Equip Your Child to Succeed During an Economic Downturn

March 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

There are times as parents when we seem to be almost obsessed with the well being of our children.  We struggle with granting them increased independence as they grow and mature.  Our love for them compels us to want the best, and we’ll do what we can to help.  One of the most significant things you can do to ensure your child’s future success is to pave a strong path for them to college.  The benefits of a college education are significant.

A recent New York Times article took a look at a Pew study showing how different groups have fared during our current recession.  The findings are not surprising.  The recession’s impact is felt across all education levels, but the significant detail is exactly how much different groups were affected.  Who is best equipped to weather the storm?  College graduates.  And not by an insignificant amount, either.  Take a look at the graphic from the article.

The numbers show that workers with a bachelors degree not only maintained the best employment level, but also suffered the least impact in their actual earning.  From the article:

Those with a bachelor’s degree started off in the strongest position and weathered the downturn best, with employment slipping from 69 percent to 65 percent. … People with four-year college degrees saw a 5 percent drop in wages, compared with a 12 percent decrease for their peers with associate’s degrees, and a 10 percent decline for high school graduates.

Few of us need to be persuaded about the importance of a college education, but it’s helpful to keep in mind the long-term benefit it provides.  In addition to weathering economic downturns, those with college degrees can expect a significantly greater earning potential.  The Hamilton Project evaluated the lifetime earning differences expected for individuals with a college degree compared to those with a high school diploma.  It’s clear that the return on investing in a college education is dramatic.  College graduates can expect to earn nearly a half million dollars more in their lifetimes than their high-school-educated peers. Here’s a graph from the report:

Academic Learning Labs is Orange County’s premier tutoring service specializing in helping students reach their academic goals through math tutoring, science tutoring, and SAT/ACT Prep programs.  Located in Rancho Santa Margarita, we’re dedicated to helping your child fulfill their potential and partnering with you to propel them to success.  We have proven tutoring programs that will equip your child to excel in high school and succeed in college as well.  Call us at 949-546-0800 for details on our college preparation tutoring.

 

 

Filed Under: College, Preparing for College, Rancho Santa Margarita SAT ACT Tutoring, SAT Prep Tagged With: , , ,

Starting the New Year Off Right

December 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As the beginning of a new year approaches, it is a chance for all of us to embrace a new start and develop new goals. The new year is also an opportunity to move past the challenges of the prior year and plan out a path toward improvement. Around this time students will likely be entering a new semester and phase in their education, and with this comes a new set of challenges to conquer. Maybe your child spent the last year struggling in school, or perhaps your high schooler would like to achieve a better score on the SAT. At Academic Learning Labs, we take the new year as an opportunity to face academic challenges head-on and change the course of your child’s education for the better.

In spring, many high school juniors will be taking the SAT for the first time. Most students do this with the intention of taking it again before graduating and improving their score. Even if this is your student’s plan, it is important to study and do well on the test the first time. It will be difficult to improve a score later if the original score is not an accurate representation of your student’s knowledge. The tutors at Academic Learning Labs can help students translate their knowledge into a good score on the SAT.

Moving into springtime brings graduating high schoolers closer to application deadlines for Fall admission to college. Many graduating seniors have already taken the SAT at least once, but will take it again before applying to colleges. Improving SAT scores is one of the final steps before embarking on a college career. In these upcoming months, many responsibilities can pile up and overwhelm students. SAT scores can determine which colleges your student is accepted to, what scholarships they are awarded, and what classes they will be required to take. Needless to say, it is important that high schoolers achieve their best possible score, and the new year is the perfect time to map out a plan for doing so.

 At Academic Learning Labs, we work with students individually to determine a plan of study that will maximize their abilities and allow them to achieve their best score on the SAT. We will work with your child to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, we will help your child learn the information necessary to succeed on the SAT and their upcoming college career. Call us at 949-546-0800 to discuss plans for your child’s education in the upcoming year.

Filed Under: Academic Success, College, SAT Prep, Studying Tagged With: , , ,

The Importance of Developing Good Study Skills

December 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It happens to most families at one time or another.  Your child is getting good grades — not great, not terrible — and you get a teacher’s note included with his report card telling you that he is not really living up to his potential.  There may not be any specific criticism offered, and the vagueness of the comment can be almost maddening.  This comment in not uncommon with bright children who pick up things quickly.  They’re bright and usually bring home grades with a mix between “A’s” and “B’s.”  There’s really not much to complain about, but there may a problem lurking that is best resolved during their early school years.  Exactly how can you help your child better fulfill his potential?

Or perhaps your child is bringing home grades that you’re convinced just don’t match his or her abilities. They’re not skipping school, and most of their work is completed on time, but their grades just don’t seem to be what they should.  What options do you have?

This is something we see quite frequently, and the problem may well be poor study habits.

One of the disadvantages faced by bright students comes from their ability to quickly comprehend most subjects.  The problem arises when they progress to a point in their education where the sophistication of the subject cannot be comprehended immediately and needs much more disciplined study.  This time most often comes during high school when students face the rigors of trigonometry, calculus or statistics.  For virtually every student, these subjects require significant amounts of study and memorization.  And these disciplines may have never been necessary for the bright student.  For perhaps the first time, they will be faced with obstacles that simply cannot be easily grasped.

A student who is producing marginal grades may need little more than some guidance on how to maximize study time to achieve the best results. Of course, all students will struggle from time to time with new topics.  This is one reason its so vital for them to develop good study skills.

At Academic Learning Labs we have a program of tutoring designed to help your child develop the study habits that will help improve their schoolwork and better equip them for the rigors of college work.  We break down study skills into several areas that we help your child improve:

  • Organization – covers assignment tracking, binder organization and study planning.
  • Time Management – includes scheduling study time and avoiding distractions.
  • Note Taking – covers effective listening strategies, practical note taking and following directions.
  • Studying – includes how to use notes to review material, extracting the most important information from textbooks, research strategies and subject-specific study tips.
  • Test Taking Strategies – includes ways to minimize test anxiety and effective tips for a variety of test formats including multiple choice, open answer and essay.

We also break down study skills for your child’s grade level offering targeted tutoring for elementary, middle, and high school.  Please call us at 949-546-0800 for more details on our study skills tutoring.

 

Filed Under: College, Homework, Studying Tagged With: , , , , , ,

When To Take the SAT

November 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Since 1900 the College Board has been administering tests to help colleges and universities identify deserving students through shared entrance exams, or “College Boards.”   Initially formed by a group of colleges to simplify and standardize admissions, over the years the tests and the College Board organization have gone through a number of transitions.  They are best known now for administering the SAT tests, and over 7 million students will take the test this year.  The SAT’s are a part of virtually every student’s road to college.

It’s likely that your child’s college education has been frequent topic of conversation at your home.  But it can be disastrous to wait too long to start the preparation in earnest.  Many parents and students find themselves limiting the available choices by making the mistake of waiting until their senior year in high school to begin series preparations.

According to the College Board, “most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year in high school. At least half of all students take the SAT twice — in the spring of their junior year and in the fall of their senior year. Most students also improve their score the second time around.

For the SAT Subject Tests™, most students take them toward the end of their junior year or at the beginning of their senior year. In general, you should take tests such as World History, Biology E/M, Chemistry or Physics as soon as possible after completing the course in the subject. Students tend to do better on other tests like languages after at least two years of study.”

Timing of the SAT testing is important for the best results.  One of the great helps that tutoring with Academic Learning Labs is the help we can offer in a variety of the test subjects in preparation for test day.  Keeping the information fresh has been shown to be a big help.  This is why the SAT testing offers the different subjects as individual tests to maximize on the timing of when students complete the individual classes.  Our specialized SAT tutoring works with sample tests and helps students target teh specific learning needed to complete the tests with the best results.

Call us at 949-546-0800, and we’ll work with you to give your student the preparation needed to get the best results on the SAT tests.  We offer tutoring in both individual and group settings.  We also offer our tutoring around your hours with evening and weekend sessions available.

 

Filed Under: SAT Prep, Tutoring Tagged With: , , , ,

Spotlight on Math Tutoring

October 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Triumph at Math

Triumph at Math

In the life of virtually every student, there comes a time when a new math concept is introduced and he or she simply cannot grasp it.  There can be many reasons for the difficulty, and it’s essential that your student be given the tools to grasp the new concept.

Teachers do the best they can, but it’s just not possible for a single teacher to meet the exact needs of an entire classroom full of students.  At Academic Learning Labs we have tutoring available for all grade levels and cover every area of math from basic addition and subtraction to the most sophisticated calculus and statistics.  Getting an early handle on any difficulties is vital to help your child avoid the discouragement that comes with lowered grades.

For elementary grades K -5, we specialize in the following areas:

  • Numbers and Basic Counting
  • Addition and Subtraction
  • Multiplication and Division
  • Fractions and Decimals
  • Problem Solving
  • Time and Money Concepts
  • Geometry and Graphing
  • Measurement including Area, Perimeter and Volume
  • Basic Statistics including Ratios, Proportions and Percentages

For middle school grades 6 – 8, the following topics are covered:

  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Problem Solving
  • Probability and Statistics

 Our high school tutoring covers these areas: 

  • Algebra I & II
  • Geometry
  • Trigonometry
  • Pre-Calculus
  • Integrated Math
  • Senior Math
Tutoring at Academic Learning Labs will bring a fresh start for your student.  The individualized attention we offer allows us to accurately assess your child’s strengths and weaknesses, so we can create a course of tutoring designed to meet his or her specific needs and bring immediate improvement.  Your child will show more enjoyment in school, and often find that he or she can actually excel at the topic.
Call us at 949-546-0800 to learn more about our individualized tutoring plans.
Filed Under: learning, Math Tutoring, Tutoring Tagged With: ,

Can You See An Ivy League College In Your Child’s Future?

September 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you’re reading this blog, we’re fairly certain you’re already plotting a course for your child’s college education.  More than ever, a college degree helps serve as the vehicle for greater earning and your child’s overall life satisfaction.  But how about considering a reach to an even higher shelf?  Exactly what would it take to get your child on a path toward one of the country’s most prestigious universities, like Harvard, Yale or Princeton?  There are a number of things you can do to help your child work toward this opportunity.

Start Laying the Groundwork Early

Dream Big -- Start Early

There are many requirements to get into the nation’s top colleges, and there’s tremendous competition. Your child will have the best chance with preparation that starts years in advance.  You need to start early recognizing your child’s special abilities and encouraging them to grow in these areas.  Also, many of these colleges watch for students who demonstrate a balanced lifestyle with activities ranging from competitive sports to volunteering in the community.   This can be one of the most rewarding aspects of your child’s preparation.  By guiding your child to actively participate in community programs and athletics, you’ll enrich them tremendously even if they never attend an Ivy League school.

Recognize That Ivy League Colleges Are A Viable Option For A Select Few

Increasingly, Ivy League recruiters are attempting to discern the true standouts academically.  They’re looking for students who operate at an intellectual level that will be challenged, but not overwhelmed by the rigor of their coursework.  Here’s some advice from the website, TheIvyCoach.com:

Highly selective colleges like the universities that comprise the Ivy League seek overachieving students with great intellectual curiosity. They want students for whom learning and intellect come naturally. They’re not after the student who has to work really hard to earn that A. They’re not after the grade grubber. They’re after the student who goes home, reads a book for pleasure, and aces his history exam because he loves history…not because he pulled an all-nighter studying. And this kind of information is often conveyed in the letters of recommendation from teachers.

There’s No Avoiding Hard Work

Entrance to top notch colleges is not easy, and it will require academic performance well beyond what comes naturally to many children.  Excellent grades are expected, and a record of consistent achievement in Advanced Placement Courses is certainly part of this.   For a truly gifted child, the biggest challenge may come in the area of discipline, not learning.  They may well have a gift that is best unleashed through a more disciplined lifestyle, rather than hard hours of rote studying.   Unlike most of their peers, their biggest challenge may be developing a consistent use of their skills, rather than struggling to achieve basic performance.

Make Sure It’s Truly Their Dream

Helping Your Child Dream Big

As parents we always have high aspirations for our children.  This is natural, and certainly a normal part of the parent-child relationship.  But we need to watch our children to learn the things that they become passionate about.  We do our best parenting by making sure we expose our children to the widest variety of options, and then encourage them to pursue those things that interest them.  As your child starts to evaluate their path toward college, the choice of which college to attend will come to the forefront.  And it’s perfectly appropriate to encourage your child to strive for the absolute best available.   But we create a recipe for disaster when we push our children into options that are the product of our aspirations and not theirs.

Capitalize On Your Child’s Abilities

One of the most gratifying elements of our tutoring at Academic Learning Labs is when we can help a child to develop their natural abilities.  We consistently see that many children with tremendous abilities have their talents burdened by a world of boredom and poor study habits.  It’s remarkable to see the freedom that comes to these children when we can teach them simple methods of organization and discipline that serve to unleash their innate abilities.  Sometimes we serve more as facilitators than actual instructors.  With some students our best work is simply to help them develop the ability to harness their potential.  And with some, this will lead them to positions of great leadership as they progress to the nation’s finest colleges.

Call us at 949-546-0800, and we’ll be happy to discuss with your family the many ways we can help your student realize the dream of a college education — perhaps even at an Ivy League college.

Filed Under: College, Preparing for College Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Challenge of Talented Children

September 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard the stories before.  Some remarkable person is being interviewed on television and when asked to describe their early school years, they say they were bored to death.  School could not keep up with them, and they lost interest.  Many of these folks drop out of school or just struggle through the boredom while trying to fight off discouragement.  It’s sad to see such potential delayed because their talent and understanding far exceeded that of their peers.

We see this quite a bit at Academic Learning Labs, and it’s one of the things that excites us most about our tutoring.  While much of our tutoring is intended to help children struggling to keep up, we also have programs available in every area of study that are designed to challenge and encourage talented children.  And there are a lot of good reasons to make sure we keep our children challenged in their learning.

Less Boredom = Better Behavior

Boredom is The EnemyThere’s a good reason for the persistence of that old adage, “Idle hands are the the devil’s workshop.”  A child who is teeming with energy, but burdened by boredom will almost always find something to alleviate the boredom.  As parents, we are in a unique position to guide these activities into creative and challenging directions.  If we fail to do this, we create an environment for our children to stray into relationships and activities that may be harmful for them.  We really need to do whatever we can to help our children thrive in areas that will challenge them and help shape their character for a better life.   Extremely talented children can present unique challenges in this area, as we may not have all the tools and skills needed to keep them occupied and growing.

It’s sad that some of the kids who do the poorest in school are those who actually have the skills and intellect to do the best. But without proper guidance and support, they may waste their amazing gifts.  It’s vital as parents that we step into this situation to provide necessary challenges to keep these children utilizing their gifts.  Here are some ideas to consider:

Get them involved in athletics

Many highly intelligent children appreciate the challenges of athletic competition.  Keeping your child physically active is a natural supplement to their mental activity.  Physical challenges nearly always have a mental aspect to them, and will serve your child well to keep their energies channelled in productive directions.

The magic of music

It’s never too late to expose your child to the magic of music, but the earlier you start, the better.  Starting at just 4 or 5 years old there are programs Kindermusik that get children to start exploring the world of music.  Later, kids can develop an appreciation for musical skills with programs like Guitar Hero.  And older kids can create their own music and record multiple instruments on programs like Garage Band included on Apple’s Mac computers.  Stretching your child’s imagination through music will augment their intellectual growth.

Volunteering

Children who excel in their school work often find themselves with extra time on their hands.  In your ongoing effort to keep them channelled into healthy and worthwhile pursuits, we encourage you introduce community involvement into their schedule.

This is most effective when a parent models the behavior.  There’s an entirely different dynamic at work when you send your child off to volunteer compared to when you pack up the entire family to participate.  Opportunities abound.  Start with your pastor or rabbi to find opportunities available.  The Orange County Rescue Mission is also a good choice.  Make a commitment as a family to get involved, and then watch as your children grow in their understanding and compassion, as well as their academic acuity.

Expand their academic skills

It’s not uncommon for parents of exceptionally bright children to find that the sophistication of their homework is more difficult than anyone else in the family is able to comprehend.  But don’t worry, this is one area that Academic Learning Labs can help.  Our tutors are able to handle advanced placement tutoring in every subject.  We can quickly step into a very vital role in your family to help keep your child challenged, growing, and pointed in the right direction.  Call us at (949) 546-0800 for more details on our tutoring.

 

Filed Under: Community Involvement, Homework, Parent Involvement, Preparing for College, Studying, Tutoring, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Overcoming Discouragement and Discovering The Freedom Found In Accomplishment

September 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here at Academic Learning Labs, we often see students and parents arrive with a burden of real discouragement.  Sometimes they’re facing the pressure of midterms or year-end finals and have finally realized they need some real help to pull things out in time.  In can be a very stressful and discouraging time.

It’s Likely Boredom Is Your Enemy, Not Low Grades

Fighting Boredom Is Essential

Many of the children that we see for remedial tutoring are actually struggling with the pace and teaching methods at their schools.  Many students who struggle with their grades may actually be struggling with teaching techniques that are not well suited to their personalities.

We are often delighted to quickly find that a child struggling with math is actually quite a whiz at the subject when they’re given the correct tools for their best learning.  Classroom sizes continue to increase, and school teachers do the best they can.  Even the most diligent teacher cannot significantly personalize the learning experience for a given child, but that’s exactly what we do at Academic Learning Labs.  Our model for effective tutoring is not based upon a template we teach to each student.  Rather, we feel that each or our students is the template for their learning.  While your child is learning from us, we are learning from them.  We are finding out what causes their best responses, and we’re crafting our tutoring to match that.

Freedom Through Accomplishment

The outcome is remarkable.  Students who may have long felt they just could not understand a subject, begin to have tutoring sessions filled with “Aha!” moments.  As they climb each of the rungs on this learning ladder, they begin to grasp overall concepts as well.  There’s nothing we love more than watching our students run out of a tutoring session to tell mom or dad all about the new concept they grasped today.   It’s a triumphant moment for us, for their parents, and most importantly, for the student.   We count our successes not as much by improving grades, but improving outlooks.  We realize that most families come to us due to our skill at tutoring.  But we delight most in seeing our students shed the burden of their discouragement and start feeling the freedom of how powerful they are to learn and grow in areas they may have once thought impossible.   Students who may have once dreaded third-period algebra, find themselves actually looking forward to it with a renewed confidence and freedom.

We’ll be happy to spend some time with your family to show you exactly how we can bring these results to your family as well.  We have tutoring sessions available for virtually every subject with both group and individual settings available.  Please give us a a call at 949-546-0800 to learn how we can work with you to help your child excel in school and experience the freedom of self-confidence.

Filed Under: Classroom Size, harmful effect of class size, Parent Involvement, Studying Tagged With: , , ,

When and How To Start Planning For College

September 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Most of us are aware of studies that show the lifelong earning of college graduates far outdistances workers with a high school diploma, but there’s much more to the story than just the money involved.  People with college degrees usually have a better understanding of their world, are more well-rounded, and more engaged as citizens.  There are plenty of good reasons to encourage our children to follow a path that leads to college.  There are also good reasons to start them on this path early.

The College Board is a great resource for students of all ages.  They are known to most students as the not-for-profit organization that conducts the SAT test nationally. They also provide significant resources to energize students and equip families to prepare for college both academically and financially.  Here are a few great tips we found on their website:

1.  Have your student let everybody know their plans for college

The College Board has a great tool for college-bound students to create a personalized web page to tell the world about their personal pledge to attend college.  Have your student visit http://youcango.collegeboard.org/your-pledge and fill out the form.  They’ll receive a unique website address that they can post on their Facebook page or email to all the relatives.  There’s a real advantage to having your extended family involved in the college conversation with your child.  There are lots of decisions to be made and lots of great advice to be had from your family.

2.  Start early working on financial aid and scholarships

Plan for college

Send them to college with great study skills and a firm financial footing

College is expensive, but there are significant resources available.  It’s wise to start planning for your child’s college expenses when they are very young.  While it’s a bit premature to start touring college campuses with your 6-year-old, it’s definitely a great time to start a savings account.  Every parent hopes to see the day when their child walks forward to receive their college diploma, and the excitement of that day is maximized for a parent who helped their child achieve this goal without incurring any student debt.

There are a number of ways you can start preparing for the financial needs of your child’s college education, and the IRS has several methods of savings that offer tax benefits.  We encourage you to spend some time reviewing your options, and get started right away.  529 Savings Plans are especially popular and can be created by both parents and grand parents. SavingForCollege.com has lots of great advice and is currently offering a free downloadable book full of information on how best to chart the financial path for your child’s college education.  The State of California has also established the ScholarShare College Savings Plan.  Visit their website at  http://www.scholarshare.com for more details.

3.  Prepare your child academically

 There’s nothing like a good scholarship to warm the heart of parents and students alike.  There are many resources for college grants based upon a wide variety of factors, but students with the best grades always have more scholarship options available to them.  This is where Academic Learning Labs can join you in preparing your child for their college career.  We have a number of proven programs that will assess your child’s academic level and provide improvement needed to perform well both in SAT testing and in their school work.  Great high school grades combined with a great SAT score open up a much wider range of opportunities for your child in their choice of colleges and in the financial aid available.  Call us today at (949) 546-0800 for more details on how we can help your college plans.

Filed Under: College, Preparing for College, SAT Prep, Tutoring Tagged With: , , , ,

How to get Accepted from the College Waitlist

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
At Academic Learning Labs, parents often come to us concerned about their child being waitlisted to the college they wanted to go to. When your child gets waitlisted for a school they are excited about attending it can be a difficult situation to handle. Because they haven’t been accepted but also haven’t been rejected, this leaves your child in a confusing position. As difficult as it may be to learn that they have been waitlisted, there are still things your child can do, before the school has made it’s final decision, to show the admissions office why they deserve the chance to attend the college of their dreams.

Below are a few tips that can help your child navigate through this process and help make them the best candidate on the waitlist.

1. Figure out what the school needs from waitlisted students.

The letter you received from the school will most likely tell you what steps you need to take care of if you want to remain on the waitlist. Some schools ask students to contact them to let them know if you are still interested, but some require additional materials.

They may need a recommendation from a teacher or a writing sample, or some other or some other items. If the letter does not outline what information is needed, be sure to check on the admissions website, or contact the admissions office by phone.

2. Get in touch with the schools’ regional representative.

Most colleges have regional representatives in a location near you and if your school requires and in-person interview, this would be the person that would interview you.

Find out who the point person is that is handling your application. If you don’t know who this person is, go on the website or call to find out their contact information. Connecting with this regional representative directly and developing a relationship with this person can show you’re enthusiastic about attending the school and they may even put in a good word for you.

3. Write a letter to the school

Write a letter to the admissions office to explain why you think you would be an asset to the school if accepted. Make sure your letter is heartfelt and be specific on your unique attributes and how that will positively impact the organization. Once you have completed the letter, ask your counselor or teacher to review it, and then send it out as soon as possible so that they can see how determined you are to be accepted.

4. Keep the school updated

If you have academic or financial changes, especially a positive one, you should notify the school. If you recently received recognition for outstanding performance or receive a scholarship or grant, these are important things to share with the school that can help sway their decision in your favor.

5. Keep your grades up

As tempting as it is to slack off as the school year comes to an end, keeping your grades up can be one of the most important factors in the school’s decision making process for accepting students. When they see your final transcript, you want to be sure that they see how dedicated you are to your academics.

In the end, realize that a waitlist letter is no reason to despair. There is still a chance you will be accepted. Realize that if you are not accepted, this may mean that you are not a good fit for the school or the program, and that you will be able to attend a school that may be better suited for you and your interests.

We hope that the tips we have provided on what you can do to increase your ability to move from a ‘waitlist’ to the ‘accepted list’ for the college of your choice have been helpful. Please let us know any things you feel would be helpful in getting through the waitlist process.

Filed Under: College, learning, Lifelong Learning, Preparing for College, stress Tagged With: , , , , ,
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