Guarantee: 200+ Gain with Only 10 Hours Tutoring

If, after only 10 hours of tutoring, with a few hours of homework in between sessions, you have not increased your score by at least 200 points, I will offer FREE PRIVATE SESSIONS until you obtain the promised increase (provided you haven't already achieved an increase from another tutor or company, though many of these students still get the 200pt boost anyway). Compare that to a typical class of 30 or 40 hours, whose guarantee is that you can simply retake the same class!

My fifteen years of SAT/ACT experience (literally thousands of hours) have given me unparalleled intimacy with the tests. Test prep companies cannot achieve the results I can as quickly as I can because they hire cheaper, part-time teachers, who are often just students themselves, not full-time SAT/ACT teachers.

SAT Experience Matters!

A good math teacher can explain how to solve math problems you have missed. An excellent math teacher can clearly explain the math concepts behind the problems you miss so that you can apply the lesson more widely to future problems. An excellent SAT math tutor can go even further by showing you multiple ways to solve each problem, and by revealing what in each problem is indicative of the test—that is, can teach you "SAT math." Only such a tutor who knows the test like the back of his hand can make the most out of the learning opportunities provided by your missed problems. Indeed, if you learn more from those opportunities, you will reduce the amount of work you will need to do to prepare for the test!

Even High School Math & English Teachers Are Ill-Equipped

Smaller test prep companies sometimes hire high school teachers in the hopes of achieving higher gains, but even they are ill-equipped to prepare students for the SAT and ACT. For example, SAT math has as much in common with logic as it does with standard high school math, and the skills needed to practice for the essay run contrary to what English teachers teach. Indeed, as part of the evaluative work I have done for many test prep companies, I have seen first hand how much time is wasted by even the best teachers because of their lack of intimacy with the SAT and ACT. My day job, on the other hand, is evaluating and creating SAT and ACT curriculum!

Rates

The cost for my 10 hour package covering reading, writing and math is $2400, and comes with a 200 point guarantee. The cost for a 5 hour package is $1200. This time can be divided into sixty-minute and/or ninety-minute sessions. Sessions don't have to be weekly. Each subsequent session can occur as soon as the homework from the previous session, usually three hours, is finished. I have prepared students in as little as a week, with nothing compromised due to the rush. All cancellations must be made within 48 hours, emergencies and illnesses excepted.

As tempting as at-home tutoring can be, students are, without a doubt, much more alert and receptive when they are in unfamiliar surroundings, so I do not offer at-home tutoring.

The SAT & ACT Essay

My background teaching composition classes at UC Berkeley makes me the perfect choice for teaching the SAT and ACT essay (which, incidentally, is made available to colleges so that they can compare it to students' application essays and English grades.)

Kaplan, Princeton Review, Ivy West: Kids Teaching Kids

Such companies charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for their programs but only pay their tutors about twenty bucks an hour, so the tutor turnover is considerable (Ivy West alone draws from over 700 tutors). When your product is a bunch of underpaid, under-experienced kids, it is no wonder that these companies have to spend so much capital on marketing, managing and training, which in turn leaves only enough money to hire more kids, not professional SAT and ACT teachers.

ACT vs. SAT:
How Fast Can You Read?

The ACT is accepted as an alternative to the SAT by all colleges, and could be a better choice for some students. Below are important differences to consider:

The ACT reading section is difficult to finish on time for students who cannot read and think quickly, but the questions are more information-based and straight-forward. The SAT reading section, on the other hand, is tricky and inference-based, but not as hard to finish on time.

The SAT reading section tests vocabulary, the ACT does not.

The ACT has a science section, though it really doesn't test your knowledge of science—all the information is in the passages. For many students, it is difficult to finish this section on time.

The ACT math section includes about five trig questions, while the SAT only goes to algebra II first semester.

One more thing to consider: most colleges (UC's excepted) will combine your highest scores for the math, reading and writing sections on the SAT if you take the test more than once, but they do not combine the highest ACT scores.

I can help you determine whether to prep for the SAT, the ACT, or both—usually by the first session.

When to Prep for &
Take the Tests

The goal is to take the test when your fundamentals and grasp of SAT/ACT strategies have peaked. Many students take the SAT or ACT in March of their junior year, then again in either May or June (depending on when their AP tests fall), and then once more, if they need to, in October, November or December of their senior year (only the October can be considered for early registration). Ideally, prep should start three months prior to the first test, and that first test should normally not be taken before the fall of a student's junior year. Here are the pros of starting earlier than March:

1. The new SAT score report policy means that you have nothing to lose, since you can now send only those scores you want the colleges to see.

2. Early prep gives you more options. If you are not happy with your reading score, for example, you can form a long term plan to address gaps in vocabulary or reading comprehension that cannot be solved in a matter of weeks but months.

3. High school athletes often like to prep before their season begins in earnest. Also, college coaches usually prefer to know a potential recruit's scores before the summer of the senior year.

4. Prepping for and taking the first test in May or June of the junior year can be tough; students can be spread thin from AP tests, SAT IIs, and finals.

5. Students may have more free time during the summer than they do when they are in school, but waiting until the summer before their senior year is risky.

BUT, if you are considering an early date, a word of caution: sometimes the reading score will not peak as high the first semester of your junior year as it will in the second semester simply because your reading comprehension and vocabulary continue to improve by being in school.

So if you are considering beginning prep as early as the summer of your junior year, my suggestion is to take a diagnostic test. If your reading score is below 550, you might be better off spending the summer reading and memorizing vocabulary and then waiting until January to begin prep. Otherwise, if you prep over the summer but then are unhappy with your reading score and consequently have to wait until March or June to improve your score, you may suffer from major SAT/ACT burn out. Moreover, too much focus will have been placed on the test for too long a time, interfering with classwork and extracurriculars.

Can't Seem to Get That SAT Reading Score Up?

Non-native speakers, kids with parents of non-native speakers, and non-readers in general suffer from a vocabulary and idiom deficit, a difficulty comprehending sophisticated sentence structure, and a difficulty interpreting subtle textual context, all of which you will find on the SAT reading section. The solution? Consider switching to the ACT. Or, if you have the time, spend a summer reading and memorizing vocabulary. Try to average memorizing around fifty words and reading three hundred pages per week (I recommend freshman composition textbooks with readings, like The Bedford Reader, as well as high quality newspapers like the NY Times). Remember, the SAT/ACT is a predictor of how well you will succeed in college, and as such you should see your lopsided score diagnostically: you will most likely suffer from this deficit in college! Therefore, it is well worth addressing in a serious way, and not just for a higher test score.

The question then is, what do you read? How do you read actively? Who is going to hold your feet to the fire when you slack off on vocab? In a word, how can you make the best use of this time given your goal? Weekly sessions can give you the structure and discipline you need to tackle this issue. Click here to see my college prep reading and writing site.

The Best Teachers
Grew up with ADD

Because I grew up with attention deficit, I know the importance of making things as simple and as interesting as possible. To that end, I have designed colorful charts and worksheets which I now use for the benefit all of my students, ADD or otherwise. (Though, when it comes to the SAT/ACT, don't we all have at least a bit of attention deficit?)

The materials and strategies I use are designed to:

1) break the test down into digestible pieces, then
2) evaluate the student's weaknesses, and finally
3) drill each student only on those skills they need to strengthen.