Updated September 28, 2026

Is SAT/ACT tutoring worth it? Here’s what the research says

Expert guidance provided by Helena (Princeton University, summa cum laude) and reviewed by Kevin Wong (co-founder PrepMaven, 20+ years’ experience in text prep).

Bittersweet news: the glory days of “test optional” are probably at an end.

The SAT and ACT have regained their pivotal role in the college admissions process.

All Ivy League schools have returned to requiring scores from applicants, and the 2025–2026 Common App cycle saw more students report their test scores than not (for the first time since the 2019–2020 season). For students seeking selective college admissions and scholarships, a high test score can strengthen their applications.

It can be daunting, though, to figure out how to maximize an SAT/ACT score. From self-studying to private tutoring, there are countless test prep plans and conflicting advice about which is best.

At PrepMaven, we support students who come in at various points in the preparation process, and we see time and time again how one-on-one coaching improves performance.

If you’re considering SAT tutoring but questioning whether the payoff is worth the investment, read on to learn about some research-based factors to bear in mind.

Jump to section:
Why invest in the SAT/ACT?
Factor #1: Structure and accountability improve performance
Factor #2: Individualized attention maximizes efficiency
Factor #3: Tutors supply the strategies and content students need
Factor #4: Tutoring saves students time
Factor #5: Guided practice boosts confidence, which boosts scores
A caveat to consider: the type of tutoring matters
Beyond the SAT/ACT: lifelong impacts of one-on-one mentorship

Factors to consider: at a glance

A solid test score can unlock competitive college admissions and scholarships. The subject-specific expertise, personalized planning, and one-on-one mentorship supplied by tutors can save students time and boost their confidence while improving their scores.

Beyond the SAT/ACT, those mentor relationships have lifelong benefits for students. Of course, the quality of the tutoring matters!

Read on for the research-based insights behind each of these considerations.

Why invest in the SAT/ACT?

With more schools requiring scores and more students submitting them, admissions tests provide a concrete way to boost an application’s competitive edge.

Why do schools care about scores? Well, a survey-based study published in Economic Letters found that faculty view standardized testing as a meaningful predictor of students’ success both in and after college. According to the study, faculty place 23% more weight on standardized testing in the admissions process than students do.

In fact, Dartmouth has found that the SAT is the best predictor of its students’ first-year GPAs. Examining SAT scores alone could account for about 22% of variation in those grades.

Predictive capabilities aside, test scores give admissions counselors clear quantitative information, and that’s powerful—especially since everyone has a maximum SAT score of 1600 and a maximum ACT score of 36, while GPA scales vary from school to school.

So, whether for a selective school, program, or scholarship, the time and money families invest in SAT/ACT preparation can pay massive dividends, including in the form of tuition money.

The good news is that there are clear steps and strategies to improve an SAT/ACT score. The question is how to most efficiently take those steps and implement those strategies. That’s where a private tutor with test-specific expertise can come in.

Factor #1: Structure and accountability improve performance

One of the key reasons test prep tutors help students improve scores is that they offer structure and accountability that students likely can’t create for themselves.

Research published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice suggests that a regular study schedule decreases test anxiety and improves performance.

Even with access to online study materials, it can be hard for students to prioritize and maintain a regular SAT/ACT preparation schedule by themselves. That’s especially true alongside a full course schedule and extracurriculars.

High school students aren’t alone in this struggle. According to a Stanford study of the high attrition rates in online learning environments, the biggest obstacle that learners report is finding sufficient time for the coursework.

So, one notable advantage of private tutoring is the structure and accountability it provides throughout the study process.

Tutors help students set relevant goals, devise plans to achieve them, and follow through. That planning includes spacing out practice tests to make them optimally useful for supporting and measuring students’ progress.

Crucially, private tutors also have the capacity to adapt those plans to the parameters of students’ complicated schedules. That personalization ensures that students have an attainable means to achieve their goals.

Factor #2: Individualized attention maximizes efficiency

We’ve written before on the benefits of tutoring in general. Among those advantages, individualized attention and adaptive teaching styles are especially important for the SAT/ACT, where time is the name of the game.

The last thing students want is to be focusing on what others need to learn. Both in the exam room and in the time leading up to it, students will work more efficiently if they’re able to play to their particular strengths, weaknesses, and learning style.

An experienced tutor brings the expertise to identify those components for each student, and a one-on-one session offers the time and space to focus on them.

As Mike Kleynman—a tutor with over a decade of experience whose students average 34+ on the ACT and 1500+ on the SAT—puts it:

I’ve seen so many students who get test-prep advice online that is just not tailored to them. Then they get frustrated because the advice doesn’t help them.

As a tutor, you get to know a student and what their problems are… There’s all this stuff that varies so greatly from student to student that no self-paced class and no LLM is ever going to adapt to.

Factor #3: Tutors supply the strategies and content students need

SAT/ACT content can include topics students haven’t learned yet, tricky applications of concepts they’ve learned already, and material they’ve learned long enough ago to forget. A tutor can help identify and close those gaps.

For example, to help make vocabulary questions approachable, tutors can help students learn Latin roots that many classrooms don’t teach. Tutors might also share a mnemonic to help remember the quadratic formula, or they might review those sneakily similar surface area calculations.

Beyond content, strategies are a key part of success on the SAT/ACT. At PrepMaven, we like to use the test’s predictable format to students’ advantage.

Our tutors know each section’s question types inside and out: the ones that require double-checking or particular interpretations, as well as the ones that have helpful shortcuts. Tutors help students master the test’s patterns, tricks, and common traps.

For the SAT in particular, optimizing performance requires familiarity with the tools on the digital test, a niche skill set that students can obtain quickly with the help of an expert.

A tutor can help students understand the test’s structure and scoring, time management strategies specific to the Bluebook platform, and best practices for using the digital calculator and annotation tools to maximize efficiency and minimize errors.

Working with a tutor who understands the SAT/ACT’s content and strategies helps ensure that students cover the most important bases in their preparation process.

Factor #4: Expertly crafted roadmaps save students time

Because of that subject-specific expertise, tutors can save students countless hours of research.

For one, working with a tutor eliminates the need to sift through the endless test prep resources available elsewhere. Here’s how PrepMaven tutor Lara Taneeb, who has worked with over 200 students on SAT prep, put it:

There are so many resources out there for SAT/ACT prep. It can be so overwhelming for students. A lot of them spend so much precious time just trying to compare the resources rather than actually using them to help study.

I would say tutoring is analogous to personal training. Most people avoid gyms because they are overwhelmed by the equipment and don’t know what to do, but when they have a trainer to make the plan for them, it is a lot easier to commit to working out and make progress towards their fitness goals.

Tutors know the high-yield areas of the test: topics that are quick to learn and yield an outsized number of points. those facilitate savvy prioritization.

Then, as students encounter issues or roadblocks later in the study process, tutors have the tools to address them quickly. For example, while it might take a student several practice tests or hours of online videos to determine the best strategy for a particular question type they’re struggling with, a knowledgeable tutor can offer that insight in a matter of minutes.

Instead of figuring the SAT/ACT out for the first time, students can turn to someone who has it figured out already, saving them invaluable time and energy in the process.

Factor# 5: Guided practice boosts confidence, which boosts scores

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that one-on-one tutoring can reduce anxiety about math, correcting responses in the brain’s fear circuits. Mitigating that anxiety benefits both standardized test performance and lifelong mathematical learning.

A tutoring session offers a low-stakes sandbox in which students can ask questions, try new strategies, and make mistakes. Taking the stress out of learning is especially helpful for the SAT/ACT preparation process, given the pressure that many students feel surrounding college admissions.

What’s more, if things go awry on a practice test or real exam, students can trust tutors’ assessment of the progress they’ve made and the factors that might be contributing to the bump in the road. That encouragement helps students stay motivated and oriented towards the best step to take next.

Here’s what one family said about the support a student found in his PrepMaven SAT tutor:

We are very happy about Ryan’s score. He couldn’t have done it without you. We know that Ryan has the ability to even exceed his current academic aspirations. And you helped give him the confidence to continue on.

A caveat to consider: the type of tutoring matters

For families considering private tutoring, it’s important to bear in mind that the quality of instruction is important.

For example, a study in a German educational psychology journal found that the structure provided by tutors has positive effects on students’ homework habits, while overly controlling tutoring could have a negative effect. The researchers recommended that tutors train in effective forms of homework support.

There are two major problems that families run need to watch out for when working with test prep tutors.

The first problem is a tutor who simply isn’t trained or knowledgeable enough about the tests. They might have gotten a good score themselves, and they might have graduated from a great school, but that by itself won’t make them a good tutor.

Good tutoring takes experience and training.

The second problem is a tutor who follows a curriculum or a plan too rigidly. This kills the whole point of individualized tutoring, which needs to adapt to every student’s needs even at the level of communication—as a PrepMaven Premier+ tutor puts it:

You will notice, I think, that if a tutor is a good tutor and an experienced tutor, even the way they talk to each of their students will be a little bit different.

The best tutors have training, experience, and the skill to adapt on the fly to a student’s needs. That’s what our tutor-training program focuses on, and it’s a major criteria we use in our analysis of The 14 Best SAT Tutoring Services and 15 Best ACT Tutoring Services.

Beyond the SAT/ACT: lifelong impacts of one-on-one mentorship

Ultimately, beyond any one number on a college application, the goal of studying for the SAT/ACT is to set students up for future success. The same is true of any tutoring relationship.

After all, a tutor is a mentor. Many of our students start by working with a tutor on test prep and the continue on to work with that tutor for academic support, independent academic projects, and college applications.

Here’s what PrepMaven tutor Jessica Welsh, who has helped students navigate standardized tests and college applications for 10 years, said about the significance of that mentorship:

At a time when technology is changing so much of how we learn and connect, I think genuine one-on-one relationships matter more than ever. I see my role as helping students develop approaches that will serve them well beyond a single test—confidence, communication, critical thinking, organization and the ability to approach unfamiliar challenges—so that SAT tutoring becomes an opportunity to build skills for a lifetime.

That first-hand insight seems to be borne our by the research.

Researchers from Brown, Harvard, and the University of Virginia have found that mentor relationships boost college attendance and educational aspirations. In addition, according to studies collected by youth.gov, mentorship can benefit students’ interpersonal skills, behavior at school and home, and self-esteem.

In short: the mentorship that students receive from the tutors can enrich their learning and relationships for life.

Next steps

If you’re ready to learn more about how PrepMaven’s one-on-one SAT/ACT coaching can support your test preparation process, reach out to request information. Our Ivy League tutors have helped thousands of students improve their scores.

Top SAT Posts


Helena

Helena graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor’s in English and minors in Creative Writing, Computer Science, and Dance. She has worked with ages ranging from early elementary school through college, and she especially enjoys supporting students’ SAT preparation process. She currently works in the publishing industry.

ACT SAT