Testimonials

 I’m Melanie Llaneras. I’m in 11th grade and I go to Terra Environmental Research Institute. I felt that I had lost a lot of my prior math skills when it came to what the SAT math section covers and I didn’t feel ready to face the math that I had taken even before I started high school and that’s what drew me to Peace of Pi.

I had only taken a PSAT once and I started taking AP Calc, which is already a college level class. So, I was not ready to face an SAT with what I had learned before high school. I did very mediocre on the PSAT, I got a 540 on math. I was slacking in math that you’d think that I’d be good at because I was in a higher level math. I’d be faced with these math problems and didn’t know how to attack each problem at all.

I was aiming for schools that wouldn’t even look at me if I had that type of score and I’m also aiming for Bright Futures. I wouldn’t have been able to reach that with that score. When I was a sophomore, there was a junior in my class that kept talking about how your program was helping her reach the math score that she wanted. I needed a way to reach the score that I wanted. I also needed to improve on my reading, but take it one step at a time.

POP had explained to me, before I joined, that the math on the SAT is very mechanical and achieving a good score was very reachable through practice and different steps that they were going to teach us. And I knew that that’s what I needed, like a good and organized program. The program is so worth the money. The workload is heavy. It was tough. It was like having another class. I have a lot of homework and softball and everything. You’ll for sure be able to reach a desired score, and it takes a lot of practice and paying attention, but what can come out of that compensates for all the hard work that is involved in the program. 

I was very hesitant about it because I like things to be individual and I’m not the biggest fan of virtual classes so I expected it to be effective but not as effective as it would have been if it were different. After experiencing the virtual group learning environment, I don’t think there was any better way to teach the SAT classes. I mean this is a busy program and also the way the chats work, it’s very effective and you keep track of everything but despite there being other students, I knew every answer. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions and it was a comfortable environment. It was very effective despite it being a group program.

This was my first SAT and in comparison to the PSAT, which was the only test I had taken, I improved a total of 220 points and I surpassed my goal of 750 by reaching a 760. Although I still want to keep improving my score, this score helped me secure 100% Bright Futures, so I don’t have to pay for any public or state colleges. That’s very beneficial to my family and the score looks good for the colleges that I want to apply to because I want to pursue a math major. If a student plays their part by practicing and paying attention in class, a perfect score or any score near perfect is very achievable.