Score improvement depends on your starting point and effort, but most students see meaningful gains with focused preparation. Students who work consistently on weak areas often improve by 100-200 points on the SAT (which ranges 400-1600) or 2-4 points on the ACT (which ranges 1-36). The key is identifying exactly where you're losing points—whether that's pacing issues, content gaps, or test-taking strategy—and addressing those specific challenges with targeted practice.

Your first session focuses on understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and test-taking habits. Tutors typically review your practice test results, discuss which sections give you the most trouble, and ask about your timeline and target score. This diagnostic approach helps create a personalized study plan that addresses your specific challenges—whether that's time management on reading sections, algebra concepts, or test anxiety—rather than generic prep.

Pacing is one of the biggest challenges students face, especially on the ACT's faster format or the SAT's longer reading passages. Tutors teach you to recognize which questions to tackle first, when to skip and return to harder problems, and how to manage anxiety that slows you down. They'll have you practice these strategies repeatedly with timed drills so they become automatic on test day.

Most students benefit from taking a full practice test every 1-2 weeks once they've covered the main content areas, with lighter practice in between. This spacing helps reinforce learning and tracks your progress over time—a principle called spaced repetition that's backed by learning science. Your tutor will help you review each practice test carefully to identify patterns in your mistakes, whether they're careless errors, timing issues, or genuine content gaps.

Test anxiety often stems from feeling unprepared or uncertain about the format. Tutors help by building genuine confidence through repeated practice with real test conditions—timed sections, multiple-choice formats, and essay timing. They also teach calming strategies like deep breathing and positive self-talk, and help you reframe mistakes during practice as learning opportunities rather than failures. Many students find that knowing exactly what to expect on test day significantly reduces anxiety.

This is very common, and tutors can focus your prep time on reading-specific strategies—like active annotation, identifying question patterns, and managing the volume of text. Rather than spreading yourself thin, you'll spend most sessions on reading while maintaining your math skills with lighter practice. This targeted approach means you're not wasting time on areas where you're already strong, making your overall prep more efficient.

Most students benefit from 8-12 weeks of consistent preparation, though this varies based on your starting score, target score, and how much you practice between sessions. Some students in Salt Lake City start prep in the fall for spring test dates, while others compress their timeline into 4-6 weeks with more intensive sessions. Your tutor will help you create a realistic timeline based on your goals and availability, accounting for school and extracurricular commitments.