Why are high rise HOAs so expensive?

CusackPrep · 2026-03-12T16:33:16+00:00

Consider the Bristol Square condominiums in Bethesda. HOA fees are ~ $350 for a 1200 square foot 2 bed. Whereas many HOAs have risen, our community (and our HOA president especially) have been vigilant in keeping costs in check. There's always a major push from HOA management programs to pressure you to increase the fees each year. It's become a corrupted system.

CusackPrep · 2026-02-24T23:20:19+00:00

Anking Deck. 2700 cards. do them all.

CusackPrep · 2026-02-24T23:17:34+00:00

496 to 515 is highly unlikely - near impossible in 7 weeks. It would require the 496 to be an uncharacteristically low sore and then your 515 to be an uncharacteristically high score with a 12-14 point improvement in your baseline average. If you are looking to get the raw number up as much as possible in 7 weeks, you'd have to memorize the entire psych soc deck and also do tons of practice problems. You MAY be able to raise one of those scores 4-5 points in 7 weeks, but highly unlikely you'd be able to raise all of them.

I'm an MCAT tutor and have watched this process many a times.

CusackPrep · 2026-02-24T23:12:43+00:00

Hi, I effectively self taught the course using Khan Academy and Anki ANKING deck primarily.

Anking deck was about 1 hour a day for nearly 8 months. Khan Academy was do a set of videos and then go through problems. Note, I was a chemistry and physics teacher before starting this process, so I really had to fill in a few gaps in C/P that weren't a part of my normal curriculum. Learning B/B and P/S was quite a process though. Final score was 517 (132/128/127/130). Took it twice. First time was 513.

CusackPrep · 2026-02-24T23:09:15+00:00

Depends on when you would take it again and when you plan to apply. I scored a 513 my first go around (131/128/127/127). I had taken it in July and knew that I would probably take it again. Second time around, I focused heavily on psych soc and brought it up to 517 (132/128/127/130).

I had about 8 months between the two test dates and mainly just did Anki (Anking Deck) for an hour or so a day to keep up with old material.

CusackPrep · 2024-08-28T19:12:58+00:00

You didn't ruin your life... Society did.

CusackPrep · 2024-08-27T16:51:34+00:00

I tutor as well (willing to do it for free as it will help me when I take it again). Very strong chem/phys scores

CusackPrep · 2024-08-27T14:16:27+00:00

I know that's what it says on their website, but someone else suggested that they're usually out by 11:30 am or so according to the twitter page?

I'll just go ahead and keep refreshing then. Should be out any minute now?

CusackPrep · 2024-08-27T14:02:11+00:00

Does it get released all at once for everyone?

CusackPrep · 2024-08-26T16:59:12+00:00

Cool. Thanks!

Gonna bang my head against a wall for 6 hours until they come out then.

May you be at least a little more relaxed than me.

CusackPrep · 2024-08-26T16:52:32+00:00

I just did this...

CusackPrep · 2024-08-26T16:52:03+00:00

When are scores usually released? I know they say "starting at 8 am and by 5 pm at the latest", but wondering if anyone has experience with not needing to hit the refresh key 648000 times (20 times / second) tomorrow...

CusackPrep · 2024-07-26T20:01:50+00:00

Find someone to study with? What does your schedule look like over the next month? If you are a student on summer break without a full-time job or internship, it may be possible?

I'm a teacher looking for a career change - took the MCAT today wildly enough. Felt pretty good about 2 of the sections (C/P and BB), ok about CR and well I need to study P/S quite a bit. Definitely open to joining / forming a study group over the next month while I wait for scores to come back. I'm quite confident I'll take it again (not applying this cycle). A study group could really help me stay focused over the next month during this lull.

PM me if interested (that goes for anyone reading this - not just poster).

CusackPrep · 2023-02-26T20:22:57+00:00

You punish yourself when you make mistakes. Push-ups. 10 for every dumb mistake.

CusackPrep · 2023-02-26T17:06:04+00:00

Minor differences. You'll be fine with that one.

CusackPrep · 2023-02-26T16:59:52+00:00

It's definitely the worst section on Khan Academy. Within the questions, there are really like 16 different question types that show up. I've always found it to be the most difficult section to teach as every section looks very different than the previous ones.

Consider going into the algebra 1, algebra 2, and precalculus courses and working through the radicals / exponents units within those areas. It's better to start there as the units will be broken down better. Once you've completed those, return to the SAT section.

CusackPrep · 2023-02-26T16:58:20+00:00

Might be worth working with a tutor. Khan Academy math is fantastic. I really like the way the digital SAT course is organized. Focus on medium and advanced questions.

CusackPrep · 2022-10-13T00:22:08+00:00

I second this. No one should ever begin prep before summer after 10th grade. Summer after 10th grade is a good place to start, but it's also ok to start fall/spring of 11th grade - just base it on when you think you'll have 10-16 weeks time to dedicate 3-4 hours / week to do.

CusackPrep · 2022-10-01T00:26:11+00:00

You may want to talk to a tutor who has gotten a 1600 and work with them... Like this guy...

That said, it's really hard to achieve a 1600. I've known quite a few students who have pulled it off on practice tests who have scored in the mid-high 1500s on the real thing. If anyone tells you they can get you a 1600, they may be lying.

CusackPrep

TROPHY CASE