SAT Tutoring and Test Prep

General Academic is a Houston’s SAT-prep leader. For more than 19 years, thousands of students have aced the SAT college admissions test with the help of our private tutoring and courses.

We offer both private one-to-one tutoring and group test prep classes. Private tutoring can occur in your home or at our Rice Village Study Lounge.

Our Proven Approach to SAT Test Prep

Practice Tests

Students start with a full-length diagnostic/practice test to evaluate their current strengths and weaknesses. The test should be as realistic as possible including timed conditions.

Upon scoring the test, our tutors and managers will evaluate the student’s position and outline a roadmap for improvement. The tutor will discuss test-taking strategies and general tips.

Concept review comprises the bulk of SAT test prep. To do well, students must have a firm grasp of the tested math and reading concepts. No amount of tips and tricks will compensate for not knowing fractions or how to identify a main idea.

As students strengthen their fundamental math and reading skills, they must still be able to apply that knowledge to the new and novel ways tested on a standardized test like the SAT. The best way to ensure this capability is to work many test-like practice questions.

The process of SAT test prep is continual, and the duration and intensity of preparation will depend on the disparity between the student’s starting place and desired outcome. Most of our students will take a minimum of 3 full-length practice tests and 2 official tests.

SAT Test Preparation Services

Private SAT tutoring ensures that your student is only spending precious time on the areas where they need help. Students generally meet with a tutor for 1 to 2 hours a week depending on the student’s needs, schedule, and targeted test dates.

We will start by identifying your student’s strengths and weaknesses through a mock test, then the tutor will work with your student to address shortcomings and reinforce skills in the tested subjects in math and reading.

To maximize skill retention, the tutor will assign homework questions for the student to complete in-between sessions.

Our tutors & instructors are brilliant and charismatic:

  • Equally skilled in math and english
  • Self-accomplished and inspiring
  • Gifted at working with younger students​​

Personal Courses

You can also schedule your student’s preparation as a personal course, which are structured as 10 or 20-hour packages. Personal courses are the same as regular private tutoring but follow a specific timeline and plan (while still catering to the student’s needs).

Pricing is dependent on the tutor’s hourly rate and a:

  • 10% discount on the hourly rate for a 10-hour personal course
  • 15% discount on the hourly rate for a 20-hour personal course
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Test prep classes are a great way for students to get a broad overview of the SAT and refresh tested concepts. We offer both standard (18 hours) and Boot Camp (30 hours) classes for the SAT. Courses will cover test-taking strategies and help students refresh their skills in all SAT content areas. There is significant instructor-led practice.

Our classes are capped at just 8 students meaning that every student will get tons of attention from the instructor, and every student receives a personalized study plan. The summer and fall courses target the current SAT, and the spring courses target the new SAT format starting in March of 2024. The personalized study plan will guide students in targeting both formats.

Standard courses are $1,200, and Boot Camps are $1,750. Students enrolling with 1 or more friends save 10%.

These courses are in person.

We are not hosting SAT courses for the spring 2023 period as we are focusing on private tutoring.

Summer 2023 SAT Courses

Our summer courses maximize the full preparation timeline for the current SAT and the new format starting in March 2024, and they give students the opportunity to fulfill their score goals in a more convenient timeframe.  Weekday courses meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 2 weeks and 18 hours. The SAT+ACT Boot Camp targets both exams and meets on Monday through Friday for 1 week and 30 hours. These courses target the August SAT as the student’s first exam.

  • July 10 – July 21 (Weekday)
    • 4:30 – 7:30PM each day
  • July 24 – August 4 (Weekday)
    • 4:30 – 7:30PM each day
  • July 24 – July 28 (SAT+ACT Boot Camp)
    • 10:00AM – 4:00PM each day
    • includes lunch

Fall 2023 SAT Courses

Our fall courses are designed to lead right up to the November SAT test date and provide a plan of action for subsequent test dates, including the new version of the SAT starting on March 2024. Weekday courses meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 18 hours.  The SAT+ACT Boot Camp targets the October ACT and the November SAT (plus ongoing test dates) and meets for 5 consecutive Saturdays for 30 hours.

  • October 16 – October 27 (Weekday)
    • 4:30 – 7:30PM each day
  • September 16 – October 14 (SAT+ACT Boot Camp)
    • 10:00AM – 4:00PM each day
    • includes lunch

Spring 2024 SAT Courses

Our spring courses prepare students for the new SAT’s March and May test dates and provide a plan of action for subsequent test dates.  Weekday courses meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 18 hours.  The SAT Boot Camp targets the March SAT (plus ongoing test dates) and meets on 5 consecutive Saturdays for 30 hours.

  • February 19 – March 1 (Weekday)
    • 4:30 – 7:30PM each day
  • April 15 – April 26 (Weekday)
    • 4:30 – 7:30PM each day
  • February 3 – March 2 (SAT Boot Camp)
    • 10:00AM – 4:00PM each day
    • includes lunch
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Students preparing for the SAT, ACT, or ISEE exams can register for one (or more) of our 2-hour Practice Club sessions to have guided practice and support from our test prep tutors.  Students need consistent and meaningful practice each week leading up to their exams, and the Practice Club allows them to properly set aside time to do so.  Each session is limited to a 4:1 student to tutor ratio, and our tutors have scored in the top 1% on their own exams. 

Each Practice Club 2-hour session is $125.

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Mock tests are an integral part to our SAT prep methodology. We use a diagnostic test to identify your student’s strengths and weaknesses, and we continually recommend additional tests to get students comfortable with the test format and structure.

We offer mock tests on most Saturdays at no-charge for current and future clients.

  • The SAT mock test lasts approximately 3 hours; students should bring a calculator and a snack.
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In these info sessions, we guide you and your student through what it takes to fullly prepare for the SAT and/or ACT.  We discuss:

  • timeline for test dates and admissions deadlines
  • ACT vs SAT and the option of preparing for both
  • structure and expectations for prep and practice
  • defining score goals and steps to achieve them
  • resources and recommendations for college research

We recommend that your student and one parent attend these sessions, which are held in-person only at our office at 2427 Bartlett Street, Houston, TX 77098.

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SAT Overview

Students may take the SAT as frequently as they want and need to. Official SAT test dates vary slightly from year-to-year, but we generally recommend that students take the test up to three times throughout their Junior year of high school:

  1. Early November
  2. Mid-March
  3. Early May

Testing multiple times allows students to set goals for themselves leading up to each test date, and to then revisit those goals and adjust their study plan accordingly each time they take the test. It also allows students to become more comfortable with the testing environment.

The SATis a 4-part test that lasts approximately 3 hours and includes three, 5 to 10-minute breaks. Taking the optional fifth component, the SAT Essay, adds another 50 minutes.

The four multiple-choice sections include:

  • Reading (52 questions, 65 minutes)
  • Writing & Language (44 questions, 35 minutes)
  • Math – No Calculator (20 questions, 25 minutes)
  • Math – With Calculator (38 questions, 55 minutes)

The SAT is designed to test students on concepts that they have learned throughout their high school career. This includes:

  • Reading comprehension and analysis skills across a variety of genres for the Reading test
  • Grammar, mechanics, rhetoric, and style for the Writing and Language test
  • Math through Algebra 2 (along with some Trigonometry) for the Math test
  • Data analysis in parts of the Reading and Writing and Language tests

Preparing for the SAT therefore does not require students to learn a significant number of new concepts; instead, students must continually review and reinforce their knowledge and skills based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, while also gaining familiarity and comfort with the test structure (including its format and timing).

For each of the four multiple-choice sections on the SAT, the student’s raw score is converted into a “Scale Score” from 200 to 800. The sum of the student’s scale score from each section results in their overall SAT score, or composite score, from 400 to 1600.

A total score of 1000 to 1100 places students in the 40th-58th percentile nationally, but many selective colleges look for students who have scored in the the top 5% (1400 or above). It is very important for students to pay attention to the median SAT scores of admitted students for the colleges they are interested in so that they can set their score goals accordingly.

The SAT’s essay portion is known as the SAT Essay. While this portion of the SAT is technically optional, students applying to even moderately selective schools are strongly encouraged to take it, as many colleges recommend or require essay scores.

The purpose of the SAT Essay is to evaluate how well students can understand and respond to a written argument. Students are presented with a single passage between 650 and 750 words in length. They have 50 minutes to read the passage and write their response. The passage will be different each time a student retakes the SAT; however, the directions will be the same.

Two human scorers will read the student’s essay and assign it a score from 1 to 4; the sum of both readers yields a total score of 2 to 8.

​The best predictors of a student’s success on the SAT are good grades in school in core academic subjects like math, science, English, and history. ​

​Therefore the best way for a student to prepare is to ensure that they’re doing well in core subjects well before a few months before they plan to take the sat.

Next up are standard good test-taking practices:

  1. Determine target score & what it takes to achieve
  2. Know the content and format of the SAT
  3. Identify subject areas that are weak

Core academics are king. There are no amount of tips and tricks that will help students ace the SAT if they do not know how to do division or punctuate a sentence.

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