CHARLOTTE SAT PREP & EDUCATIONAL COUNSELING

HitchHiker's Guide To College

Customized Tutoring for SAT-PSAT-ACT-Subject SAT
College Counseling, Application and Financial Advising Packages

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Who are we?

HitchHiker's Guide to College is a boutique style test preparation and educational counseling service that was founded as a result of years of teaching and counseling at the University level since 1997. Many years of our on-the-job experience with learning theories and techniques, along with the resulting well-honed ability to comprehend student psychometry, has culminated in the operationalization of this service. Our goals are (i) to provide a customized tutoring service as an alternative to existing mass-scale preparation for SAT, PSAT, ACT and other graduate, undergraduate and secondary school entrance examinations and (ii) to provide customizable and comprehensive education counseling services, including college guidance and college admission/scholarship application preparation, to students and parents.

Our clinical experience in SAT/PSAT/ACT instruction has resulted in a unique systematic learning theory that pivots on the fundamental concept of aligning student thought processes with those of the test setters; the vast and unpredictable syllabi of these examinations preclude the application of standard techniques used in high schools. Besides building up the knowledge base required to succeed in these tests, our streamlined instructions are also aimed at imparting critical skills to the students in the areas of time micro-management, conscious self-monitoring of carelessness, and deconstruction of the tests. We take tremendous pride in our customized courses tailored for individual student needs, in our personalized care for and monitoring of each and every student and his/her progress, and justifiably, in what they say in their testimonials after they complete our courses.

We bring many years of experience in University admission process to our SAT, PSAT and ACT preparation and educational counseling services. Our committment to a student does not end once the course is completed, but we work with the student during the entire process of college application, providing him or her with invaluable guidance, analysis, and tips to ensure optimized success. SAT, PSAT and ACT are tests for the college, of the college, and by the college, and we believe that we know how to guide students to the college.

Our Programs

Group Foundation
	Ours 18H		Kaplan	Ours 30H	Princeton Review
Cost	$499		$499	$799	$999
Instruction Hours	18		18	30	30
Test Hours	12		12	20	16
Total Hours	30		30	50	46
Exams	4		4	5	4
Our Semi-Private Premier (Max Students = 6)
Cost	$1250		64 Hours	40 (Instruction) + 24 (Testing)
Private Booster
		Ours		Kaplan	Princeton Review
Cost		$1600 16 hrs +$100 /hour		$2799 20 hrs +$160 /hour	$2760 24 hrs +$160 /hour

Outstanding Results

310	Average points improvement of our students (between first and last test taken)
5.4	Average ACT score improvement of our students
>95	Percent of our students attending a top 20 college in the last 2 years
>97	Percent of our students who recommended us to others in the last 2 years

Reasons why you should take test preparation seriously

SAT scores are REQUIRED for college admissions

NCSSM (North Carolina School of Science and Math) REQUIRES SAT scores

NC overall SAT score improves
- Limited number of college seats, as state and private schools go "exclusive".
- Scholarships are even more limited with decreasing educational funding and budgets.
NC average scores: Critical Reading 495, Math 513, Writing 485
- Total SAT average score 1493.
- This score is way below requirements of colleges such as Chapel Hill, Duke, NC State, East Carolina, Emory, Gerogia Tech, Penn State, U.Penn, Virginia Tech, and the like.

SAT/ACT scores are the most important factors in determining college admissions and scholarships, even for athletes
PSAT scores determine NMSQT scholarships in college
The material for SAT/PSAT/ACT is covered over a long period of time in schools
- What you learn in the freshman year or earlier will not be in your memory in the senior year.
- What you are yet to learn in your junior and senior years, are still considered SAT/ACT material - you will be under-prepared.
- You will need to smartly manage the vast test syllabus.
- The content of SAT/PSAT/ACT is always changing - be on top of it.
- You will need to have enough practice before the test.