Should You Get a Tutor to Prepare for the ACT / SAT?

With so much emphasis put on these two entrance exams, it makes sense that people want to go above and beyond to prepare. After all, the scores you can affect more than just acceptance odds, they can determine your eligibility for scholarships too! When free prep methods don’t feel like enough, should you turn to a private ACT / SAT tutor?

A tutor writing on a chalkboard with two students standing behind them.

Personalized Help

The benefit of hiring a private prep tutor for the ACT / SAT is that you get personalized one-on-one attention. This means the teaching methods can morph to what suits you best, unlike a more traditional group setting. If any area is giving you more trouble, the tutor can focus in on that element.

Costly

Tutoring isn’t free, and neither is the ACT/SAT itself (although you can potentially get the fee waived). It’s up to your family to determine the balance between cost and value. With other free test prep options out there, it may not be logical to hire an expensive private tutor.

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Many Tutors Guarantee Point Increases

A selling point for many private tutors is that they can all but guarantee higher scores compared to non-tutored test prep. Individualized attention is a big leading cause of this increase. Tutors can also dole out test-taking tricks, reinforce older concepts, and instruct a student on how to make proper guesses.

Maybe Tutor the Second Time

Most students who retake the ACT/SAT get a higher score the second time, because they know what to expect and know which areas they need to focus on. Therefore, if your score isn’t quite what you wanted the first time around, maybe hire a tutor for your second attempt to boost your understanding and scores.

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