Greg Landry's
Homeschool Science
- Christian Worldview
- Veteran Science Teacher
- Community with Other Students
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5 New Textbooks!
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ACT Prep Online Bootcamp
Online Classes, Strategy Work, & Practice Tests Over 4 Weeks
January 7 - February 7, 2025
(Students Don't Have to Attend the Live Class)
Current 25% Early Registration Discount Ends 10-11-24
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>> Get Accepted at the College of Your Choice <<
>> Get Scholarships & Grants <<
>> Reduce the Stress of Preparing for & Taking the ACT <<
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I started helping homeschooled students with ACT prep over 15 years ago as I helped our children and then students from other families in classes. Standardized tests like the ACT are critically important for two reasons:
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1. They are an important part of the college admission decision
2. Academic scholarships and grants are often based directly on this score (higher score = more scholarship and grant money).
Your ACT score may make the difference in a college acceptance decision or in thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants.
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A Little Background
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First, a little background. Most colleges and universities require that students take either the ACT or SAT (standardized college admission exams), and that the score is reported to them as part of a student's application process. All colleges and universities will accept either test for the application process. Some students take and report both. Since 2012, more students take the ACT than the SAT and that gap widens every year. The SAT is rapidly losing market share.
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While a majority of students used to prepare for and take both tests, more and more students are now focusing all of their preparation on the ACT and only taking the ACT. The conventional wisdom used to be that you should prep for, and take, both tests. The rationale was that because of the differences in the tests you may do significantly better on one than on the other.
Actually, that rarely happens (although my anecdotal experience is that homeschooled students tend to perform better on the ACT and tend to be able to improve their scores more on the ACT). The scores for the vast majority of students who take both tests are very similar. Some would suggest that students should take the PSAT because of the chance of becoming a national merit scholar. But the chances of that happening are very, very small and in my opinion not worth the potential downside.
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"Greg, ...what you did for our daughter will have far reaching effects. You showed her that learning can be enjoyable..."
Thankful in Indiana
Jim H.
Click HERE to Read More Parent Comments
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Laser Focus on the ACT and Ditch the SAT
Several reasons I believe students should laser focus (and become an expert) on taking the ACT!
1. Taking only the ACT eliminates the test taking confusion that many students experience because of the differences in strategy and structure between the ACT and the SAT. A little confusion while taking these tests can negatively affect college admissions and scholarship money - sometimes significantly.
2. Considering homeschooled students I've worked with who have taken both tests, the majority preferred taking, and performed better on, the ACT.
3. All math questions on the ACT are multiple choice - a decided advantage for students who know how to exploit this factor - as I teach students to do in my bootcamp. Also, unlike the SAT, the ACT allows the use of a calculator for the entire math test.
4. In early 2019, College Board (the publisher of the SAT) announced that in 2020 it will begin including an "adversity index" with the SAT scores it submits to colleges in 2020. This index score will be an estimate of how much adversity a student has faced in their life as estimated by College Board. This step has been roundly criticized in academic and test prep circles as detrimental to students who don't fit into the "adversity index" - for all practical purposes it acts to effectively lower the SAT score of all other students.
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"Professor Landry, I just received my ACT scores. I crushed it!!!!!!!.... "
Joseph
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Click HERE to Read More Parent Comments
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5. The "science reasoning" section of the ACT (about 25 percent of the test) can be very intimidating and is the section that homeschooled students score lowest on. This section has little to do with science knowledge and is more about reading comprehension, critical thinking, and reasoning. For students planning to be science majors in college, doing well on the "science reasoning" section of the ACT is especially important. It's also the section that has the largest potential for improvement with appropriate preparation.
It is typically composed of several science related reading passages (often with some type of graphical data) with several questions related to each passage and data. But, it can be conquered with appropriate preparation! In my ACT Prep Bootcamp, I teach students how to do well on this section of the ACT.
6. If a student focuses solely on the ACT they can become an expert on taking that test. This is much more difficult to do when preparing for both ACT and SAT as you don't have as much time to focus on ACT. Rather than spending time preparing for the SAT and the ACT, spend all that time totally focused on the ACT, likely yielding a better ACT score.
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Take it Early and Often
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Ideally, a student should begin taking the ACT in the 9th or 10th grade and take it two to three times per school year through 11th grade or early 12th grade. A student can take the ACT up to 12 times. The fee to take the ACT is about $70 and the experience gained in taking it multiple times may make the difference in a college acceptance decision or in thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships.
The goal early on is to gain the valuable experience of taking the test. Then, to submit one of those 11th / 12th grade scores to colleges to which you're applying. This gives students experience and confidence which enables them to do well when they take it for the final times in the 11th / 12th grade. The experience of taking the ACT multiple times over several years is so important! Imagine the difference between a student who takes the ACT for the first time in 12th grade vs. a student who is thoroughly familiar with the test when taken in 11th / 12th grade because they've prepared for it for years and have taken it several times!
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If your student is beyond 9th grade and hasn't started preparing for and taking the ACT yet, no worries - now is a good time to get started.
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"Greg, ...your orientation toward training students to be researchers and critical thinkers is just what our girls needed. It has also spilled over into how they approach history and literature..."
Carol
Click HERE to Read More Parent Comments
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ACT Prep Bootcamp Details
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This bootcamp isn't magic - it takes hard work on the part of the student and a genuine desire to score as high as they possibly can on this important standardized test.
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With their hard work, this bootcamp will give them the tools they need. While students are directed to the most important aspects of subject matter they should be studying, the bootcamp focus is on techniques and strategies for preparing for and taking the test - these are critical!
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- 4 online classes (attend live or recording), 5 ACT practice tests with real ACT questions, and ACT strategy homework over a 4 week period.
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- Students will have a substantial (5 to 7 hours) weekly homework assignment with homework to be turned in.
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- Class credit for your transcript: 1 semester credit of test taking and college study skills
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- Students will take 4 bootcamp information / strategy tests
- Students will take 5 ACT practice tests with real ACT questions
- Students will receive a final grade for the bootcamp class
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Questions? Click here to email Greg Landry
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The Bootcamp Covers...
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- The ACT Prep Bootcamp focuses on ACT strategies, technique, familiarity, trend keys, question analysis, layout, question trends and similarities, etc.
- What the ACT is really testing and how to use that to your advantage
- The predictable aspects of the test you have to be aware of
- Where to focus subject area studying
- How to recognize wrong answers that are designed to look like the right answer
- How to practice and the advantages of doing it in a way that builds confidence
- The huge mistake that 80% of students make on this test and how to avoid it
- Basic math formulas you should know
- Study skills that will serve you well for this test and for college tests
- How to exploit the "standards" in this standardized test
- The critical importance of timing and how to manage it
- The misconceptions that doom students to low scores on the science reasoning section and how to avoid it
- The bottom line on the optional writing test
- Strategies for choosing an answer when you don't know the answer
- ACT patterns - if you recognize them you win
- How to prepare for the science reasoning section
- What should you spend time studying and what's not a good use of your time
- The English test factors to focus on
- Exploiting the advantages of an all multiple choice math test
- Two critical mistakes to avoid on the reading test
- How to structure your ACT preparation
- When and how often to take the ACT for optimal scoring
- And much more
- I will walk students through every step of reaching their potential on this test
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"Greg,... your teaching motivates my kids like no teacher ever has. Thank you for bringing some joy back in to our homeschooling."
Katy in Virginia
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Click HERE to Read More Parent Comments
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Recommended grade level: 9th-12th
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Prerequisites: None
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Class credit for your transcript: 1 semester of test taking and college study skills
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Grade: Students will take several graded tests and will be issued a final grade for the bootcamp class. Student's grades for homework and tests are available to them in the Canvas gradebook as well as their current total grade for the bootcamp class.
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Homework time per week outside of class: 5 to 7 hours of work with parts of their homework to be turned in weekly
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Teacher: Students are led by Greg Landry, a 20-year veteran homeschool dad and former college professor who has been teaching ACT prep for over 15 years. Greg is a Christian and young Earth creationist. He has taught and mentored homeschooled students and college students in various capacities for over 20 years. Click here to see his bio.
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Live class: Students are NOT required to attend the live class - recording is available 24/7. Classes meet for 45-60 minutes in our online "classroom" in Canvas (considered by many to be one of the best online class platforms as a home for a student's online class). Students can see and hear the teacher and the classroom whiteboard, and can communicate with the teacher via chat.
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ACT Prep Bootcamp length: 4 online classes (attend live or via recording), 5 ACT practice tests with only real ACT questions, and ACT strategy homework over a 4 week period.
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2024 ACT Prep Bootcamp (January 7 - February 7, 2025)
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-----> Online Class #1 - January 7 @ 2:30 pm eastern
-----> Online Class #2 - January 14 @ 2:30 pm eastern
-----> Online Class #3 - January 21 @ 2:30 pm eastern
-----> Online Class #4 - January 28 @ 2:30 pm eastern
-----> Final assignment due by: February 7, 2025
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Note: Students are NOT required to attend live classes - class recordings are available to students 24/7.
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Textbook: students are required to obtain the PRINT (not electronic - so that page numbers match) version of..
The Official ACT Prep Guide 2024-25
Author: ACT Publications (publishers of the ACT Test)
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ISBN-10 : 1394259913
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ISBN-13 : 978-1394259915
Please be sure that your book has one of these ISBN numbers.
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Tuition - ACT Prep Online Bootcamp:
$285
(380 minus 25% Early Registration Discount)
Early Discount Ends 10-11-24
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Questions? Click here to email Greg Landry
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