Revolution Prep: Ivy Leaguers Take on College Test Prep Industry

To prep or not to prep? For a growing number of high school parents and students, that is the question. And with college admissions getting more competitive every year, many students have begun turning to a short list of pricey test prep companies to help them earn the scores they need to compete.

But the dominance of the old-school test prep giants may not be here to stay. At least that’s what two entrepreneurial college students are banking on.

This summer, Cuauhtémoc Ocampo and Marisa Till, two student leaders from Princeton University and Cornell University respectively, have been selected to bring Revolution Prep’s Ivy Insiders programs to Cerritos.  Revolution Prep, an innovative test prep company started in 2002, selects undergraduates from top colleges around the nation to run its Ivy Insiders programs during the summer. 

“I have heard too many stories of kids taking traditional test prep saying how their class was not worth the money,” says Ocampo, who is a 2010 Cerritos High School graduate and now a coordinator for the Princeton University Mentoring Program (PUMP). He was also hired to run Revolution’s Ivy Insiders programs based on his excellent performance on the SAT.

In the past nine years, Revolution’s Ivy Insiders programs have helped nearly 10,000 students raise their SAT scores by an average of almost 300 points—results that outpace most traditional test prep companies by a factor of two.  Such unprecedented success can be traced to three unique features of Revolution’s Ivy Insiders programs: a focus on mentorship, a personalized learning approach for every student, and an intensive three-week delivery that allows students to escape the stresses of the school year.

“The reason Ivy Insiders has had so much success is that we take a student-centered approach to the test. We approach the SAT like a game to be beaten and expose students to some its best players—Ivy League undergraduates who beat the exam themselves. By simplifying the test’s content, tailoring our instruction to individual students’ needs, and focusing on results, we’ve been able to produce score jumps that are unprecedented.”

Till, a junior at Cornell, is also new as a Revolution Ivy instructor, but she’s certainly not stranger to the SAT.  During her high school career she was able to score a 2340  (99th Percentile) on her SAT and also scored a 36 on the ACT.

“I’m thrilled to be teaching in the Cerritos area this summer to spearhead Ivy Insiders’ launch,” says Till. “It really is the full package: top instructors, the right approach, reasonable prices, and of course, guaranteed results. I think the potential of this program is limitless.”

Revolution Prep will run Ivy Insiders courses and tutoring programs in Cerritos throughout this summer. For more information, please visit: www.revolutionprep.com/ivyinsiders and search zip code: 90703 or contact Mr. Ocampo at: Email: ocampo@ivyinsiders.com , or call anytime at (562) 334-6852.

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Cuauhtémoc Ocampo on behalf of Revolution Prep.