Score improvement depends on your starting point and how consistently you engage with the material. Students typically see meaningful gains—often 100-200 points—when they commit to regular practice and targeted instruction on their weak areas. The key is identifying which sections challenge you most (reading, writing, or math) and dedicating focused time to those skills during the summer.

Your first session focuses on assessment and planning. A tutor will review your diagnostic test results (or administer one), identify your strengths and gaps across reading, writing, and math sections, and create a personalized study roadmap for the summer. This foundation ensures every session afterward targets exactly what you need to improve.

Pacing is one of the biggest challenges students face on test day. Tutors teach you strategic approaches for each section—like which questions to tackle first, how to manage difficult passages, and when to skip and return to questions. Through timed practice tests throughout the summer, you'll build the rhythm and confidence needed to work efficiently under pressure.

Personalized 1-on-1 instruction is perfect for this situation. Rather than spending time on skills you've already mastered, a tutor can focus entirely on reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary in context, grammar rules, and the specific question formats that trip you up. This targeted approach means your summer prep is efficient and directly addresses your actual needs.

Most students benefit from taking a full-length practice test every 1-2 weeks during the summer, with focused skill work in between. This gives you real test experience, helps identify patterns in your mistakes, and builds stamina for the actual exam. Your tutor will review each practice test with you to extract lessons and adjust your study plan accordingly.

Test anxiety often stems from uncertainty about content or question formats. By working through hundreds of practice questions, understanding why answers are correct, and building a track record of success during the summer, you develop genuine confidence—not just false reassurance. Tutors also teach specific strategies like deep breathing and positive self-talk to manage stress on test day.

Starting early in the summer gives you the most time to build skills and practice. If you're targeting fall SAT dates, beginning in June or early July allows for 8-12 weeks of focused preparation. Even if you're starting later, consistent tutoring in July or August can still produce meaningful improvement before test day.