Avery Edstrom is a junior at La Jolla High School where she’s a starter on the varsity water polo team, which placed 9th in last year’s US 16 and under tournament.
In addition to her athletics, Avery volunteers through SD Parks and Rec for their Therapeutic and Recreational Services, helps out for Meals on Wheels, and participates in her school’s Model UN program. Aiming for an excellent ACT score to match her other accolades, she enrolled in another company’s group ACT course (which shall remain nameless) where she found little benefit. Avery then reached out to Patek Prep; after just three weeks of targeted tutoring, she earned an outstanding composite score of 34. She graciously sat down with us to share her experience.
Itamar: First, I just want to congratulate you on your awesome score! You worked pretty hard for it and you deserve it. Did you feel like you were going to get a good score when you left that test?
Avery: Yes! I remember I felt so good, particularly on the math section which I usually do the worst on. It just felt like I knew everything, which I definitely did not feel [during my earlier practice tests] when I was taking my practice tests. I do think the practice tests were harder than the real thing, so when I took the real thing it was a lot easier.
Itamar: That’s so cool to hear; there’s no better feeling than sitting down for a test and feeling like it’s just another day in the office because you’re so well prepared.
For some background, What were your grades like? What expectations did you have for an ACT score for yourself?
Avery: I obviously think my goal was a 34 or above just because of the schools I’m trying to apply to. But I knew that if I got a 32 that might be good enough for recruitment. So I think going into that particular test I was shooting for a 32, and I was very pleasantly surprised that I felt really good while taking the test.
Itamar: Before we started working together, you had already done some ACT group classes with a different tutoring place. What made you decide to go with the group class approach and with that particular company in the first place?
Avery: Honestly, I did that because it’s what my older sister did. She started her prep during COVID, so she was already used to online school and learning over Zoom. I thought I would just follow her lead, but because I wasn’t as used to Zoom learning, it wasn’t very effective for me. I definitely learn best in person.
Itamar: What finally made you decide to look somewhere else for tutoring?
Avery: To be honest I didn’t particularly feel like I was getting a lot from those classes. There wasn’t much in the way of actual instruction or practice. Whereas when we started working together you were able to give me a lot more practice to improve my knowledge and apply my skills.
Also, having an in-person one on one tutor is so much more helpful. In the group classes it was way harder to ask individual questions or clarify anything in particular. They would almost always focus on questions that most people in the group got wrong, but sometimes I wouldn’t get those wrong. It just felt like they were trying to teach some average student that wasn’t exactly me. Whereas with you it was only catered towards me so I could always immediately address what I needed help with. I think that’s part of why I improved so fast.
Itamar: Were there any pieces of wisdom tricks, or ideas from our tutoring that you found particularly effective or changed how you approach the test?
Avery: Well going into our tutoring I didn’t know what an independent clause was or how to use a semicolon! So even just knowing those grammar basics was all I needed for the English section. Also your use of flash cards made me realize what an effective learning tool they were for me. I drilled myself with those a couple days before the test and I feel like that’s why I remembered everything so well. For the Science, what you taught me about skipping straight to the questions completely changed how I approached that section and was obviously pretty responsible for my 11 point gain. The math section also felt very easy because I felt like I’d already seen all of that material before; I’d never seen a vector til we worked together!
Itamar: That’s so great to hear! Well that’s almost everything I had to ask you. One last question: What’s in store for you with this awesome new score, some top level water polo recruitment?
Avery: Yes! I’ve already emailed all the top Ivies and I’m also going to reach out to some more schools with good water polo teams that sometimes have trouble recruiting because of their high test score requirements. But really, I’m looking at almost every top private school right now. It’s so nice to know that for any of these schools I now have a score that would let me get into them with recruitment, and, honestly, even without recruitment.
Itamar: Wow, what a statement. That’s great to hear. That must be really reassuring. Well you were an excellent student; you worked really hard and you deserve your score.
Avery: Well it’s funny because I never considered myself a good student. I’ve honestly never really been that organized or on top of things in school. But after working together I’ve been so much more organized and able to take care of my school work on time. It’s made me so much less stressed! Even just applying flash cards to my other subjects in school has made me learn so much better.
Itamar: Woah, that’s amazing! I never considered the impact we might be having even outside of the ACT. Well thanks so much for your time, and best of luck on your future college journey!
Avery: Of course! Take care!
