Train your child to move AHEAD
People, Events & Products
July 8, 2006

For most of us, taking exams induces more anxiety attacks than desired results. If you have the same anxieties, wondering whether you’re qualified for something or not – Rossana Llenado, who runs AHEAD Tutorial and Review Center, has one piece of advice: Be prepared.

Apparently, it is easier said than done. But take it as an advice from a mother who knows best. A natural born innovator, Llenado thought about expanding her family’s Brain Train Center in Los Banos to accommodate the same academic needs here in Manila. Why not take advantage of a service that guarantees to raise your chances about getting into the college of your dreams?

AHEAD does not only help graduating high school seniors pass their college entrance exams, it also guides them through the ropes of surviving their college freshman year. It hands out a free book about the degree programs offered in Metro Manila’s top colleges and universities, and students are free to consult with their lecturers about anything to do with college life.

Llenado relates how tough it is to convince some people, including school heads, about AHEAD. “Not all review centers are the same,” points out Llenado, who thinks her center will be better appreciated when matched against its competitors.

AHEAD distinguishes itself as giving sample exams patterned after real college admission tests and has maintained a good track record of successful exam-takers. She encourages those who have not yet decided to make a go of formal review classes to look around and see why kids need such help. So far, the rate of success and continuing positive word-of mouth have both steered AHEAD to where it is now.

Since Brain Train was established in Los Banos in 1990, AHEAD continues to change the way “studying” is viewed. It is no longer a boring, rote memory-intensive chore we all go through at one point in our lives – it is necessary to direct us where we want to go next.

Students first learn about the odds of their application being accepted through a routine diagnostic test. It prepares the student to test himself under some pressure and to see how he fares at first bat. Low scores are almost to be expected but it is the rate of improving in the next simulated exam that is given importance. Llenado thinks he could even work to the student’s advantage: fueling his or her motivation to do the best that he or she could to score higher where it counts most: on the exam day itself.

Besides offering one-on-one tutorials, Llenado has also started offering review sessions for other admission exams, such as civil service eligibility, law school and, beginning this year, graduate studies – all in one roof.
What keeps her going is the satisfaction out of seeing her enrollees get into the best universities in the country. Perhaps, one of the key factors is the hiring of the most accomplished graduates from these universities. Each lecturer is not only an honor graduate, he or she is also thoroughly screened for his or her ability to get students interested in what he or she is saying in class. It’s tough enough to get the students’ attention at 1 p.m. in this climate, but some people find a way into their personalities through it. Besides, he or she should also get at least a score of 85 in the simulated exams.

To review exams themselves are a telling factor. They are patterned around the college admission tests of reputable schools like UP, Ateneo de Manila, and La Salle. The demand for slots at the University of Asia and the Pacific (formerly known as CRC) is also steadily growing. Each has its own different tack of admitting students, and AHEAD wants to be there every inch of the way. The students may opt for the all-in-one package or the university-specific review modules.

Llenado, only 31, is like a mother to the students. She feels everyone who is younger is a child of hers there – honing their talents and abilities to a step closer to their goal. By example, she wants all of them to gain a sense of her goal-oriented nature.

One thing she could advise other parents is to spend more quality time with their kids – get to know them better and leave the nagging about studying their lessons to a pro. Parents, Llenado has observed, naturally have high expectations and end up berating their kids for not trying hard enough. “Why not hire a tutor?” suggests Llenado. She assures that AHEAD has one to make learning fun.