Meet Scholarship Winner Gerald

Meet Gerald

Gerald’s favorite subjects are math and science. He enjoys the analytical thinking that math and science problems require. Gerald had the opportunity to participate in a physics class on his visit day at Bentley School. He found the course to be very intriguing and is eager to take the class when he starts at Bentley in the fall.

Gerald’s SSAT Preparation

Gerald is part of the A Better Chance cohort, and they recommended that Gerald use Test Innovators to prepare for the Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT). When Gerald took his first full-length practice test on the Test Innovators platform, he realized there was a lot of room for improvement.

As Gerald took practice tests and completed the recommended follow-up exercises, he developed key test-taking strategies and gained confidence in his abilities. He also became familiar with the format of the test and learned what to expect on test day. Gerald’s preparation strategy was to focus on studying the hard questions. He felt that if he was able to gain the skills and the confidence necessary to answer the hard questions, he would be able to handle any of the other questions.

Gerald credits his improvement and success to his mom, who pushed him to reach his full potential. Initially, he didn’t care much about doing well on the SSAT, but his mom helped him understand how important it was for his future.

When Gerald first took the SSAT, he scored in the 4th percentile, but after months of intensive test preparation, he raised his scores to the 71st percentile. His hard work and dedication is why he is one of our 2018-2019 Independent School Tuition Scholarship winners.

Gerald’s Next School

This fall, Gerald started 9th grade at Bentley School. Bentley is an independent day school located in Oakland, California that serves students in grades K-12. Founded in 1920, Bentley fosters an environment that challenges the mind and strives to bring out the best in every one of its students. Bentley is committed to academic excellence, as well as the development of character and spirit in each of its students.

Gerald ultimately chose to go to Bentley because of its welcoming atmosphere. During his visit, Gerald felt a strong sense of community and support from the students and teachers. Gerald is looking forward to Bentley’s prestigious academic curriculum, as well as its excellent extracurricular activities.

Gerald’s Advice for Other Students

Gerald’s advice for other students preparing to take the SSAT is to realize the importance of the process and to take advantage of test prep resources. He cautions that if you procrastinate and don’t put in the hard work, you won’t get the results you want. However, Gerald also assures other test takers that eventually all the studying pays off, and you get where you want to be.

How Can Test Innovators Help Your Student?

Test Innovators is here to build test confidence through personalized practice. The system dynamically adapts using insights from over 20,00,000 questions answered on the Test Innovators platform to help each individual student focus on the most impactful practice. Timing analysis helps students learn effective time management, personalized recommendations target areas of weakness, and tools to build test-taking skills all ensure that students have the skills and confidence they need to be successful on test day. Test Innovators helps students achieve their goals by helping them get the scores they need to gain admission to their dream schools.

Test Innovators has helped over 100,000 students improve their test scores to gain acceptance into schools with selective admissions processes. They offer prep for the Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT), the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE), the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and the ACT. They also offer tutoring for all four tests.