Everyone takes the test differently, so we’ll teach you differently than anyone else.
our average
industry average
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Your test. Your Way. Your Goal Our wholly customized, adaptive test prep.
How Our Tutoring Works
If you’ve said, “You need to study for the SAT/ACT.” And secretly hope your child doesn’t ask, “How”. We’re for you.
The core of our test prep is 1-on-1 live instruction over Zoom. It’s designed for the student: their core strengths/weaknesses, how they learn, content gaps. It’s also designed for the situation: how much time do they have before the exam, what else is going in on their life, and how will this test play into the next.
Yes, next.
*Georgetown, Ohio State, and the University of Wisconsin are the two notable exceptions.
An important consideration is how you feel and perform with analytical reading, mainly exhibits (charts, tables, and graphs).
While it’s often true that math people are better off on the SAT and verbal people are better off on the ACT, it’s also often false. We will weigh the pros and cons carefully—and your opinion is most important.
We are experts in guiding students with the following learning and unique needs, whether that is ADHD, Dyslexia, Processing Disorders, Bipolar & Personality Disorders, Gender Dysphoria and test anxiety. We coach kids on how to navigate their learning issues.
What does it Look Like?
It always depends on the kid and the circumstances.
We generally want to focus on half of the exam at the time – 2 sections of the ACT or the Verbal or Quant of the ACT. If a student isn’t signed up for a test; we want to find the right test for them.
If a student isn’t signed up for a test; we want to find the right test for them
If they aren’t signed up for a test (or if they are), we like 6-8 weeks out. That allows a good, unhurried pace with a very high likelihood of success. If you’re thinking farther out – say 3-4 months – that’s a valid strategy with some upside and downside.
If your test is a month away, no big deal. We still have a great chance to succeed with just a little more effort and urgency.
Inside of a month, you often have a choice – you can easily bring up two sections, but maybe not reach your natural maximum. You can focus on one – in the case of the ACT, especially – and have a high likelihood of knocking it out. Some sections are very friendly for fast improvement, even for kids who hate the subject. We’ve had a slew of literature-loathing-future-engineers bring up their English ACT score by as much as 9 points in 3 weeks, and 6 in 2.
Tutoring Frequency varies by kid and circumstance, but a very standard plan is 2 one hour sessions per week (often more if the test date is close).
On non-tutoring days, kids will have 20 – 40 minutes of work per day – we give them a flexible amount to maximize adherence to practicing every day. It also helps students learn better time management, planning, and prioritization skills.
The best test prep is self test prep. We’ve adapted a Quality Practice Model, where we don’t want students just to get the ‘problems done’ but to spend 20-25% of their time digging into what they just did.
Personalized test prep
Our tutoring is 100% remote & 100% on your timetable.
We’ll work with your schedule, and we won’t add stress to your busy life. Students learn from the comfort of their own homes. No commuting hassles, no need to dress up—log in to Zoom and embark on your learning journey. This convenience not only saves time but also fosters a relaxed environment conducive to effective learning.
You take the lead.
We guide with constant communication.
We’ll let you manage the relationship with us, help you with the content you haven’t learned or forgotten, and create a custom test day playbook that fits you.
What About Strategies
This is where I’m supposed to tell you about our Top Secret strategies, the ones that “The ACT and SAT don’t want you to know.”
That’s what the Big Companies do.
(Ironically, they don’t leverage superscoring, the ‘Top Secret Strategy’ that actually works for everyone).
I’ll tell you a secret that the Big Companies don’t want you to know. For 1-on-1, they charge at least $225 an hour and pay a college kid at most $25 an hour.
They gave that college kid about 6 hours of training and a handy manual that gives all the solutions and says “Spend 3 minutes on this page” “5 minutes on this page.” It’s a mass produced, high margin product that gets delivered by a replaceable and uninvested part-time college kid.
What’s the point of paying for one-on-one services if every student gets run through the same, cookie-cutter powerpoints?
The ACT and SAT have secrets, and there are strategies that are so good that they ought to be Top Secret…but they aren’t the same for every kid. The ACT and SAT test makers know their job. There isn’t some universal hack.
The hack is in the individual. Sometimes it’s confidence. Sometimes it’s shifting perspective just 6 inches back. Sometimes it’s pattern recognition.
There is a Best Strategy for Everyone. It’s just different for every one.
Superscoring = Super Power
We don’t typically get to the goal in one test. Why? Because we actually get the job done by leveraging superscoring in almost all of our cases.
Most of our kids hit their goal, and they actually hit it in fewer tests by – ironically – planning to take more tests.
Almost every selective college takes* superscores and they treat them identical to single test scores. – we use them on almost every kid that applies to the Ivy Level.
For our students, the results have been dramatic.
1.2 fewer exams to reach a 34 ACT or 1520 SAT (the top score bracket at most schools).
~80 more points and ACT Composite gains by
~2.5
