SAT Prep in the Summer Is Essential — Here’s Why Connecticut Students Can’t Afford to Skip It

Your Student Might Resist. Do It Anyway.
If you have a college-bound student, insist that they give the SAT their best shot.
They may push back. They may tell you they’re bad test takers. There may even be some evidence to support that claim. In a small number of cases, I’ll tell a family directly: don’t press the issue. But for the vast majority of Connecticut students — in Essex, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, and throughout the state — taking the SAT seriously is one of the highest-return investments a family can make in a student’s college outcome.
Here’s why.

The SAT Isn’t Just About Admission. It’s About Money.
Most families think of the SAT primarily as an admissions tool. It is — but it’s equally, and sometimes more importantly, a scholarship tool.
Even for students applying to schools that aren’t ultra-competitive, an extra hundred points on the SAT can translate into an additional ten thousand dollars per year in merit aid. Over four years, that’s forty thousand dollars.
I receive more grateful notes and holiday cards from parents referencing this fact than almost anything else I do. The consistent message: the summer their child spent preparing for the SAT turned out to be the highest-paying “summer job” they ever had. A few weeks of focused preparation generated scholarship money that dwarfs what any part-time job could have produced.
For families in communities like Madison, Guilford, and Old Saybrook — where college expectations are high and the financial stakes of the right offer are significant — this math deserves serious attention.

For Students Aiming at Top Schools, Going SAT-Optional Is a Mistake
For students with aspirations toward selective colleges and universities, I can say with near certainty: submitting without an SAT score puts them at a meaningful disadvantage.
Here’s the context that makes this clear.

Grade Inflation Has Made Grades Almost Meaningless as a Differentiator
This may be uncomfortable to read, but it’s important.
That 4.0 GPA your child worked hard to earn? It no longer stands out the way it once did. Grade inflation has become so widespread that schools themselves are now grappling with how to re-introduce meaningful differentiation among students. The number of students receiving A’s has grown so dramatically that the grade has lost much of its signal value.
Part of this is a new dynamic driven by AI. Many teachers — facing the near-impossibility of proving academic dishonesty and the social and administrative difficulty of challenging students and parents who expect top marks — have quietly stopped fighting the battle. Giving A’s has become the path of least resistance. The result is transcripts that are increasingly difficult for colleges to interpret.
This is happening in Old Lyme. It’s happening in East Lyme. It’s happening in Essex and across Connecticut. It is not a local problem — it is a national one.

Activities and Leadership Roles Don’t Differentiate Either
Here is something I tell parents of students at every school I work with, from Guilford to Old Saybrook to Madison:
Every school has a class president. Every school has a soccer captain. Every school has an editor of the school newspaper.
I say this not to diminish any student’s genuine achievements — these are real accomplishments, and students who earn these roles should be proud. But a student who is the standout leader at their school in Old Lyme needs to understand that admissions officers are simultaneously reviewing applications from standout leaders at thousands of similar schools across the country, all with comparable grades, comparable activities, and comparable personal statements.
In that context, what differentiates?
The SAT. It is the one objective, standardized data point that allows colleges to compare students across different schools, grading cultures, and geographic regions. Schools that moved away from it during the pandemic are quietly returning to it — precisely because they need something that cuts through the noise.

Summer Is the Right Time to Prepare
The window between junior and senior year is the most valuable preparation period available. Students have time, focus isn’t divided by the school year, and score improvements made in the summer carry directly into fall application season.
The Learning Consultants has helped students across Essex, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, and throughout Connecticut significantly improve their SAT scores — and convert those improvements into real scholarship dollars.
The summer job that pays the most might not involve a uniform or an hourly wage. It might involve a prep book, a great tutor, and a strategy.

Let’s Talk About Your Student’s SAT Options This Summer
Every student’s situation is different. The right approach depends on where your child is starting, what schools they’re targeting, and what timeline makes sense for your family.
We’re happy to have that conversation — no pressure, no generic advice. Just an honest assessment of what’s possible and what it’s worth pursuing.