SAT and ACT Preparation in Context for Woodside Students
Woodside High School sits between Redwood City and the hills of the Peninsula, and its student population reflects the genuine diversity of that geography, students from horse country, from Redwood City's neighborhoods, and from families who chose Woodside specifically for its less pressurized environment relative to Palo Alto or Atherton.
That context matters for test preparation. A Woodside student's SAT or ACT plan should be calibrated to their actual college list, not to the score distribution at Gunn or Monta Vista. Michael's trial session does exactly that, the diagnostic establishes where a student is starting from, and the follow-up call with the parent builds a plan around realistic schools and what each of those schools' actual admitted student score ranges look like.
The 2025 ACT format change is relevant for Woodside students. Science is now optional and does not count toward the composite score. Students who previously found the SAT more manageable because it did not include a Science section should now reconsider both tests. The ACT at two hours total testing time is a different proposition than it was before 2025.
Sequoia Union High School District, which includes Woodside, has a college counseling infrastructure that helps students identify realistic and aspirational schools. Michael's preparation integrates with that counseling process: when a student knows where they want to go, the diagnostic can establish how far their score may need to go to be competitive there, and the preparation can be built around closing that specific gap.