How and when did Schnabel Learning begin?
The story begins in 1982 when a mother-to-son legacy actually became a business.
Audrey was about to begin tutoring a child, but suddenly turned to her son Tom, threw a book into his lap and said, “A student is waiting in the other room and he needs your help. Have fun!”
It is a business that was truly born at a very specific moment in time. Audrey Schnabel had retired as a career teacher of advanced English, journalism, and speech. Tom was a consultant, communicator, educator, and writer. In 1982, on a given day, at a given moment, mother and son became professional tutors, among the first in the United States. Thus began a fifth generation legacy of educators.
Which standardized tests do you tutor?
For college-bound high school students: PSAT, SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests, ACT, PLAN, and a variety of Advanced Placement Exams.
For middle school students: HSPT (Catholic High School Exam), SSAT, and ISEE.
For graduate school bound students: GRE, GMAT, and LSAT.
How are you different from other learning centers?
Schnabel Learning is the only prep center solely dedicated to helping students achieve college success. Our focus on college success allows us to devote all of our resources to college-bound students and their parents. We have been preparing students for over 25 years, so our methods are proven and time-tested. As College Prep leaders, we have helped several thousand students achieve success and gain admission to the colleges of their choice.
Our comprehensive program offers the only complete solution to college entrance preparation. We combine individually tailored, one-to-one training with a Master Trainer, extensive practice testing, and detailed test analysis to help each student build upon their strengths, minimize their weaknesses, and achieve their goals. Our specialty is One-to-One tutoring, and we mean precisely that.
We also present exclusive workshops that provide students with extra support in key areas of their test preparation. These sessions are designed to enhance our individualized tutoring program and provide an important link in our program of blended learning strategies.
Our dedication to continuous program enhancement drives us to an ongoing analysis of the subtle changes in standardized tests, and results in the development of strategies and opportunities that will provide students with the skills they need to succeed in high school, college, and into the future.
Our office is a state of the art learning center designed to maximize each student’s focus and learning experience.
We are known for unparalleled customer service and willingness to help.
Are your tutors professionals?
Yes, they are. We are not teachers whose primary goal is to earn supplementary income in random spare time. With no intention to disparage others, we feel it is important for you to know that each one of us is dedicated to tutoring as a first priority. It makes a difference.
We are a small group of enthusiastic professionals who are ready to help students succeed with tests and in life. We are much more than test prep experts. We are consultants, educators, and mentors who know the importance of each element of pre-college training. Each of our teachers is involved continually in education programs and research that focuses on curriculum, logic and reasoning skills, and techniques to motivate and educate students. The critical element of our success is our strong devotion to both teaching and learning. We ourselves are perennial students.
Finally, but equally important, we believe tutors should not only be experts in their subjects but also know how to make learning interesting. Our students really like us!
Will my student see the same instructor each week?
To ensure continuity, students are nurtured by the same tutors who remain with them throughout the entire program. In this environment, students can gain the confidence and skills needed to succeed.
What is a typical session like?
We are delighted that there really is no typical session here. We tailor the program to each individual student, targeting strengths and weaknesses and then designing a path to success.
Every One-to-One session is fully customized, tailored specifically to the needs of that child.
At Schnabel Learning, we help students understand standardized tests and the college search process inside and out. Rather than relying on pre-set lesson plans that limit student progress, we help each student develop a unique style of their own. As fully trained masters of the tests they teach, our experts go beyond structure, format, and content to explore question types in detail and section mastery to achieve a higher score.
What type of materials do you use?
We use real College Board and ACT tests along with a blend of materials designed by Mr. Schnabel and his staff. Our curriculum is innovative, specialized, and time-tested to give each student the best preparation possible.
When should we start the program?
We design programs specifically for college-bound students and their parents. Our students are motivated middle school students, success-oriented high school students, and college students seeking advanced degrees. Since we design a special program for each child, we need you to call us now. There are some aspects of this critically important decision that just cannot be handled on our Web site, so we look forward to becoming acquainted – first by phone, then in a parent-student-teacher planning conference.
Do you help students with special learning needs?
We have helped students with a range of learning issues throughout our careers.
We see learning as an interactive process in which student and teacher must work together to relate teaching and learning styles. Our teachers are aware that some students learn differently than others and, through flexibility in the learning environment, provide a variety of techniques and alternative strategies to help students master skills and concepts. Because our programs are individually designed, we are able to analyze each student’s learning characteristics, help them to build their strengths, and support them in becoming better-educated individuals. In short, it is more important for us to teach the way the student learns rather than have the student learn the way we teach.
We are eager to learn about your child’s specific needs when you call us.
Why do you assign home study?
Homework is a critical component of our program. Good skills and habits become part of us when we practice with regularity and consistency. Just as an athlete practices between games, our students must practice between sessions.
Are standardized tests a fair means of assessment?
A majority of colleges and universities accept either SAT or ACT test scores. The ACT is primarily an achievement test aligned with classroom type work, whereas the SAT is a reasoning test that focuses on critical thinking and problem solving. Since the SAT and ACT show different strengths, mastery of each test can enhance a student’s value on the admissions table.
Admissions officers use college entrance exams as predictors of college performance, and as a means to compare students from diverse educational backgrounds. College success skills — reading comprehension, vocabulary mastery, writing, grammar usage, and analytical reasoning — are interwoven to build standardized tests. These skills are invaluable both in and out of the classroom.
Tests such as the SAT and ACT allow colleges to assess each student on a level playing field. Grade Point Averages do not give a complete picture due to the inconsistencies of grading systems and the steady increase of grade inflation in many schools.
Do I need to worry about SAT Subject Tests?
A little more than a century ago the College Board Achievement Tests were used to measure student knowledge of a particular academic subject, such as biology or American history. In the early 1990s, these tests were renamed the SAT IIs and were combined with the SAT I to form the most comprehensive battery of college admissions tests in the world. Recently, the names of each test changed to the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests. The SAT Subject Tests are now offered in Literature, World History, U.S. History, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Math, and a variety of languages. Most selective colleges and universities still require students to take one or more of these tests in addition to the SAT Reasoning Test. Some colleges and universities now accept the ACT instead of the SAT Subject Tests.
Are standardized tests really coachable?
For years, test makers have insisted that marked score increases are unlikely to be realized through coaching. What they have not considered is the mentoring factor. We have been helping students master the college success skills that are necessary for score improvement since 1982. Students who participate in a well-designed program that helps them to identify, analyze, connect, and find solutions usually see substantial improvements in not only their standardized test scores but also their academic habits and grades as well. Standardized tests are coachable when the coaching is part of a larger learning experience.
Why do you emphasize early college awareness?
We believe that preparing for college is really a whole state of mind, not just a set of skills to score well on standardized tests. The student who derives the most from college – and who takes the total college experience forward into career and life – is the student who eagerly anticipates what lies ahead after high school graduation. Like we said, a whole state of mind.
More and more jobs depend on the ability to reason effectively, think critically, write clearly, analyze and compute. Through early College Awareness and Search and Discovery programs, students become aware of the various colleges and universities; explore interests, talents, and abilities; identify possible majors and careers; learn the value of learning; understand learning styles; perfect study methods to save valuable time; prepare early for standardized tests; consider college cost; and determine the steps necessary to meet their goals.
Early College Awareness also aligns parents and students in a supportive manner that encourages planning and decreases the stress associated with the college admissions process. Parents come to understand their important part in the process, learning ways to support and assist their children in planning for the future and mastering the college application process along with their children.
My student is already stressed out with junior year and extracurriculars. Won’t this make it worse?
High school is indeed stressful. However, the self-development that students experience from applying themselves in our program helps to moderate the stress. Our students walk into the testing centers with confidence, and they leave for college with great anticipation.