In today’s ultra-competitive college admissions processes high test scores are a must-have should a student have any chance of being accepted to top universities. A student who decides not to prep could potentially be putting himself or herself at a distinct disadvantage against other students applying to the same colleges.

In short, experience and results. Very few, if any, programs or tutors have the consistent level of scoring improvements that College Ambitions LLC provides. The owner and operator of College Ambitions LLC has logged over 30,000 hours of SAT, PSAT, and ACT tutoring over the last twenty years. One would be hard pressed to find any other test prep professional with half of experience.

The simple answer is that such a score does not exist. College Ambitions LLC strives to help students earn scores that will “not keep them out” of the schools they most desire. Generally, an SAT/ACT score within the top 25% of accepted applicants (from the previous year) at any school will suffice for any student to NOT be an immediate “No” for admission at many U.S. colleges.

No. The SAT is developed and administered by College Board, and the ACT is developed and administered by ACT, Inc.

There are many variables as to why these redesigns may have happened. I am not one to comment definitively, but my thoughts are that these revisions were done in a directed effort to appeal to students and draw them away from the ACT. Early in the 2010s the ACT became the more popular exam nationally, so I believe College Board felt pressure to evolve its exam. Each successive iteration of the SAT over the last twenty years has continually shorten the exam and offered students more time per question. The biggest knock against old ACT was the lesser time the test used to offer per question. The good news is, however, that the test are still quite similar in many ways, so the time spent prepping for one exam will certainly apply to the other!

This call can be a tough one to make. I provide extensive testing and discussion to help students choose the best test for them. I recommend that students weigh initial comparative scoring percentiles for both exams with the test that “feels” better for them. The ACT offers on average less time per question compared to the SAT, so students who can work quickly might benefit against other test takers when considering the harsher ACT time constraints. I generally recommend the SAT over the ACT when a student cannot get his or her reading and/or science ACT scores improved to where they would like them to be. The ACT is currently the test preferred by my most of my students.

Generally, as many times as it takes to get the score a student desires. Every student will eventually reach a score that I believe is at the top of his or her ability levels. When that score is reached I discourage further prep and expense. My typical student takes the real SAT or ACT at least once and then normally focuses on one test or the other for additional testing.

The biggest difference is that the SAT exam is now adaptive and only offered in a digital format. This means that if a student answers a certain number of questions correctly in the first verbal (at least 17 out of 25 counted questions) and math sections (at least 14 out of 20 counted questions) he or she is prompted to a more difficult verbal or math section directly following. Otherwise a student will be directed to an easier verbal or math section. There are two experimental questions on each section of the SAT that are not counted toward a student's score. The ACT is offered in both paper and digital format. The paper version is preferred by most of my students. On the ACT there are ten questions on the english section, four questions on the math, nine questions on the reading, and six questions on the science are also experimental and not counted toward a student's score. The experimental questions on both exams are designed to test out new questions to create future exams. The ACT tends to be a test more about achievement than aptitude. The SAT is, and always has been, a reasoning test. The ACT can benefit students who have taken a more rigorous school curriculum. The SAT can benefit students who are better natural test takers. The ACT tests more grammar and punctuation while the SAT tests more vocabulary and transitional skills. The traditional reading comprehension on the ACT is more about finding and recalling details in the passages while the SAT's "logic-based" reading comprehension asks students to identify author motives and/or arguments and then support or undermine. The ACT math is very school-based and straightforward while the SAT math is more about critical thinking and problem solving. The math on the ACT covers a far broader spectrum of topics while the math on the SAT is very heavy on algebra and functions. The ACT has one math section on which a student may use a calculator while the SAT has two math sections that also permit calculator use. The ACT has a dedicated (now optional) Science section while the SAT works in data analysis questions (similar to ACT science questions) into both verbal sections. The math section of the ACT has a reliable order of difficulty as the section progresses. The SAT has order of difficulty implicit within the sub sections within each verbal section and the math sections as a whole. ACT has an optional writing (essay) portion, but the SAT does not.

Not really. The ACT Science is far more about being proficient in data retrieval and analysis rather than having an extensive science knowledge base. Only 1-2 questions on each ACT Science section require that a student have any kind of outside science knowledge.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a U.S. academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). This is an subsidiary company of College Board, and the PSAT test is basically a marginally easier version of the current SAT. The SAT is scored out of 1600 points in the PSAT and scored out of 1520 points. Almost every high-school junior in the U.S. takes the PSAT in October of his or her junior year. The highest-achieving students in the National Merit Scholarship Program are designated as National Merit Semi-Finalists (16,000 per year). Commended Students (34,000 per year) are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score, which may vary from year to year and is typically well below the level required for participants to be named semi-finalists in their respective states. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis, contingent on the total number of entrants and in proportion to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% percent of the state’s senior students. The moral of the story here is that attaining a National Merit Semi-Finalist distinction can be very, very difficult. Most Semi-Finalists will receive much more scholarship money from the colleges to which they apply rather than from the scholarship competition itself. Scores on the PSAT are not accepted for college applications, so for the vast majority of students the PSAT amounts to nothing more than a practice SAT.

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists have to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each semifinalist submits a detailed scholarship application, which includes essays and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also have to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance. From the semifinalist group, varying year to year but roughly 15,000 per year, advance to finalist standing depending on the above criteria. Scholarship winners represent far fewer than 1% of the initial pool of roughly 1.6 million student entrants.

There are many variables at play here. If a student has very high PSAT scores from his or her 10th grade years (195 or higher for the PSAT selection index) then starting to prep during the summer before his or her junior years is optimal. That way he or she can take aim a National Merit Semi-Finalist score and start prepping months in advance. Generally, my summer students take the PSAT in Oct and the SAT and ACT later in the fall. Many of these students are done with their college testing by their winter breaks. Remember prepping the the PSAT is the same process as prepping for the SAT. If prepping for the PSAT is secondary to prepping for the SAT and/or ACT then starting later in a student’s junior year can work well. My winter term students start to prep in late Nov or early December and aim for the SAT and ACT test dates in the spring. I always couple students’ starting SAT and ACT scores with their college/scoring goals to provide a realistic plan for their testing. I do start with some students during their 10th grade years, but this is only done under special circumstances and normally has a lot to do with a student being recruited for athletics. Some alternative programs attempt to lock a family into paying for years of prep, so many of these programs encourage students as young as 8th grade to start prepping. Some companies require quite a large initial investment to prep your child. This initial investment tends to push many families to “stick with” their initial prep direction even though their child’s scores are not improving. I do not endorse this particular practice.

Practice tests created by the test makers themselves are the absolute best source of accurate scoring numbers with which to assess current student scoring levels as well as progress through my programs. Some other companies use proprietary exams of their own creation. These tests are often deliberately made much harder than the real exams. So, if a student takes one of these non-official tests he or she might believe that his or her numbers are lower than they would be on the actual exams. A “false-reading” like this can cause a student to panic and might cause a family to hastily choose their best direction for prep. Also, this practice can make a family believe that a particular prep program was more helpful to a student than it actually was. For instance, consider a student who takes a practice ACT exam engineered by another prep company and earns an average score of a 20. This student might do as well as a 22 or 23 on the real test on that same day. This student completes a prep program with the company that so woefully diagnosed his or her scoring deficiencies and earns a 25 on the real ACT a few months later. A family thinks the prep program helped their child improve five points. In reality, the program only helped 2 to 3 points. This practice is unethical, and College Ambitions LLC has never and will never manufacture score improvements in this manner.

The duration of the prep process will depend on a student’s starting scores, his or her scoring goals, and the time we have to prep before the actual testing dates. In general, the higher a student’s starting scores are the fewer the number of hours needed to successfully complete my programs. For example, a student with a top 5% starting scores could be fully prepped in 10-15 hours while an average student might need 18-24 hours of prep time. I do not endorse a one-size-fits-all test prep solution. I fully tailor my prep programs for each student. Generally, my winter term students have lower starting scores than do my summer into fall students, so the time required for the prep is longer.

Absolutely. The scores on the SAT and ACT are curved based on each student who takes the tests on any given day. Each test uses a standard deviation bell curve when converting raw scores to scaled scores. For instance, an average ACT score for a high-school senior is a 20 out of 36. If that student improves for a 20 to a 24 then his or her scoring percentile jumps from the 50th to the 74th nationally. However, if a student moves from a 24 to a 28 his or her percentile jumps from the 74th to the 90th. From a 28 to a 32 the percentile jumps from the 90th to the 98th. So the same number of points of improvement will not equate to an equal increase in scoring percentile. The take away here is that the higher a student scores the harder it will be to improve against his or her peers.

While each SAT and ACT is similar in difficulty from test date to test date some tests are found to be easier or harder depending on the student. The curving procedures will take care of the varying difficulties from exam to exam. This means that a student who scored a 1450 out of a 1600 on the SAT would earn the same score relative to his or her peers on another test date, even if he or she missed a few more questions on that particular test. Generally, the fall test dates (September through November) are utilized primarily by seniors. Many of these seniors are taking their tests for the second or third times and have prepped over the summer and between their previous exams. This fact means that the “pool” of test takers can be more capable overall, so “un-prepped” students might fare worse against their competition that testing day. I generally recommend that a junior sit for the exams in the fall only if he or she has strong scores that will stack up well against the curve. Most high school juniors focus on the spring test dates for their SAT and ACT exams. I always create the optimal testing plan for each of my students.

At this point almost all colleges accept both scores, and neither test is preferred over the other for most colleges in the Unired States. The many revisions of the SAT may have concerned colleges over the last few years, but that concern has been greatly mitigated. Up until September of 2025 the ACT had made only minor changes to its format and style, so the consistency of the ACT has caused many students (and potentially admissions officers as well) to “trust” the ACT over the SAT. However, ACT made sweeping changes when it augmented the exam to the new "enhanced" format.

The "enhanced" ACT is the new, shorter format of the traditional ACT. This new format debuted in September 2025. The changes include making each of the core sections (english/math/reading) shorter in length as well as giving students considerable more time per question. The English section was shortened from 75 to 50 questions, the math from 60 to 45 questions, and the reading from 40 to 36 questions. The science section remains 40 questions in length. In addition, the exam offers time increases per question of 16% on the English section, 11% on the math, 27% on the reading, and 14% on the science. By far the most prominent change is that the science section is now optional. My opinion is that the ACT test creators felt pressure to shorten their exam to make it more appealing to those students deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT. Now the SAT and ACT are very similar in length. However, the SAT still offers considerably more time per question.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. However, I generally recommend that students take the science section if they feel it will help increase their composite score (average score across all four subsections of the test). Some colleges or scholarships may have requirements regarding taking the optional Science and Writing sections based on majors or programs, so I encourage students to verify what is required for their application processes before they decide whether to take the science section.

For the vast majority of students the answer is no. As of today fewer than ten colleges in this country require the writing section, so if there's no compelling reason to take it (based on a particular student's application requirements) then I generally recommend that students omit the writing section.

Absolutely not. I work with students of all ability and scoring levels. Whether it be a student currently earning a top 50% score or one who has already broken the top 1%, my programs are tailored to the student. I teach each of my students in the way that he or she can learn optimally and efficiently. I create a genuine, no-pressure relationship that fosters trust and confidence.

Of course. In fact, over 30% of my students each year have some sort of testing accommodations. My programs all have a foundation of lessons that all students experience, but the pace and specialized testing content is always geared for a student to feel great about the prep experience. No two students are the same.

No. The diagnostic exams I administer prior to starting the prep allow me to pinpoint a student’s areas of need. I believe in the adage “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.” This approach simply means that if a student is already scoring in the top 1-2% in a certain content area of the ACT or SAT then I will generally not push a student to engage in prep for that content area. I will certainly offer help if requested or if the need arises, but I do not force my clients to pay for prep lessons that might be of little to no benefit for their child. That said, the majority of my families do prefer to have their child complete the prep program in its entirety. Completing the entire prep program will give your child every advantage I can provide.

Yes. I understand that many families do not have an unlimited amount of money to spend to prep their child. Within reason we can work under a comfortable budget for your family. Using the results of my diagnostic exams, I simply put the prep hours towards the areas that I believe will have the most positive impact on a student’s score. However counterintuitive it might seem, prepping a student on his or her weakest content area (score wise) is not always the best route to increase a student’s overall scoring numbers.

Yes. Although not my main area of focus, I can provide school-based subject tutoring as well. Many families report that my work with their children in test prep has the added benefit of helping their school work as well. I encourage and foster study skills and organization that almost always translate into additional success at school. However, please remember that my principle aim is to help your child score as high as possible on his or her college entrance exams. Any and everything else is secondary to maximizing scoring numbers. Period.

Absolutely. Each student will generally have 1-2 hours’ worth of homework for each hour we meet together weekly. I understand that today’s students are asked to do more than ever, so I do not overload my students with homework. I do expect that my students complete and check their assignments in a timely matter to ensure retention and value.

While a standing day/time during the week is always great in theory, sometimes it is just not possible for every student. Sporting obligations, varying school activities, and family obligations require that I be as flexible with scheduling as possible. I do ask that all families be as considerate as possible with making our scheduled sessions. I prefer to schedule via group text with the student and at least one parent on the text thread. I strive to make the scheduling process as painless as possible.

No. I do not require contracts locking in my families to a certain number of hours. Either party can end the tutoring relationship at any time for any reason. However, the vast majority of my families stay with me until they are fully satisfied with their scoring results.

Payment is always appreciated immediately after each session, but I remain flexible. Many of my clients pay for hours in advance while some prefer to be invoiced. Many families pay after every few sessions. I perfer electronic payments via Venmo or Zelle. I understand that we all live busy lives, so I really try to make payment for services rendered pain free. I are completely monetarily transparent.

Yes. I will text a link to the needed materials after our first session. These first prep materials for either exam type will cost approximately $30-40. These materials consist of a workbook and a notebook. Additional materials and costs might be incurred depending on the duration and direction of a student’s prep process.

Other than the costs of the materials and sessions there will be no other fees. I do not charge for phone calls, or emails, or texts in regards to my students as I believe that “nickel-and-diming” my clients is just bad business. I understand that parents occasionally want feedback as to the progress of their children. However, giving parents detailed feedback after each prep session is not logistically feasible, and I hope that my clients will respect my “off-time” as well.

The many factors associated with how a student performs on any given testing day make it impossible to guarantee a certain score improvement for any student. I can guarantee, however, that I endeavor in every way possible to pull greatness out of each and every student!