How We Work
Our approach contains some major differences from our competitors'.
- Our tutors are professional educators who have taught language arts/English, math, or science on the high school and/or college levels. Consequently, they're able to easily assess when our clients don't understand content, present a variety of learning strategies, and create or draw from a range of sample problems for practice and reinforcement.
- We don't waste time reviewing material your student already knows. We use a combination of a sample dSAT created by the College Board or ACT, prior SAT/ACT and PSAT scores, and your student's transcript to determine what material they have mastered and where there's room for growth and create lesson plans accordingly.
- Our sessions are personalized to your student's learning pace. If our client needs more time on reading comprehension skills and less on vocabulary building, we adjust easily so they don't feel pressured.
- We work around your schedule. If your student is an athlete who is preparing during their season, observes religious holidays, is juggling other college prep. deadlines, and/or is scheduled for a trip, we don't mind with a little advanced notice. We can set up a weekly schedule but make adjustments as needed.
- You choose tutors whose teaching style match your student's learning style. Our team ranges from active teachers in their 30s to recently retired, highly experienced educators. Choose someone with a strong STEM background, a Montessori teaching style, sweet and personable, or straight to the point. We want you to be comfortable, so we'll discuss your options and schedules and let you choose the best fit. (Tutors can be changed during the process, but there will be a two-hour charge for the new tutor to come up to speed on the client's history.)
- Independent study time is critical to the process. Much like a college class, our sessions are structured with the understanding that the student will be working several hours a week on exercises, readings, and videos assigned by the tutors to practice and reinforce material covered during tutoring sessions. Periodically, the tutors will assign sample problem sets from past SATs/ACTs to assess progress. If your student is looking for a meaningful increase in their score, then they must be committed to working independently between five and eight hours a week on these readings and assignments. If your student is unwilling to apply this time, then we respectfully suggest that you might explore a series of classes with one of our competitors with more in-class practice time.
- We can help reduce test anxiety. One component of our system is a meeting with a test-taking strategies specialist who will explain the psychology of the exam, how to plan for and navigate it, what types of decisions to make with limited time, and more. For students who suffer from increased levels of test anxiety, we suggest a second or even third session to explore the challenges and create a personalized approach that your student will carry into their final exams, AP tests, and college years.
- We care about our clients and want to be upfront with you. If you're coming to us with unrealistic expectations about score increases, turnaround preparation time for a sitting, or a student who's unwilling to apply the time to study independently, we will be realistic in our discussions so that your family can make the best choice about this type of investment. We cannot and will not promise a particular score increase, but we can explain typical improvements based upon number of sessions, external study time, test anxiety levels, and the classes the student has completed and are taking.
