Saturday Update — More Commitments + New SAT Vocab Flashcard Tool Coming Soon!
Hello MJTP families!
A warm welcome to our newest families
Something I've noticed more of this year, and it's genuinely encouraging to see: middle school students showing up ready to work.
We have a growing group of families who are joining MJTP specifically to get a head start on the PSAT and, down the road, the SAT. These are 7th and 8th graders — some 6th graders, too — and the momentum they're building now is real. Students who start early don't just score better. They score with confidence, because the material isn't new when it matters most.
If you're a middle school family reading this for the first time — welcome. You're in the right place, and you're here at exactly the right time.
✈️ Justin is headed to the Air Force Academy!
There is another commitment worth celebrating this week, and it is a different kind of path entirely.
In his own words: "This is just the beginning."
He is right about that. The Air Force Academy does not admit students the way other colleges do. It is a federal appointment process, and every cadet who walks through those doors has earned it through a standard most applicants never reach. Justin did that while also being recruited as a wrestler.
We are incredibly proud of him, and grateful he has been part of this community. Fly, fight, win.
Those Vanderbilt exclusivity numbers!
A few of you probably caught the post circulating on X recently about Vanderbilt's admissions numbers for the Class of 2029. The headline figure that caught my eye: the Regular Decision acceptance rate was 3.3% — essentially, under 1 in 30 applicants. When you factor in Early Decision, the overall rate comes in at 4.7%, which is the lowest in Vanderbilt's history, drawn from the largest applicant pool the school has ever seen — over 48,000 applications. Vanderbilt Hustler
Let that sit for a second.
To put it in perspective, that places Vanderbilt in the same tier of selectivity as Yale, which posted a 4.2% acceptance rate for the same cycle. Vanderbilt is no longer a school families treat as a "likely" alternative to the Ivies. It has become, in every measurable way, one of the most competitive universities in the country.
Which makes what Devansh did this spring even more worth celebrating. He earned his spot in that class and committed. That doesn't happen by accident — it's the product of consistent work, a strong academic foundation, and the kind of preparation that actually shows up on an application.
The rest of our MJTP college class this year fared well too. A few context numbers worth knowing:
Davidson's acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 came in at 12.6% — from nearly 9,000 applications. NYU's overall rate was 7.7%, the lowest in the university's history. Emory checked in at just under 15%, receiving nearly 38,000 applications — close to 3,000 more than the prior year. The Emory Wheel
These are not "safety schools" anymore, for any student. The landscape keeps shifting, and the students who compete well in it are the ones who started preparing early and took the work seriously.
Congrats to all our committed seniors!!
New books, new tools, and what's coming next
A few updates I've been looking forward to sharing, but still not "launching," yet!
The Gauntlet is now live on Amazon. This book has been almost a year in the making, a collaborative effort with one of the most prolific and accurate SAT content writers on the planet. Rest assured, this is not a gentle stroll, but a genuine challenge. It's the book that my 700+ SAT Reading and Writing students have needed to challenge themselves.
These questions are not for the faint of heart....
A math-focused companion volume is on its way. I'll share details when we're closer to launch.
The bigger news, though, is the platform. My students have been quietly trialing an online version of the MJTP experience — and the feedback has been encouraging. One of the things I'm most excited about is moving my Official SAT Vocabulary quizzes there. Until now those have lived at mrjohnstestprep.com/tag/official-sat-vocab, and they've been a go-to resource for years. The new home will make tracking progress much easier for both students and families.
Here's a sneak peak for you:
We're aiming to open the beta to the public soon. When that happens, you'll hear from me first.
Stay tuned — and as always, thank you for the effort you're putting into your future!
John
Mr. John's Test Prep
mrjohnstestprep.com
