ACT / SAT tutoring companies.... worth the $$$

Obviously, this can depend on the company and the student, but generally speaking has anyone found them to be really be worth the cost?

My opinion depends on what you are looking for. A large group prep class, definitely not worth the money. You are far better spending that money on a private tutor. A private tutor with a company, maybe. Some companies have better reps than others. I’m a private test prep tutor, and even before I was, I preferred word of mouth recs when I was looking for tutors for my kids. My students come through word of mouth now, and I feel that it’s my job to do my best for them, because that’s how I make a living.

My daughter did one-on-one tutoring at a test prep center. Her ACT score went up 6 points. Definitely worth it in our case.

We were told that the average gain is 12% with a 12 hour program. It is online with a live tutor. The sessions get recorded, and the student can watch them as many times as needed.

definitey a fan of private tutor. I think there are many through word of mouth - not always tutor companies. Both by kids used private tutors which could hone in on areas to improve and help with how to take the test. Both got 36.

@AbsDad In my opinion, it depends on if the test score matches or correlates to GPA. If the two don’t align then it might raise a question about how well prepared the student is to attend a particular college. I don’t look at a higher test score as a means to compensate for a lower GPA but rather that the test score should validate the GPA and vice versa.

Some students do well on standardized tests. Nervousness can cause silly mistakes. Test prep can help a student feel more confident with test timing, types of questions, etc.

@lkg4answers

Well, she has a 4.6 gpa… a 98 in calc, and a B+ in AP Bio… she scored 35 in writing and 36 in reading… but mid 20’s for science and math, which tell me there is some kind of disconnect when she takes the test. So, we did hire a tutor.

I think you did the right thing, @AbsDad . A tutor is going to be able to get to target her trouble spots quickly and focus on helping her tackle those problems.

@AbsDad a tutor should definitely be able to help her with math. Science on the ACT isn’t a true test of science knowledge more more about reading comprehension and data interpretation. A tutor should be able to help her with that as well. Good luck!

There was a study on this in the WSJ. I think paid test prep courses raised the ACT 1 composite point and the SAT 30 points compared to no prep at all.

In our experience my DS wanted to get into the top BS/MD program which is more competitive than getting into any IVY. We did an SAT course which at the time was only available to a few elite students. The avg SAT score of the kids in his class was 1510!!! He was accepted to top BS/MD programs and is now a first year at one of them. The SAT course was well worth it!

We used Testive, an online prep service. My daughter did it for three months leading up to the ACT and PSAT (they were in consecutive weeks). Her ACT went up from a 31 to a 35 (a 28 to 36 increase in science!) and a 223 index on the PSAT. It was well worth it–they zoomed in on where she was weakest. Only 30 minutes a day; she and I can’t recommend it enough.

Everyone has a different preference. Personally, I did not feel that the group classes were individualized enough to improve my score significantly, so I study on my own. I would say just take some time out of your own day to do some problems if it works better for you. I tried to do a SAT prep session once but it was boring and I did not gain anything from it. It is much better with personalized explanations and your own thinking to deduce problems I think. Good luck and I hope this helped!