Curvebreakers’ Student of the Month series features students who go above and beyond to achieve outstanding results. They take full advantage of everything Curvebreakers has to offer by improving their scores, being accepted to top schools, or receiving exceptional scholarships. We recognize them to inspire all Curvebreakers students to reach for their dreams! Our Student of the Month for January 2018 is Grace Aulisa, who improved on her SAT by over 100 points. Way to go, Grace!
Grace is a junior at Bishop Kearney High School in Brooklyn, NY
CURVEBREAKERS: What were your thoughts on the SAT before you took it the first time?
GRACE: I was really nervous going into the whole process.
C: When you signed up for tutoring, what did you think the session were going to be like?
G: I knew that I was going to have to really work at it because I genuinely wanted to improve from when I took the practice SAT at Curvebreakers. So I knew going into it that I was going to have to put the work in otherwise I wasn’t going to get the results [that I wanted].
C: What was it like working with your tutor?
G: I thought he was always willing to focus on exactly what I wanted to focus on. With math especially, he walked through each problem with me until I really got it. The math and the writing especially — getting down all the rules — he was really helpful with that.
C: How did your feelings change when you took your actual SAT compared to when you first started?
G: When I took the actual SAT I walked out of there and I was kind of relieved just to have gotten the first one over with. Even though I had prepped so much, I feel like when you’re there it’s so different because you’re just so nervous. But I was really happy after I took it and got the score back. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be when I was walking into it. I did feel like I was prepared when I was taking it so it didn’t feel as scary afterwards. I pretty much worked myself up over it for no reason just worrying about it.
C: What was your score the first time you took the SAT?
G: I got a 1360.
C: What was your score for the official SAT?
G: 1470. I was so happy to have gone up 100 points just from 9 sessions. I was really happy to be boosted that much.
C: What was the best part about tutoring with Curvebreakers?
G: They really focused on what I wanted to focus on so I loved that since it was one on one I got to decide what we were going to work on that day. It was totally up to me and at my pace. That’s what I really needed because I know that I wouldn’t have been able to focus in a big group.
Grace has since improved her score another 60 points to 1530!