MMCF SAT PREP COURSE INTERVIEW
PART TWO - ASHLEY BORUNDA AYALA
This is our second article of the year featuring another Mammoth High School student who has benefited from the MMCF sponsored SAT Prep course!
We use the Princeton Review Course which has opened up great opportunities for our students not only for SAT prep but has equipped them with new test taking skills, bolstered their confidence in academic endeavors and taught organizational skills that can be used for college and beyond.
Plus, a higher SAT score can make our students more competitive in the college application process and open additional doors for scholarships to help cover the costs of tuition. See what another Mammoth High School student is doing after high school.
Ashley Borunda Ayala is an amazing young woman who will graduate from Mammoth High School this June. She works 24 - 32 hours per week and being bilingual, is a great asset in her place of employment. While graduating from high school, she has earned three degrees from our local community college, Cerro Coso as well!
Ashley had some time to talk to us about her experience taking SAT Prep and what she has planned for next fall. She has taken the SAT Prep Course twice and will be the first one in her family to attend university! We are excited for her and to share her comments!
What are your plans for next fall? Are you going to school? If so, where?
I have a passion for the medical field, especially working with kids, therefore, I have decided to major in Biology at UC Davis, with a possible minor in Business. In hopes of eventually becoming a Pediatric Doctor. I am excited about this new step in my life!
You took the SAT prep class two years in a row. What were the 3 main things that you learned from the course that helped you with the SAT? Do you think one year was more beneficial than the other?
This class was extremely beneficial to me because it showed me tips that made taking the SAT much simpler. Therefore I will share the three main things I learned from the course. First, for the English section, the key to saving time is to read the questions first and then skim through the reading to find specifically what you need quicker. Two, it is better to tackle the questions where they ask to review a specific part of the reading because you already know what specific section to focus on. Lastly, it is crucial to look at all the questions and do the ones you understand first, so you can complete them and at least secure yourself some points; as the SAT does not take points off for getting questions wrong, only gives you points for the ones that are right. Even if I took the course for two years, they were both equally beneficial to my progress. Every time I learned more tricks to help me better my score.
Did your scores improve from taking the course?
Taking this course consistently did help me improve my score. I took the test twice and each time I scored better than my previous attempts for both official and practice tests. So I would definitely recommend this course for students looking for help to make the SAT process easier.
Some advice to incoming sophomores and juniors regarding the SAT? Would you recommend this course to other students?
The advice I would tell incoming sophomores and juniors is to take the SAT right after the course ends. Some chose to wait a couple of months so they could get more studying in but they ended up forgetting the tips we were taught and did not perform as well as they did when the course was fresh in their mind and they were taking practice tests. Moreover, I found it much more beneficial to take the test as soon as the course ends and study while you wait for the day to arrive, as these courses already prepare you a good amount.
Is there anything you would like to share with the MMCF audience in regards to having this course made available to you?
With all the improvements I saw from this course, I would love to see MMCF still offer the opportunity to take this class. I think getting some help for a process that might be new to many is crucial in the process of preparing their college applications. Especially getting help with the SAT, which is such an important part of the process, is of great help to the students. So if students continue to be interested, it would be great if they had the opportunity to take this class and be able to work with all the material provided.
Thank you MMCF supporters for your continued dedication to making a difference in the lives of our youth.
