Cynthia Edwards says it was hard to spread the word about Get Ready! during the summer, but she is sure more students will attend after this year's class gets its results back.

"If they get a decent score, it will show them and the kids coming behind them how much of a benefit it is," Edwards says, "It will get progressively better year to year."

This year's students responded after noticing posters around Mount Vernon or announcements in their churches. Next year, Edwards says she and other parents will help coordinate announcements at Mount Vernon High School.

Get Ready! raised awareness not only of the need for SAT prep, but also more general assistance for disadvantaged students preparing for college admission.

To celebrate Get Ready!'s inaugural year, teachers and students concluded the program with a pot luck supper followed by a panel discussion on the college admissions process. The panel-which was open to the public included an admissions officer from Columbia University, a Financial Aid officer from the City University of New York and guidance counselors from Mount Vernon and Scarsdale High Schools.

In addition to running an expanded Get Ready! course in Mount Vernon next summer, Lang and Cha plan to start a Cambridge branch.

"We want it to go beyond what a lot of community service programs do and really make it part of the community," Lang says. "We want to train communities how to prepare their own kids for the college process.