ADMISSIONS TEST COACHING

Admissions tests are our core expertise--the training on which we've built our reputation.  We've distilled decades of combined coaching wisdom into stages of mastery designed to maximize both flexibility and marginal return on your test prep time and investment:

The first Step: Baseline diagnostic

Effective test prep is founded on accurate performance metrics--how else can you know you're improving?--and our free initial diagnostic test is where those metrics begin. ATP diagnostics are proctored real full-length practice tests exactly like what you can expect to see on test day.

ATP diagnostics don't merely visualize the questions you're getting right and wrong, but give our coaches granular insight into how efficiently you're working through each problem, and identify patterns in the problems you miss in order to maximize your points scored per testing minute.

Full diagnostics cap every stage of mastery below, so our students measure their progress every step to test day, and so our coaches can customize curricula to the needs of each charge.

The Attaboy Stages of test Mastery

Each stage below represents a four session curriculum designed to build specific skillsets in the order of their importance to affecting score gains on test day.  These allow us to leverage your test prep to maximum effect, whether you're joining us just to get some foundations or seeking scores in the stratosphere.

STAGE 1: STRATEGIC FOUNDATIONS

The major admissions tests have sections called reading, math, etc. Such titles produce the common misconception that admissions tests are just like tests you're given at school. In fact, beyond the subject names, standardized and school tests have almost nothing in common.

Tests in school test your learning: you score by demonstrating knowledge of new material. Admissions tests, on the other hand, ask you to apply knowledge that you've practiced for years. You're not going to raise your score effectively by cramming facts and figures the night before the test. Ultimately, admissions tests are tests of logic.

ATP Stage 1 builds, session by session, a thorough understanding of the core logical strategies necessary to score your best: how to reduce complex algebra to simple arithmetic, how to memorize and hunt down passage details in moments, and even how to outwit your own subconscious.

You don't need a coach at the ATP level to teach you algebra and grammar you already know: there are a thousand fantastic and free resources for content (which we're happy to recommend, get in touch!), not to mention dozens of companies ready to waste your time and investment on such. ATP will teach you to you see past the test's superficial trappings to the universal constants upon which each standardized test is built.

Complete Stage 1, and you'll have gained an arsenal of new techniques to bring to test day, along with direction on the shortest path to their mastery.

STAGE 2: CONFIDENCE IN EXECUTION

With your Stage 1 strategies in hand, your next task is to cement your theoretical knowledge into practical mastery. It's one thing to answer questions correctly in the comforts of home and quite another to be able to do so confidently under the pressures of test day.

During each session of Stage 2 you and your coach will work through the problems you've missed from the training sets and, more importantly, identify and explain the common threads connecting those problems so you can focus your practice on those techniques that will most directly improve your scores on test day.

The next several training assignments will combine untimed strategy drills and content review problem sets--to master the fundamentals and make sure the underpinning knowledge is present--with timed fractional diagnostics to measure how effectively you're able to apply your newfound skills under test-like conditions.

Complete Stage 2 confident in your testcraft and ready to execute on test day.

STAGE 3: APPROACHING TEST MASTERY

In Stage 3, test craftsman rises to test artisan. You'll no longer merely dodge the testmakers traps and pitfalls, you'll learn to spot telltales in the midst of a passage, before even beginning to tackle the questions.

Stage 3 graduates are masters of their destiny and ready to demonstrate their testing potential to colleges.

STAGE 4: CONJURING AND OTHER TEST MAGICK

Very occasionally, students pursuing the most competitive colleges and aiming for 99+ percentile scores will continue training beyond Stage 3. Every Stage 4 sequence is customized entirely to the individual student to burnish the final blemishes from their test strategy. Master stage four, and we may be offering you an internship in a year or two!

Click Each Stage for Details

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

For most students at the beginning of their preparation for standardized tests, 12 to 18 weekly 90-minute sessions over 3-5 months balances solid gains with a manageable training load.  That said, students striving for exceptional gains may opt to continue 1:1 training beyond what’s typical, and students who've already done some preparation may achieve their goals in fewer. Each of our exceptional coaches has a slightly different approach—and each student has different goals, starting positions, and backgrounds—so be sure to ask your coach specifically what they recommend for you.

For new ATP students, every admissions test program begins with a free full-length practice test followed by a discounted 90-minute first principles session. During this session you'll learn why your test is structured the way it is, how that structure can be used to your advantage, and discuss the results of your initial diagnostic (and any other previous prep). This discussion will identify your best opportunities for improvement, and lay the logical reasoning foundations that empower ATP students to achieve their maximum scoring potential.

Raring to go? Book your FREE initial diagnostic.


Need guidance? Schedule a call and let us help you determine what, when, and if ATP training makes sense for you and yours.