<p>Any recommendations as to where to track down a private tutor? S1 actually took an SAT prep class in high school, but it's not being offered this year for S2. (I can't <em>believe</em> more kids didn't sign up for it--during school, semester-long, good results for S1.) We do not live in a large urban area, but not Hicksville either.</p>
<p>momofgrowingkids - where do you live? Generally speaking I have heard very good things about Princeton Review. However, some areas have local independent tutors who are outstanding. For example, I have a friend who raves about a tutor in the Princeton, NJ area. So much depends upon where you live.</p>
<p>I definitely recommend the private tutor route. My kids were not going to self study nor were they going to take a class where they had to sit through other kids' weaknesses instead of focusing on what they needed to learn. In the end, it saved us both time and money to have someone come to our house. Call some private college counselors in your area and ask who they refer. Sometimes those people do seminars/speeches at local high schools to drum up business. You could attend one of those events and try to get a referral on the spot. Ask around at the PTA or sporting events or ask anyone who has older kids that you come into contact with. Everyone knows someone who knows someone! Good luck.</p>
<p>I found a tutor (private, unaffiliated with any larger firms) on a local website, and then checked references. I signed D up for one initial meeting to see if their personalities would gel. They did, and we went ahead. The cost was $50 an hour, and a few times she took 1 1/2 hour sessions. She met with her six times, and saw a very nice three point increase in her composite score that accompanied very large gains in the reading and writing subscores. (Her math score improved, but only a little -- she has always run out of time on it, and that pretty much tracks her math experience in life. Science also increased a little.) We were very happy, because the new composite score puts her just a bit better than where she was hoping for.</p>
<p>My D sounds a lot like your son. We originally signed her up for a princeton review class. However, they ended up not having enough students to make that class and tried to put her in another class. When I protested, they ended up putting her with one other student and a tutor. They met at the library on the same days the class would have been. She improved her score by 100 points after that.</p>
<p>When she was getting ready to take it again, she went to Princeton Reviews refresher class for several sessions. This was a classroom setting this time. half the time, they were taking practice test, the other half, going over the results to sharpen where they were weakest. She improved another 150 points.</p>
<p>So, overall, she improved 250 points from the Jan test to the october test.</p>
<p>On the other hand, she self studied for the ACT and went from a 30 to a 34. But the SAT class probaby also had something to do with that I think.</p>
<p>To OP: Your son probably does not need either a course or self-study. Just sit him down with practice tests (from the blue book or the online course) and ask him to take them under timed conditions. He can do the tests one section at a time, or only the math sections, only reading sections, etc. Let him check the answers and see what he got wrong. He will improve and his anxiety will abate. This is what worked for my D. </p>
<p>The one thing I would suggest is- don't let him take the online tests online. Print out the tests (there is an option) and take them on paper. Simulates the real thing. And ONLY do the official tests from the blue book or official online course.</p>
<p>Nobody mentioned TestMasters. (At least, I don't think it was mentioned; I skimmed the posts.)</p>
<p>S took Princeton Review. D took Testmasters.</p>
<p>Reasons I liked Testmasters:
Different teachers for different subject areas. I thought my d would hate a three hour class on the writing section, and the guy who taught it did so with humor.</p>
<p>The exam club (no charge) for six months after the course ends. An SAT is given every Sat and Sun at a central location. (The student is responsible for checking answers - online, after the test - and can return to look over the questions to see what was missed.) I think my d took 4 extra SATs.</p>
<p>Fri and Sat night small group tutorials (free) for weaker area also available for six months after the course.</p>
<p>Can have an 8 week mini course if your score does not improve the requisite number of points (free).</p>
<p>Mainly the course made my d study; she would have practiced SOME on her own, but definitely not the amount of time she did with the course.</p>
<p>Practice is good.</p>