Score improvement depends on your starting point and study intensity, but most students see meaningful gains with focused preparation. If you're starting from a baseline score, 10 weeks allows time to identify weak content areas, practice targeted strategies, and take multiple full-length exams to build familiarity with pacing and question formats. The key is consistent effort—students who engage actively with practice tests and review tend to see the most significant improvements.

Pacing is one of the biggest challenges students face, especially on CARS where time pressure can derail even strong readers. A structured 10-week prep class teaches you section-specific timing strategies—like how to allocate time across passages, when to skip and return to difficult questions, and how to recognize time-wasting patterns. Regular practice with full-length timed exams helps you internalize these strategies so they feel natural on test day.

Tutors start by analyzing your performance on diagnostic and practice tests to pinpoint which topics, question types, or sections are causing the most trouble. From there, they create a targeted study plan that allocates more time to your weaknesses while maintaining strength in areas where you're already solid. Regular check-ins and follow-up practice problems ensure you're making progress and can adjust strategy if needed.

Absolutely. Test anxiety often stems from unfamiliarity with the exam format or uncertainty about your preparation. By working through multiple full-length practice tests under realistic conditions, you build familiarity and confidence in your ability to manage the exam's demands. Tutors can also teach you specific strategies for managing stress during the test—like breathing techniques, strategic breaks, and mental reframing—so you walk into test day feeling prepared and calm.

Your first session typically starts with a diagnostic assessment to understand your current knowledge level, test-taking habits, and specific challenges. You'll discuss your target score, timeline, and learning style so the tutor can tailor the 10-week plan to your needs. This foundation helps ensure that every subsequent session is focused and productive, addressing your unique gaps rather than generic content review.

CARS requires both strong reading comprehension and strategic time management. Effective approaches include active reading techniques (annotating main ideas and author tone), practicing passage mapping to organize information quickly, and learning to recognize common question types so you know what to look for. Tutors help you develop a personalized reading strategy through repeated practice, feedback on your approach, and analysis of why you're missing questions—whether it's comprehension, inference, or simply running out of time.

Most students benefit from taking 4-6 full-length practice tests spread throughout the 10 weeks—roughly one every 1-2 weeks after the first few weeks of content review. This frequency gives you enough data to identify patterns in your performance while leaving time to review mistakes and adjust your strategy. Each practice test should be taken under realistic testing conditions (timed, in one sitting, minimal distractions) so the results accurately reflect how you'll perform on test day.