Mr. John's 2025 SAT Prep in Review
Dear Mr. John’s Test Prep Families!
"Phew!" (As my wife likes to express after a long day...) It has been quite a run this season.
As we approach the end of 2025, I’m taking a moment to breathe and look back at what has been an incredibly fast-paced and rewarding year. This testing season felt a bit like a sprint—the dates seemed closer together and a tough academic semester has kept us all on our toes. But looking at the growth in our students, every hour of prep was worth it.
🎓 The "Rewind": College Reports & Strategic Next Steps
The early results are starting to trickle in, and the energy is high! I am thrilled to share that we’ve already seen a first-choice acceptance to NYU. Seeing that hard work pay off with a "Yes" from a dream school is exactly why I do this.
We’ve also seen some Early Action deferrals from Stanford and other top-tier institutions. If your student received a deferral, take a deep breath. A deferral is not a "No"—it’s a "Not yet."
Deferral Do’s & Don’ts:
- DO: Write a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI). Be genuine, update them on new achievements, and reiterate why they remain your #1 choice.
- DO: Keep those senior year grades up! High mid-year marks are often the deciding factor for deferred students.
- DON’T: Panic or harass the admissions office. One well-timed, professional update in early January is much better than daily emails.
- DON’T: Feel like you need to hire a $12,000 consultant to "fix" things. You have the tools and the talent already.
My Advice: Save yourself some money and use AI as your strategist, but keep your writing human. Admissions officers can smell an AI-generated essay from a mile away. I am here to help you and your students polish those resubmissions and Regular Decision apps to ensure they sound like you, not a robot.
Junior Strategy Prompt (Class of 2027)
For my current Juniors, now is the time to build your roadmap. Try this prompt in Gemini or ChatGPT to get a high-level strategic overview:
"Act as a Top 50 College Admissions Officer. I am a high school Junior (Class of 2027) preparing my roadmap. Based on my profile below, provide a strategic narrative for my application, a month-by-month plan for 2026, a seed college list, and a master spreadsheet template for tracking deadlines.Region: [Insert State/Region]GPA: [Insert Weighted/Unweighted]Current Testing: [Insert SAT/ACT scores or 'N/A']Intended Majors: [Insert interests]Top Activities: [List 3-4 main extracurriculars]Budget/Aid Needs: [e.g., Seeking merit aid / No constraints]
Please output the plan with a professional yet encouraging tone."
Next Step: Once you get that output, download the data into a spreadsheet and use it to plan your college admissions roadmap! If you need my help, we'll polish off any ideas or drafts you're confident with.
Recent Results: Hard Work in Numbers
Last Friday’s score release was the perfect capstone to the year. We had a wide range of emotions—some disappointments, which are a natural part of this tough process, but also some massive milestones.
- 700+ Club: A record number of students broke into the 700-level for the Reading & Writing section this fall!
- The Big Leap: Our standout achievement this period was a student who increased her Reading & Writing score by 120 points from their baseline, hitting 720 for the first time! That is an astounding jump that changes the entire trajectory of her college list.
Whether you hit your goal or are still climbing, I am incredibly proud of the grit you’ve shown. This was a "heavy" season, and you all handled it with grace.
2025 Collective Success Snapshot
When I look at the data from our 2025 cohort, the growth is nothing short of inspiring. This year, I tracked all score reports, and the collective effort of our students has set a new high bar for Mr. John’s Test Prep.
Core Success Metrics:
- Average Verbal Improvement: +65 Points (Current Cohort Avg)
- The 700+ Club: 25 Students hit the elite 700+ bracket.
- Highest Score: 800 (Perfect Score)
- Peak Growth: +140 Points
The 700+ Club is Crowded: Across the 2024–2025 testing dates, we saw 25 instances of students breaking the 700 barrier in Reading and Writing. From GM’s perfect 800 in September to the incredible consistency of students like SJ, OK, and EC hitting the mid-700s, the "Elite" bracket is becoming the new standard for our group.
Astounding Growth: While the average improvement hovered around +65 points, we saw several 'super-jumps' that completely changed the college application game for our students. A special shout-out to GB and RK, who both recorded massive 110 and 140-point increases in the RW section this year. Whether it was the +120 jump in October or the +110 in December, these leaps are a testament to the effort I see in our sessions every week and the support and encouragement from parents. It is a collective effort.
As I tell my students, you do the heavy lifting. I just tell you where to put the leverage. A focus on process always triumphs over a focus on outcomes.
Looking Ahead
As we head into the holiday break, my hope is that every family gets some much-needed downtime. Put the test prep books away for a few days (but keep reading that Jane Austen novel – for pleasure, of course), enjoy each other's company, and recharge.
We will hit the ground running in January as we look toward the March SAT and the rest of the spring slate. There is plenty of time to polish those scores and finish the year strong.
Wishing you all a safe and warm holiday break.
Best,
Mr. John
Mr. John’s Test Prep
