Van Gessel, Winni: - Dad, what is the difference between who and whom? I had answered these types of questions since my daughters learned to talk, but this time it was different. A lot of money was at stake, and the answer might even determine if they got into a top college or not. The question above appears in every ACT test and most students do not know the answer. (Here is a hint: If you answer a question with HIM, you should have used WHOM.) Born in the Netherlands, I was at first unfamiliar with the concepts of the ACT, and I was sure that my daughters' activities, volunteer hours, and leadership positions would give them a great scholarship. Little did I know how much emphasis colleges put on the numbers of the American College Test, the ACT; In Kentucky a one-point difference (just 6 questions) can automatically increase your scholarship by $4500.00 or more. I decided to analyze every question that my oldest daughter missed, and I found my first pattern: she missed four out of five circle questions. I know. I hate cylinder problems, she said. That day, we drove to Cincinnati, and before we were even halfway I had taught her every circle formula, forwards and backwards. Give me a HARD problem, Dad, she would say. Back home, she flew over her previously-missed circle questions and nailed every one of them. Having just started the Montessori High School in town, I then analyzed each of the missed questions of my students in their PLAN and EXPLORE tests. Every student received a report with the top categories in which they had made the most mistakes, and they integrated exercises and missed questions into their homework assignments. As I had studied Instructional Design at the University of Kentucky, I wanted to find out how I could best teach the necessary skills for the ACT. By the time my youngest daughter was a junior, I had built up an extensive set of skills pertaining to the ACT, and I took every test that she took as well. I made 1-page handouts and mini quizzes for every area in which she and her friends needed help. Can you make me a page that contains every math formula that I will need on the ACT? she asked innocently. Soon this handout was known as The Beast and made its way to Morehead State University and even India. By now, I had become a full-time college planner as one of the owners of Class 101 in Lexington. I took every ACT that I could find and discovered more and more patterns that I organized in my own system, called trendsheets.