Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down for coffee with Tom Lacy, a tutor for The Princeton Review in Westport, to talk about how he helps students in our town and surrounding areas do better on their tests as well as with their schoolwork.
Lacy has been leading classes and tutoring for The Princeton Review since 2005, when he was downsized from a programming job at IBM. Rather than look at his layoff as a loss, he intuitively understood he was being redirected into teaching---a career he had always wanted to pursue. So he took a part-time job with The Princeton Review counseling students on preparation and success strategies for the SAT, LSAT, and GMAT, while simultaneously going back to school to get his teaching certificate. Lacy now serves as an adjunct professor at both Sacred Heart University and Housatonic Community College, while continuing his work with The Princeton Review. Lacy said he appreciates the flexible schedule and time with family that his mix of teaching and tutoring responsibilities affords.
Most people---including me until I met Lacy---tend to think of The Princeton Review as the test prep people for high school, college, and graduate students, but they also provide individualized academic tutoring for local students in a variety of subjects to help them master difficult concepts, keep up with their work, and get their desired grades, in addition to the better-known group courses to prepare for their entrance exams. The Princeton Review's unique approach to one-on-one tutoring takes into account each student's particular academic and personal needs. Lacy said when he first meets with a student, he finds out "how that student works, whether the current approach produces results or not," and then suggests and teaches a different approach if necessary. He also appreciates the way The Princeton Review makes every effort to find the best personal fit between student and tutor, looking at strengths, weaknesses, common interests, and each student's personality as well as his or her academic challenges.He mentioned that one thing students worry about a lot is running out of time on their tests. Ironically, after evaluating their performance on practice exams, he sometimes advises them to slow down, as rushing can cause students to answer questions incorrectly.
I also asked him what he considered his most enjoyable moments or greatest successes. He replied, "It's when a student comes back later and says, 'Thank you. The techniques you showed me really helped, and I did a lot better on my test.' It's when they say, 'I did what you told me, and it worked!'"
Since my last experience with the SAT was in 1982, I asked Tom what the biggest changes have been in the standard college entrance exam. This, he said, has been the addition of the writing component, so that tests are now scored on math, reading, and writing, as opposed to the old dual scales of math and verbal. Preparing to perform successfully on the writing portion of the test is key, and it's one reason services such as The Princeton Review's one-on-one tutoring prove popular among students competing to get accepted at the best schools.
My sons aren't old enough to need Tom Lacy or The Princeton Review just yet. But my 11-year-old was seven not that long ago, and I know I'll turn around one day and find he's turning 17. Based on what I learned from my conversation, I would certainly sign my son up for one of The Princeton Review's test prep courses and also strongly consider individualized tutoring to give him the best chance of success.
The Princeton Review is located at 1246 Post Road East in Westport. For information on their course offerings and individualized tutoring programs, call 888 759 7737 or visit www.princetonreview.com.