Belfast — Preparation for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) will be the focus of eight weekly classes at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center beginning February 3.

The course, taught by Mary Smyth, will be held Sundays, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Prep Matters is designed for high school sophomores and juniors who plan to take the SAT in spring 2019.

The recently redesigned SAT now has two scores — verbal skills and math. According to the College Board, to be able to attain at least a C in a non-remedial college math class, a student must score 530 out of 800 on the math section of the SAT. However, only about 40 percent of high school students can do so.

“It is important that students understand that they need to work for a semester, not just cram at the last minute for one test,” said Mary Smyth, in a news release. Smyth has been teaching algebra through calculus at Watershed School in Camden for more tha a decade and has coached SAT prep for 14 years.

Smyth is a retired pediatrician and is a local expert on college admission testing. She has tutored students for the SAT, ACT, SAT subject tests and AP Calculus exams, many of whom went on to earn scores of 800.

According to a parent of one of Smyth’s students, in the release: “Mary is the ultimate SAT coach –– intelligent, patient, funny and most importantly, she knows the SAT inside and out. Thanks to Mary’s coaching, my daughter’s score dramatically improved from the PSAT to the SAT and she now understands concepts that were confusing to her before. I highly recommend Mary Smyth to anyone looking to improve their SAT score.”

The cost is $375 per student for an eight-week course in preparation for the verbal, math and essay portions of the test; $275 for an eight-week course in preparation for either the math or verbal portions of the test. A limited number of scholarships are available through an Early College grant at the Hutchinson Center.

For more information, or to request a scholarship application or a reasonable accommodation contact Allison Small, 338.8004; allison.small@maine.edu.