When is the best time to start preparing for the SAT/ACT?

As soon as possible! The math on the SAT does not go further than Algebra II, so many students opt to start preparing the spring or summer of sophomore year. That said, the earlier you can finish with your goals for standardized testing, the more time you will have to actually prepare your application: leadership activities, essays, etc. Some of our students have reached a near-perfect score by the conclusion of sophomore year, leaving them ample time to prepare the rest of the elements of their application by the time senior fall rolls around.

Another argument for starting early: you’ll be able to work at a much more relaxed pace. If you have substantial athletic or artistic commitments outside of school, you’ll want to start early, so that you can keep up a regular schedule for preparing for the exams that doesn’t conflict with your commitment to your sport/art.

What are the best materials to use for test prep?

If you opt to prep for your exams with us, we will provide you with all the materials you will need. Over the past decade of helping hundreds of students succeed on these standardized exams, we have accumulated the practice problems and worksheets that are highly effective at targeting weaknesses and resolving them once and for all.

If you think about every question on the SAT as worth, on average, 10-15 points, for every concept/strategy that you 150% grasp, you will see that score increase on test day. The way to achieve that goal is by truly understanding the idea you are being taught, and reinforcing those newfound skills while working carefully through the assignments we provide.

We will never assign you anything that is irrelevant to the exam you are preparing for. We believe in practicing with only authentic College Board/ETS/GMAT/LSAC-created questions, because those are going to be what you will be faced with on test day. We have spent years dissecting the exact style and content of those types of questions, and we can’t wait to share our secrets with you.

Approximately how many sessions/months should I budget for my test preparation?

It totally depends on your goals, budget, timeframe, and ultimately how much you want to increase your score. Some students opt for an intensive course for just a few months, while others prefer to space out their preparation over several years. The benefit of working with us is that we have the experience and expertise to customize a course that is handcrafted for your unique situation.

The pace at which you improve also depends on the amount of work you are able to put in between sessions. Some of our students come to us with stacks of practice problems completed for us to review, whereas others, due to scheduling constraints, are only able to complete a handful of problems between sessions. No matter your situation, we can create an exam preparation course that will help you reach your score goal by the deadline.

Students have achieved 50–100-point increases on the SAT in less than 10 sessions, and others have received 300+-point increases after over a hundred sessions spaced out over the course of years. We will work with you, your schedule, your pace, and your unique learning style to help you achieve your standardized testing goals, no matter the situation. Just remember, nothing is impossible if you are determined to make it happen!

How much do you charge for your tutoring services?

We have a uniform hourly rate for all of our services, no matter the standardized test that you are preparing for. Our rate is the same for college/grad school/career consulting and subject tutoring. The variation is based on the amount of involvement of our Director.

Our “Associate Track” ($225/hr) will have the first 10 sessions conducted by our Director, followed by sessions taught by one of our Harvard graduate tutors who has trained under the mentorship of our Director.

Our “Director Track” ($380/hr) includes 3 complimentary admissions consulting sessions per academic year conducted by the Director, and our “Director Track – Elite” ($600/hr) is reserved for those who are interested in gaining admission to some of the most competitive schools in the world.

For these types of Ivy League and top tech schools admissions, a carefully packaged admissions portfolio is important, which requires a great deal of design and forethought. For this reason, our “Elite” track provides unlimited, on-demand consultations and advice from our Director, and a guaranteed spot on her roster until the conclusion of senior year admissions decisions.

How important are leadership/extracurricular activities to the admissions process?

Schools generally take a 50/50 approach when it comes to evaluating a candidate’s credentials from both the academic and personal angles. They want to make sure that the student is capable of succeeding academically (a.k.a., performing well and ultimately graduating successfully from the instution), so academic indicators (50/50 GPA and test cores) will be an important first-evaluation yardstick that the candidate will have to “pass” in order to warrant further consideration.

That said, the “yardstick” itself will vary depending on the candidate’s unique situation. A student who has experienced a history of homelessness, or is from a particularly disadvantaged economic background, for example, will have a different set of criteria by which he/she is measured.

The “personal” aspect of the application, which encompasses essentially every else other than purely academics—athletics, artistic achievements, personal work commitments—is perhaps the most “malleable” part of the application. With our students, we work to achieve the highest possible score range first, create a set of target colleges based on those score results, then dive into full-time work on the “personal” side of the application. Leadership and extracurricular activities, if they do not already figure prominently in your resume, can be inspired, undertaken, and written about beautifully in your essays.

Whether they be entrepreneurial projects or programs sponsored by a higher-education institution, we can guide you in creating an application profile that attests to your personal strengths in the best possible way.

What types of services do you offer throughout the actual application process?

Everything! We have been in the business of helping students gain admission offers and lucrative scholarships to the colleges of their dreams for the past decade, and we think we have seen it all. High school counselors are usually tasked with managing the applications of tens if not hundreds of students at a time, and things can fall through the cracks. We are here to make sure that isn’t you.

Whether it’s a recommendation or a transcript, we will make sure to remind you to ask the appropriate teacher or administrator to make sure they get submitted correctly, and on time. We have also helped with financial aid forms, including FAFSA, CSS, and IDOC, to make sure that you get all the materials submitted appropriately in order to receive news of your financial aid package in a timely manner.

As for essays—this is where a lot of work can be done that can either make or break your application in a big way. A spellbinding essay can “spell” the difference (sorry!) between a successful application and one that is haphazardly thrown into the “meh” pile along with many others that are qualified, but just not interesting enough.

We can assist every step of the way, through initial topic selection, through drafting, editing, and polishing your final drafts. We can be as hands-on or hands-off in your creative process as you like. Our job is to make sure you submit a set of essays that truly testify to your story, your hard work, and your personal qualities in front of the admissions committee.