ACT and SAT tutoring costs range depending on a few variables including how long you plan on using an elite SAT prep service*. (*It’s hard to know what students mean by ‘elite’ but let’s assume they mean: independent, highly qualified, highly experienced tutors with very strong track records.)
According to the BBC, ‘elite tutors’, are on ‘6-figure salaries,’ so you can imagine the per-student fee is going to be in the tens of thousands.
Those tutors (myself included) are starting at $500/hour. The upper end of the range is about $1,500/hour.
But there are also different arrangements: sometimes tutors will work on sliding scales (if student gains X points you pay Y, if student gains X+10 points, you pay 10Y, etc).
And sometimes tutors will work on an assignment basis (come live with the family for some salary for X months).
Generally, to work with an elite tutor, you should budget about $15,000-$50,000.
Is The Cost of Elite SAT/ACT Test Prep Worth It?
Although we can only speak for our own elite test prep program, we can say that we do guarantee a 2-point minimum gain on the ACT and 100-point minimum gain on the SAT.
Furthermore, the cost of our SAT and ACT test prep programs are a small fraction of the cost of college, meaning Powerful Prep’s ACT tutoring rates and SAT prep tutoring rates more than pay for themselves by improving your student’s chances of earning a high-value, merit-based scholarship.
It’s worth mentioning that cost of our elite test prep programs features the strength of Powerful Prep’s teachers whom have all accomplished the following achievements:
- all of our instructors have scored in the 99.9th percentile on the SAT and ACT
- holds a degree from one of the United States’ top 20 universities
- every Powerful Prep instructor has prior classroom and one-on-one teaching experience
- completed a rigorous training program to learn our unique, adaptive approach
You can read their bios on our team page to learn more about our elite test prep tutors.
What Kind of Point Gains Does Elite SAT Test Prep Get You?
This will vary depending on the student and their goals; however, here are some average statistics for students who have completed an elite SAT test prep program with Powerful Prep:
- Powerful Prep students gain an average increase of 19.5 points per tutor session
- On average, Powerful Prep students improve their SAT score by 230 points
- Some star pupils have increased their SAT scores by as much as 510 points
- For students beginning with a score of less than 1250, score increased by an average of 249 points
- For students beginning with a score of more than 1250, score increased by an average of 168 points
What Improvements Can ACT Test Prep Get You?
Similarly, ACT test prep results will vary between students. However, to give you a baseline feel for the improvements that are possible by completing one of our elite ACT test prep programs, here are some average Powerful Prep student statistics for the ACT:
- On average, Powerful Prep students gain 0.35 points per tutoring session
- On average, Powerful Prep students improve their ACT score by 3.6 points
- Some star pupils have increased their ACT scores by as much as 9 points
- On average, students beginning with a score of less than 20, see their score improve by 6.3 points
- On average, students beginning with a score of more than 20, see their score improve by 3.1 points
How Much Do Powerful Prep Tutors Cost?
To see the cost of our personalized elite test prep, we need not look any further than our SAT Prep and ACT Prep pages. I strongly encourage you to read through those pages to learn about what the cost of elite test prep includes, but let’s recap them here:
| Power Trip | Power Forward | Power Surge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep with the collaboration and motivation of small-group classes. Taught through our sister company- Prep Expert | One-on-one prep focusing on your specific needs, designed to teach you the tips and tricks in just 4 weeks | When you need unlimited point-gains and the expertise of veteran, Ivy League-graduate tutors | |
| Length | 6-8 weeks 2-4 hours/week | 4 weeks, 90-minutes/week | 3-months 90-minutes/week |
| Students per class | Small-group | One-on-one | One-on-one |
| Access to tutors via email at all times | ✖ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Access to weekly office hours | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Practice Tests | monthly | monthly | monthly |
| Weekly recap emails | ✖ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ivy League Graduate Teacher | ✖ | ✖ | ✓ |
| Money-Back Guarantee | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cost | $799 select your preferred time, length, and start date | $1,999 customized to your needs | $4,999 customized to your needs |
| GET STARTED | GET STARTED | GET STARTED |
ACT Test Prep Cost
Powerful Prep offers several ACT test prep packages:
- A 3-month private tutoring course
- Weekly 90-minute online or in-home elite ACT tutoring sessions
- Status update emails after every session
- Email questions to your instructor between sessions and receive replies within 24 hours
- Progress, homework, and error logs are maintained and available for your review
- Our founder, Matt Larriva, will personally monitor your child’s progress and regularly check in with your instructor
- All program materials are included in the tuition
- Bootcamp private tutoring
- For students who are looking for an intensive and test prep program that meets their shortened timeline (3-month program)
- Customized ACT test prep curriculum tailored to your timeframe
- Between three and five meetings per week
- More frequent practice tests
- Quicker start
- Conducted remotely or we can travel to your student
- Custom elite ACT Test Prep (cost: varies)
- We’ll work with you and your student to develop a customized tutoring program.
If your needs fall outside of one of our package offerings, we also offer customized packages.
SAT Test Prep Cost
Powerful Prep also offers several SAT test prep packages. How much does elite SAT prep cost at Powerful Prep? Take a look below:
- A 3-month private tutoring course (cost: $1500/month)
- Weekly 90-minute online or in-home elite SAT tutoring sessions
- Status update emails after every session
- Email questions to your instructor between sessions and receive replies within 24 hours
- Progress, homework, and error logs are maintained and available for your review
- Our founder, Matt Larriva, will personally monitor your child’s progress and regularly check in with your instructor
- All program materials are included in tuition
- Bootcamp private tutoring (cost: $4k-8k/month)
- For students who are looking for an intensive and test prep program that meets their shortened timeline (3-month program)
- Customized SAT test prep curriculum tailored to your timeframe
- Between three and five meetings per week
- More frequent practice tests
- Quicker start
- Conducted remotely or we can travel to your student
- Custom elite SAT Test Prep (cost: varies)
- We’ll work with you and your student to develop a customized elite SAT test prep tutoring program.
PSAT & NMSQT Test Prep Cost
For the highest probability of a perfect score, and for those students seeking confident admissions to the Ivy League, we offer our Early-Start program to 8th and 9th graders.
A multi-year program leveraging timeline planning to deliver strong PSAT scores, and near-perfect SAT or ACT results, the Early Start offering is Powerful Prep’s most customized, long-term program.
- Comprehensive planning to align test prep with the student’s high school curriculum
- PSAT targeting to achieve National Merit
- Flexibility to change schedules to avoid overload during AP exams
- Tuition: based on duration and frequency of engagement.
Have questions about the SAT or ACT tests? Read the FAQs:
Recap: How Much Does Elite SAT Prep Cost?
ACT and SAT prep tutoring rates do vary depending on the level of service. Elite test prep takes a little more money, but students typically make large, guaranteed gains on the ACT or SAT, increasing their chances of admission to an Ivy League school or another elite school system like MIT or a UC school.
Check out our pricing page for more info on the costs of SAT or ACT prep based on your needs and goals.
