Lily Fu, a graduate of High School North, Class of 2007, and a rising junior at Princeton University, is launching the West Windsor-Plainsboro branch of Ivy Insiders, an innovative test prep company that is changing the way high school students prepare for college admissions. Not only will she take on well-established test prep giants in the business arena, she will also be teaching the classes herself.
“With my own experiencing in test-taking and the unique curriculum developed by Ivy Insiders, I hope to help students beat the SAT and turn it to their advantage in preparing for college admissions,” she says. Fu received a 2390 on the SAT (800 Verbal, 790 Math, 800 Writing). She was also a National Merit Scholarship finalist and an Edward Bloustein award recipient.
“I became involved with Ivy Insiders when they selected me to become the West Windsor-Plainsboro branch manager based on my leadership experience and SAT scores,” she says. “I accepted this offer because it is both a management and teaching position, and because it is an exciting venture in social entrepreneurship.” Fu will teach two SAT classes and one ACT course this summer. She is also available as a private tutor.
Ivy Insiders is a test prep company founded in 2003 by Harvard graduates. The classroom course includes 18 hours of lecture and 16 hours of proctored practice tests. “The most important difference between Ivy Insiders and other test prep companies is its unparalleled score improvement — an average of 264 points on the SAT and 4.4 points on the ACT, higher than both Princeton Review and Kaplan,” Fu reports.
Instructors are chosen from Ivy League students who have scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT. The curriculum features “game theory” methods that treat the SAT as a beatable and predictable game and builds student confidence. The course is $699 ($599 with the discount code NJ1N if enrolled before July 5).
Born in China, Fu moved to the United States when she was 10 knowing almost no English. “I knew the alphabet, but that was the extent of my knowledge,” she says. “It was definitely challenging adapting to a new environment where I didn’t understand the language or the culture. However, with the help of my bilingual teacher, parents, and friends, I persevered and mastered the language within a year. Though I learned the language quickly, it took me much longer to overcome the culture shock — more specifically the diversity and openness of American culture.”
Her father, Frank Fu, is a senior manager of the software development division at Broadridge Financial Solutions, and her mother, Huiqun Sheng, who also worked in software development, is currently taking some time off. “I am very grateful for my parents who decided to devote their time and effort to loving and nurturing one child,” she says. “Without their support, I would not be where I am today.”
In China, Fu was a brainy girl who only focused on academics but soon became well-rounded and ran cross country and joined the debate club. “I learned how to think on my feet and make cogent arguments,” she says. “Through this process, I became much less shy and more self-confident. Eventually, I also went on to assume various leadership positions at North and at Princeton.”
Fu is majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with a certificate in applied math. At Princeton, she is the president of the Princeton University Language Project (PULP) and the vice president of the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC). When she is not swamped by the amount of reading she has to do for her classes, she enjoys writing, playing violin, and tap-dancing with TapCats (Princeton’s tap-dancing troupe).
“In the summer of 2006, I taught English in China and really enjoyed the experience,” she says. “I love teaching because not only does it have a tangible impact on people’s lives, it is also challenging and fun at the same time.”
SAT Workshop, Ivy Insiders, Plainsboro Public Library. Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m. Learn the Game Theory approach to test taking in a two-hour workshop. Lily Fu presents a program to raise baseline SAT score. Free. 347-281-3190 or www.ivyinsiders.com.
SAT Course, Ivy Insiders, Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton. Saturday, July 12, 7 p.m. Register. 888-448-9773 or www.ivyinsiders.com.
ACT Course, Ivy Insiders, Jewish Center, Nassau Street, Princeton. Saturday, August 1, 6 p.m. Register. 888-448-9773. www.ivyinsiders.com.
SAT Course, Ivy Insiders, Westminster College, Princeton. Sunday, August 2, 7 p.m. Register. 888-448-9773. www.ivyinsiders.com.
