14 Best Online SAT Tutoring Services for 2026 (75 Tutoring Services Reviewed)

Updated September 2, 2026

Research conducted by Emily Kierkegaard, PhD, and expert-reviewed by Kevin Wong, PrepMaven Co-founder

Not sure which SAT online tutoring service is the best? We conducted days of research and compared the top 75 tutoring services, created in-depth reviews for 14 of them, and narrowed them down to the 4 best that will help you increase your SAT scores.

How to Choose the Right SAT Tutoring Service

Not all SAT tutoring services solve the same problem. Some focus on test content, others on test-taking skills, and others on specific score goals. The “best” option depends on how much support you want, where your personal strengths and weaknesses lie, and what kind of guidance actually helps you to improve your score and feel more confident.

Instead of “Which tutoring service is best?,” the real question is: “Which service works for me for my specific goals and needs?”

What is the Best Online SAT Tutoring?

1. PrepMaven – best SAT tutoring overall
2. Princeton Review – best of the big test prep companies
3. Wyzant – alternative for families on a budget
4. Khan Academy – honorable mention for self-guided SAT prep

The best of the rest:

Schedule a free test prep consultation

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Best SAT Online Tutoring in 2026

#1 – PrepMaven

Our Verdict — Best SAT Tutoring Overall

Price: $79–349/hour

It’s hard to beat PrepMaven for SAT tutoring!

PrepMaven has assembled an impressive team of Ivy-League tutors to provide one-on-one SAT tutoring. Most tutors are Princeton graduates with extensive teaching experience.

Founded by two brothers, both Princeton graduates passionate about education, PrepMaven offers more individualized learning experiences than bigger test prep companies. Tutors undergo a thorough training process, tailored to the SAT, that allows them to teach students how to take advantage of the standardized nature of the test by using test-taking strategies.

With a range of price points depending on tutor qualifications, families are able to find the right fit for their budget. Starting at $79/hour, families can work with current students at the most elite universities in the country. PrepMaven’s Master level provides one-on-one tutoring with Ivy-League graduates who have extensive teaching and test prep experience at just $149/hour — a lower price than other tutoring services, for more elite instructors. It’s also possible to work one-on-one with the very best tutors at $349/hr, and there is the opportunity to work directly with the founders of the company.

Recommended by US News, PrepMaven also provides free resources for the SAT and regularly shares insights garnered from connections with former admissions officers.

Sign up for PrepMaven’s One-on-One SAT Tutoring

This is for you if:

• You’re looking for high-quality SAT prep, whether in-person or online
• You want a service that has the flexibility to fit your budget
• You want a highly qualified SAT tutor who went to a top school and has been specifically trained to teach the SAT

At a glance:

• Cost: $79–349/hour, depending on tutor qualifications
• Tutor qualifications: Ivy-League students and graduates (mostly from Princeton) with extensive teaching experience

What we like:

• Experienced Ivy-League tutors, selected for their passion for education and working with students
• Competitive pricing — rates are lower than other options for highly qualified tutors
• Impressive client reviews — hundreds of 5-star reviews on Google and other independent review platforms
• More individualized learning experience compared to large companies

Sign up for SAT tutoring today

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#2 – Princeton Review

Our Verdict — Best of the Big Test Prep Companies

Price: From $175/hour, or from $359/hr for “1500+” tutoring

The Princeton Review actually has no connection to Princeton University.

However, they’re still well-known in their own right as a large educational company, as well as the publishers of many test prep and college admissions guides.

Tutors with the Princeton Review receive some training. They are not required to be Ivy-League graduates or have scored highly themselves on standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, or GRE.

For a steep $359/hour, students can sign up for “1500+” tutoring, which comes with a score guarantee. But there’s a catch: even with the score guarantee, you’re actually not guaranteed to get your money back if you don’t get a 1500. You’ll only get your full tuition back if you score under a 1400, and even then, you won’t get any refund if your starting score was under 1230. If you end up scoring between 1400 and 1500, you might get half your money back, but only if your score improved less than 180 points. It’s all pretty confusing — and it makes it hard to know what you’re actually guaranteed.

This is for you if:

• You want to work with one of the largest test prep companies

This may not be for you if:

• You don’t want to pay extra for a high score guarantee (especially one that’s full of loopholes)
• You want to work with a tutor who scored highly themselves

At a glance:

• Cost: $175/hour or $359/hr for “1500+” tutoring
• Tutor qualifications: trained instructors; no specific requirements for high SAT scores or top school

What we like:

• Large, established test prep company

What we don’t like:

• No specific qualification requirements for tutors—although tutors have more extensive training than some other companies
• Reports that they pay tutors a tiny fraction of what they charge
• Charging over twice as much for the promise of helping you score a 1500 or higher
• Score “guarantee” comes with a lot of loopholes

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#3 – Wyzant

Our Verdict — Alternative for Families on a Budget

Price: $20–600/hour

There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Wyzant is one of the largest such platforms, with more than 65,000 tutors providing services through their website. Students and families can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster and arrange tutoring services directly.

One benefit of this model is that tutors can set their own rates, which vary hugely. Families on a budget can find online SAT tutors as low as $20 per hour. However, these tutors might not have any experience or training, and they may not have scored highly on the SAT themselves or graduated from a top school. Tutors with more qualifications may have much higher rates, as high as $600 per hour!

This is for you if:

• You’re willing to find your own tutor and take a gamble on quality
• You want to find a tutor tailored to your budget

This may not be for you if:

• You want a guarantee that you’ll be working with a qualified tutor
• You don’t have the time to scroll through hundreds of tutors to find the right fit

At a glance:

• Cost: $20–600/hour
• Tutor qualifications: varies

What we like:

• Marketplace platform means that some tutors list low rates for tutoring, which can make tutoring more affordable
• Families can choose their own tutor directly

What we don’t like:

• No training for tutors—which leads to uneven quality of instruction
• Families are hiring individual tutors, which means tutor qualifications vary enormously, and there are no guarantees

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#4 – Khan Academy

Our Verdict — Honorable Mention for Free Self-Guided SAT Prep

Price: $0

Khan Academy technically doesn’t belong on this list, since they don’t offer any live SAT tutoring. However, it’s such a fantastic resource that we’d be remiss not to mention it.

It’s hard to beat completely free, officially-approved SAT prep!

For motivated and organized students ready to work independently, Khan Academy has amazing content. A non-profit educational organization, Khan Academy has partnered with the College Board (the makers of the SAT) to provide free test prep that’s accessible to everyone. That means that apart from the official practice tests, Khan Academy’s materials are the only other materials officially approved by the College Board.

(Many companies will produce their own “practice tests” that mimic the test but are not official tests. All of the official tests are available for free online from the College Board or in the College Board SAT book.)

Students create a profile with a SAT Dashboard that guides them through video lessons, quizzes, practice questions with detailed explanations, and full-length practice tests.

Of course, this resource is quite limited, since there’s no tutor or instructor to guide students, craft learning plans, and answer questions. Khan Academy is great for test content, but it doesn’t teach test-taking strategy, which is an important part of preparing for the SAT.

This is for you if:

• You want to prep independently for the SAT with just the test content, no strategy tips
• You want to start with self-study before working with a tutor

This may not be for you if:

• You want to work with a live instructor
• You need more external structure and accountability and don’t want to work 100% on your own
• You want to learn test strategy, not just content

At a glance:

• Cost: $0
• Tutor qualifications: no instructor, but the materials are approved by the College Board

What we like:

• Partnership with the College Board (makers of the SAT) means that materials are officially approved
• Individual math concepts have particularly strong content, great for reviewing with short videos and then doing practice with instant feedback
• It’s free!

What we don’t like:

• Covers only test content, no strategy—and learning the test format and key strategies is an important component of test prep
• Content is weaker for Reading and Writing sections, especially compared to their content for the Math sections
• Self-guided platform means that students have to craft their own study plan and decide which areas to practice—and there’s no one to hold them accountable

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SAT Tutoring Alternatives (that Didn’t Make the Cut)

#5 – Kaplan

Our Verdict — Big Test Prep with High Minimum Prices

Price: $184-199/hour, or $175-299/hr for a more qualified tutor

Along with Princeton Review, Kaplan is one of the other large companies in the test prep space. Because of their size, their tutoring sessions have more of a corporate vibe.

They offer four tutoring packages of different sizes. Their minimum purchase is a package of 10 tutoring hours at $1999. This comes out to $199/hour for tutoring, which is a very steep price—especially considering that their tutors have no required qualifications like high scores themselves or degrees from top schools! The package does include access to an online group class, but if you’re looking for individual tutoring, that may not be of interest to you. (If you are looking for a group SAT prep course, check out our ranking of those offerings too.)

If you want a tutor who scored in the top 1%, you’ll have to pay extra! Those tutoring packages start at $2999 for just 10 hours.

Kaplan offers a score guarantee, which means that if you don’t raise your score from the baseline you get on a diagnostic test at the beginning of tutoring, you can request your money back. But there’s no minimum score raise guarantee — even if your score goes up by just 10 points after a full tutoring package, you won’t get a refund!

This is for you if:

• You want to work with a big company and don’t mind the high rates
• You want a combination of one-on-one tutoring and online group classes

This may not be for you if:

• You’re looking for budget-friendly tutoring
• You want to purchase individual tutoring hours, not a package that includes a group class
• You want something in between the 10, 20, 30, or 40-hour packages

At a glance:

• Cost: $1999 for 10 tutoring hours, $2899 for 20 tutoring hours, $3799 for 30 tutoring hours, or $4599 for 40 tutoring hours with a less qualified tutor. Prices increase dramatically if you want a qualified tutor: $2999 for 10 hours, $4299 for 20 hours, $5799 for 30 hours, or $6999 for 40 hours
• Tutor qualifications: no specific qualifications (unless you pay extra; then tutors must have scored in the top 1%)

What we like:

• Large, established test prep company

What we don’t like:

• Basic tutors have no required qualifications
• You have to pay extra for a qualified tutor
• You don’t know who the tutor will be
• High minimum purchase

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#6 – Prep Expert

Our Verdict — Subscription Service with Less Experienced Tutors

Price: $79-99/hour

Better known for their SAT prep group courses, Prep Expert also offers individual tutoring. While they offer several packages — $396 for 4 hours ($99/hour), $712 for 8 hours ($89/hour), or $1264 for 16 hours ($79/hour). You can also subscribe, committing to a certain number of hours per month in exchange for a discount: $356 for 4 hours each month, $632 for 8 hours each month, or $1,104 for 8 hours each month.

If you choose a package, you’ll be limited in what you can work on. If you only buy 4 hours of tutoring, you’ll get preparation for just one of the two sections of the SAT. You’ll need to buy at least the 8-hour package to get access to tutoring for both sections.

Their tutors are all top 1% scorers on the SAT themselves, which is a good background. We also like the 200-point score increase guarantee, which is one of the bigger guarantees we’ve seen across the industry. However, the tutors may be inexperienced at tutoring and don’t benefit from training, so the quality of teaching may be uneven.

This is for you if:

• You’re confident you’ll use a certain number of hours per month

This may not be for you if:

• You want a budget-friendly option
• You want a tutor who’s experienced at teaching (not just a high scorer themselves)

At a glance:

• Cost: $79–99/hour; $396 for 4 hours ($99/hour), $712 for 8 hours ($89/hour), or $1264 for 16 hours ($79/hour); alternatively, the offer a tutoring subscription service: $356 for 4 hours each month, $632 for 8 hours each month, or $1,104 for 8 hours each month
• Tutor qualifications: top 1% scorers

What we like:

• SAT tutors are top 1% scorers
• Large score increase guarantee
• Pay-as-you-go option, so you don’t have to purchase a package and can buy exactly the number of hours you want

What we don’t like:

• Refund process is difficult and families have reported that the score increase guarantee may not be honored
• Tutors don’t have training
• Pay-as-you-go tutoring is very expensive, and the packages are also pricey

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#7 – PrepScholar

Our Verdict: Overpriced Tutoring with Limited Guarantee

Price: $133–249/hour, minimum $995 package

PrepScholar is another larger tutoring company that offers tutoring with top scorers. While you can’t scroll through the bios of their tutors, they do promise that all tutors scored in the top 1%.

A major promise that they make is their score increase guarantee of 160 points on the SAT after finishing their program. However, we found this promise a bit misleading—students who don’t manage to achieve the advertised score increase can claim a refund for only part of the fee. They can also request continued tutoring for the same number of hours that they originally purchased without additional cost. They can’t request a refund for most of the tutoring cost!

This is for you if:

• You want a tutor who scored highly themselves

This may not be for you if:

• You want the opportunity to see tutor bios before paying
• You don’t want to be tied to a large minimum package

At a glance:

• Cost: $133–249/hour; $995 for “monitored prep” with 4 hours of tutoring ($249/hr), $1995 for 12 hours of tutoring ($166/hr), $2995 for 20 hours ($150/hr), or $4795 for 36 hours ($133/hr)
• Tutor qualifications: top 1% scorers

What we like:

• Tutors are top 1% scorers
• High average score improvement of 180 points

What we don’t like:

• More expensive than other options for comparable quality
• No tutor bios or information about qualifications beyond high SAT scores
• Disingenuous advertising about the score refund policy

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#8 – Tutoring Service of New York

Our Verdict — Newer Service with Flexible Packages

Price: $130–177/hour

Founded by a former tutor with the now-defunct Ivy Global tutoring service, the Tutoring Service of New York offers test prep tutoring online or in person.

We like that this service gives you the option to book individual sessions — price upon request — if their packages don’t work for you. They also offer flexibility in the session format — sessions are typically 90 minutes, but you can divide your time into longer or shorter sessions if you want.

The link to see tutors on the website wasn’t working last we checked, so it’s not possible to see information about the team. Although the company says tutors are “rigorously trained,” it’s not clear what that means or if there’s any high score requirement for the tutors themselves. They also take on just “a few clients at a time,” which might make it hard to get a tutor match.

This is for you if:

• You want the flexibility to book tutoring hours without a minimum package

This may not be for you if:

• You want a guarantee that your tutor is highly qualified or experienced

At a glance:

• Cost: $1125 (in-person) or $1325 (online) for 7.5 hours; $2100 or $2475 for 15 sessions; $3120 or $3720 for 24 hours
• Tutor qualifications: unknown

What we like:

• Flexible scheduling
• No minimum package

What we don’t like:

• New service, so client reviews are still limited
• Limited information about tutor backgrounds and training

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#9 – SoFlo Tutors

Our Verdict — Young Service Featuring Memes

Price: $75/hour

Founded by a 24-year-old in Southern Florida (hence their name), SoFlo is a newer company with a young team.

We would have loved to see the bios of more of their tutors — they only provide five tutor bios on their website, and a few more in their brochure.

Their website has a younger feel, with a section devoted to SAT memes.

Starting at $75/hour, the service is relatively affordable, with scholarships available as well.

This is for you if:

• You value a younger, approachable vibe
• You’re looking for an affordable service with scholarship options

This may not be for you if: 

• You want a more established company with a long-standing reputation
• You want a guarantee that your tutor is highly qualified and experienced

At a glance:

• Cost: $75/hr
• Tutor qualifications: none specified

What we like:

• Reasonable pricing

What we don’t like:

• New company with young leadership, with less experience
• No specific tutor qualifications listed

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#10 – Parker Academics

Our Verdict — Higher Rates for Outdated SAT Tutoring 

Price: $150-200/hour

Based in New York City, Parker Academics is a high-end tutoring service offering online SAT test prep. Like PrepMaven and Elite Ivy Tutors, their tutors are graduates of Ivy-League institutions, but their fees are higher. Tutoring starts at $200/hour, although there is a sliding-scale option for lower-income students. If you purchase 10-20 hours of tutoring, you get a small 5% discount, and that percentage goes up when you buy bigger packages. To get down to a rate of $150/hour, you’d need to buy at least 40 hours of tutoring — which still comes out to at least $6000!

Despite their high prices, their materials online for the SAT are very limited. The information their website offers about the SAT is extremely basic, and their blog with SAT information hasn’t been updated since 2019. Other services, like PrepMaven and PrepScholar, provide up-to-date free SAT resources on their websites.

This is for you if:

• You want to pay by the hour (and don’t mind the high rates)

This may not be for you if: 

• You want to ensure your tutor is knowledgeable about the SAT

At a glance:

• Cost: $150-200/hour
• Tutor qualifications: “top scorers,” though no specific cutoff is specified (like top 1%)

What we like:

• Option to pay by the hour instead of buying a package

What we don’t like:

• More expensive than other options for comparable quality
• SAT resources on their website are ridiculously outdated

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#11 – LA Tutors 123

Our Verdict — Higher Rates for Less-Qualified Tutors

Price: $175–235/hour

Based in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, LA Tutors 123 is a larger tutoring company. They offer limited “guaranteed results” for students who complete all tutoring sessions and homework and take the SAT within a certain specified timeframe. If you choose to pay by the hour, you’ll pay $215/hour online or $235/hour in person. The smallest package available is 10 hours, which is $1900 for online tutoring or $2100 in person.

Their prices are on the higher side, but their tutors are not necessarily top scorers on the SAT themselves or graduates of elite universities.

This is for you if:

• You want an in-person option in the LA or SF area

This may not be for you if: 

• You want a highly-qualified tutor

At a glance:

• Cost: $175-235/hour
• Tutor qualifications: college graduates

What we like:

• Transparent pricing that shows the cost breakdown by package

What we don’t like:

• Tutors are mostly not from Ivy-Plus schools — tutors are primarily college graduates but not from the most elite institutions
• Fees are high given the credentials of the tutors

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#12 – Elite Ivy Tutors

Our Verdict — Pricey Service with Long Sessions

Price: $200–300/hour

Elite Ivy Tutors (EIT) is a small team offering tutoring from Ivy-League graduates. However, they do not publish crucial information about pricing and tutoring logistics, and we found them to be slow to respond to client emails. EIT’s marketing is largely based on the Ivy League name, but their rates are much higher than those of other companies that hire mostly Ivy grads, like PrepMaven.

Unique among the tutoring services we researched, EIT recommends that sessions are three hours long, rather than sixty or ninety minutes long. This length of time can be challenging for most students and is not the optimal way to structure tutoring sessions in our experience. It also means that a single tutoring session can set you back $600!

This is for you if:

• You want extra-long sessions

This may not be for you if: 

• You don’t want 3-hour sessions
• You’re not willing to pay high fees mostly for the Ivy name brand

At a glance:

• Cost: $200/hour, or $300/hour to work directly with the company founder
• Tutor qualifications: Ivy-League graduates with top 99th percentile scores

What we like:

• Strong tutor qualifications

What we don’t like:

• Website is confusing and lacks information
• Long tutoring sessions of three hours at a time can be challenging for students
• Higher prices than other tutoring services also offering the chance to work with Ivy-League grads

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#13 – Summit Prep

Our Verdict —Expensive Tutors with Good Results

Price: $175-250/hour

Summit Prep is a tutoring and admissions counseling company located in New Jersey. While many of their tutors have significant experience, the majority of their tutors are not graduates of elite institutions. Despite this, their fees are higher than services with comparable instructors.

This is for you if:

• You want to work with a full-time tutor

This may not be for you if: 

• You want to work with a tutor who scored highly or graduated from a top college
• You’re looking for a budget-friendly option

At a glance:

• Cost: $175-250/hour
• Tutor qualifications: mostly college graduates with some experience

What we like:

• Good insights on their blog about college admissions and testing
• SAT tutors are full-time instructors with more extensive training and commitment to results
• Impressive average score increase of 210 points

What we don’t like:

• Majority of tutors are not from Ivy-Plus schools — tutors are primarily college graduates but the majority of them are not from elite institutions
• High starting price compared to similar services

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#14 – Manhattan Review

Our Verdict — Moderate rates with careful hiring practices

Price: $114-184/hr

Historically, our final spot has gone to Varsity Tutors. We’ve always had concerns about Varsity’s uneven quality, and this year our last spot is going to Manhattan Review instead.

Manhattan Review presents themselves as a boutique tutoring service with experienced professional tutors. However, their prices remain generally affordable (although on the higher end). Tutoring is available in 12-hour increments, with the smallest package starting at $2200 for 12 hours, going up to $5450 for 48 hours.

We like that they have a rigorous hiring process geared towards finding experienced, professional tutors. For example, they ask applicants to submit not only official test scores, but a curriculum vitae and a cover letter.

For families on a budget, we’d suggest the Standard Tutor option at PrepMaven (Ivy-League students starting at $79/hour), Prep Expert ($79-99/hour), or SoFlo Tutors (current students at $75/hour). If those options still don’t fit the budget, we’d recommend looking for an independent tutor on Wyzant (quality varies, but you might find a decent tutor under $50/hour).

This is for you if:

• You want an international service

This may not be for you if: 

• You don’t want to be tied to a high minimum package
• You want more information about your tutor’s qualifications

At a glance:

• Cost: $114-183/hr
• Tutor qualifications: unclear, but website mentions “high scores” and “degrees from prestigious universities”

What we like:

• Rigorous hiring process

What we don’t like:

• High minimum package ($2200)
• No tutor bios

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Top 75 SAT Online Tutoring Services Considered

• PrepMaven
• Khan Academy
• The Princeton Review
• Kaplan
• Prep Expert
• PrepScholar
• Peterson’s
• Ivy Bound
• College Prep Genius
• Varsity Tutors
• Sylvan
• Green Test Prep
• Higher Scores Test Prep
• Excel Test Prep
• Best in Class
• CollegeVine
• Prepare
• College Drive
• Love the SAT
• Method Learning
• SAT Blitz
• The Answer Class
• Trudeau Prep
• Test Prep 4 Success
• Private Prep
• Manhattan Review
• Olive Book
• Veritas
• Manhattan Elite Prep
• Advantage Testing
• New Summits
• Parker Academics
• LA Tutors
• Summit Prep
• Elite Ivy Tutors
• Study Point
• Huntington Learning Center
• eTutorWorld
• Manhattan Review
• J & J Education
• Boston Tutoring Services
• Livius Prep
• AJ Tutoring
• Hack Your Course
• Tiger Campus
• Brains and Brawn
• Bulldog Tutors
• Denver Test Prep
• Sexton Test Prep
• First Choice College
• Vint Hill Educational Services
• Genesis Tutoring
• Applerouth
• Signet Education
• Tutor Chase
• Spires
• Preply
• TeacherOn
• Socratic Summer Academy
• MyGuru
• Cates Tutoring
• Kweller Prep
• Krupnick Approach
• Revolution Prep
• Beyond the Test
• Everest Tutoring
• MathTowne
• Gooroo
• Bay Area Learning Center
• McElroy Tutoring
• Outschool
• Leap2College
• Tutor Corps
• ClearPath Advantage
• Cardinal Education

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What is the SAT?

Each year, roughly 2 million high school students take the SAT.* 

Along with the ACT, the SAT is a key component of college admissions. Colleges use test scores to gauge a student’s college readiness.

While many schools have gone test-optional in the wake of Covid, the most competitive schools still like to see SAT or ACT scores. In fact, according to reporting by New York Magazine, some elite schools–like MIT–are once again requiring submission of standardized test scores.

And, according to a report by CBS News, Yale and Dartmouth have recently joined MIT as well, saying that required standardized test scores will actually help poorer applicants.

Even for schools that don’t yet require the SAT, looking at the Common Data Set information for top schools like MIT and Princeton shows that SAT and ACT scores are still an extremely important part of the admissions process.

In addition to college admission, test scores can be used to earn scholarships or placement in special programs. Many schools that are test-optional are still using test scores for scholarships, so good scores can be an important way of avoiding student debt.

Younger students can also use test scores for admission to gifted and talented programs.

For students whose grades may have slipped during high school, test scores can also be used to show admissions officers your potential.

Finally, test scores are a handy tool for students to figure out where they might be a competitive applicant. Wondering if you have a chance at getting into Harvard? Not sure if University of Illinois is a reach school or a safety school for you? Test scores can help you there.

Check out our other posts for more information about how the SAT is scored, SAT test dates and deadlines, and how the SAT is different from the ACT. We also have many free test prep resources. For more test prep guidance, schedule a call with Jessica or one of our founders today!

* 2.2 million students of the class of 2020 took the SAT, a record high. Due to Covid, this number dipped to 1.5 million for the class of 2021. (source: College Board)

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Why work with a private SAT tutor?

You may want to consider working with an SAT tutor if:

• You have no idea where to start in order to prepare for the SAT
• You feel overwhelmed by all of the different SAT prep books and materials and don’t know which to choose
• You have a hard time keeping yourself on track and want an external structure to hold you accountable
• You’re not sure what counts as a “good” SAT score
• You’re not sure exactly what’s on the SAT
• You’ve been practicing on your own but your gains have plateaued
• You have a limited amount of time and need to be efficient in your studying
• You want to learn techniques for managing test anxiety
• You want insider tips about test strategies
• You want more individualized attention than you’d get in a prep class with other students
• You want to learn efficiently, with each lesson tailored to your exact needs
• You’re a high scorer who would be bored in a general prep class
• You’re a lower scorer who would benefit from more focused help
• You have specific gaps in your knowledge (e.g. missed a few months of geometry due to Covid, an injury, a family move, etc.) and need a tutor to teach this material

With our SAT students, we typically see students increase their scores by about 100–300 points after working with a tutor. This can have a significant impact on college admissions.

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What makes a good SAT tutor?

Like with any other test, it’s possible to improve your performance on the SAT with the right practice and preparation.

However, specific preparation for the SAT is usually not taught in schools, so students and families are on their own preparing for it.

Guidance with SAT prep comes in two main forms: group classes or individual tutoring. Many students combine the two, following an SAT group class with some one-on-one tutoring to focus on a tailored approach for that student’s strengths and weaknesses.

In this post, though, we focused on SAT individual tutoring.

These days, many tutoring sessions are online. This allows students to seek out the best tutor regardless of their physical location, which is great!

The most important aspect of a good SAT tutoring experience is the teacher. Tutoring sessions should be taught by experienced instructors who know the test inside and out and have helped many other students. The instructors should be people who scored highly on the test themselves, ideally in the top 1%. 

Classes should begin with a diagnostic test and a detailed score report to analyze a student’s starting point.

An SAT tutor can introduce the test format and demystify the test for students and families. That also means helping students understand the SAT scoring policies so that they can most effectlvely use their SAT score to get into top colleges!

Especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have had interruptions in their education, resulting in knowledge gaps that can cause difficulties on the SAT and for years to come. A good tutor will break the test down and help students target gaps in math, reading comprehension, and grammar.

Working one-on-one is unparalleled in its efficacy for remedying these interruptions in a student’s learning, since a tutor can notice these gaps much more easily than a teacher with a classroom full of students.

Whatever students are struggling with, a good tutor will spot those skill gaps and teach that material in an encouraging way.

Managing test preparation and studying can also be stressful for family dynamics. Working with a tutor means that parents don’t have to be involved directly — the tutor can be the one to assign homework, establish holistic studying schedules, and track progress.

A good SAT tutor takes a lot of the stress out of the SAT process and makes sure students are practicing effectively. Tutors can provide students with study materials and guide students in using them correctly. 

Thorough SAT tutors can also help students to make a holistic study plan and keep them on track, so that parents don’t have to be involved directly. 

Effective SAT tutors will assign structured homework so that students can practice constructively with official test questions. There are a very limited number of official practice tests, so it’s important to make the most of them! 

Good SAT tutors will help students work through missed problems and answer students’ questions. They’ll push students’ abilities further by challenging them with especially difficult questions when appropriate.

In addition, there are many strategies and tricks that can make the test easier. Unlike some self-directed courses and books, a good SAT tutor can share these tricks with students and guide them through implementing test strategies.

Finally, a great SAT tutor will be a cheerleader for the student. An experienced SAT tutor can help students to learn ways to manage test anxiety and learn key study strategies — both of which will be super valuable for the rest of their academic careers and beyond. 

A great SAT tutor will encourage their students and leave them feeling confident and ready for the SAT!

Sign up for PrepMaven’s One-on-One SAT Tutoring

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Summary

Best overall: PrepMaven’s one-on-one SAT tutoring is the best out there both in terms of tutor quality and price. Starting at just $79/hour, students can work with current undergraduates at Princeton, Harvard, and other Ivy-League universities to prepare for the SAT. Families can also work with experienced, professional educators and Ivy-League graduates at $150/hour. As a boutique tutoring service, PrepMaven offers careful attention to each student and boasts amazing customer reviews.

Best of the big companies: The Princeton Review (no connection to Princeton University) is one of the biggest and most well-known companies. Their tutoring is pricey, but a solid option. Instructors go through a more extensive training process than at many other competitors, but there’s no requirement for instructors to be graduates of top schools or high scorers themselves.

Best on a budget: For families on a tighter budget, we’d suggest looking for an independent tutor on Wyzant. It’s a tutoring marketplace platform, so the quality varies hugely and there’s no oversight or qualification requirements, but you might find a decent tutor under $40/hour.

However, in our experience, a good tutor can accomplish more with a student in one hour than an average tutor can do in five hours. With that in mind, it might be more effective to combine free resources like Khan Academy and the free practice materials available from the College Board with a few hours of high-quality tutoring.

Best self-guided: For self-guided online SAT practice, it doesn’t get much better than Khan Academy. This online educational platform is completely free and is the only service to partner directly with the College Board, the makers of the SAT. For students with enough self-discipline to stick to a study schedule, Khan Academy can be a powerful tool. We don’t recommend paying for self-guided courses unless students have already exhausted the resources available for free from Khan Academy and the College Board.

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Next steps

Ready to begin SAT tutoring? Schedule a free test prep consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

It’s always best to start early and not wait until the last minute to prepare for the SAT! Remember that test scores can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of study now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later. 

Students who achieve their goal score earlier on in high school can relax and not worry about testing at the end of their junior year (the most important year for grades, and when many students are focused on AP tests) or in the beginning of their senior year, when most students are working on college essays. 

High-achieving students will also want to take the PSAT seriously, as it offers another opportunity to win big scholarship money through the National Merit program.

To start one-on-one SAT tutoring today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

Schedule a free test prep consultation

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