Little Known Facts about Florida Bright Futures

Posted on February 10, 2024February 10, 2024 by Kennon McCaa

Here’s a quick true or false quiz for you about Florida Bright Futures….

Bright Futures covers either 75% or 100% of tuition.
Bright Futures covers room and board.
Tuition is the biggest portion of paying for a public university in Florida.

The correct answers are:

True, Bright Futures covers tuition.
False, Bright Futures does NOT cover room and board.
False, tuition is about 25% of the cost of attending a public university in Florida. Looking at my son’s bills (which are very confusing), it breaks down about like this: Housing 40%, Meals 30%, Tuition 25% and Fees 5%.

Bright Futures is Nice, but Benacquisto is Amazing

There’s actually something even better that most families don’t know about, until it is too late.

What is the Benacquisto Scholarship?

The Benacquisto Scholarship covers EVERYTHING for Florida students attending a public Florida university. My son qualified for it, and we literally pay nothing for him to go to school. In fact, he even gets cash back each semester. Currently, USF even pays him an additional $5,000/year and covers one year of post-graduate tuition. This far exceeded our expectations when we were studying together for the PSAT. We always thought Benacquisto was a minor upgrade on Bright Futures, but now that I’ve seen the full breakdown of the costs of college, and what Bright Futures does NOT pay, I can see the extra effort to earn this scholarship saved our family an additional $50,000, and earned him $50,000.

How does a student earn a Benacquisto Scholarship?

The Benacquisto Scholarship is only for Florida students that are National Merit Scholars. Only 1% of students qualify to be National Merit Scholars (“NMS”), so it isn’t easy, but it is worth it! First of all, to qualify as a NMS, students must score extremely high on the PSAT in the fall (October) of their junior year. So, for this reason, I’ve started recommending SAT (or really PSAT) prep to highly motivated sophomores, especially over the summer before their junior year. Please note that NMS scoring is currently calculated using 1/3 math and 2/3 English, so make sure you study especially hard for the English portion.

The Hardest Digital SAT Problems – SOLVED!

Posted on January 12, 2024January 12, 2024 by Kennon McCaa

I have released a series of YouTube videos where I solve the hardest digital SAT practice problems. The extensive series goes into great detail to teach the skills, strategies, and concepts to help students succeed on even the hardest digital SAT math questions.

Check out the first video in my YouTube series!

What is the Adaptive Digital SAT?

Posted on January 12, 2024January 12, 2024 by Kennon McCaa

Many of my students and parents have been asking what “Adaptive” means for the digital SAT! Does every question get harder? Are you better off missing questions? How crucial are the first questions? I answer all the questions in my YouTube video:

Changes in the Digital SAT (and TIPS!)

Posted on January 12, 2024January 12, 2024 by Kennon McCaa

The SAT has gone 100% digital! All SATs and PSATs will now be administered on a computer or iPad. I explain all the differences, what’s new, what’s gone, what’s changed, and what’s stayed the same. Learn about all the changes in my YouTube video!

Register for the October 5, 2020 SAT ASAP!

Posted on September 4, 2019October 15, 2019 by Kennon McCaa

The October SAT is one of the three tests per year where you can select the “Question and Answer Service” (QAS). For an additional $18 you get to see a complete copy of the actual test as well as your answers. This can be really helpful for reviewing and eliminating mistakes. Got questions about the SAT? Our SAT FAQ page is packed with valuable information.

Make sure to select this option during the registration process:

Spend the extra $18 and get a full copy of the test!

My son Carter is just in 9th grade, but he will be taking the October test as a diagnostic check-up and a chance for me to analyze the latest trends in the test questions.

Make sure to register ASAP because registration after Sept. 6th requires paying the “Late Registration Fee.”

You can register for the test here.

Preparing for Success on Test Day

Posted on March 7, 2019October 30, 2020 by Kennon McCaa

One Week Before Test Day

Start reviewing & reworking past mistakes as you lead up to test day. So, go back through all of your practice tests and find any questions you missed and make sure you can do them with ease. If you find any that still are awkward, then make a list of which test #, section # & question # and we can review them in the final week before you crush this test. Keep up the great work. Your extra effort in this final week can really make an enormous difference. You’ve got this! Finish strong!
Buy some peppermint gum. Peppermint helps with concentration.

Thursday

Go grocery shopping to be sure you have a great breakfast available for Saturday. See https://www.scoreatthetop.com/blog/blog-1/brain-food-5-best-foods-to-eat-before-a-test
Review the registration start time and test location.
Review the driving directions on how to drive to the testing location. Perhaps load the address into your phone’s mapping app.
Review my full SAT study guide.
Do another practice test or two. https://transformativetutoring.com/official-sat-practice-tests/
Review the official SAT website: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/taking-the-test/test-day-checklist

Friday

Find an old school watch if you want to bring one on Saturday. Advanced watches such as the Apple Watch are NOT permitted.
Pack your backpack:
- Bring your registration confirmation information.
- Bring your picture ID.
- Find your calculator.
  - Make sure your calculator has lots of battery life.
  - Make sure your calculator is in degree mode. If you don’t know what that means, then it won’t matter what mode you are in.
- Sharpen your trusty handful of #2 pencils.
- Pack your peppermint gum.
- Pack a snack or two.
- Prepare your water bottle.
Review my full SAT study guide.
Do another practice test or two. I recommend section 3, test 8.
Pick out your favorite outfit. Do you have something you wear that makes you feel awesome, powerful, smart and/or relaxed? Wear it on test day to improve your mood.
Set your alarm early enough to have a quality breakfast and arrive to the testing center early. You don’t want to be nervously standing at the end of a long line.
Go to bed at your normal time or a little bit earlier.

Saturday

At home

Wear your favorite power outfit.
Optionally, brush your teeth and hair. LOL!
Wear your old school watch.
Eat your healthy breakfast. (https://www.scoreatthetop.com/blog/blog-1/brain-food-5-best-foods-to-eat-before-a-test)

Arriving at your test site

Arrive early.
Leave your phone in the car. Phones can only get you in trouble inside the testing center. They are NOT allowed during breaks.
Have your picture ID and registration form ready.
Start chewing that peppermint gum.
Use the restroom one last time.

During the Test

Do the less difficult non-multiple choice problems first. 80% are easy!! Do the hard ones later. Do these easy problems first. They’re a nice warm-up.
If you have to guess on a non-multiple choice problem, guess “2”.
Quickly decide if a question is easy (1), medium (2) or difficult (3). You probably don’t want to invest much time on difficult questions. 90-95% of the questions are 1’s and 2’s. Stick to the 1’s and 2’s and you’ll do great. Battle the 3’s and you’ll get bogged down and potentially lose confidence. You can always do the 3’s last if you have time. Spending 5 minutes on a problem 95% of people will get wrong is a terrible use of valuable time.
Always pick the most likely answer before going to the next question. That’s your best guess and you’ll have to use it if you run out of time.
Put a question mark next to answers you are not certain of. You can review these questions as you fill in all the bubbles near the end of the test.
Write “+” next to questions you are certain are answered correctly.
To save time, bubble in all of your answers for each page once you have completed the page. That is faster than going one question at a time.
Review my test problem solving strategies in my full SAT study guide.

After the Test

Go unwind. Do something fun and relaxing.
Drop me a quick note to let me know how it went.

Official PSAT Practice Tests Are Here!

Posted on February 11, 2019May 14, 2022 by Kennon McCaa

After discussing the PSAT with a parent this weekend, I decided it was time to start encouraging students and parents to take the PSAT seriously! Often, students are told not to study for the PSAT, but that simply does not compute with me. If it is truly your chance to practice for the SAT, why not show up to practice ready to practice!?

The PSAT score is not used in college admissions, but it is the score used to help students earn National Merit Scholarships. Although only 1% of students earn National Merit Scholarships (which generally max out at a single award of $2500), these awards can also be used to qualify for the Benacquisto Scholarship Program which covers ALL fees and cost of living not covered by Bright Futures and National Merit Scholarships for your entire undergraduate program.

Of course, a great PSAT score can also fill your email inbox or regular mailbox with literature from great schools that might be of interest to you!

Additionally, some high school programs, including Pine View, may restrict students with low PSAT scores from taking certain (AP) classes.

So, if you are interested in studying for the PSAT that you will take in October of your junior year you can visit the our PSAT practice tests page.

Now Open! The Transformation Begins…

Posted on November 12, 2018December 20, 2018 by Kennon McCaa

Visit us at 151 N. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL 34229.

Kennon McCaa has launched Transformative Tutoring, LLC to help students improve their confidence, knowledge, skills, and performance in math. His goal is to create an important and lasting change for his students.

Kennon brings a love of learning and a lifelong passion for helping others through education to Transformative Tutoring that will significantly benefit either you or your student. His joy of teaching and mathematics makes him effective with students of all ages and interests, as evidenced by success stories ranging from 3rd grade to college.