Do Not Pay for More SAT Prep Until You Read This
The parent guide to the SAT myths that cost students points, and what to do instead
An official score comes back lower than the practice tests said it would.
The next test date is only weeks away. Your student worked hard, and nobody can say why the number didn’t improve.
I’ve coached families through that moment for 14 years. I’m John Yatsko, I earned perfect scores in Math and English on the official SAT, and I’m a parent too.
Most students lose points to a belief about the test. It sounds right, and it costs points.
This guide takes those myths apart and tells you what to do instead. Read it before you pay anyone for prep, including me.
A straight-A student can still get blindsided by the SAT
The SAT overlaps with coursework, but it was never intended to test only what students learned in school.
The College Board’s advice is to “take challenging courses in high school and work hard,” and on its own that advice is misleading.
The SAT tests concepts most students never learned in school, and it presents familiar concepts in strange ways. Many students are also rusty on concepts they found easy years ago.
Your son may be a virtuosic violinist, but ask him to perform a piece on the piano and it won’t go well.
Some of what he learned on the violin transfers, but if he’s going to be judged on his piano playing, he had better get his hands on that piano.
What to doGive the SAT its own practice time, even if your student has straight A’s and a full load of advanced classes.
The SAT your student takes is not the one you took
Your student takes the SAT on a laptop or tablet, in a College Board app called Bluebook. It runs 2 hours and 14 minutes.
The test has 54 questions in Reading and Writing and 44 in Math, with a calculator built in.
The test also adapts. Each section comes in two timed parts.
Your student’s first part decides how hard the second part is. They can’t go back once the second part starts.
What to doDownload Bluebook and practice in it from day one. It’s free, and your student learns the screen, the timer and the calculator before test day.
Only an official practice test gives you a number you can use
The full-length practice tests in Bluebook are official. Tests from books and websites can run easier or harder than the SAT.
Home is also kinder than a test center. Nobody watches the clock, and a break can run long.
What to doHave your student take an official practice test in one sitting, timed, at the hour they’ll take the SAT. Build the plan from that score, and remember that any single score can swing.
Points come from the questions your student missed
A practice test measures, and the points come from what happens next. A student who takes 10 tests and reviews none of them makes the same mistakes 10 times.
“In just 11 hours of tutoring (plus countless hours of completing assignments and recording weak points), my SAT score rose dramatically from 1230 to 1510”
What to doGo through every missed question and find out why it was missed. I start every student here, and you can try it tonight with the check at the end of this guide.
Strategies matter far less than the internet says
This is where I diverge most from others in the industry. The internet is full of tips, tricks, hacks and strategies because most people are looking for a quick win, and those tactics don’t do much for a score.
A trick works on the question it fits. Then the next question looks different, and your student is stuck.
Students improve mainly by developing a deep understanding of the content on the exam. Fewer than 100 concepts are tested, so learn them.
“teaches kids to think, learn, and understand the Math or Reading/Verbal behind the problem”
What to doWhen your student gets a hard question right, ask them why the right answer is right. If they can’t explain it, that concept still needs work.
Vocabulary is one of the slowest ways to raise a score
Contrary to popular belief, vocabulary isn’t very important on the SAT. Most of my students who reach 1550+ get there without ever focusing on it.
I’d expect a typical student to gain about 200 points from 50 hours of studying math and grammar rules.
I’d expect the same student to gain only about 20 points from 50 hours spent learning 500 new words, which is a tenth of the return on the same hours.
Reading has a similar problem, because reading comprehension improves slowly. Writing and Math rely on concepts a student can quickly apply to the test.
What to doPut the early hours into math and grammar rules, and go after the easier points first.
My median student spends about 100 focused hours on the SAT
The right number depends on the student, but it isn’t 1,000.
My median student starts in the upper 1200s and ends in the low 1500s. I recommend a focused, well-structured 100 hours, about 60 of homework, 30 of tutoring and 10 sitting for the test.
A student starting at 1500 likely needs about 46 hours in all to reach 1580+. A student starting at 900 likely needs about 160 hours to reach 1200+.
What to doPlan the weeks around the homework, because it’s the biggest share of the time at every level.
A good goal starts from the first official score
How much a student can improve depends on their starting score on an official College Board practice exam.
I’ve seen my students go from 1080 to 1440, from 1230 to 1510 and from 1320 to 1580. Greater improvements may be possible, but I haven’t seen them yet.
I’m a parent too, and we all want the best for our kids. But a goal that doesn’t match the starting score works against the student.
If a student starts at 1100 and the plan is a 1550+ and Yale, she’ll likely end up stressed out and demoralized, and I’ll choose not to take her on.
I’d rather focus my limited time on families who’ll be happy with the results I can realistically provide.
What to doWait for the first official practice score before you set a target, and use the gains above as your yardstick.
The summer after 10th grade is the best time to start
Right after 10th grade is ideal. After AP exams or finals, your student uses the summer to prepare intensively for the August SAT, and September, October, November and December are backups.
Starting in 9th or 10th grade is too early, although the fall of 10th grade makes sense for certain recruitable athletes, with December, March, May and June as the target dates.
The fall of 11th grade with those same dates can work, but it’s harder with a busy school schedule.
Don’t leave prep until the summer after 11th grade. That track gives students only three attempts before most early admissions deadlines, with college applications and 12th grade schoolwork on top.
What to doLook up the SAT dates and pick the earliest track your student can still make.
One SAT score is a noisy reading, so plan for 4 to 6 tries
People tend to assume the SAT accurately measures a student’s ability on each attempt, but it doesn’t. It’s noisy. Scores vary between attempts more than most people realize, so it’s critical to give students 4 to 6 chances to piece together their best days.
Many colleges superscore, which means they take your student’s highest Math and highest Reading and Writing, even from different dates. A student who accepts the noise can use it to punch above their weight, because many students who superscore 1550 are averaging in the 1400s.
| Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 700 | 780 | 730 | 710 |
| Math | 750 | 700 | 770 | 760 |
| Total | 1450 | 1480 | 1500 | 1470 |
Illustrative scores for a college that superscores.
“John helped her achieve a super score of 1550”
What to doExpect progress that isn’t a straight line, and leave time between test dates to work on what the last score showed.
Most colleges never see how many times your student tested
Since 2009, Score Choice has let students choose which SAT scores to send to each school.
A handful of schools, including MIT, require students to report all their scores.
I don’t recommend changing your strategy for what may be only one school on the list, and even at MIT, I doubt the risk of three or more attempts outweighs the benefit of scoring higher.
What to doCheck each college’s rule, and send scores after they come back. Score Choice doesn’t apply to the free score sends picked before the test.
Top colleges are asking for scores again
Many colleges dropped the requirement in 2020, and many have brought it back. Most of the Ivy League requires the SAT or ACT again, and so do Stanford and MIT.
The average SAT score for the class of 2025 was 1029. A 1530 sits in the 99th percentile, and half of the students I coach finish at 1530 or higher.
What to doCheck each college’s admissions page for its current rule, because these rules keep changing. Where a college is test-optional, send a score at or above the middle of that college’s range.
Free prep works until the score stops improving
Free prep is very good. The practice tests in Bluebook are official, Khan Academy has free lessons, and plenty of students need nothing else.
It runs out when the score stops improving. By then something specific is in the way, and more of the same practice won’t show your student what it is.
What to doStart with the free material. If the score stays flat across two or three official practice tests, bring in a specialist.
Ask any tutor these questions before you pay, including me
I teach every session myself.
I earned perfect scores in Math and English.
Mine is 1530, and one star student tells you very little, so ask for the median.
My median student spends about 30 hours with me and 60 on homework. I’ll give you your student’s number on the free consultation, and if a smaller plan would do the job, I’ll tell you.
Mine covers a 1500 or higher, or at least 200 points more than where your student started.
Try the 20-minute check tonight
- Open your student’s latest official practice test results.
- List every question they missed.
- Beside each one, write C for a gap in the content, T for timing or H for a habit, such as misreading the question.
- Count the three piles.
Your student should work on the biggest pile for the next two weeks. If that’s the content pile, you’re in good shape, because fewer than 100 concepts are tested. This check will tell you more than another practice test would.
If you’d like me to look at it with you
“I’ve already referred every friend I have with a high schooler to John”
Bring your three piles to a free 30-minute consultation, with your student’s latest score and the test date they’re aiming for.
You’ll know where they stand, how many hours I’d expect it to take, and whether I’m the right person to help.
Choose a time for your consultationJohn Yatsko