SAT/ACT Prep
SAT/ACT Prep Is Quick & Easy
Dollar for dollar and hour for hour, test prep is the most effective investment you can make in your future. Even “test-optional” schools still strongly prefer a good score to no score; with both admissions and scholarships at stake, studying can be worth hundreds of dollars per hour.
My one-on-one, flexible lesson plans go at your pace, ensuring we use our time efficiently to shore up each weakness and magnify every strength. With my methods, you stay engaged with the topic during lessons, and can practice productively on their own time, achieving extraordinary gains.
My secret is using the test to defeat the test—clues to the right answers are everywhere, within the tests themselves.
Once you learn to use all the information on a test to your advantage, a little outside study time is often enough to reach your target score.
SAT Prep
I recommend the SAT over the ACT for most of my students.
No matter your initial score, I can get it to where you want it to be. My students with scores in the 1000 to 1350 range gain an average of over 200 points. I also specialize in turning strong scores into elite scores, with 1400 to 1520 and 1450 to 1550 being typical results.
Learn more about SAT Prep
As of March 2024, the SAT has changed from a paper-based, static test with three sections to a computer-based, adaptive test with two sections:
Reading and Writing, which test vocabulary and comprehension through short passages, offers high rewards through reading attentively and memorizing a few grammar rules. I’ll teach you to recognize and respond to types of questions, using patterns to grasp the material.
The Math section presents different types of math questions compared to what you find in typical math classes, but it can be conquered with review, practice, test-prep strategies, and finding the “easy way” to do each problem. I stress calculator literacy, computation, and repetition.
ACT Prep
I recommend the ACT over the SAT for fast thinkers and math wizards.
My students gain, on average, over 4 points, with gains of 6 to 8 points often possible due to the “teachability” of the test.
The ACT is more straightforward than the SAT, but its pace is grueling and can result in surprise, anxiety, and disappointing scores the first time around.
Learn more about ACT Prep
My ACT preparation focuses on answering questions efficiently.
—English consists of five passages of fifteen questions each, with an emphasis on grammar and sentence correction. Learn a few rules, apply them, and improve.
—Math emphasizes more advanced concepts than the SAT, but has less computation and simpler problem statements. This makes it easier—if you know the concepts.
—Reading on the ACT is a challenge. I’ll teach you how to read each subsection carefully enough to answer precisely, but quickly enough to finish in time.
—Science tests your ability to interpret lab reports and graphs. Fortunately, you don’t need to know science to excel! Preparation is similar to the Reading section.
The ISEE and SSAT
The ISEE and SSAT are notoriously challenging. As if getting into high school wasn’t hard enough—Lakeside is more selective than all but the top tier of universities—the upper-level tests mix in a number of “unfair” questions very few middle-schoolers know.
Alone, these tests intensify the pressure behind the hyper-competitive high-school-admissions process. But with my methods and careful study, extraordinary students can pull ahead of the pack, and good students can become extraordinary students.
With some parents fretting about university placement from preschool on, it makes sense to begin your college journey in middle school (or before)—so you’re prepared for when it does count.
The GRE and Other Tests
I teach several other standardized tests, from middle school to graduate school. For each test, I apply the same context- and strategy-oriented methods I use on the SAT and ACT.
My GRE students have a 100-percent record of gaining admission to the program of their first or second choice, and have improved their scores by an average of 7 points. I scored a 339 (out of 340) on the test and teach all three sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning.
My Compass students have bypassed dozens of introductory courses, saving scores of hours and thousands of dollars apiece.
I also have experience teaching the GMAT, TOEFL, and any other test on demand.
Schedule a Free Consultation Today
The personalized approach to college-prep tutoring
Packages
I offer flexibility in payment plans and scheduling. Most full-package students start with me before or during junior year; those looking for just college research and/or essay help can start as late as the beginning of senior year.
With an initial $500 deposit, you get access to my students’ best college essays from the past few years, as well as access to me during my working hours—as long as I’m not with a student.
Hourly services also available.
Basic
- À la carte: test prep, or college research, or essay help.
Pro
- Any two of test prep, college research, and essay help.
Deluxe
- The full package: test prep, college research, and essay help.
Other Services By The Hour:
- Academic tutoring
- Transfer apps
- Grad-school apps
- Secondary-school admissions
- Essay editing
Logistics
I meet most of my students over Zoom or Teams. If you’re in the Seattle area (I live on Beacon Hill), another option is in-person either in your home or at a library or coffee shop, usually in or around Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Madison Park, Mercer Island, or Downtown Bellevue.
Get the help you need!
College admissions from start to finish
USE MY EXPERTISE IN TEST PREP, COLLEGE COUNSELING,
ESSAY EDITING—OR ALL OF THE ABOVE