually more like 30 minutes. It isn’t as big an ask as read and take notes on the chapter before the class starts in on it (though my prediction is that student will have a so more positive experience in class having done this that they’ll be open to MORE proactive approaches in the future!), but it does help the student set the foundation for success in the chapter.

Check out 35 Strategies For Guiding Readers Through Informational Texts by Virginia Loh and Barbara Moss for more reading tips like these (this pre-reading process was adapted from a technique found in this book!)

-Vince

Your kids won’t sleep through Alarmy, for IOS and Android

Enter Alarmy!

Alarmy is an alarm app (for IOS and Android) that requires you to complete a challenge before it turns off. It does have a regular alarm (with a snooze if you like). But where it shines is in the challenges.

To turn the alarm off you can choose 1 of 5 challenges to complete

Shake: shake your phone for a certain amount of time to shut it off (and it is TOUGH on high intensity!)

Math problems: Solve three math problems (you choose the difficulty). Make them really hard, and you might have to run for a calculator to solve them!

Memorize game: The alarm will show you a grid (3×3 is “easy”…7×7 is “very hard”) and you have to remember which squares are white and which are red. Correctly fill out three of these grids.

Picture: Take a picture of something to set this alarm. Then, when the alarm goes off, go take the exact same picture (make sure you take the picture of something that never changes!)

UPC code: This is the one that I use. Scan a barcode to set this alarm. Then scan the same barcode to turn it off. I cut the symbol off an old composition book, and I keep it in my gym bag for when my alarm goes off.

When the alarm goes off, you can dismiss it for a preset period of time that you chose (seconds, not minutes). If you haven’t completed the challenge in time, the alarm will go off again. I find that 40 seconds is long enough to complete any of the challenges.

For students that want to wake up early, but struggle, this app might be just the thing to get them out of bed right away! Check out Alarmy, for IOS and Android

-Vince

It isn’t how long or hard you study, it’s HOW you study.

One of most common complaints parents have when the come in to speak with me is “My son/daughter spends so much time and effort studying, but isn’t performing well on tests.”

But how long you study, or how “hard” you study, doesn’t have as much impact on results as you think. What matters is how effectively you study. And most students do not study effectively.

One of the key themes we keep returning to in our Study Skills workshop is “leveling up” your studying. That is, recognizing that “studying” is not the same as “studying effectively”. That if you need to be able to perform at a certain level of thinking on a test, you need to have practiced that level (and higher) levels of thinking previously. And “just” reading the chapter and mindlessly working through homework problems isn’t practicing higher levels of thinking.

One way to understand levels of thinking is to look at “Bloom’s Taxonomy”, which is a hierarchy of thinking skills posited by Benjamin Bloom in 1956. The updated version of this taxonomy looks like this:

Level 1: Remembering

Ability to repeat a piece of information after a period of time.

Example: Remembering the fact that Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 2nd 1941.

Level 2: Understanding

Ability to explain a concept in your own words, give examples, or summarize.

Example: Being able to explain that Pearl Harbor was attacked because Japan was trying to knock the USA out of the war with a decisive victory.

Level 3: Applying

Ability to use the information in ways that haven’t been explicitly taught.

Example: In an essay about American isolationism in the 1920’s and 30’s, using the attack on Pearl Harbor as a bookend to that period.

Level 4: Analyzing

Ability to organize information in new, useful structures, and understand relationship between ideas.

Example: Explaining why and how the attack on Pearl Harbor ultimately led to Japan’s defeat.

Level 5: Evaluating

Ability to determine the relative value of an idea in a context.

Example: Participating in a debate on whether the attack on Pearl Harbor was militarily, economically, or morally justified from Japan’s perspective.

 Level 6: Creating

Ability to use ideas to create something new.

Example: Writing a fictional (but historically reasonable) account of an alternate history in which the attack on Pearl Harbor led to a Japanese victory over the USA.

I’ll also suggest that there exists a level 0 that many students who believe they have studied are at: decoding. That is, they’ve read the material passively, and don’t remember much of what they’ve read (but believe that, because they read the material, they have studied).

How can Bloom’s taxonomy improve the quality of our students’ studies?

The key idea is that, the farther your studying goes down the list, the more certain you are to have mastered the concept at the previous levels.

So, for example, if you have a vocabulary test in Spanish (level 1) using the words you are studying in conversation (level 3) is good preparation, and a good indication of preparedness.

If you have a chemistry exam on balancing reactions (level 2 or 3) being able to teach your friends how to do it (levels 4-6) is good preparation, and a good indication of preparedness.

If you have a math test on solving systems of equations (level 1 or 2), being able to solve the “challenge” word problems at the end of the chapter (level 3 or 4) is good preparation, and a good indication of preparedness.

The thread that runs through Bloom’s Taxonomy is increasing levels of engagement with the material. Success on a test requires high levels of engagement in preparation.

How do your children “level up” their studying?

-Vince

Is this how your son or daughter feels when they get home from school?

One of the key themes of our “Getting Things Done for Students” workshop this summer is creating a separate time for “planning” that is independent of the time for “doing”.

What is the problem?

Think about the experience that a student has when they are coming home from school. In their mind, they have these half formed ideas about things they need to do this afternoon, this week, this month. They get home and it is time to get started. And what happens? They sit down at the desk and just work on something, with little thought to how important that item is. And when they don’t consciously think about what they want to work on, their subconscious will think about it for them, and will decide based on criteria like

-What is the easiest/fastest thing I can do now? Do that first

-What is the class I feel most positive about? Work on that class.

-What is the class I feel least positive about? Avoid that class.

-What is the most boring assignment? Avoid it.

-Is it not due for a long time? Avoid it.

Sometimes those are valid questions to ask, and sometimes those are valid answers. However, these are questions that need to be asked AND answered in a deliberate, conscious way.

But if we don’t set aside a time that is JUST for asking just such questions (and other, more important questions!) to the extent they are asked and answered at all, they will be asked and answered ONLY subconsciously because the focus of the time is DOING, not PLANNING.

“Sacred 15”

One of the ideas we’ll be talking about in our “Getting Things Done” workshop is the “Sacred 15”. This is a 15 minute period per day, every day, that is spent ONLY thinking about and writing down:

1) What do I need to to?

2) What is my plan for doing it? (break it into smaller subtasks if necessary) and

3) When am I going to do it? (schedule time in their planner to do each of those things.)

This “Sacred 15” is the same time every day, even weekends.

It’s sacred because we want students to treat this as though it is the MOST important 15 minute period of their day. It will help them reduce stress, reduce mental clutter, and learn to make better decisions (or make decisions at all!) about how to allocate their time. And for a student who feels overwhelmed, it’s a very easy thing to skip in either the rush to get something, anything done, or the temptation to just ignore their responsibilities altogether in an effort to push the stress out of their minds. Keeping the time consistent will make it easier to create a daily habit.

Ways parents can help:

Have a family planning time

Have your “Sacred 15” for the entire family! Set a time when everyone, adults included, takes out his or her planner and maps out the next day’s tasks together. Parents and students can either just plan their days out on their own (and it’s just a shared time and space that it is done in), or parents can provide support to students as needed/desired.

Respect planning time:

Consider your son/daughter’s “Sacred 15” as inviolate. Don’t distract them during their planning time. This is important time for your son or daughter to be spending, so treat it that way!

Respect their plan:

It’s frustrating to spend time and effort on something only to have that effort undone by someone else. Certainly, part of planning is about understanding what responsibilities you have and accounting for them, and also understanding that things don’t always go to plan! That said, if your child is consistently having their plans disrupted my last minute family things, they will feel as though their efforts to plan are pointless.

-Vince

If your student struggles with planning and organization, check out our upcoming “Getting things done: for students” workshop starting in September. Call 858.551.2650, or email help@wellsacademics.com for more information.

In our upcoming Study Skills workshop (starting next week!) we are going to spend each of 8 weeks covering and practicing a different study technique. These are techniques that go beyond reading the textbook, doing the homework problems, and studying flashcards. But there is one study technique that just won’t die, despite how ineffective it is!

Highlighting/underlining

Why do we highlight/underline? When we see a piece of information that seems important, we highlight it. The thinking is that this will make it easier for us to find that important piece of information later on when we review the chapter again, or make our flashcards, or create our review sheet to study for the test. We also highlight information we aren’t confident with so that we can come back to it and dig in more deeply. We feel more proactive: more engaged with the text. And when we look back over the chapter, we can feel good about the “work” that we did as we read!

Why doesn’t it work?

“When everything is highlighted, nothing is highlighted.” -Vincent Perry

I’ve seen many books over the years with 50% (or more) of the text highlighted.

Highlighting often acts as a substitute for thinking about the concept. When we highlight something because it is important, we are often telling ourselves “I’ll think about this later.” But oftentimes, later never comes. What’s more, when we consciously or subconsciously decide not to think about a concept now, it makes it hard to integrate what we read later, since we have gaps in our knowledge (that we’ll get to later, of course!)

Highlighting gives us permission to move our eyes down a page of text, asking only one question as we read: Is this important? Highlighting can, in fact, lower reader engagement because we focus only whether a particular concept should be highlighted or not, not whether we actually understand it!

How we can use highlighting more effectively?

Highlighting CAN be useful, as long as it is not used as a substitute for thinking. Combining highlighting with note-taking can be effective (highlighting material in the book that you’ve written in your notes can help you easily see what you have and have not taken notes on, in case you want to add to your notes later). What highlighting has going for it is that it is fast and easy, which means you can do a lot of it quickly. But doing a lot quickly is not what is going to lead to long-term retention and comprehension. Studying needs to be a thoughtful, deliberate process to be effective.

What can we do instead of highlighting?

Here are a few ideas:

–Take notes: Writing the important ideas down yourself makes it far more likely you’ll remember it than if you simply highlight the information. Trying to paraphrase the idea (rather than copying it word for word) gives you an opportunity to test your comprehension of the material (if you can’t paraphrase it, you don’t understand it well enough!) Finally, highlighting is so easy, it’s tempting to use it too liberally. Actually writing down the information yourself will help ensure that you are focussed on only the most important information!

–Come up with test questions: When you read a section, come up with a couple questions that a teacher might ask about the concepts covered in that section, and write them down. Try to stay away from “What is _______?” Dig a bit deeper than that! It’s tough to come up with good test questions if you didn’t understand what you read (and if you find out that you didn’t understand it as well as you need to, see the next idea!)

–Write your questions: When you are confused by a concept, write the question you would ask your teacher in your notes. Oftentimes, the act of formulating the question is enough to help you figure out the answer. If it isn’t though, you’ve at least primed your subconcious mind to look for the answer in the remainder of the text (or, you have a question to ask your teacher in class tomorrow!)

The Big Idea

Highlighting is a way to say “I’ll do the REAL studying later” which is just a form of procrastination (that sneakily LOOKS like being productive!) Study the right way the first time. You’ll save time and study more effectively! Any effective study technique should INCREASE student engagement, and turn reading into a conversation the reader is having with the material.

-Vince

Looking for support with your son/daughter’s study skills? Give us a call at 858.551.2650 or email help@wellsacademics.com. We can help!

Wells Academics Summer Workshops start next week!

Students work so hard during the school year. It’s easy to let the first couple of weeks slip by as students gets some well deserved rest. But if sleeping until noon, going to the beach, and hanging with friends becomes a habit (rather than just a short wind-down period), your student could lose the opportunity to accomplish big things summer!

Getting good work done over the summer doesn’t mean there is no time to relax. Even as little as 2-3 hours per day (a pretty short workday!) can mean the different between saying “Where did the summer go?” and starting off the school year with amazing momentum and preparation.

Here are FIVE Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals that your son or daughter can accomplish this summer if they plan starting today!

Become an expert planner!

Of course, to accomplish anything without someone else breathing down your neck, a planning habit is the keystone. Your son or daughter experiencing the productivity of a well-planned day and accomplishing goals important to them can be addictive! Get that planning habit dialed in over the summer, and next school year will be a LOT easier! Creating a new habit is tough, so start now, and check out our “Getting Things Done” summer planning workshop!

B.H.A.G. for the summer: At the same time every day, plan out the next day, hour by hour, in your planner. Be specific about what tasks you want to accomplish at what time.

Read a year’s worth of English (class) books!

Your child most likely has a reading list for the summer. Why not try to find out what books will be read throughout the entire school year and read those too? Or sign up for our Reading for AP English summer workshop to have some accountability to build a daily reading habit?

B.H.A.G. for the summer: Read books from AP English reading lists for 1 hour per day.

Master your most difficult upcoming class!

Is there a particular class coming up next year that your student knows is going to be the tough one? Why not get a jump start on it and be one of the top students next semester (and make next semester WAY easier too?)

Find the textbook on Amazon (you can get a used copy for cheap, especially if you get an older edition) and spend an hour every day studying. When you get stuck, go online, or get help from an older sibling, a friend who has taken the class, or a tutor. Imagine the difference between being confused in a really difficult class in October and being totally familiar and comfortable? Supplement your studies with academic support sessions with a tutor here, or sign up for our Study Skills summer workshop!

B.H.A.G for the summer: Learn the material for first semester for the toughest class you are taking next year!

Start pursuing your future career!

OK, I promise this is the last time I’ll mention this book for a while! But what a motivating way to spend the summer, learning about your skills, traits, and character, and starting to figure out how those things can lead to an enjoyable career they can find financial success in!

B.H.A.G. for the summer: Work through Part 1 of What Color is Your Parachute? for Teens and complete 10 information interviews this summer.

Knock out the SAT/ACT!

Why do your test prep during the school year, when you’ve already got so much going on? Prepare over the summer, work hard, get it done, and focus your school year on getting amazing grades. No better time to spend on test preparation than the summer.

B.H.A.G. for the summer: Come in to Wells Academics for a free diagnostic exam and consultation, and spend 1 hour every day studying for the August SAT or the September ACT.

Do you or your son or daughter have any other B.H.A.G.’s in mind for the summer? Give us a call and let’s talk about how we can accomplish it together!