General

When and where do you meet with students? 

We’re happy to meet with students anywhere and anytime that is mutually available and reasonable. Meeting times can range from off blocks during the school day to afternoons and evenings after school or on weekends. We typically plan to meet with students at their homes, a library, a cafe, or a coffee shop, but our primary concern when choosing a time and location to meet is ensuring an ideal environment to facilitate learning and productivity. We’ll work with you to find the best combination of time and place to meet.

How long and how often do you meet with students? 

This varies from student to student and depends on several factors, including availability, the amount of work that can be done between classes, the time it takes to review that work together, and upcoming deadlines. In almost all cases, we strive to create a regular meeting schedule (typically once a week), but we’ll take all factors into consideration to put together the best plan to ensure consistency and continuity for your student.

What are your rates, and how do you bill? 

We charge a flat rate of $125 per hour of instruction for all of our services. In virtually all cases, this includes all the materials students will require (worksheets, handouts, practice tests, etc). For all in-person classes and meetings, payment is due no later than the end of each scheduled class. For online classes and meetings, we will email you an invoice afterward, and payment is due upon receipt of the invoice.

What is your cancellation policy? 

We require 24 hours notice to cancel or reschedule a class or meeting, but as much notice as possible is always appreciated. We also use Google Calendar to schedule all our classes, which allows us to send invites and notifications for classes to help avoid miscommunications. If a class or meeting is cancelled or rescheduled with less than 24 hours notice, we will still charge for the scheduled time at the full hourly rate. Clearly, some scenarios are unavoidable, and we try to be as understanding as possible in these situations. 

Do you meet with students in person or online? 

Both! Years before remote learning and video conferencing became the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were using video conferencing apps to meet with students who lived in other states or countries or with local students who were out of town. We now use Google Meet as part of the utility of the Google platform of apps, which allows us to schedule classes and meetings with students, generate meeting rooms automatically, and share and interact with materials immediately during classes. As the need arises, we’d be happy to show you that meeting virtually is just as effective as meeting in person.

Do you offer group classes? 

Typically, we meet with our students one-on-one in order to provide a focused, individualized level of attention to each of our student’s particular needs. This is especially true for the college planning process, in which no two students are identical. However, students of similar educational background and ability level can sometimes pair well when it comes to preparing for the SAT and ACT or subject-specific academics. We have met with small groups of students in the past, and we’re certainly open to the idea now and in the future. As always, we’ll take all of your student’s needs into account and develop a specific program to meet those needs.

What kind of improvement can we expect from your services? 

We have a long history of and passion for helping students maintain academic excellence, rebound from adversity, and achieve great success. For each of our students, that definition of success is different. We have helped students climb two letter grades from a tough start in their most challenging classes or maintain straight As while taking the most rigorous courses available, participating in student government, and playing both school and club sports. Our past SAT and ACT students have improved their percentile rank by more than 19% on average. Our students have been accepted both to the colleges of their dreams from the outset of our work and to schools they had never considered earning the scores to attend. In all those scenarios, we were able to assess our students’ strengths and weaknesses, set milestone goals for our work together, and track the progress toward their potential, and we’re confident that the same process will work for your student, too.

What are classes/meetings with students like? What happens between classes? 

We’re painting with a bit of a broad brush here, but we like to check in and get updates across the board from our students (classes, sports, extracurriculars, life in general) and incorporate that feedback into the plan for our work, be it for the day, week, etc. Our students almost always have something to be working on. It’s absolutely necessary: students need to practice the content and strategies we discuss, and their instructors need to know how effective those strategies were and how solidly students understand content in order to adjust appropriately. We assign worksheets, online tutorials, additional practice questions from textbooks, practice tests, and more, depending on the student and what we agree would be most effective for him/her. We typically start our classes by reviewing the homework assigned from our previous meeting to gauge content mastery, effectiveness of strategies, etc. and then move on to any other topics we need to work on. Students receive homework for our next class based on what they need to review, and the process essentially repeats.

Do you have your own curriculum? What curriculum do you use? 

Broadly speaking, the only materials we will not stray from using are official SAT and ACT practice tests. Scores from unofficial practice tests are nowhere near as predictive as we need them to be in order to rely on them as heavily as we do to track our test prep students’ progress. Otherwise, we’re open to using any resources that our students already have and will track down any resources they need along the way, even if that means we need to create those resources ourselves. 

What subjects can you tutor? What resources can you offer for subjects that are outside your background? 

I have a background in math through calculus and several sciences (physiology, anatomy, chemistry, biology, and a little bit of physics) and can tutor students in any of these courses. As offhand situations have come up with students over my years of experience, I’ve also been pleasantly surprised to find that my critical thinking perspective is useful in analyzing information, evaluating perspectives, and developing arguments in literature, the humanities, and social sciences. Even if one of my students is struggling in a subject outside of my wheelhouse, I can’t imagine that problem being so unfamiliar that we wouldn’t be able to make forward progress on it together.

Standardized Test Prep

What do SAT and ACT scores mean? Why do they matter?

There are two primary benefits to higher SAT or ACT scores. First, higher scores improve the odds of admission to a given college. Typically, this is put in terms of being admitted to a “better” or “more competitive” school, but we aim to frame the conversation around test scores in terms of expanding each of our student’s opportunities to find the college that will best fit him/her. A student looking to study Computer Programming might choose any of several schools in the Seattle area (near Microsoft’s headquarters), or a student looking to study Aeronautical Engineering might consider schools in Florida or Texas (near NASA’s Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers, respectively) for the opportunities they could offer over an Ivy League school. Second, higher test scores often automatically qualify students for greater merit-based scholarships at many schools. In the end, the students we have worked with almost always earned enough money in scholarships to save their families MUCH more on college than they invest in SAT and ACT prep itself!

How do I interpret the scores from my student’s previous standardized tests? 

In truth, the number scores from a standardized test are only relevant to the extent that they convert to a student’s percentile rank, which compares that student to other test takers. For instance, a composite score of 23 on the ACT and a total score of 1170 on the SAT would put that student in the 70th percentile of test takers, meaning that he/she scored the same as or better than 70% of students who have taken the test over the past three years. The 1170 or 23 don’t so much matter, other than to act as markers for the comparison between test takers. When looking at percentile ranks from a PSAT or SAT score report, be sure to consider only the ‘SAT User Percentiles,’ since these are based on actual student scores. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out!

When should my student start preparing for the SAT and/or ACT? How long does the process last? 

In broad strokes, we recommend completing prep for the SAT and ACT during junior year of high school, writing college admissions essays over the summer, and finalizing college applications well in advance of their deadlines in the fall and winter of senior year. Most students achieve their best scores the second or third time taking the SAT or ACT, so we look for our students to take their first round of tests starting in February or March of junior year, which leaves several opportunities to retake by the end of that school year and still other test dates offered over the summer and in the fall of senior year. Almost all students will finish preparing for and taking the SAT and ACT in three to twelve months. There are several legitimate answers to this question, so feel free to contact us to discuss your student’s specific needs and develop a plan to best address them at any time.

What are the benefits of working with a tutor for the SAT and/or ACT?

We find that our guidance and experience help students to pinpoint their weaker areas and address them most efficiently. From our years of experience working with students on the SAT and ACT, we can quickly identify these areas of strength and weakness and orient our work toward the most effective topics for each of our students. We can then offer a wide variety of strategies and solutions, monitor their efficacy on future practice tests, and make any necessary adjustments.

Should my student take the SAT or the ACT? 

It’s rare for a student to initially score so differently on the two tests that a definitive answer to this question emerges early on. Part of the difficulty lies in the improvement that a student can make on both tests, just by way of practice, adjusting strategy, and familiarity with each test. Over time, any initial differences between a student’s initial test scores on the SAT and ACT can even out. Being able to focus on one test or the other is definitely a benefit, but there is a tradeoff in that the number of opportunities to test is cut in half by taking one test off the table. In the end, we believe that there’s no right or wrong answer to this question, as long as it’s an informed one, and that’s where we can help! The way we track our students’ progress allows us to determine which tests to take, the best time to take them, and the range of scores we should expect from each test.

How long will it take to see results?

Ideally, right away! In the past, we have been called the week before a SAT or ACT to meet with a student only once before he/she took the test. It wasn’t the timeline we typically prefer to work under, but a few targeted insights helped some of those students make the last bit of improvement they were looking for. Over the course of our SAT and ACT prep with a student, we not only track the scores from each official practice test we use but also categorize every single question that the student answers incorrectly. This allows us to target our lessons on the types of questions that are the toughest for the student, which should ultimately lead to answering more questions correctly and higher scores.

How long will the entire SAT/ACT prep process take? What does the entire process look like? 

The most reasonable estimate we could give to any person reading this FAQ is to plan for at least six months of prep. In our far-too-perfect world, students would start test prep with the beginning of their junior year and prepare for the PSAT in mid-October. Since the PSAT and SAT differ only in length, PSAT prep transitions perfectly into SAT prep. Since practical test dates for most students aren’t offered until February, the winter also allows time to introduce the ACT and start to make comparisons between the two tests. At least one of the two tests is offered each month starting in February, so there are many opportunities for students to achieve the score we have in mind by the end of junior year. If a student still needs to retest at that point, there are additional test dates offered over the summer and in the fall of senior year. While this is a timeline that has been effective for many of our students in the past, it is certainly not the only one that works, so please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your student’s needs. 

Should my student take the PSAT? 

In almost all cases, yes! The PSAT 8/9 and 10 (which correspond to grade level) offer students valuable opportunities to familiarize themselves with the structure, content, and format of the SAT before starting prep during junior year. Furthermore, colleges cannot see scores from these tests, so there’s no penalty for taking them. Do your best, and don’t worry about the outcome: the best use of these tests is to build a set of baseline scores so we can analyze the results and point our prep in the right direction!

Should my student take a state- or district-sponsored SAT or ACT? 

In most cases, yes! Much like the PSAT, these tests offer valuable opportunities to gather information about a student’s performance that can be used as part of a baseline set of scores. During junior year, we can also take advantage of these test dates as additional chances for students to achieve their best scores. The primary exception is a student who has already determined that either the SAT or the ACT is the better test to take, when the other test is offered by the state or school district.

How are the SAT and ACT scored? 

Each test has four sections, and the number of questions answered correctly in each section ultimately determines a student’s score. On the SAT, the number of correct answers in each of the Reading and Writing & Language sections converts to a score from 10-40 in each section. These scores are then added together and multiplied by ten to give a student’s Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score (from 200 to 800). The number of correct answers in the two math sections of the test are added together, which then converts to a student’s math score (from 200 to 800). The Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score is added to the Math score to give a total score from 400 to 1600. (new paragraph) On the ACT, the number of correct answers in each of the English, Math, Reading, and Science passages converts to a score from 1 to 36. These section scores are then averaged to give a student’s composite score (from 1 to 36), rounding decimals as expected.

Which SAT and/or ACT scores should a student send to colleges? 

There are at least three possible answers to this question, all of which depend on the specific standardized test policies of each college or university. Be sure to check each school’s admissions website to make sure you adhere to their guidelines. Some schools only require a student’s one best total or composite score. Some schools superscore the SAT and/or ACT, meaning that they consider your highest section scores across multiple test dates. In each of these cases, you can choose which scores to send from any of the date(s) you took a test online from your MyACT or College Board student account. A small number of schools requires applicants to send the scores from all of their SAT and ACT scores as part of their application. In this case, you’d access scores online the same way and just send all of a student’s scores instead of choosing the one best score or combination of scores resulting in the highest superscore. With all this in mind, we recommend waiting until a student has all of his/her test scores available before sending scores to colleges (instead of choosing schools to automatically send scores to during registration).

College Planning

What are the benefits of working with a college counselor? 

The expert advice of a college counselor can help your student best represent him- or herself when applying to colleges. However, completing applications is just one element of an end goal. Having a guide through the entire application process relieves stress and anxiety and gives families an outlet for questions and concerns that arise at any point along the way. We help our students discover and characterize their interests in a college and then pinpoint universities that offer the best possible fit, including those a family might not have previously considered. Our students’ applications are polished, thorough, and timely. We are eager to hear colleges’ admissions decisions because of the confidence we have attained through the time and effort put into executing a well thought out plan from start to finish. We look forward to our students’ successes and know that we can help to further their achievements!

How does the college planning process work?

We team up with families to help identify the intersection of all the practical factors (in state vs out of state, cost of attendance, areas of study, scholarship opportunities, etc.) and personal preferences (region, climate, travel between school and home, campus culture, etc.) that influence choosing a college. Armed with this information, we work with students and parents to develop a list of schools that could satisfy their criteria and update that list as we continue to research, attend college fairs, and plan college visits. Our test prep services synergize well during this process to make sure we are confident with the range of schools a student will apply to. We monitor application deadlines while compiling all necessary materials for each school’s application (including brainstorming essay topics and editing essays), help candidates prepare for interviews with campus representatives and admissions counselors, and compare college acceptances and financial aid packages. 

What goes into college admissions decisions?

Colleges look for applicants who can make valuable contributions to student life on campus. Though schools use high school GPA and SAT and ACT scores as quantitative indicators of students’ academic potential and comparisons of students nationwide, these metrics are certainly not guarantees of admission. The academic rigor of the courses students take in high school and the corresponding grades students receive in those classes make a statement about students’ academic ambitions, work ethic, and desire to excel in any area of study they choose to pursue. Class rank offers a more local comparison between students than SAT and ACT scores do, and teacher recommendations, personal statements, and essays offer insight into some of the more qualitative aspects of students in an academic setting. Outside of the classroom, athletics and clubs, community service and involvement, and other extracurricular activities help to paint the full portrait of an applicant. Finally, students who apply to schools that interview as part of their admissions process have the chance to emphasize their strengths and interests and how those merge with the campus culture of the institution. Though some schools prioritize some of these factors over others, successful applicants are able to present a well-rounded picture of their experience, abilities, and traits and then highlight those features that identify with each particular college they apply to.