My Specialized Method

Many people besides test prep professionals offer SAT or ACT tutoring: parents, college students, and high school teachers are sometimes turned to for test prep help. But not all tutoring is created equally―especially when it comes to the SAT and other standardized tests. I have studied the SAT from every angle since 1991. Over the past twenty years, I’ve developed expertise in conveying its material in an easy-to-understand and comfortable way so that my students can perform their best on test day. This is what I do for a living, and it is also what I enjoy.

Look for Specialized Tutoring

What does the competition offer? A high school teacher might teach high school math very well, but is he or she an expert on the SAT or the ACT? Do they understand the tricks and traps of the test? Chances are good that the student could be disadvantaged. For example, math teachers tend to emphasize solving a problem step-by-step and showing work along the way, but that’s not always the best way to approach SAT or ACT problems.

There are also tutors who claim that they can help others simply because they personally scored well on the SAT or the ACT. Undoubtedly they are intelligent enough to find the correct answers, but they aren’t necessarily the best guides for others. I had a physics professor in college who fit this description. He was a genius when it came to physics and held a number of patents, but he couldn’t explain a simple physics problem to college freshmen. He wasn’t an expert teacher and he forgot to teach the fundamentals.

My Three-Part Method

My proven method for success begins with the fundamentals and continues with SAT or ACT specific test-taking strategies. The logical, comfortable process helps students develop confidence as we prepare for test day.

  1. I begin with the basics that lay the foundation for a high SAT or ACT score. Students must know certain fundamental math concepts and have a solid vocabulary before the tricks and shortcuts to a higher score can be useful. They also benefit from reviewing the grammar with the book that I’ve developed for tutoring. The increased grammar knowledge allows students to apply the rules of grammar, discern fine differences between seemingly similar answer choices, and ultimately do well on the writing sections of the SAT or the ACT.
  2. Next, I show the students an effective way to approach the SAT or the ACT by teaching certain test-taking methods. After working with thousands of students and identifying a number of learning styles, I have figured out what works and what doesn’t for different type of learners. This saves my students from a lot of frustrating and inefficient trial and error. I work very hard to attend to my students’ individual needs and prepare them for success.
  3. The third part of my approach might be the most important. In many cases, a student’s greatest obstacle to reaching his or her potential is a high level of test anxiety or a lack of test-taking confidence. My tutoring sessions and abundant SAT or ACT practice test assignments help students develop confidence in their ability to score well. The more practice tests we review, the more confident the students become.

My students have average improvements of more than 200 points on the SAT and more than 5 points on the ACT. My three-part method and my personal investment in my students helps me see them excel on the SAT or the ACT and ultimately get admitted to their top-choice schools.