I am writing this letter to your sixteen year old self – eight years from now.  I know you are facing a lot of challenges since you began junior year. The work’s become more difficult, high grades are harder to achieve, and the classes are bigger and more impersonal. All this is happening while your hormones are raging, your body is changing. But what is all that compared to coping with the tension of the upcoming college entrance exams!  And the prospect of whether you will be accepted to the university of your dreams?  

“Dad, I want a tutor.”

“A tutor? You’re a straight A student. What’s the problem?

“All my friends are getting tutors.”

“So? What are they getting tutors for?”

 “For the ACT/SAT. If they are getting tutors, I need to get one, too.”

With this simple exchange a year ago, I was unceremoniously thrust into the world of ACT/SAT test preparation and all the attendant stresses and costs