Our Approach To Tuition
USApplicants provide support across the three core areas of US university admissions: SAT I & II / ACT Tuition, College Advice, and Application Mentoring. We specialise in guiding students though the whole process, but are always flexible to specific needs.
When to call us
Some of our clients call looking for last minute advice, while others establish contact with us two or three years before their child is ready to begin the application process. We are flexible to all situations and needs.
We recommend based on our experience that the optimal time to establish first contact with us is the summer before GCSE exams (age 15/16), with the aim of starting a programme in earnest during A-levels.
What you can expect from us
- Initial conversation
- Face to face assessment and tutor assignment
- Early mock SAT I exam (optional but recommended)
- Plan of action
- Implementing the plan; regular feedback
1) Initial conversation
This is usually done over the phone with our Head Tutor Alice Shyy. Our goal is to establish the lay of the land. We like to find out as much as possible about the student and his/her circumstances so as to more accurately develop a personalized programme.
Some of the questions we might pose include:
· What are the specific goals of the student and his/her family?
· When are they planning to apply?
· Why the US?
This is also your opportunity to ask any questions you have about how our service works. There is then a one-off registration fee of £90 to sign up to our service.
2) Face to face assessment and selection of tutor
Once you are signed up, we will then arrange a face-to face meeting at our offices, to meet the student and any other family members who wish to participate. After we have got to know the student (temperament, learning style, strengths, weaknesses, unique circumstances and talents, etc.) we can then select the most appropriate tutor and mentor for the process.
3) Early mock exam (optional but recommended)
Preparation for the SAT I and II tests is often the first step in the process of applying to US universities, and almost all students come to us looking for help in this regard.
We highly recommend that all our students sit a mock SAT I test within the first month or so of signing up with us. Sitting an early test under official exam-like conditions has proven an incredibly useful tool, both for us and for our students, as it allows us to identify areas of strength and weakness, and to set goals and measure future improvements.
We appreciate that with the many pressures of school work or family commitments--it is sometimes hard to carve out the four hours needed to sit a full test uninterrupted! To address this need, we offer a proctoring service as follows:
A USApplicants tutor supervises the student (either at the student’s home or in a quiet location such as a library) as they sit an official mock SAT I practice test, fully emulating test day conditions*. The tutor then analyses the manuscript in detail; sending a breakdown of the student’s performance, section by section, within 48 hours.
*Alternatively, we can email an official SAT I practice test to the student to do in his/her own time. Once we receive the transcript, an experienced USApplicants tutor will score and analyse the test in the same way and a detailed breakdown will be provided.
4) Plan of Action
It is of paramount importance to us that our students and their families feel secure and at ease. As part of our full service, after the initial assessment and mock test, we provide a plan of action for the entire process. Although flexible depending on the student’s progress, this timeline ensures that no deadlines will be missed, and that all elements of the application are given the proper time and attention.
The student’s full-service plan will include at minimum:
- SAT tuition programme (hours and dates)
- SAT test dates and sign-up deadline reminders
- Researching and finalising college choices
- Visits to universities if possible
- Application essay development
- General application organisation (deadlines, transcripts, letters of recommendation, sending SAT scores, etc.)
- Completion and submission of applications
5) Implementing the plan, and regular feedback
Our tutors give a full monthly progress report, which will be passed to you. On top of that, we maintain a close involvement with the assignment from our Headquarters. We make efforts to contact you usually every 2-3 weeks to ensure that tutors are fully satisfactory and that tuition is progressing in line with the goals defined at the outset.