CBEST test prep - California Basic Educational Skills Test Updated: 2024

For HNW and UHNW families, investments are an essential part of long-term plans for the future. But these investments are not just confined to capital. Indeed, many would agree that investing in a child’s schooling is the greatest investment of all. But does a private tutor have a role to play in this elite education landscape?

In the same way wealth managers handle the financial affairs of UHNW clients, there are a number of specialists available to help with admissions, tutoring, test preparation, consultancy and other student support services.

As the private tutoring market is growing – and is expected to keep increasing at least until 2030, according to a Polaris report – finding a suitable tutor has become a challenge. Moreover, elite schools have seen their fees increase and their admission policies change, significantly transforming the educational and admissions processes – another challenge that specialists can offer help with.

[See also: The top education and tutoring specialists for high-net-worth individuals]

Spear’s index of the best education specialists for HNW and UHNW families provides details on selected private tutors’ areas of expertise, from admission test preparation to maths tutoring and confidence coaching, offering the possibility to choose the most appropriate tutor for each family’s specific needs.

For Grace Moody-Stuart, the director of the Good Schools Guide, ‘tutor companies will work to meet the brief of the parents.’ She adds: ‘[It] could be anything from stretching a bright child, homeschooling, filling in any gaps that they might have despite being taught well in a good school, prepping for a particular exam, [including] retakes of A-levels or the 11+.’

But while parents will often do anything to ensure their children’s academic success, Spear’s has looked into when – and how – is the investment truly worth it.

Private tutoring for specific exams

While tutors can offer general support to help pupils with everyday school issues and homework, they are often engaged to help with the preparation of specific exams and admission tests.

GCSE, A-Level and IB tutors

When it comes to test preparation, tutors work towards a clear end goal. Study is usually based on a syllabus, past papers, and specific subjects.

For Lucy Cawkwell, founder and managing director of Osborne Cawkwell Educational Consultants, GCSEs and A-Levels are formulaic, enabling tutors to have a clear idea of what to expect and how to prepare pupils for it. She says: ‘Students are taught according to detailed syllabi so [..] it’s about working steadily through the different areas, learning the content and understanding the types of questions they will be asked.’

For these types of exams, private tuition can help pupils to determine which subjects they need to work on the most and provide them an effective approach to do so. Cawkwell says: ‘For A-Levels, with only three to five subjects being studied, as opposed to the eight-12 done at the GCSE, students go into greater depth in each topic. There are perhaps more complex concepts to absorb and longer test papers to tackle.’

Common Entrance test and admission tests

Regarding school entrance exams, tuition work can help prepare children for the best attitude to adopt rather than focusing only on the content of exams. Cawkwell continues: ‘School entrance tests are often looking to push a student and will often present questions that a student hasn’t faced before to see how he or she copes under pressure.’

[See also: How to get your child into private school in the UK: the expert guide]

In fact, while the content of admission tests is curriculum-based, ‘the questions will look to extend and stretch a student,’ Cawkwell says. Tuition will therefore focus on test techniques such as focus and discipline to sit for 30 minutes and answer questions. 

Cawkwell’s advice is to start private tuition around 18 months before the test for school entrance exams at 7+, 8+, 11+, 13+, and around 6 months before the 16+ exam.

Mentoring

With the growing consideration and awareness of mental health, pupils’ academic experience is also viewed and valued through the angle of how they face it personally. Moreover, elite schools today value academic attitude in addition to excellence, making it all the more important for pupils to be assisted – both academically and personally.

For Cawkwell, ‘a tutor is really a mentor in an academic environment.’ She says: ‘They can straddle the gap between parents/teachers and a friend. A tutor is a mentor, increasing motivation and engagement, bringing up confidence and working on a growth mindset.’

Cawkwell explains that a mentorship approach to tutoring directly benefits academic performance as ‘if a child is struggling, there are often many other factors […] such as a learning difference, poor study skills, lack of motivation, lack of confidence…’. She adds: ‘The correct approach to learning is more important than what is actually being learnt.’

The opportunity for a mentorship makes the choice of a suitable tutor all the more consequential. ‘It’s important to get the right fit, someone who can stimulate and encourage rather than switch off further,’ says Moody-Stuart.

The drawbacks of private tutoring

Finding a private tutor that is appropriate for a pupil’s needs allows them to avoid experiencing any of the disadvantages it can bring. 

[See also: Should you send your child to an elite boarding school?]

‘It’s important to get the balance right,’ says Moody-Stuart. ‘Too much tutoring on top of school work can lead to burnout and further falling of standards.’ For this reason, intense pressure and a lack of free time can often be observed in pupils who are overly pushed by a tutor.

‘Getting the right character match is also critical,’ Moody-Stuart explains. She adds: ‘Students need to look forward to the tutor session and not dread it. Too much online tutoring and not enough personal contact can also be problematic, particularly with younger children.’

Is private tutoring worth the money?

With private tutoring soaring and academic competition rising between pupils, the decision of whether to engage the services of a tutor is more complex than ever. There are numerous factors to consider, including making sure a tutor has the correct qualifications and checking whether they are employed by a reputable company. Parents should also ask for key information on the tutor’s student turnover and how much supervision the child will be given. 

For Cawkwell, who has over 30 years of tutoring experience, the qualities possessed by leading tutors include ‘academic knowledge’, ‘awareness of the syllabus and what students need to do to get top marks’, ‘teaching ability’ and ‘skill in creating relationships of mutual trust with students’. 

[See also: Are elite boarding schools still a good return on your investment?]

However, Moody-Stuart says it is ‘impossible to tell’ whether private tutoring in general is worth the money. ‘Some tutoring companies will be excellent but relatively inexpensive, others will be very pricey but not necessarily brilliant,’ she says.

Just like most educational matters, private tutoring has to be considered on a case-to-case basis, with in mind the best options for a child’s academic and personal development. Spear’s Education Index considers the most significant factors to make an informed decision.

“It has been a LONG year. A really long year, just escalating as we went along.” This text from a friend who leads admission at a well-known university is just one of the many messages I have received recently from exhausted college admission professionals and high school counselors. 2023 has indeed been a long and complicated year and 2024 promises to be equally as challenging as we attempt to put the pieces back together.

In the spirit of “Spotify Wrapped,” my last piece provided a synopsis of the past 12 months in college admission. As I wrapped up the positive changes and innovations in this space, I was also reminded of the aspects of admission that are warped. While below I offer a year-end overview of what plagues the profession, I also want to emphasize that despite the many challenges facing access and equity in college admission, I remain hopeful because of the dedicated educators who want better.

SCOTUS And Race-Conscious Admission

No review of the year in admission is complete without highlighting the most significant news story in this space. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to restrict race-conscious admission hit the profession like a blow to the gut.

The depth of the impact of this decision will not be entirely clear until this spring and beyond when we start to have a more comprehensive picture of enrollment numbers and campus diversity, but early indications are not encouraging. We will also need to wait for some time to see if, and how, student behavior and attitudes toward who is welcome in college shift. Meanwhile, institutions are understandably running scared from litigation and this has created an intensified risk-averse environment. It stifles the ability to reimagine admission policy and practice at a time when it is desperately needed.

Legacy Admission

The idea that applicants whose relatives attended an institution might get a leg up in admission also had renewed scrutiny in 2023. The SCOTUS decision brought increased attention to this issue and some colleges and universities responded with public denouncements of their former policies. Others argued that to eschew legacy admission at a time when historically marginalized groups are just beginning to benefit from it is too little too late.

For sure legacy should be examined and schools should make thoughtful policy decisions based on their institutional values. We also need to acknowledge just how small the numbers are, and that some schools never engaged in this practice and therefore don’t need performative announcements. Sometimes debate around legacy admission can become a red herring. We must focus on equity and access writ large as part of a comprehensive review of the intention and impact of all policies and procedures. It is tempting to make one-off gestures that feed the publicity machine without moving the ball in the way needed. I am all for eliminating preference that favors the wealthy and well connected and ideally 2024 will bring meaningful change.

FAFSA

Even as I write, it is uncertain what will happen with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We expect students to adhere to strict deadlines, yet the traditional October availability of these federal forms has come–and long–gone leaving students and their supporters anxious and confused, and colleges and universities powerless.

At a time when we need them the most, many colleges and universities are facing a shortage of financial aid leaders. One can’t blame these professionals for not wanting the job this year. The coming months will require a great deal of patience from everyone involved. The new form is intended to simplify the process and provide more financial support to those who need it most, and all we can do is keep our fingers crossed.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) was easily one of the primary innovations of the year, and, as in most spaces of our society, it has been met in college admission with a mix of excitement and disdain. Deep breaths people. We are right to approach with caution and both protect privacy and ensure human control. We would be foolish, however, to deny the inevitable impact it will have on the way students apply and are assessed for admission.

In the new year, instead of bemoaning the ways AI can be abused, let’s spend our energy on articulating expectations and policies. With thoughtful guardrails and communication about the use of AI, it has the potential to enhance, not detract from, admission. Rather than speculate about how college admission offices might be approaching the use of AI, just ask!

Early Decision

In my opinion, Early Decision (ED) has always been a warped practice that favors the wealthy and contributes to an unhealthy admission process. It encourages the gamification of what should be a developmental experience and is anything but student-centered.

In 2023, ED was once again questioned by researchers and legislators, though the conversation failed to advance very far. Meanwhile, some colleges and universities continued to admit larger percentages of their class through early applications. We are unlikely to see this temper as ED provides financial security and guaranteed “yield” at a time of great uncertainty in admission. James S. Murphy, deputy director of higher education policy at Education Reform Now, offers a more nuanced discussion of this issue and how it might not be as evil as some think. From my perspective as a counselor, however, I believe we need to reset this arms race in selective admission. Though any attempt to do so collaboratively among institutions would surely be met with an antitrust lawsuit, as Murphy suggests, we certainly need more transparency.

Testing

While the shifting role of standardized testing in admission is certainly not unique to 2023, it continued to receive a lot of air time. The digital SAT arrived this year with mixed success and the verdict is still out in many ways. Test-optional policies continue to proliferate and the inequity of access, preparation, and content remains a significant concern that fortunately some colleges appreciate and have responded to. Without an effective alternative for standardized review of applicants, other institutions continue to incorporate tests as one factor, but perhaps not in the draconian ways that some people in front of the “curtain” suspect.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes and tests once again topped the list of admission news in 2023. From controversy around the content, delivery, and political influence (looking at you Florida) on the AP African American Studies course, to the addition of AP Precalculus, the role of the College Board curriculum in admission continues to be fraught. As in years past, assumptions, myths, and realities about the impact of these classes and scores on a student’s candidacy for admission contribute to an unhealthy culture around learning and well-being.

Applicants and their supporters continue to question the role of testing and the legitimacy of optional submission, while debating the approach they should take. I hope that we all keep testing in perspective in the year ahead.

Fear And Loathing In College Admission

2023 brought an increase in what I am going to simply call predatory practices in college admission. Individuals and companies prey on the fear around selective college admission, which is partly fueled by the commercial rankings industry. Social media ads promote webinars promising to unveil the secrets behind “must-have criteria for Ivy League admission” and offer the opportunity to work with “strategists” to gain admission to “top colleges.” The admission industrial complex that seeks to profit from our cultural obsession with elite colleges continues to grow in alarming ways.

This past year especially, the proliferation of pay-to-play research opportunities for high school students was notable. These programs offer the chance to work with researchers and “Ph.D. mentors” from highly selective colleges and promise the ability to be published as a means of boosting admission application credentials. As a high school counselor, I am inundated with daily requests to connect my students with these high-priced boondoggles, as if they are the silver bullet to admission success. Fortunately, my colleagues who work in college admission offices share my disdain for these programs and join me in my eye-rolling at the suggestion that this would move the needle toward an acceptance. I would recommend my college applicants get a job at their local grocery store 100 times over before I ever suggested one of these programs. They are another sad example of how thwarted this experience has become and the rush to make a buck off of fear.

That’s a Wrap

As you review your 2023 Spotify Wrapped list, is it dominated by a small handful of similar artists, perhaps the most mainstream that are played with great frequency in popular culture? Or do you have an eclectic musical medley that includes unique musicians with exceptional talent but less notoriety? In 2023, Harvard and its uber-selective peers remained the Taylor Swifts of colleges. They dominated headlines—and headspace—in ways that warped the narrative around educational opportunity.

My greatest hope for 2024 is that we can collectively start to shift the culture and conversation around what constitutes quality in a college education and have thoughtful dialogue about what investment and engagement really mean. By leaning into these issues, we can combat a warped perspective on success and dial down the noise that prevailed on this list from 2023.

The coming year will be just as long for admission leaders and counselors, but it has the potential to be better. With a collaborative approach and willingness to push back against what doesn’t work while embracing new ideas, we can wrap 2024 in opportunity.

• Admission seekers into Nigerian tertiary institutions will soon sit for the JAMB examination
• Legit.ng reports that JAMB conducts an annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
• Ahead of the exam's registration which has been fixed for Monday, January 15, 2024, an education expert, Adesegun Ogungbayi, spoke to Legit.ng and shared preparation tips

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has 9-year experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide

FCT, Abuja - In November 2023, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced that the registration for its 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), begins on Monday, January 15, 2024, and ends on Friday, February 16, 2024.

Similarly, the board fixed March 7, 2024, for its MOCK-UTME, while the main UTME will be held from April 19 to 29, 2024.

Tips towards preparation for purchase UTME form

In anticipation of the JAMB registration’s start date, the board chairman of MIMS Educational Services, Prince Adesegun Ogungbayi, told Legit.ng that parents and schools who desire success for their wards in the coming examination “have a big role to play”.

The education expert who has mentored a lot of former Jambites exclusively shared some tips with Legit.ng ahead of the sales of the 2024 UTME form.

Ogungbayi said:

“Firstly, the parents and schools must ensure that the children and students have written and passed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination or National Examination Council (NECO) and passed very well or prepare extensively to register based on awaiting results of 2024 WASSCE.

“What matters is before the processing of 2024/2025 admission, your child or student must have passed either WASSCE or NECO very well with distinction.

“Apart from that, all parents and schools that want to register their children and students must ensure their National Identification Number (NIN) is intact for the generation of profile code leading to the purchase of UTME pin when the sale of forms begins.

“Parents and schools must ensure that the children and students have valid and functional email addresses. They must ensure all the students' personal data are 100% correct and in line with NIN records. Things like surname, first name, middle name, and personal phone number already attached to NIN during the registration for NIN — and not another person’s phone number — must be intact.

“State of origin, nationality of the child/student, local government of origin, contact address, exams town, preferred state of the exams, date of birth, gender, choice of university, subject combination before buying UTME form and before registering online must be ascertained.

“If all these information are not ready before registration, the candidate has already failed and may only write the examination for writing sake or may not get registered. And if registered, he or she may not achieve his or her academic goals through that examination.”

"Certificate won't certain jobs": JAMB registrar

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, urged Nigerian students to seek skills in the information world because certificates would no longer certain jobs in the long run.

Speaking at the 11th convocation of the Kwara State University in Malete, the academic advised that Nigerians should continue learning, unlearning, and relearning to survive the information age challenges.

2024 UTME: JAMB Candidates to pay more

Legit.ng also reported that JAMB said the extra money the UTME candidates will be paying was meant for the operators of the CBT centres.

Professor Oloyede said the operators have charged the money to cover the high fuel cost in the country.

DE: JAMB announces verbal reasoning tests

Meanwhile, JAMB said direct entry (DE) candidates will undertake cognitive and verbal reasoning tests from 2024.

Prof. Oloyede disclosed that the test will measure the candidate’s skills and not be the usual subjects test.

Source: Legit.ng

Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic Vision, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.

After nearly a century of using pencil and paper, the SAT will join the age of digital testing by introducing a new online test in March.

But the change is raising concerns within the education community about how low-income students without sufficient home access to computers and the internet will be able to adequately prepare for a crucial test that can decide — or limit — their college choices.

“On a practical level, preparing for the digital SAT test requires consistent access to high-speed internet, accurate mock test items, and a physical environment that mimics optimal testing conditions. All of these are harder to come by for low-income students,” said Irene Shih, chief executive officer of Minds Matter Bay Area, an organization dedicated to increasing the numbers of high-achieving, low-income students at highly selective universities.

The College Board, the non-profit organization that administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test, states that the digital SAT benefits students by shortening the test to two hours instead of three, reducing stress. The new test is also adaptive, tailoring the difficulty level to each student’s performance in previous sections.

However, not all of the College Board’s consumers are pleased with the change.

“College Board should still offer the paper SAT for people who might feel more comfortable taking it on paper than a computer,” said Salean Nguyen, a Yerba Buena High School senior. “If that option is removed, it would feel as though College Board is not considering the circumstances of the students. Students all have different needs.’’

The College Board will offer free online practice exams and allow students to borrow a computer on test day if they do not have one.

“With the transition to digital tests, the College Board is working to address inequities in access to technology,’’ a spokeswoman said.

Historically, the SAT gap between high-income and low-income students has always been wide. Harvard University researchers determined that about 20% of students in the bottom 10th  of household income took the SAT, compared with over 80 percent of students in the 90th percentile.

Low income also widens the digital divide. Less than 60% of households with an annual income below $30,000 have computers and home internet, compared with over 90% of households making at least $100,000, the Pew Research Center reports.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group that advocates for equitable technology access, reports that many low-income households encounter higher prices and lower quality from internet service providers with monopolies on markets.

“This basic disadvantage will cause inequities not only in test preparation for the digital SAT but also in all learning as education becomes more digital’,’ said Chao Jun Liu, an EFF legislative associate.

Digital testing poses another dilemma for students: loss of access to Student Search Services, an opt-in program that shares a student’s personal information from the SAT with potential scholarships and colleges.

According to the College Board research, students who participate in Student Search Services receive 29% more offers of admission to colleges. However, data privacy laws adopted in over 40 states now restrict how the College Board can share information it collects from minors. Most of these laws prohibit the board from sharing student data collected from SAT tests administered at a public school on a school day.

With 67% of students taking the SAT in school, the impact will be acutely felt, especially among low-income students who are less likely to take weekend tests.

“Under the new reality of digital testing, it seems that the inequity of being low income will simply lead to another inequity — not taking the SAT outside of school — which will ultimately end in another inequity — not having access to information or outreach from colleges,” Shih said.

The College Board aims to rectify the drop-off in Student Search Services participation with a similar program called Connections, which will be exclusively accessible through a mobile app. Still, Connections’ success hinges on students’ downloading the app, which requires them to have a smartphone.

Despite concerns, there is a belief that the SAT’s adoption of digital testing was inevitable and a natural progression.

Digital tests intend to limit cheating by varying questions and test versions within a room, said Jon Lee, senior director at Compass Education Group, an academic tutoring company. They also avoid the environmental impact of printing and shipping paper exams.

“The digital format makes preparation with practice exams convenient,” Lee said.

Ella Polak is a junior at Leland High School in San Jose. 

NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review ^®, one of the nation's leading education providers, today shared its annual look back at some of the company's key offerings over the past year and look ahead to some projects in the works for the year ahead.

Millions of people use one or more of The Princeton Review's education resources each year. Students use the company's products and services to score their best on tests; tackle school assignments; Strengthen their grades; research and gain admission to undergraduate, graduate, and medical schools, and maximize their prospects for scholarships and financial aid. Post-graduates use the company's resources to upskill for career advancement as well as prepare for and pass professional licensing exams.

In 2023, The Princeton Review's products and services included:

• Test-prep Courses. Offered for more than 26 tests, the courses are available in various options and formats from live online to self-paced. Some carry the company's Better Score Money Back Guarantee. Among The Princeton Review courses for tests taken by applicants to graduate and medical schools—the GMAT^®, GRE^®, LSAT^®, and MCAT^®—the company's LSAT 165+ and MCAT 515+ courses were the most popular in 2023. Among its courses for tests taken by applicants to colleges—the SAT^®, ACT^®, and AP^® subject tests—The Princeton Review's SAT 1400+ course was the most popular in 2023.

During this transitional year for the SAT, the company provided test-prep programs that supported students in the U.S. preparing for the final administrations of the current SAT as well as programs for international students preparing to take the Digital SAT which debuted in test centers abroad in January. The Digital SAT will debut in the U.S. in March 2024. This year, the company has also been diligently tracking planned (or implemented) revisions on other major tests and updating its resources for students preparing to take them.

Princeton Review courses and resources for professional licensing and certification exams include its USMLE^® Test Pack for MD candidates taking the medical licensing exam, and its suite of resources for the NCLEX-RN^®, the test required for licensing as a Registered Nurse. These include its NCLEX-RN LiveOnline course, NCLEX Self-Paced course, and NCLEX-RN QBank . In 2023, the company updated its NCLEX-RN products to align them with the NGN (Next Generation NCLEX) revision of the text which debuted in April.

The company also has test prep courses for the Level I, Level II, and Level III CFA^® (Chartered Financial Analyst^®) exams. In 2023, the company updated its course materials for these exams to align them with revisions that will be in the 2024 administrations of the tests. This year, Princeton Review also added free practice exams for the Level I CFA test to its CFA test prep resources.

In March, a marketing partnership with Surgent Accounting & Financial Education enabled The Princeton Review to offer its customers exclusive discounts on Surgent's test review products for the CPA^® (Certified Public Accountant), CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant), and CISA^® (Certified Information Systems Auditor) exams.

• Tutoring online and on demand 24/7 in 80+ subjects via The Princeton Review's hubs, The Academy and Homework Help. At The Academy, tutors help students in grades 6–12 earn higher grades in their school subjects and prepare for tests. In 2023, the top two subjects for which the company's tutors provided academic help were Algebra and Pre-Calculus. At the Homework Help hub, tutors help students tackle school assignments. In 2023, the top two subjects for which the tutors provided homework help were Algebra II and Calculus.

• Admissions Counseling for college and medical school applicants. Some of the "dream" schools to which students working with Princeton Review college admission counselors gained admission in 2023 are Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, and Stanford. Overall, students were accepted at 205 unique institutions and awarded more than $8M in financial aid. Applicants to medical schools who worked with the company's admissions counselors this year gained admission to the top 20 medical schools in the U.S. as well as top medical schools outside of the U.S. including the University of Cambridge, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Toronto.

• Books. The Princeton Review's line of 150+ books, distributed by Penguin Random House, includes test-prep guides, college guides, and study aids. In 2023, the company published the 38th annual edition of its first-ever test-prep book, its guide to the SAT, and the 35th annual edition of its guide to the ACT. The Princeton Review has also published regularly updated guides to the GMAT, GRE, LSAT and MCAT for decades. In 2023, several of the company's guides to AP subject tests were designated as bestsellers by Amazon.com in its AP Subject Test Guides category. In recent weeks, four of the five bestselling AP test guides in this category have been Princeton Review books, including the #1 bestseller which is The Princeton Review Premium Prep Guide to the AP U.S. History test. The company's guide to the Digital SAT has been the #1 bestseller in the Amazon.com College Entrance Test Guides category. Other Princeton Review books published in 2023 include: GMAT & GRE Math Made Easy, SAT Level Up! Math, SAT Level Up! Verbal, Essays That Kicked Apps, The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences (16th Edition), and the 32nd annual edition of the company's flagship college guide, The Best 389 Colleges.

• AI Tools. This year, The Princeton Review debuted its first generative AI-based tools: AI College Admissions Essay Counseling and AI Homework Essay Feedback. Students using these innovative resources can upload essays they have written and within seconds receive feedback, evaluation, and recommendations of ways to make their essays even better. Designed with input from The Princeton Review's college admission and tutoring experts, the tools provide feedback on clarity, coherence, conciseness, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more. (Note: These products do not write the student's essays.) On December 14, these two tools were named 2023 New Product of the Year award winners by Campus Technology and THE Journal, two of the leading edtech publications.

In 2023, The Princeton Review also:

• Reported school rankings in dozens of categories, including its:

Best Business Schools and Best Law Schools (January)
Top Undergrad and Grad Schools to Study Game Design (March)
Best Value Colleges (April)
Best Colleges (August)
Top Green Colleges (October)
Top Undergrad and Grad Schools to Study Entrepreneurship (November)

• Conducted national education surveys, including its:

College Hopes & Worries 2023 Survey. This survey, which The Princeton Review has annually conducted since 2003, polled 12,225 college applicants and their parents in February on their application perspectives, need for financial aid, levels of stress about college admission, "dream" college (the school they wished they (or their child) could attend if acceptance was a given and cost not a concern), and other topics. Among the findings reported in March: the #1 "dream" college among students surveyed was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while Princeton was #1 among surveyed parents; 82% of respondents overall said financial aid would be "very necessary" to pay for college.

College Administrator Summer 2023 Survey. Now in its 4th year, this Princeton Review survey polled administrators at 229 colleges in July on their enrollment forecasts, test optional policies, and views on the Digital SAT, AI, the recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, and more. Among the findings: the majority (89%) of administrators surveyed reported their colleges were test optional while 10% reported their schools were test blind, and 1% said their schools required test scores. College-level coursework on applicant transcripts is gaining importance in admission decisions. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of respondents to the 2023 survey deemed AP, IB, or dual enrollment coursework "important" on an applicant's transcript—a 7% increase over respondents so indicating in 2022.

In 2023, The Princeton Review also surveyed administrators at 2,000+ higher education institutions about their school offerings, policies, applicant requirements, and more. The company also surveyed students at hundreds of colleges and graduate schools about their campus experiences at their schools and ratings of them. Data collected from these surveys informs The Princeton Review's school rankings and its school profiles on PrincetonReview.com and in the company's annual Best Colleges guide.

• Provided free resources for students, parents, teachers, counselors and working professionals:

From college night talks to test strategy sessions to career-related webinars, The Princeton Review hosted thousands of free events in 2023. The company's education experts also wrote and recorded dozens of videos that were uploaded to The Princeton Review's YouTube channel which now comprises 575 videos. These lively videos present company experts sharing updates on changes in standardized tests, tips for taking and scoring well on exams, strategies for gaining school admission, and short features about colleges. In 2023, the video most viewed on The Princeton Review YouTube channel was: "The New Digital SAT: Everything You Need to Know."

• Was widely referenced in media programs, articles, and newscasts:

Each year, many national, regional, and local members of the media reach out to The Princeton Review for information, comment, and interviews about education issues. In 2023, Rob Franek, editor in chief of The Princeton Review, appeared on several national broadcasts including an August 18segment on NBC TODAY that was his 30th appearance on the show. It featured his advice for college applicants, report on the company's annual Best Colleges rankings, and comments on education issues in the news. Other national media interviewing Rob or fellow Princeton Review author/experts in 2023 included: CNBC; Yahoo Finance Live!, The Chronicle of Higher Education; and Teen Kids News. Media also reported on the company's rankings of hundreds of institutions that publicized their Princeton Review rankings in their news releases, websites, and social media channels in 2023. Many schools are citing them anew in their end-of-year retrospectives of their school distinctions.

Projects The Princeton Review has in the works for 2024 include:

• Continuing updates of the company's website and its online, tutoring, and book resources for the many standardized tests that have undergone (or will be undergoing) substantial revisions. These include the new Digital SAT and new Digital PSAT/NMSQT^®, a new edition of the GMAT (the GMAT Focus), a new format for the LSAT, and changes in professional licensing exams including the NCLEX-RN.

• A new MCAT in-person course. Debuting in January, this intensive course will feature new uses of technology and a team-teaching approach. It will concentrate on weekend, in-person sessions that will enable students to connect with the instructors and their fellow learners.

• Updated editions of the company's college-related books. Among them: The Best 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition, which will reveal the top 25 schools in 50 categories based on the company's surveys of 165,000 college students who rated and reported on their schools for this project, and Paying for College: 2025 Edition, which will include detailed guidance on completing the 2025-26 FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA has undergone a major overhaul that was mandated by the U.S. Congress in 2019 with the passage of the FAFSA Simplification Act. The significantly revised (although not entirely simplified) 2024-25 FAFSA will be released on December 31, 2023. (Note: the FAFSA is annually updated.)

• A campaign to expand awareness of mental health services on college campuses. Supported by a partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, this Princeton Review project is collecting data from administrators at more than 2,800 colleges about the availability of mental health services and resources at their schools. The company is also surveying college students about their awareness of such services and resources on their campuses. In late summer 2024, The Princeton Review will output this data in various ways, including reporting information about the schools' mental health services in its college profiles on PrincetonReview.com.

"As The Princeton Review begins its 43rd year, we remain committed as ever to the company's mission: to help students learn, score their best on tests, and succeed in school and beyond" said Joshua HJ Park, CEO of The Princeton Review and Tutor.com. "Since The Princeton Review's founding in 1981, the company has delivered its services across an ever-expanding range of instructional formats and pioneered innovative uses of technology to advance education. Our launch this year of our first AI products—two resources that could only have been imagined in 1981—underscores our commitment to our founding mission. We look forward to developing new and exciting ways to help students learn in 2024 and succeed in their education and career goals." 

About The Princeton Review
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SOURCE The Princeton Review

CUET UG 2024: After scoring 94.2 per cent in Class 12, the opportunity to appear for the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET UG) was a respite to Garima. The Class 12 marks she scored were less for securing admission to Delhi University’s Hindu College and she was glad that CUET happened. 

Garima appeared for six subjects in CUET 2022 – English, Hindi, political science, geography, history and physical education. She got full marks in all the subjects. Garima is in her second year now and is studying Political Science (Hons) at the Hindu College.

Speaking to the indianexpress.com, Garima shares how he prepared for the CUET. Read edited excerpts here:

How did you prepare for CUET?

It was the debut batch of CUET and I did not know much about how to proceed with the preparation. I religiously followed the NCERT textbooks and made sure not to ignore the deleted portions of the CBSE curriculum. The CBSE term 1 test was in MCQ format, it made me get used to the test pattern.

I also practised mock tests from books including Arihant and Oswal publications. I used to complete one subject, answer multiple-choice questions and then take up another subject.  

Read | CUET UG 2024: Check marking scheme, subject-wise distribution, types of questions

What was it like preparing for the board and CUET exams simultaneously?

I started my CUET UG preparation after my board exams were over. Whatever I studied for board exams was eventually required for the CUET exam. So, the preparation did not bother me, but instead gave me a chance to do better and get myself admitted to the Hindu College.

What would you recommend to CUET UG 2024 aspirants?

– Study NCERT religiously

– It is just a matter of two-three months, it will set the course of your future. Prioritise your preparation

– CUET is not that tough, it is doable and easy

Why did you choose Hindu College?

After my CUET test was over and I came to know that I would have to fill in preferences. I checked the list of colleges that provide Political Science (Hons). After checking the list of best colleges, I filled Hindu College as my first choice. Apart from Hindu College, I added other colleges including Miranda and Lady Shri Ram College as my preferred choices for the same course.

I am associated with two societies at my college. One is the Connecting Dreams Foundation (CDF) which aims to address the SDG-based challenges through entrepreneurial action and youth participation. And the other is the Hindu College Queer Collective (HCQC), which aims to provide a safe and open space to discuss and express the diverse identities of people on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. As part of the societies, we start new projects and work on them. Taking part in these has built confidence in me allowing me to manage time effectively. Also, Hindu College has transformed me for the better. Earlier, I was more of an introverted person, now I had to make connections and make friends which made me social and extroverted. My communication skills have also developed.

In my free time, I read novels and watch anime. After my graduation is over, I aim to prepare for the civil services.