Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Fran Walfish is a top leading child and family psychotherapist located in Beverly Hills, California. She was a clinical staff member at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for 15 years and served a 4-year term as Chair of the Board of The Early Childhood Parenting Center founded in Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles. Dr. Walfish runs her own private practice where she counsels and consults young children and their families through many events including private school admissions processes. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, C... Read More About Ask a Private School Admissions Expert: Dr. Fran Walfish

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Emily Glickman is the founder and president of Abacus Guide Educational Consulting, a leading private school consulting service in New York. She currently serves as an alumni admissions interviewer for Columbia University and is a vastly well-known expert on private school admissions. Emily has also been featured in several prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. VT: What is the typical timeline for private school admissions? Emily: Families should start to think about private school admissions ab... Read More About Ask a Private School Admissions Expert: Emily Glickman

The following piece was written by Wendy Williams. Wendy is the founder of Williams Educational Consultants and is a national expert on the SSAT. If you are looking at placing your student into a private school, then you will need to have your child take The Secondary School Admission Test, or the SSAT. Many private schools require this exam as part of their application process. Although this test is an important ingredient in an applicant’s file, it is not the only thing that the admissions office looks at in evaluating applicants. However, it is important that families understand what the SSAT is testing as well as options on testing ... Read More About How to Prepare for the SSAT

The SSAT (Secondary School Admissions Test) is one of two admissions tests for private / independent schools. The other is the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam), but they are not exactly interchangeable. Some private schools favor the SSAT, while others favor the ISEE. All schools will publish their preference online. The SSAT is the first major test your child will be taking. There can be pressure; there can be stress and even anxiety. First, you need to know what you and your child are up against. And Varsity Tutors is here to help. See more from us on how to improve your SSAT score and comparing the ISEE and the SSAT. Or see our enti... Read More About What To Know About The Updated SSAT

At first glance, the SSAT Math Section (also known as the quantitative section) may seem like a bunch of simple computations, but it’s much more difficult than that. The clock is constantly, constantly ticking and the questions are written to confuse you. But, if you have the right SSAT prep strategy and the right SSAT tutor to guide you through the test, you’ll improve your SSAT Math Scores dramatically. SSAT Math Practice tests/SSAT Tutor: Taking practice tests and reviewing them with your SSAT tutor is best way to improve your score. Practice tests alone can only help you so much, as they just show you where you struggle and g... Read More About How To Improve Your SSAT Math Score

The SSAT along with the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) are used for admissions into private/independent schools. Some schools favor the ISEE, others favor the SSAT and some will look at whichever you scored best on. See more from Varsity Tutors on how to improve ISEE scores. Don’t add pressure: The tests can cause tons of pressure and anxiety for younger students, especially when parents pile it on. That’s why having the right mindset is just as important as the best SSAT prep. Avoid telling your child “you need to do well,” “you must do well,” or “if you don’t do well…” ... Read More About How To Improve SSAT Scores

Which is better: the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) or the Secondary School Aptitude Test (SSAT)? Well, both are used for entrance into private/independent schools, but they’re not exactly interchangeable. Some independent schools will accept only the ISEE, others only the SSAT, and some will consider whichever test you scored higher on. But, before you spend tons of hours prepping for one test, make sure the school(s) you’re interested in accept it. Test levels: First of all, the ISEE has three levels: lower for students currently in grades 4-5, middle for grades 6-7 and upper for grades 8-11. The SSAT only has two leve... Read More About Comparing The ISEE And The SSAT