Practicing with SAT concepts

Most college students look at summer vacation as a time of rest from the rigors of school. Late nights with friends, sleeping till the wee hours of pre-afternoon and lounging around in dirty clothes watching television and old movies all day is the description of the perfect summer vacation to the average downtrodden, overworked college student.

But not Stacy Kaufman.

In August, Kaufman will begin teaching her classes for the Ivy Insiders at the Sangha Center for Spiritual Living in Huntington Beach, which will prepare aspiring students for the infamous SAT test.

Make no mistake, the girl is no novice. She first began tutoring at 14 when she was a freshman in high school.

Despite having no prior experience, Kaufman quickly discovered that she was a natural talent — so much so that many of her relatives began urging her to consider becoming a teacher.

In high school, she worked her way up to a presidential role in several clubs, including National Honor Society, Rotary Interactional and Peer Assistance Leadership. She received A’s in more than a dozen AP classes, and managed to receive the Girl Scout Gold Award for creating a test prep booklet for the High School Exit Exam.

In 2007, she graduated from Huntington Beach High School with straight A’s, a 4.68 grade point average and a 2120 score on the SAT.

Now, at age 20, Kaufman has been tutoring for six years and has just finished her sophomore year at Stanford University.

Once she came home for summer vacation, Kaufman applied for the Ivy Insiders and was accepted after the rigorous screening process that is procedural for all prospective tutors at the organization.

The SAT prep classes consist of 18 hours of tutoring with only eight kids per class, plus 14 more hours, which consist of four practice tests with complete answer review, for a total of 32 hours of test preparation.

The 32 hours consist of a unique approach the group employs calls “game theory.”

“We look at it like a video game to be beaten,” Kaufman said. “The test questions change every year, but the concepts stay the same. If we can teach students how to conquer all the concepts, then they can overcome any problem that’s on the test.”

The class offers financial aid for low-income students, but Kaufman also provides a simpler way to get a discount.

“We offer this service at $699, and anyone who asks gets $100 off. That’s about half the price of any other service out there,” she said.

“But with the economy the way it is, people aren’t really splurging on test prep, so there aren’t a lot of kids signed up right now, but if more people sign up, then I’ll open more classes.”

For more information, anyone interested may call Kaufman at (714) 333-6704.