an elite learning experience

From start to finish, our expert tutors work alongside our students on every facet of the test-taking process. We design thorough and elite-level courses, individually-tailored to the specific learning profiles of our students, ensuring that they are fully prepared and confident come test day.

Results-based teaching methods

In addition to bolstering core math, reading, and writing skills, success on the SAT and ACT exams is heavily reliant on a student's understanding of a set of test-taking strategies unlike what he or she may learn in the typical classroom setting. Test-makers from ETS and ACT take advantage of the fact that most students will only know to use school-taught methods to solve problems and answer questions on the standardized tests, and those methods will as a result, often be overly time-consuming and less effective ways to rack up the greatest amount of points, in the least amount of time.

Here is where we step in. Each of our instructors are former 99th percentile scorers on the ACT and SAT who have built their understanding of the ins and outs of the tests through years of experience preparing students for these exams. They understand the tests from the vantage point of the test-makers, and equip students with only the most effective techniques, strategies and resources to help raise scores in the least time possible. Taking the ACT or SAT is an endeavor unlike any other, and only with the proper preparations can a student beat the test reliably, both during practice and most importantly, on test-day.

practice makes perfect

A common problem with many standard teaching models is that a student will learn valuable strategies during tutoring sessions, but later simply forget them as time passes, or in some cases forget to even use them when the pressure builds on test day. That is why one of the central principles of our teaching model is to watch for students' constant facility with test-taking strategies by complementing our in-class sessions with a rigorous at-home practice program. When students sign up for tutoring with us, they are committing themselves to a serious academic endeavor, with a workload equivalent to one or even two extra high school courses, depending on the amount of time available to them before test day. In addition to a focus on homework completion, students are asked to complete full practice tests on a regular basis to gain a critical understanding of progress and to pinpoint areas needing more work.

When the right test-taking strategies are met with a thorough program of teaching and practice, students solidly learn not only the strategies that will help them ace standardized exams, but also the study skills and the reasoning and critical thinking abilities that will continue to serve them throughout their academic and professional careers.

building the confidence to succeed

But even the correct strategies and a thorough program of teaching and practice are not sufficient to guarantee success. Many students may struggle with sustaining their focus or motivation throughout the test prep cycle, with a classic example being the student who comfortably scores in their intended range throughout the course, only to fail to achieve their desired score come test day. Such common mishaps are most often due to a lack of instructor attention to the more psychological aspects of test preparation. Taking an exam that will be a critical factor in one's academic and career future is a lot of pressure for any person, let alone a student in his or her mid-teens.

Our personalized courses allow for us to go beyond the typical range of a standard test prep course and to establish the personal connections and lines of communication necessary to attend to our students’ challenges or frustrations as they arise, thereby keeping students focused and motivated on up to test day. In taking a course with us, students are provided with a highly structured, yet flexible and personal learning environment in which preparedness is built to an elite level, enabling each student to develop the confidence necessary to truly maximize his or her potential.