It is all online! We’ve been doing online tutoring since 2011, so we believe in our ability to deliver effective instruction virtually. In fact, over the years as we transitioned from in-person to online tutoring, we found that when we did an online session with someone who had been receiving in-person tutoring, there was no turning back! In most cases students never wanted to come back for in-person sessions again and preferred to just continue online!

Again this depends in part on the needs of the student, but it also depends on where we are in the preparation process. Prior to the first session tutors usually have a student take a practice test so that we have a jumping off point, both in terms of a baseline score and a more specific idea of what the issues are. The first session tends to be unique in that a lot of the time is spent diagnosing the problems, coming up with a game plan and tentative timeline, and discussing other more general issues.

After the initial session, most sessions will begin with homework review so that you’ll have an opportunity to ask your tutor about things that you struggled with between sessions. However, this will usually only represent a small part of the session and most of the time will be spent covering new territory (with your tutor introducing new strategies and providing you with sample questions to reinforce the concepts being discussed). As you work through questions, your tutor will ask what you are thinking and why you are choosing the answers you are choosing, etc. Doing so will give your tutor insight into your thought processes and will allow him or her to understand how best to guide you forward.

At the end of each session your tutor will give you a detailed homework assignment, which will generally consist of questions meant to reinforce what was covered in that session as well as material to cover to preview what is planned for the following one. As you get closer to your test date, part of the homework assignment will consist of taking practice tests and an increasingly large portion of your time with your tutor will be spent reviewing the tests and occasionally breaking off from them to focus specifically on some of the problem areas highlighted by the tests.

We use a variety of resources and have a pool of materials that we draw from to fit the particular needs of each student. We rely mostly on the official GMAC and ETS materials, since the books and practice tests published by GMAC and ETS contain real questions from previous administrations of the test (and the practice tests utilize the real scoring algorithm). This is especially important with regard to Verbal questions, which are much more difficult to write in a way that makes them accurately represent the real questions on the test. But we also have proprietary materials that we use with students – especially strategy sheets and other specific guides. And depending on the situation and the particular needs of the student, there are a number of third party resources that we use. For example, if a student is very weak in Math content, there are a couple of books that we tend to use and there are even online resources that we sometimes leverage in conjunction with tutoring.

Unlike tutors at the major test prep companies, we have the freedom to choose whatever materials we think work best and over the years we have compiled materials from a variety of resources, unrestrained by the boundaries set by any company. If there is a great resource from Kaplan, we’ll use it. Another one from ManhattanPrep, great. Nothing can teach strategy the way we can? Well then we create strategy guides of our own. This flexible approach is especially important with regard to tutoring, where a one-size-fits-all approach is clearly not effective.

The answer to this question obviously depends a lot on the particular situation. Clearly if a student is starting out with a very low score and looking for a huge increase, he or she will need a lot more tutoring. Another obvious factor is the motivation of the student. Some kids start preparing for the SAT or ACT in 9th or 10th grade, believe it or not. Others prepare for a couple of months and that is it. There is a burn out factor for every student, so no matter how much parents think that their children should prepare for the SAT or ACT, all kids will reach a point of diminishing returns. What we try to do is set out a game plan from the first session and then adjust as we go, depending on the above factors. If the student needs a lot of work and has the motivation, then we will usually end up meeting more. If, however, the student is clearly starting to lose steam and motivation, then we will usually suggest either accelerating the time frame to allow the student to take the test sooner or suggest that we space things out or take a break to prevent the student from becoming overwhelmed and frustrated.

This obviously depends in part on the needs of the student, but it also depends on the timeline. Prior to the first session we will usually have a student take a practice test so that we have a jumping off point, both in terms of a baseline score and a more specific idea of what the issues are. And the first session tends to be unique in that a lot of the time is spent diagnosing the problems, coming up with a game plan and tentative timeline, and discussing other more general issues. After the initial session, most sessions will begin with homework review so that the tutor can understand what problems the student had with the homework that was assigned and so that they can try to work on those areas of concern. However, this will usually only represent a part of the session and much of the time will be spent covering new territory (with the tutor guiding and providing sample questions to reinforce the concepts being presented discussing until it is clear that the student has a really good grasp on them). At the end of each session tutors give a detailed homework assignment, which will generally consist of questions meant to reinforce what was covered in that session as well as material to preview what is planned for the following session. As the student gets closer to his/her scheduled test date, part of the homework assignment will consist of taking practice tests and an increasingly large portion of the session time will be spent reviewing the tests and occasionally breaking off from them to focus specifically on some of the problem areas highlighted by the tests.

This also depends a lot on the particular student and his or her situation. Obviously if a student is starting with a 700 Verbal score on the SAT or a 31 on Math on the ACT, a 100 point increase on the SAT Verbal section or 5 point increase on the ACT Math section is much more difficult than if he or she is starting with a 500 Verbal or 21 on ACT Math. It also depends a lot on how hard a student works in between sessions. The time a tutor spends working with a student is typically only a fraction of the total time that the student should spend studying, so the amount of time spent outside of the sessions and the effectiveness of the practice that a student does are tremendously important factors. But we generally aim to help students achieve 100-150 point improvement per section on the SAT and 5 to 8 point improvement on the ACT.

Absolutely. We are SAT and ACT experts and we don’t even tutor “subjects” like Algebra or Chemistry (and never have). Our emphasis is on standardized test preparation and we know everything there is to know about both the SAT and ACT.

One of the major benefits of having a single tutor who can teach the entire test is that you have one person who can guide your child through the entire process and shift the focus to whatever is needed at any given moment. If during one particular week or one particular session, the student should be focusing more on Math and less on the Writing section, our tutors are in a position to direct the student accordingly. And if time management is an issue on all of the sections, we can see that and address it.

Furthermore, we are experts at standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, so while we can and do teach grammar and basic math fundamentals, we focus more on the reasoning and problem solving skills that the tests are designed to reward. Many Math and English teachers are focused more on the “Math” or “English” content on the test and less on what it takes to excel on standardized tests, so often the emphasis is in the wrong place.