What’s the Difference Between the PSAT and the SAT?
If you’re planning to go to college, you’ve probably heard of College Board, and you’ve probably heard of the standardized exams . . .
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Our program is custom-built around your kid's specific needs, whether that means more time in math or help with some useful test taking strategies.
Sports, extracurriculars and regular schoolwork won't prevent your son or daughter from getting the prep they need. We do evenings and weekends, too.
Our tutors have scored in the 99th percentile and been selected after multiple teaching auditions. Their expertise gives your son or daughter an advantage.
If your first session isn't fantastic, we'll give you a 100% refund. This allows you to try the program risk-free.
You shouldn't be stuck with sessions you don't need. If you don't use all of your hours, we'll refund what you didn't use.
Don't love your tutor? Give us a call. We'll chat about your experience and assign someone else who is a better fit.
My tutor was beyond the best tutor I’ve had. She personalized each session based on my needs and taught me a different perspective on how to tackle the SAT with strategies and techniques that helped me on test day!
Ashni
Real Test Geek Student
Within a couple days of registration, we'll send you an email with your tutor's bio and contact information. At the same time, we'll send your tutor your information. The two of you can get together and schedule your first session.
We work around crazy student schedules, and we hold sessions on evenings and weekends. You can schedule your sessions directly with your tutor, and you don't need to meet at the same time each week.
Most students have sessions at home, but if you prefer, we can utilize a public library near your house. Our goal is to make sessions as convenient as possible for you and your student.
Bring prior test scores with you to your first session or send them to the tutor in advance. Our tutors want to customize the program for your student, and the more information they have, the more effective sessions will be.
Tutoring + Tools + College Essays
A total college solution for long-term students. This includes 50 hours of private tutoring, all of the tools listed in the packages above plus unlimited college essay assistance.
This is a turnkey dream college solution for students looking to do 6-12 months of prep.
$4999
Select PlanTutoring + Tools + College Essays
A total college solution for long-term students. This includes 80 hours of private tutoring, all of the tools listed in the packages above plus unlimited college essay assistance.
This is a turnkey dream college solution for students looking to do 12+ months of prep.
$7999
Select PlanTutor quality is the single most important component of test prep, and our goal is to be the pickiest prep provider in existence. We start with a top 1% score requirement, which immediately cuts 99% of the population out of consideration. But high test scores don't ensure a good tutor, so we then have candidates go through teaching auditions. Once we make those cuts, we then put tutors through our proprietary training program. It's a selective process that yields a better experience for your student.
Private tutoring is our flagship program, and it makes sense for a lot of students. We've answered most of the questions we often receive below, but if we haven't answered yours, feel free to give us a call at 866-210-4335 for a free, on-the-spot phone consultation.
Yes, completely. The main advantage of private tutoring is that time is spent exactly where your student needs it most rather than based on some pre-determined formula. If your student is really good at algebra but struggles with geometry, we will spend more time on geometry. Another big aspect of the customization is that homework problems are reviewed one-on-one as well, so your student will be getting direct attention on the problems he or she missed. This combination of specific attention is very powerful, and it is the primary reason our SAT and ACT tutoring is so effective.
Most students prefer to have the sessions held in their house. In some cases, the student's house might not be possible. In those cases, public libraries work well. We prefer to not have sessions in coffee shops. Whenever you first speak with your instructor, you can discuss with him or her what you prefer. Whenever possible, we try to accommodate your house as the session location if that is your preference. In certain cases, geography may make that difficult, but we will always advise you of that upfront.
Yes! Unlike our group prep classes, our private tutoring program does not have a fixed schedule. It is entirely up to you and your student. Many of our students have incredibly busy schedules, and we have been able to accomodate them well in the past. Our tutors have excellent evening and weekend availability, so we can work with nearly any scheduling requirements.
We are extremely picky about the tutors we hire, and this almost never happens. Not only are our tutors required to have a 99th percentile SAT or ACT score, they also go through rigorous teaching auditions to ensure they are good communicators who can connect with high school students. However, personalities differ, and occasionally things don't mesh in an ideal way. Our Love your Tutor Guarantee means you can always request a tutor change, and we will assign a new tutor who might be a better fit. But again, this is almost never requested.
This is the most important question you can ask before picking an SAT or ACT tutor. The quality of the tutor matters more than anything else in this process. Our tutors have several important distinctions. First, they have all scored in the top 1% on the SAT or ACT. That is an incredibly high standard, and it is far higher than that of most companies offering test prep. However, being great at the SAT or ACT doesn't mean someone can teach those tests. We want tutors who can connect with students, so we put all of our tutor candidates through multiple rounds of teaching auditions to make sure they are good educators rather than just brainiacs. Finally, all of our tutors have graduated from top universities. We don't hire undergraduates. This combination of maturity, test expertise and teaching ability is powerful, and it has a proven record of producing serious test score improvements.
We figure out when to start tutoring based on your target test date. If you don't have a target SAT test date yet, your goal should be for your student to have the score he or she needs by the end of their junior year. Sometimes that isn't possible, and the first couple of test dates during the senior year will work as well. Once we have the target test date figured out, we work backwards to determine tutoring session frequency. Our "benchmark" frequency is about once per week. However, there is certainly nothing wrong with going more frequently than this. Twice or even three times per week can be done successfully if the student's schedule allows it. We do not recommend meeting significantly less often than once per week, thought. We have found it to be inefficient in most cases.
Yes, absolutely. We have had students focus on as little as a single topic area within a section before. Our private tutoring program is completely customizable, which means you can use it however you see fit. One word of caution, however: Often, it is difficult to predict which sections will improve the most for a given student. It isn't unusual for a student to see significant improvements in the area that was originally his or her biggest strength. In most cases, points are points, no matter where they come from.
Yes. Our tutoring program is designed to be comprehensive for students who need comprehensive prep (excluding students who specifically want to focus on one portion of the SAT or ACT). That means our goal is to get our students better at content and strategies. We want their actual math and grammar to improve, and we also want their timing and elimination of answer choices skills to improve as well.
If you’re planning to go to college, you’ve probably heard of College Board, and you’ve probably heard of the standardized exams . . .
read more
As SAT prep experts, we talk a lot about how to raise your test score: getting better at the content that the SAT tests . . .
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Let's talk about SAT scores! We're going to discuss SAT percentiles and talk about what constitutes a good, bad and average . . .
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Needing a good SAT score can add a lot of pressure to your already hectic high school life. A good score can open endless . . .
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