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About the product/service: As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received College Prep Genius. This is a program that helps high school (and even middle school) students study for the PSAT and SAT. The creator of this program believes that if a student works through it diligently, he or she can earn a full ride scholarship to the university of his or her choice. Not too shabby, eh?
College Prep Genius was developed by a regular homeschooling mom named Jean who simply wanted to help her kids earn scholarships for college. She studied the SAT and found out that it is not a test of knowledge, but a test that determines a student's ability to think logically. She also noticed several recurring patterns and other things which made it simple to "crack the code" to getting a great score. It must have worked, because both of her children were inundated with scholarship offers. (Yeah, like her son got seven trash bags full of offers. I would say inundated is an understatement!)
Now, I think this is one review where I am going to cheat just a little. Normally I describe the product in my own words, but they have such a nice section on the website showing thier products, I thought, Why reinvent the wheel?
So here it is:
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DVD set |
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College Prep Genius textbook The textbook that started it all! A revolutionary approach to preparing for standardized exams, College Prep Genius teaches the best ways for students to get ready for college and more importantly the SAT. CPG is the foundational curriculum to the "Master the SAT Class" and includes a checklist for finding college scholarships. |
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Class workbook The perfect complement to the College Prep Genius textbook, this essential set of practice SAT and PSAT problems seamlessly correlates with the strategies and tips of the CPG curriculum. The CPG Workbook is full of hundreds of original problems and covers every type of question found on standardized exams. |
I suppose I will tell you just a little. The DVD is more or less a slide show with audio. There are four disks. One is an overview and the other three cover the math, reading, and writing sections of the SAT. The textbook more or less gives the same information that's on the DVDs, and the workbook provides sample questions for your child to work on.
The program uses a lot of aconyms to help you memorize the many tips and tricks Jean has found that will give you that elusive score. There are also some great ideas for writing a winning essay. Add to that tips on applying for scholarships and you've got a nice little package to help make SAT prep pay off. Literally.
What are the pros of this product? Well, obviously it will pay for itself over and over if your child really works through it and gets a scholarship. This isn't something you go through once, though. Don't expect to buy it the week before the test and then wait for Harvard to come knocking on your door. It should be used months, or even years, before the test is taken.
You can tell a lot of effort was put into the program. It really does a great job of covering just about every aspect of the SAT. Lots of good tips are included in this program, and if you don't agree, send it back before 30 days for your money back.
What's not to like? Some kids might totally freak out at all the acronyms involved. I admit, I always used things like acronyms when I took tests in school, and even I thought it looked intimidating. My suggestion is to have your child take a practice test first and then see where his or her weak spots are. Then have him or her start using the program in that area first, only memorizing the most important acronyms. After acheiving success there, your child will be more motivated to learn the other acronyms. Even if you totally disregard the whole acronym thing, there is enough other infomation in the program to make it worthwhile. At least in my humble opinion!
The Crazy Mom take: I just graduated my first earlier this year. We have been there and done that with the ACT. It's a different test, but much of the information from College Preg Genius applies. First Born took it three times and scored higher each time. In the end he got a pretty good score (actually, even his first score was good) and we both learned a lot about test taking. I now have a whole lot more knowledge to pass on to my next son, Renaissance Man, who will be taking the test this school year. While I already think I have a pretty good handle on it, I decided to let Ren check it out.
Since Ren is taking college courses, his time is limited so I only had him review the math and writing sections of the program. He already scores very high in the reading section, so I figured that was the best use of his time. I had him take a diagnotic test for the PSAT first and then had him use the math section of the program. He did seem to show some improvement in the section right away. He's also gone through the writing section, though he hasn't had the chance to retest it. I'll find out more after he actually takes the PSAT in a few weeks. By then he'll have had a little more time to work through it. I sure wish we'd have reviewed this last year!
What really will help us are the tips for the writing section. Thankfully, there is no writing section on the PSAT, so we don't have to worry about that until March when he takes the SAT. This will give us plenty of time to help Ren gear up for the big essay. It really is a very difficult task to write a concise, intelligent, well organized essay in a twenty minute time frame, even for good writers. While Firstborn got an A+ in English 101 in college, he had a really hard time writing the essay the first two times around. We finally spend a TON of time trying to figure out what they were really looking for and had him practice, practice, practice.
The third time was the charm, and First Born scored quite well. When I checked out the essay helps section of College Prep Genius I found that Jean had made the same discoveries we had, and plus few more. Now I am confident that with what we have learned, together with the tips gleaned from college Prep Genius, we can help Ren earn a smokin' hot essay score. (Not sure where that came from! LOL)
So my take is that it is a very good program, though having been through it we have already figured out a lot of the tips she gives. Still, there were a lot of things, especially in the math section, that made me think to myself, Duh, why didn't I notice that? I'm sure Ren will score better having gone through it.
So, if you have a college bound kid who is willing to do the work, I'd say check out College Prep Genius for yourself. It could really pay off!
What's the bottom line? Introductory Price $79 (30% off) Limited time only.
I am going to give out of 4 out 5 smileys!!! 
Check it out! http://www.collegeprepgenius.com/
See what my fellow TOS Crew members have to say @
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/721345/
*The Smiley System:
I can't really recommend this product.
I doubt this product would be helpful to many people.
This is a good product, but isn't right for everyone.
Most homeschool moms will find this useful.
This is great, and I would recommend it to anyone!!!
Disclaimer!!! I reviewed this product because I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I was given the product by the vendor to use and evaluate in my home so that I might share my insights with others. Other than receiving the product, which I kinda have to to be able to assess the product, I am not compensated for my reviews in any way. I am in no way obligated to give a positive review. I do try to point out negatives when I see them, though I am admittedly a pretty easy going gal! What you read are my honest assessments of the products I receive.
As with all products, you must do the research before buying. Please visit the the other crew members' blogs, the vendor websites, and any other review sites you might find before buying. I can't guarantee that a product will work for you. You must decide what will fit with your teaching style, and your child(ren)'s learning style(s). I do not judge anything other than the educational value of the products I review. I am not qualified to make judgements as to the safely of any product, and I make no guarantee that the products I review are safe for you, your family, or anyone else. I am simply giving my opinion, only you know what is best for you and your family.
Don't use your blow dryer while you sleep or take a bath. Don't read my reviews in the tub either, and please do not read them when you are asleep, though I do not guarantee that you won't fall asleep reading them!
Copyright 2009 Ramblings from the Crazy House
