Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of this program?
The tuition is $999 per student. Some of our partner schools subsidize all or a portion of the tuition, so you may be eligible for a discount on this and other Playbook prep programs.
What are the qualifications of the instructor?
Our course instructor is renowned in test preparation and has sterling academic credentials: he is Ivy League-educated, earned a National Merit Scholarship in high school, and has earned dozens of perfect scores on the quantitative sections of the SAT, GMAT, and GRE. But much more importantly, the instructor who will be leading the program is patient, funny, nurturing, and 100% dedicated to his students. Since 2006, he has coached thousands of students to reach their highest potential on the math sections of the SAT.
How many students are in each session?
The course averages 15 students per session. Participants benefit not only from the expertise of our instructor, but also from one another’s questions, comments, and insights.
What is the average score improvement?
Students whose starting scores in math range from 500 to 550 average 130 points improvement. Students whose starting scores range from 560 to 600 average 100 points improvement. Students whose starting scores range from 610 to 650 average 80 points improvement. Students whose starting scores range from 660 to 700 average 60 points improvement. We do not recommend this course for students whose starting scores are at or above the low-700s.
What if I haven’t taken the SAT yet?
That’s not an issue. Many course participants have yet to take an official SAT exam, though the majority have at least taken a practice test to gauge their current score levels in Math and Verbal.
What age group is this course intended for—rising juniors? Seniors? How about rising sophomores?
Historically, half of the participants are rising juniors. Rising sophomores and seniors evenly comprise the other half of the participants. The rising tenth graders who take this program tend to be academically precocious and are looking for a major head start on their test preparation.
How do you go about helping students who have never done well in math their whole life?
To us, the best way to help students improve their score – and overall math ability – is to lead them to insights about their own mistakes. There are far, far too many math tutors who are highly gifted in math but ineffective teachers. Such teachers simply cannot comprehend how students can possibly misunderstand math questions whose answers seem so evident to them. Of course, math teachers need to have mastered the concepts they’re teaching, but teaching math doesn’t come down to being gifted in math—it comes down to being able to nurture students toward understanding and confidence. We break down every problem that students are guaranteed to encounter in easy-to-remember steps so that students can head into the exam feeling assured they have a plan in place for every question they’ll face.
