Media Highlights

Globe and Mail (Friday, June 03, 2011)

Want your kid in prep school? Students reveal how to score a coveted spot

Tralee Pearce

The basket of stress balls outside the door is the first sign that this morning’s gathering is more work than play.

Inside, parents eyeing private school for their children are mingling with experts in a speed-dating-style flurry. Held in a balloon-festooned party room at the Ontario Science Centre, the event has been arranged by Prepskills, a Toronto company that has been grooming children for admission to elite schools for almost a decade.

FULL ARTICLE

Canadian Student Magazine (Fall/Winter 2010 - Issue 5)

US College Ranking Tables: How do You Know Which College is the Best for You?

Joanna Severino

Various private organizations within the United States and globally generate annual or periodic college ranking tables. Those tables are supposed to provide readers with a list of the best and worst universities and colleges in the U.S.

In theory, a prospective student should be able to consult such ranking tables in order to decide which schools offer the best education in a particular area of study.

Unfortunately, things are not so simple. Each organization uses a range of diverse statistical measures to generate its respective tables, some of which may produce rankings that are entirely irrelevant to a student’s academic interests.

FULL ARTICLE

Canadian Student Magazine (Spring/Summer 2010 - Issue 4)

Score Choice – How Many Times Should You Write Your SAT?

Joanna Severino

Just over a year ago, the College Board introduced Score Choice – much to the delight of students worldwide, many of whom believed it had just made applying to American universities and colleges a lot easier.

Score Choice is a policy that relates to the SAT Reasoning Test—a test that students must write to gain admission to 80% of American colleges. In the past, the College Board (the non-profit organization that administers and runs the SAT) has stipulated that if a student writes the SAT repeatedly, all of her scores would necessarily be sent to colleges as part her admissions application. With the introduction of Score Choice just over a year ago, the situation has changed dramatically.

FULL ARTICLE

Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (April 8, 2008 )

Private School Admission in Ontario - The Disturbing Realities of "Getting In"

The Chinese Professionals Association of Canada represent and assist professionals of Chinese descent in gaining recognition, cultural integration, career advancement, and civic engagement in Canadian society through quality service and advocacy.

Each year, CPAC hosts an Education Day to assist families by providing information and choices for a quality education and a better future.

PREPSKILLS is proud to support CPAC in providing skills leadership programs and test-taking skills (SSAT or SAT) for students. PREPSKILLS provides engaging seminars for families navigating the private school and US college admissions process.

FULL ARTICLE

Got My Kids (April 8, 2008 )

Joanna Severino

According to the report “Ontario’s Private Schools: Who Chooses Them and Why?”, published by The Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian research organization, parents are choosing private schools because they feel the public system isn’t meeting the needs of their children. While enrolment in Ontario’s publicly funded schools has not even doubled over the last four decades, attendance at private schools has more than quadrupled. Demand for placements in private schools continues to rise, and the competition has become intense.

FULL ARTICLE

The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (December 10, 2007 )

Write for Life Oncology Book Program Inspires Young Writers

Joanna Severino

Joanna Severino, a cancer survivor and former PMH patient, believes in taking part in changing suffering into opportunity and started “Wings of Hope”, an annual oncology book contest at PREPSKILLS, to help inspire others to celebrate each day’s blessings.

The "Wings of Hope" book contains student written poems, essays and images celebrating the beauty of life. This book contest is open to all students who enter their written submission online and artwork mailed in by March 31, 2008. The book is distributed to major hospitals such as Princess Margaret Hospital and supports the Childhood Cancer Foundation.

FULL ARTICLE

Professionally Speaking (September 2005 Issue)

Katija Bonin, Caryn Ceolin and Maria Anillo gained top ranking in the 2005 PREP WRITE™ Essay Contest, winning $250 each with an equal donation awarded to their participating schools.

Elementary and secondary students across the GTA drew on personal experiences, current events, history and literature to reflect on the statement, “Your attitude almost always determines your altitude in life.”

FULL ARTICLE

PREPSKILLS INC. (Thursday, February 10, 2005)

Joanna Severino

PREPSKILLS Inc. fills a niche by providing preparation for the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) and other entrance exams. It’s mission is to translate preparation into opportunity.

The focus of PREPSKILLS^® is to offer preparation venues for the SSAT and other admission tests that would provide a comprehensive, unique Canadian learning experience, encompassing both the classroom setting and technological resources. PREPSKILLS^® is the only program in the world that offers such a unique and comprehensive skills-based experience. It was for these reasons that PREPSKILLS Inc. was founded – wanting to establish a tool to facilitate this difficult and important process for parents and students.

FULL ARTICLE

The Women's Post (December 2004 Issue)

Joanna Severino

As parents begin to think about placing their children in independent or private schools for the 2009 academic year, one of the most frightening pieces of the puzzle is the admission process.

It is not as easy as it appears. As a matter of fact, the whole prospect has become mind-boggling.

A few words of advice for those wishing to embark on this journey.

FULL ARTICLE

Globe and Mail (Monday, Oct 18, 2004)

So you’ve found a private school where little Caitlin or Evan will thrive. Now, how do you make sure they get in?

Every year, parents are disappointed when their children are turned away because classes are already full or the student did not meet entrance requirements. That’s why educators recommend applying to several schools, ranking them in order of preference.

“It’s tough, because there are a lot of applications and the spots are few,” said director of PREPSKILLS INC., a company that prepares students for entrance exams required for admission to many private schools.

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National Post (November 23, 2002)

Deirdre McMurdy

Private schools are facing unprecedented demand as middle class parents, shaken by strife in the public system, vie to enroll their children

It’s a Wall Street scandal to which thousands of Canadian parents can relate: Former Salomon Smith Barney telecom analyst Jack Grubman agreed to change his rating on AT&T stock in exchange for a little help getting his twins into a prestigious Manhattan day school.

As parents get set to battle for next year’s spots — some are paying hundreds of dollars just for the privilege of applying — it’s obvious that private schools are no longer the pampered scions of the elite.

FULL ARTICLE