My SAT+ACT Tutoring Process, from Start to Finish:
I've turned SAT and ACT tutoring into a science. Below, you'll be able to review my entire process, gaining insights into the methods behind my instruction and the reasons why my training is so effective.
Please note: if you'd like to take advantage of my entire process, I recommend working through my online program (only $497) before working with me individually. It's my exact curriculum and methodology, delivered to your home on your schedule.
Also, please note that joining my group coaching is now the only way to work with me individually. I do not take on new clients who have not worked through my online coaching program beforehand.
When it comes to SAT/ACT prep, nothing should be left to chance - my repeatable, optimized test prep methodology ensures that I get the best results from all my students in the most limited timeframe possible.
Please note: if you'd like to take advantage of my entire process, I recommend working through my online program (only $497) before working with me individually. It's my exact curriculum and methodology, delivered to your home on your schedule.
Also, please note that joining my group coaching is now the only way to work with me individually. I do not take on new clients who have not worked through my online coaching program beforehand.
When it comes to SAT/ACT prep, nothing should be left to chance - my repeatable, optimized test prep methodology ensures that I get the best results from all my students in the most limited timeframe possible.
Getting Started: The Consultation and Goal Assessment
1. Consultation. When we speak, I'll need to find out as much about your child as possible. Where is he strong and weak? What previous testing experience does he currently have? Do you have any scores lined up already? Where does your child want to go to school? Does he/she have any factors outside of academics and test scores that will help him to gain admission?
The more I know about your child, where he stands, and what you're aiming to accomplish, the more effective I'll be. After our first meeting, I'll have an idea of the schools you're applying to, where your child currently stands in relation to these schools' score expectations, and what needs to be accomplished.
From there, I'll be able to give you an accurate assessment of your child's best course of action. In some cases, students only need slight tweaks to their SAT methodology. In other cases, students need an extra 500-600 points, and a holistic, long-term program for testing success.
2. Initial Meetings. Once we have our consultation, I'll meet with your child. Ideally, before we ever meet, we'll have a test score in hand. If you don't have a recent SAT or PSAT score, I can provide you with instructions on obtaining one using my self-testing techniques.
All sessions take place over online video conferencing. I've found that my students always get better results online than they do in person. Aside from the convenience of online instruction, students are also forced to "self-integrate" their lessons. In other words, rather than watching my hand draw out solutions, they're forced to draw out the solutions themselves. This leads to greater retention.
During this session, I'll get to know as much about your child as possible. I'll launch into the most essential test-taking techniques for all three sections of the exam, focusing on the areas where your child needs the most help. I'll also teach your child the most basic overall SAT strategies, leading to greater familiarity and confidence with the exam as a whole.
Generally, I like to meet with my students 2-3 times before our next round of diagnostic testing. This gives us enough time to go over all the key strategies, build a rapport, and set the stage for future progress. From here, we'll launch into our "post-crash-course diagnostic test."
3. Testing and Analytics. After my first few sessions with your child, I'll have him/her take another timed, graded diagnostic test. This is what I consider to be your child's true "current level of ability" exam.
Often, my students improve by 150-200 points after only a few sessions with me. Just by adjusting their approach and a few key strategies, students see a huge bump in scores. This is where I see your child as truly "standing" - from here, we can make a real plan for improvement.
We'll figure out where your child needs to be, what needs to be accomplished, and how long this will take. From here, we launch into the full program.
The more I know about your child, where he stands, and what you're aiming to accomplish, the more effective I'll be. After our first meeting, I'll have an idea of the schools you're applying to, where your child currently stands in relation to these schools' score expectations, and what needs to be accomplished.
From there, I'll be able to give you an accurate assessment of your child's best course of action. In some cases, students only need slight tweaks to their SAT methodology. In other cases, students need an extra 500-600 points, and a holistic, long-term program for testing success.
2. Initial Meetings. Once we have our consultation, I'll meet with your child. Ideally, before we ever meet, we'll have a test score in hand. If you don't have a recent SAT or PSAT score, I can provide you with instructions on obtaining one using my self-testing techniques.
All sessions take place over online video conferencing. I've found that my students always get better results online than they do in person. Aside from the convenience of online instruction, students are also forced to "self-integrate" their lessons. In other words, rather than watching my hand draw out solutions, they're forced to draw out the solutions themselves. This leads to greater retention.
During this session, I'll get to know as much about your child as possible. I'll launch into the most essential test-taking techniques for all three sections of the exam, focusing on the areas where your child needs the most help. I'll also teach your child the most basic overall SAT strategies, leading to greater familiarity and confidence with the exam as a whole.
Generally, I like to meet with my students 2-3 times before our next round of diagnostic testing. This gives us enough time to go over all the key strategies, build a rapport, and set the stage for future progress. From here, we'll launch into our "post-crash-course diagnostic test."
3. Testing and Analytics. After my first few sessions with your child, I'll have him/her take another timed, graded diagnostic test. This is what I consider to be your child's true "current level of ability" exam.
Often, my students improve by 150-200 points after only a few sessions with me. Just by adjusting their approach and a few key strategies, students see a huge bump in scores. This is where I see your child as truly "standing" - from here, we can make a real plan for improvement.
We'll figure out where your child needs to be, what needs to be accomplished, and how long this will take. From here, we launch into the full program.
The Program: Sessions, Homework, Testing, and More
4. What happens DURING our sessions?
Most of my sessions are 90 minutes long (proven to be the optimal length of time for neural retention). I meet with most students for a total of roughly 30-45 hours, depending on their needs.
I am extremely opposed to "lecturing." My sessions with students aren't in a classroom format - instead, my students launch directly into their material, hand-selected by me for each section, and we actively work through real SAT problems together.
Learning doesn't happen by observing - it happens when one acts and applies knowledge to the subject matter at hand. My students actively engage with their material during our sessions together. I observe them in action, providing real-time tactical and strategic advice as they work through problems. I aim to enhance student accuracy, speed, and confidence by providing them instruction precisely where they need it, and never providing unecessary or out-of-context lectures that my students can't properly utilize.
Furthermore, I rarely have students start on fresh material when they work with me. Doing so means that a large portion of our time will be spent on problems that they already know how to solve - this is a waste of time on their part, and money on yours. Instead, I only work on problems that have already proven themselves to be difficult to my students.
During their homework assignments, my students are required to isolate the problem types and setups that give them the most trouble. We spend all our time together tearing through these problems, systematically categorizing their weaknesses, installing better strategies and tactics, and leaving them with a toolkit that they can use on their own to tackle similar problems in the future.
5. What happens between our sessions:
I'm a big believer in consistency. It's much better to study for 30 minutes every day than it is to study for 8 hours one day a week. My students are given rigorous, daily assignments to build a strong neural framework for SAT mastery. I do not work with students who cannot make at least a small daily commitment. SAT mastery comes from consistent, daily work - anyone expecting a "magic bullet" for their SAT prep can look elsewhere.
Based on the progress made and lessons learned in each session, I provide students with a specific set of daily assignments geared toward eliminating their weaknesses and strengthening their foundations. These assignments are generally composed of:
-Timed, full-length practice sections in their weakest areas.
-Repetition of the problems my students have found most difficult.
-Concept and vocabulary flashcards.
-Memory enhancement and neural optimization drills.
-full-length practice tests.
My hourly rate is extremely high, and so I aim to get as much out of every minute with my students as possible. This means that students must put in plenty of work on their own time to strengthen the skills they learn while working with me.
Progress is tracked through the use of real, timed practice tests, which I give frequently throughout my program.
6. Practice tests.
If you want to get good at something, you need to do it - often. No amount of drills or training will prepare you for a 4-hour test if you haven't taken the actual, 4-hour exam under timed, realistic conditions.
Every 2-3 weeks, my students take timed, realistic SAT diagnostic tests from the Official College Board Manual. They do so on their own time, after receiving specific instructions on taking, grading, and analyzing their exams.
These repeated exams accomplish multiple goals:
1. Students gain "sitting power" and confidence, becoming accustomed to the rigors of the full-length exam.
2. Students become extremely familiar with the exam, enhancing their timing and navigation.
3. Students get a large chunk of "pointed practice," which helps them to refine their strategies and tactics under timed, realistic conditions.
4. Most importantly, students figure out exactly where they actually stand.
After each test is taken and scored, students know precisely where their scores stand, where they're weakest and strongest, and what needs to be done between the time of the practice test and the official test to achieve their goals.
I use my students' scores, right answers, and wrong answers to continually craft and refine our program as we move forward. My students always know exactly where they're at, and what still needs to be done. Their parents know how close they are to their goals, and can craft realistic college strategies based on their results.
Most of my sessions are 90 minutes long (proven to be the optimal length of time for neural retention). I meet with most students for a total of roughly 30-45 hours, depending on their needs.
I am extremely opposed to "lecturing." My sessions with students aren't in a classroom format - instead, my students launch directly into their material, hand-selected by me for each section, and we actively work through real SAT problems together.
Learning doesn't happen by observing - it happens when one acts and applies knowledge to the subject matter at hand. My students actively engage with their material during our sessions together. I observe them in action, providing real-time tactical and strategic advice as they work through problems. I aim to enhance student accuracy, speed, and confidence by providing them instruction precisely where they need it, and never providing unecessary or out-of-context lectures that my students can't properly utilize.
Furthermore, I rarely have students start on fresh material when they work with me. Doing so means that a large portion of our time will be spent on problems that they already know how to solve - this is a waste of time on their part, and money on yours. Instead, I only work on problems that have already proven themselves to be difficult to my students.
During their homework assignments, my students are required to isolate the problem types and setups that give them the most trouble. We spend all our time together tearing through these problems, systematically categorizing their weaknesses, installing better strategies and tactics, and leaving them with a toolkit that they can use on their own to tackle similar problems in the future.
5. What happens between our sessions:
I'm a big believer in consistency. It's much better to study for 30 minutes every day than it is to study for 8 hours one day a week. My students are given rigorous, daily assignments to build a strong neural framework for SAT mastery. I do not work with students who cannot make at least a small daily commitment. SAT mastery comes from consistent, daily work - anyone expecting a "magic bullet" for their SAT prep can look elsewhere.
Based on the progress made and lessons learned in each session, I provide students with a specific set of daily assignments geared toward eliminating their weaknesses and strengthening their foundations. These assignments are generally composed of:
-Timed, full-length practice sections in their weakest areas.
-Repetition of the problems my students have found most difficult.
-Concept and vocabulary flashcards.
-Memory enhancement and neural optimization drills.
-full-length practice tests.
My hourly rate is extremely high, and so I aim to get as much out of every minute with my students as possible. This means that students must put in plenty of work on their own time to strengthen the skills they learn while working with me.
Progress is tracked through the use of real, timed practice tests, which I give frequently throughout my program.
6. Practice tests.
If you want to get good at something, you need to do it - often. No amount of drills or training will prepare you for a 4-hour test if you haven't taken the actual, 4-hour exam under timed, realistic conditions.
Every 2-3 weeks, my students take timed, realistic SAT diagnostic tests from the Official College Board Manual. They do so on their own time, after receiving specific instructions on taking, grading, and analyzing their exams.
These repeated exams accomplish multiple goals:
1. Students gain "sitting power" and confidence, becoming accustomed to the rigors of the full-length exam.
2. Students become extremely familiar with the exam, enhancing their timing and navigation.
3. Students get a large chunk of "pointed practice," which helps them to refine their strategies and tactics under timed, realistic conditions.
4. Most importantly, students figure out exactly where they actually stand.
After each test is taken and scored, students know precisely where their scores stand, where they're weakest and strongest, and what needs to be done between the time of the practice test and the official test to achieve their goals.
I use my students' scores, right answers, and wrong answers to continually craft and refine our program as we move forward. My students always know exactly where they're at, and what still needs to be done. Their parents know how close they are to their goals, and can craft realistic college strategies based on their results.
Continual Refinement and Getting Ready for Test Day
7. Continual refinement.
Most test prep programs fail for one very simple reason: they're one-size-fits-all. They have "fraction day" on day 1, "misplaced modifier day" on day 2, and so on and so forth. This fails for a very obvious reason: every student is different, and every student needs a unique, custom-tailored education to meet their exact needs.
After every session, and every practice test, I learn more about my students, what they've learned, what they know by heart, and what still needs work. I alter their plans to focus exclusively on their weaknesses, offering them pointed, high-impact instruction precisely where they need it most.
Every homework assignment I give is based on the exact needs of my students. Every minute of our sessions is spent focusing on the material, strategies, and applicational tactics necessary to enhance their performance. Throughout our sessions, we'll be working together to gain a deeper understanding of exactly what needs to be done to achieve SAT success.
8. Test day preparedness.
As the date of the actual SAT approaches, I put my students in a rigorous, scientific plan built to maximize their physical endurance and mental acuity. Everything from their training drills to their diet to their sleep is covered, with no stone left unturned. SAT performance depends on multiple tangible and intangible factors, including fatigue, stress, energy, and focus. Over my 10,000+ hours of teaching and training this exam, I've figured out exactly what does (and doesn't) work. As a result, my students often receive a 40-80 point bump from their last diagnostics simply by following my preparedness program.
9. College follow up.
The SAT is a means to an end: getting into the best universities possible. During and after our SAT training, I'll be working with your entire family to make sure your child has everything he or she needs to maximize his/her chances of gaining admission. My in-depth knowledge of the admissions process, combined with my vast network of college consultants and admissions experts, will help your child to pick the right schools and attend them.
To begin the process, click the "Availability and Bookings" button below.
Most test prep programs fail for one very simple reason: they're one-size-fits-all. They have "fraction day" on day 1, "misplaced modifier day" on day 2, and so on and so forth. This fails for a very obvious reason: every student is different, and every student needs a unique, custom-tailored education to meet their exact needs.
After every session, and every practice test, I learn more about my students, what they've learned, what they know by heart, and what still needs work. I alter their plans to focus exclusively on their weaknesses, offering them pointed, high-impact instruction precisely where they need it most.
Every homework assignment I give is based on the exact needs of my students. Every minute of our sessions is spent focusing on the material, strategies, and applicational tactics necessary to enhance their performance. Throughout our sessions, we'll be working together to gain a deeper understanding of exactly what needs to be done to achieve SAT success.
8. Test day preparedness.
As the date of the actual SAT approaches, I put my students in a rigorous, scientific plan built to maximize their physical endurance and mental acuity. Everything from their training drills to their diet to their sleep is covered, with no stone left unturned. SAT performance depends on multiple tangible and intangible factors, including fatigue, stress, energy, and focus. Over my 10,000+ hours of teaching and training this exam, I've figured out exactly what does (and doesn't) work. As a result, my students often receive a 40-80 point bump from their last diagnostics simply by following my preparedness program.
9. College follow up.
The SAT is a means to an end: getting into the best universities possible. During and after our SAT training, I'll be working with your entire family to make sure your child has everything he or she needs to maximize his/her chances of gaining admission. My in-depth knowledge of the admissions process, combined with my vast network of college consultants and admissions experts, will help your child to pick the right schools and attend them.
To begin the process, click the "Availability and Bookings" button below.
