<p>I just saw a poster in a Sylvan Learning Center storefront that went something like this:</p>
<p>"Imagine the upcoming SAT and ACT tests are like a meteor hurtling toward the Earth. The only way to save the Earth and get into the college of your dreams is to ace the test.</p>
<p>Yes, it's that urgent."</p>
<p>What!!?? This is a nasty way of preying on the fears of both parents and students. Isn't it enough that the sheer numbers and competitiveness facing college applicants are making the situation stressful without whipping up anxiety even more?</p>
<p>Except the SAT is not “like a meteor hurtling toward the Earth.” I think advertising like that is ridiculous and would undoubtedly increase pressure. The most effective test prep focuses on the simple/easy aspects so that students can walk in relaxed.</p>
<p>There is not a false word in that ad. Acing the test is in fact one of the major prerequisites of getting into good school. Any advertising urges you to do something, to buy something. This one is no different.</p>
<p>Of course doing well on the ACT and SAT is important to getting into college. It’s the hyperbole and the whipping up of anxiety that I am objecting to.</p>
<p>Yes, YAHA. If we don’t don’t get a 2400 on our SATs, a meteor will crash into the Earth and destroy all of humanity. That’s what it’s implying anyways.</p>
<p>That’s the kind of BS that has parents of 6th graders asking me when their kids should start prepping for the SAT! Of course, it’s a big deal and you want to do well, but it’s not life or death, and no one’s entire life has been either made or ruined by the test.</p>
<p>It’s already bad enough that one test has so much bearing in the admissions process, but it’s terrible for test prep companies to use that to their advantage. It is pretty funny the lengths they’ll go to for business though</p>