One of the most common mistakes that students make on the SSAT and ISEE is not reading the directions and questions carefully. While the sentence instructions may seem self-explanatory, they actually provide important information about how to approach the questions in that section. At the beginning of every section of the SSAT or ISEE, make sure that you read the section instructions carefully; nothing hurts more than missing a question because you haven’t read the instructions!
You should also be careful to read each individual question very carefully. Because the ISEE and SSAT are timed, it’s easy to rush through reading the questions, jumping right into solving them. However, students who read the questions too quickly often misread important information, miss part of the question, or misinterpret what the question is asking. On the SSAT and ISEE, every word counts!
Rather than rushing through the question, practice reading each question twice. The first time you read the question, ask yourself, “What is this question asking me?” The second time you read it, underline the important information to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
In our School of the Week series, we’ll be profiling some of the schools that use the ISEE as part of their admissions package. We hope to demonstrate the enormous diversity of competitive schools in the US, Canada, and abroad.
As part of our mission to help students gain access to quality educational opportunities, we award six merit-based scholarships every year to the Test Innovators students who showed the most improvement on either the SSAT or the ISEE.
Whether your test date is months away or next week, you may be wondering how to create a study plan that helps you maximize your time and achieve success on test day. Regardless of where you are in the preparation process, we’ve got you covered with a strategic roadmap that...
The school application process is tough: the applications, the deadlines, the interviews, and the lengthy exams can easily cause elevated levels of stress for both students and their parents. It's common (and completely normal) for students to feel anxious; however, we have provided some helpful tips for parents to keep...
It’s a simple fact - not everyone can afford to pay full-price tuition for private schools. However, that doesn’t mean that a high quality education is impossible to attain. Before you give up on a competitive school for your child, consider these tuition tips:
The Mathematics Achievement (MA) section of the ISEE Test is intended to reflect curriculum related questions, in contrast to the Quantitative Reasoning section which is intended to measure students’ reasoning abilities.
We get a lot of questions about the essay section of the ISEE. In truth, the essay is a bit of an enigma. First off, it is not graded, but instead is sent to the schools to which your student is applying. For that reason, the criteria for a good...
We are excited to introduce Sonia, one of our 2022 scholars. Through consistent practice and perseverance, Sonia increased her SSAT score by 17 points, scoring in the 87th percentile overall!
We are often asked about the differences between the ISEE and SSAT. We’ve put together a definitive guide to help families decide which test to take if they are given the option.
