SAT & ACT Tutoring and Test Prep Services

The new digital SAT, which debuted in the United States in March 2024 after its international launch in spring 2023, is very different from the old paper-based SAT, even though the score ranges are the same: from 200 (for signing one’s name) to 800 (for a perfect score). The new test is a little over 2 hours instead of 3 hours, and the reading passages are much shorter, with only 1 question per passage instead of 10 or 11. Reading and Writing questions have been combined into one section, and students can use a built-in graphing calculator throughout the test.

However, to shorten the test, the College Board had to make it adaptive. Students take four timed sub-sections: two Reading and Writing modules and two Math modules. A student’s score on the first Reading and Writing module will determine the difficulty level of the questions in the second module, and the same will be true of Math. The test is thus in line with graduate school exams like the GRE and GMAT, but this change puts students in need of new test strategies.

All colleges in the U.S. will accept the ACT in lieu of the SAT, and some colleges will superscore the ACT. The ACT is offered about 7 times a year. In the U.S., the ACT is usually offered as a paper-based test, while internationally, it’s computer-based. Like the current SAT, the ACT offers a question-and-answer service (Test Information Release) several times a year, a terrific tool for students honing their skills for the next test.

• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP English Language and Composition
• AP United States History
• AP European History
• AP Art History
• AP Macroeconomics
• AP Microeconomics
• AP Human Geography
• AP Comparative Government and Politics
• AP Psychology
• AP World History: Modern
• AP United States Government and Politics
• AP Computer Science A
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Statistics
• AP Chemistry
• AP Biology
• AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
• AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
• AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
• AP Environmental Science
• AP Italian Language and Culture
• AP Chinese Language and Culture
• AP German Language and Culture
• AP Latin
• AP Spanish Literature and Culture
• AP Spanish Language and Culture
• AP French Language and Culture
• AP Japanese Language and Culture
• AP Music Theory

With top scores on these exams, students can qualify for advanced placement in college courses and even earn college credit (though, more often at our nation’s elite universities, they simply help students optimize their case for admission). With the demise of the SAT Subject Tests, the more comprehensive AP Exams are the only standardized measures of advanced academic achievement for college admissions. They are thus more important than ever for competitive admissions. The most enterprising students will study independently to round out their AP course load, even beyond their high school offerings. Ivy Coach prepares students for the AP tests in most disciplines.

Most highly selective colleges require students to have scored between 100 and 110 on the iBT (Internet-Based TOEFL).