SAT/ACT Prep: Tutor, Online, Center, or Self-Study

How to best prepare for standardized tests? This is easily the most critical question facing any parent or student.  The more you research this question, the more answers you will find. I share below my notes  to help you find the most appropriate choice for you. 

Note: I’ve faced this choice as a father looking out for my own kids. I have also tutored 1-on-1 format, and taught both booster quick courses as well as 3-month comprehensive ones. I have also used multiple online platforms, both for myself, my kids, and my students. I have read numerous accounts of students online, and keep track of both my students and my kids peers. The only thing I can state with any certainty is that there is no one method that works for everyone. With that said, understanding the different choices and the trade-offs inherent within them is key to selecting the best approach for your situation. 

Watch out for:

• Teacher will pick a pace that works for most students, may not be appropriate for everyone
• No scheduling flexibility, hard to make up missed lessons
• Not productive if student wishes to focus on specific areas only
• Need to make sure there are opportunities for 1×1 questions and additional explanations if something isn’t clear

Watch out for:

• One way instruction, expectation is that you’ll grasp everything through videos and/or written explanations
• Requires high level of self-discipline and motivation
• 1-on-1 assistance may be available but costs extra
• Due to copyright limitations, cannot use questions from previous College Board retired tests
• Since SAT and ACT are still paper and pencil tests, doesn’t quite match the same experience for those aiming for the top scores

Watch out for:

• Wide disparity in tutors skills and rates. Takes effort to find a good tutor. I enclose my personal tips for this here
• Needs student to be self-disciplined to follow-up on exercises and practice tests (not effective for tutors to proctor entire practice tests)
• Having a setup for regular communication between parents and tutor, I enclose my personal tips for this here

Watch out for:

• Make sure you are gauging your progress and are making concrete steps to get better

Additional Considerations

• Prep for standardized tests is 95% effort by the student. Even with a tutor or a prep center, one should expect to spend several hours studying and practicing for each hour of instruction

• Taking realistic practice tests under strictly timed conditions is by far the most critical aspect of standardized test preparation. As you weigh the approaches above, make sure you have a credible plan for tackling this. If you opt to go it alone, will you have the discipline to enforce this on yourself? You need to make sure you can control your environment where you setup the right conditions to allow you to go through these sessions uninterrupted in a low disturbance environment

• Money is clearly a key factor in these decisions. However, one must also consider if and how much would a high score on the SAT or ACT be offset by potential scholarships at the college level. If your high school GPA is high, potential scholarships will may than pay for money spent on attaining a high test score

Takeaways

 Take the time to come up with a plan that works for you. Research your options, set a budget, and set a goal score. Above all, keep your expectations realistic: doing well means you will spend tens to hundreds of hours studying and preparing independently irrespective of the approach you decide on. It is a long and arduous road, but with substantial rewards. Best Wishes!