SAT courses, camps popular among college applicants

At a time when grade point averages exceeding 4.0 are no longer
exceptional and UCLA admittees receive an average of 1333 on the
SAT, many students are turning to formal SAT preparation courses
and summer camps to maintain a competitive edge in the college
admissions process.

Preparing for college entrance exams has become more of a
necessity for incoming freshmen. The question has become how,
rather than if, a student will choose to prepare for the SAT, said
Dan McGrew, director of pre-college programs for Kaplan Test
Prep.

“It is an important part of the admissions process and the
average score is on the rise,” McGrew said.

Third-year microbiology student Jacob Song, a teacher at the
Kaplan Test Prep Center in Westwood, said that many of his SAT prep
pupils are looking to get into competitive schools such as the
UCs.

“One of my former students is now a freshman at
UCLA,” Song said.

Max Sherman, a Montclair Preparatory High School junior and
Kaplan test prep participant, worries that a low SAT score could
damage his chances of getting into his prospective schools:
Richmond University, San Diego State, George Washington University
and UC Santa Cruz.

“I don’t like standardized tests, and I’m
afraid that my SAT scores could hurt my chances of getting into the
college I want, even though I have a good GPA,” Sherman
said.

Kaplan offers a range of options for high schoolers to utilize,
ranging from books and online resources to private tutoring
sessions and classroom-style SAT courses. But traditional courses
are not enough for some students and concerned parents.

For students who want to take their application preparation one
step further, companies like Education Unlimited provide a more
intense option: college preparatory summer camps.

For $1,725 to $1,990, Education Unlimited offers 10-day college
admission preparatory camps at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis,
Stanford and the University of San Diego.

Students who attend these camps take SAT classes, write their
personal statements with a writing coach, and receive personal
counseling about the application process.

In addition, the camps give students a chance to spend time at a
campus they are interested in attending, according to Megan Sawyer,
camp coordinator for Education Unlimited.

These summer camps have run for 10 seasons, and they attract 40
to 80 students each session.

“The camp is designed to provide a comprehensive look at
the applications process,” Sawyer said.

“The camp is intense, but there is recreation in the
evenings and a mid-week off-campus excursion.  For instance,
the UCLA camp might go to Third Street.”

For some, these camps offer a way to bolster test scores while
relieving some of the stress of the application process on parents
and students.

“Parents are much more aggressive now about getting the
college admissions process started early,” Education
Unlimited division coordinator Byron Arthur said.

Sharon Roseme, a parent whose daughter attended an Education
Unlimited camp at Stanford, said her daughter increased her SAT
scores by 200 points, completed a draft of her personal statement,
and enjoyed the experience.

However, not all students share their parents’ positive
attitudes about the camps.

“It was all my mother’s idea,” said Sandy
Tsang, who attended Education Unlimited’s College prep camp
at Stanford and is now a student at UC Berkeley.

“It was just an expensive, almost useless thing … they
used the same techniques as the Princeton Review book,” Tsang
said.

Tsang was unimpressed by the college counseling the camp
offered, and ultimately ended up scrapping the essay she wrote
there.

“I did get a feel for being on a college campus, but
overall it was not that helpful,” Tsang said.

The high price, narrow focus and time investment these camps
demand also make some skeptical about their value.

“Anything you can do to make your application stand out is
to your benefit,” said Elena Turner, college counselor at El
Camino Real High School. “But if you can afford (these camps)
you should do something that will make your application stand out
more, like going to Mongolia.”

While students and parents alike may be stressing over SAT
scores, UCLA Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations Vu
Tran said that the most competitive applicants have a well-rounded
portfolio of honors and AP courses, GPA, test scores and
extracurricular activities.

“I can guarantee that if you have high test scores but a
low GPA, you will not be as competitive,” said Tran.