San Diego SAT and ACT Classes and Tutoring
Hi parents!
We know the goal: help your kids get into a college where they can thrive.
We're experts at the SAT / ACT piece of the puzzle. We have two main options to help:
1. Our in-person SAT and ACT group classes.
This option is good for: People who know which test they're taking and when they're taking it - and who don't want one-on-one tutoring.
Each class is limited to just 12 students per class to keep it fun, interactive, and engaging for students at all skill levels.
Scroll down just a bit to see the class schedule.
2. One-on-one SAT / ACT tutoring
This option is good for: People who want a completely customized solution to test prep. We start with an in-person consultation and create a personalized plan based on your situation.
To learn more about our SAT / ACT tutors and about their locations and pricing, please click here.
New: It's ISEE, SSAT, and HSPT season. Our tutor Matt Sheelen can help with those tests.
(Video: How the test prep business is like the pizza business)
SAT and ACT Group Class Schedule
Webinar: Understanding PSAT Scores + SAT / ACT Prep Basics
In this live webinar for parents, I'll explain how to interpret PSAT scores, how to decide whether to take the SAT or ACT, and how to help your kid succeed.
The group will be limited to 25 people to allow plenty of time for questions. You'll receive a recording of the webinar after it's over.
Key benefit: You'll leave with a clear understanding of what your kid's PSAT results mean and how to begin the test prep process.
Location: Zoom online classroom (I'll send you the link a few days before the event).
Date and Time: December 19th, 2019, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Vince Kotchian
Cost: $39 (if you sign up by Dec. 12th) $49 (after Dec. 12th)
February ACT Complete Class
Date: Starts Dec. 29th, ends Feb. 2nd
Time: 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
(Sundays) (6 Meetings)
Instructor: Bronte D'Acquisto
Location: Corporate Alliance
Cost: $850
Availability: 10 of 12 spots left
March SAT Complete Class (Fridays)
Date: Starts Jan. 24th, ends Mar. 13th (skips 2/21)
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(Fridays) (7 Meetings)
Instructor: Blake Jensen
Location: The Grauer School
Cost: $850
Availability: 10 of 12 spots left
March SAT Complete Class (Sundays)
Date: Starts Jan 26, ends Mar 8 (skips 2/16)
Time: 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
(Sundays) (6 Meetings)
Instructor: Matt Sheelen
Location: Vince Kotchian Test Prep
Cost: $850
Availability: 10 of 12 spots left
SAT Verbal Masterclass (Saturdays)
This class will ONLY cover the Reading and Grammar sections of the SAT. Students must have scored at least 600 on an official SAT test or practice test verbal section to enroll in the class.
Date: Starts Feb 1st, ends Mar 6th
Time: 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
(Saturdays) (6 Meetings)
Instructor: Vince Kotchian
Location: Vince Kotchian Test Prep
Cost: $995
Availability: 5 of 6 spots left
ABOUT OUR SAT / ACT CLASSES
What Will This Class Cover?
SAT / ACT "Complete" classes cover ALL parts of the test.
Through conversation and our expert advice, you'll learn a LOT more about how the test is written and about the rules it plays by than if you were studying on your own. We'll cover both concepts and strategies and throw in every tip, trick, and hack we've learned over the years.
Here Are a Few of the Takeaways:
- All math concepts explained in plain English
- How to precisely prove answers for vocab and reading passages
- A thorough understanding of tested grammar concepts
- How to deal with tricky critical reasoning questions
- How to make sure you're ready to write great essays
- How to develop good technique and strategy for verbal and math questions
- How to squeeze the most value out of practice questions
- How to effectively study outside of class
- How to decipher the test's patterns, logic, and rules
- How to analyze your practice tests and make better test-taking decisions
Everything we do is designed to maximize your test-day performance and your score.
What's Included in the Price?
- All books and materials, which include many official practice tests.
- Three official, proctored practice tests (these are held on various Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. at our Sorrento Valley office and are in addition to the normal class hours)
What Makes Your Classes Different?
Long answer: Does your hairdresser do your taxes?
Short answer: We've been doing this for many years.
Test prep is not a common career, so most test prep teachers are working part-time while they finish grad school or look for a "normal" job in their field of interest.
Once these instructors move on, the company hires more newbies and the cycle repeats. This is why most companies and universities don't tell you who's teaching their classes.
What Are Former Students Saying?
Check out our reviews on Yelp and Google. We have more 5-star reviews than any other local test prep company.
Cost? Duration?
SAT / ACT: "Complete" courses are $850 for 20 hours of class time. The price includes 3 official proctored practice tests to be taken outside of normal class hours; class time plus testing time adds up to 32 hours.
When Should I Take a Class?
It's usually best to sign up for a class with a particular test date in mind that you will take after the end of our class. Both the SAT and the ACT are offered several times a year. Here's a link to the SAT schedule, and here's a link to the ACT schedule.
Who Should Not Take A Class?
SAT / ACT: If you already have a 1430+ / 32+ on an official practice test or real test, first of all - nice job, dude. One-on-one tutoring is going to be more efficient and effective to help you get those last few points.
Registration Form
Please Note: if you are not directed to a payment confirmation page when you submit this form, please scroll back down and double check your payment information.
San Diego SAT and ACT Tutoring
In our view, the most important question for parents to ask is this: "Who will be the person teaching my kid?"
Our competitors hire new tutors and give them a fixed curriculum to teach. We hire long-time tutors (average experience: 9 years) and trust them to adapt the tutoring to the student. One-on-one tutoring, with us, is completely customized to you and your needs.
Look for each tutor's location and pricing in their bio.
Vince Kotchian
Vince: I grew up in small-town Connecticut and completed the honors program at Boston College, graduating with a B.A. in English Literature. I moved to San Diego in 2007, and I’ve been working full-time as a test-prep tutor ever since. Along the way, I've written some test-prep books and courses, but I still enjoy tutoring, even after 11 years. When a student texts me that she aced the test or got into her reach school, I still literally jump up and down and grin.
In my spare time, I like traveling using miles and points (Japan is our favorite country to visit), reading (favorite authors include Haruki Murakami, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and Philip Pullman), watching The Great British Bake-Off (and sometimes actually baking things), hiking and camping, and rooting for the Red Sox and Patriots. I live in the Kensington neighborhood with my hilarious wife and our crazy cat.
Vince specializes in helping students raise their verbal scores from good to great, but he does teach every part of the SAT and ACT. He currently has limited weekday availability for tutoring. Vince charges $249 an hour for SAT or ACT tutoring ($224 / hour for 10 or more hours), and meets with students in his Sorrento Valley office, or online.
Matt: I am originally from Hopkinton, Massachusetts - the start of the historic Boston Marathon. I went to college at Northwestern University, where I graduated with a degree in Theatre. After college, I wised up and moved to the warmer coast. I worked in Los Angeles for many years as a full-time SAT / ACT tutor and part-time arts educator.
I have been tutoring for over 10 years and have spent thousands of hours helping students improve their scores. Recently, I moved to San Diego after getting a M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and I currently work as a credentialed classroom teacher.
When I’m not working, I enjoy good books, performing improv comedy, surfing, watching Game of Thrones, and enjoying the charms of San Diego. I live in North Park, where I love to get out and take advantage of all the delicious food in the area. I am also a huge Boston sports fan - the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics are my favorite teams. I usually have something in common with every student - my interests are really diverse!
SAT / ACT / ISEE / SSAT / HSPT tutoring with Matt is $200 an hour ($180 / hour for 10 or more hours). He meets with students in North Park, or online, and specializes in helping students set and achieve ambitious score goals.
Matt also teaches most of our SAT classes.
Matt Sheelen
Blake Jensen
Blake: I’m a native San Diegan, father, and an aficionado of basketball, vintage video games, pitchy karaoke, and lecturing my son on how much better Star Wars was "back in the day." I played college basketball at St. Mary’s College and Whittier College where I earned my B.A. in Psychology in 2002.
Having been a full time test prep coach for over 13 years, I have seen just about every type of student and tutoring situation. This allows me to give my students exactly what they need to reach their goals.
My years of experience have also led me to coach my students a little differently than most. A lot of test prep revolves around how to answer a question. While that is a necessary component, there is something missing. Identifying what is needed to answer a question is at least as important, especially for timed tests like the SAT, ACT and GRE. I show my students how to look at the test the way I do, to the patterns and tendencies of the tests to make students faster and more accurate.
Though I still work with students of all types, these days I tend to specialize in students with ambitious score goals.
SAT / ACT tutoring with Blake is $249 / hour (or $224 / hour for 10 or more hours).
He meets people in his Rancho Santa Fe office (whenever), in his Sorrento Valley office (before 2 p.m. on weekdays), or online.
Blake also teaches some of our SAT classes.
Bronte: My fondest memories of growing up here in San Diego are the Sunday evenings I spent cruising the beaches of Coronado with a gyro in one hand and a portable camera in the other (the kind you had to drop off at CVS to get developed)!
After graduating from SDSU, I accepted my first job as a SAT/ACT instructor. I quickly realized that my ability to be meticulous, my passion for problem solving and puzzles, and my inherent drive to organize information allowed me to mechanically maneuver students through standardized tests.
After tutoring in Denver for the better part of five years, I moved back here - as beautiful as a white Christmas was, I recently became an aunt and knew I had to get home to my family. You can still find me hanging out on the sand, although my portable camera has been replaced with a math book and my gyro with an acai bowl.
SAT / ACT tutoring with Bronte is $175 per hour ($157.50 / hour for 10 or more hours). She particularly loves helping students who struggle with math, though she teaches all parts of both the SAT and ACT.
Bronte meets with students in our Sorrento Valley office or online.
She also teaches all of our ACT classes.
Bronte D'Acquisto
Kaitlin Douglass
Kaitlin: I am originally from Amarillo, TX, where I developed a love of BBQ, country music, and beautiful sunsets (I can still get about 2 out of 3 of these things in San Diego).
I attended the University of Pennsylvania, and received a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering with minors in Spanish and Nanotechnology. I realized that after seeing tumbleweeds in Texas and snowstorms in Philadelphia, it was time to see the beach a bit more! After a summer of backpacking around the world, I decided to make the leap into teaching. I have now been teaching for six years and have my California teaching credential in chemistry. I have worked at High Tech High Chula Vista, La Jolla Country Day School, and I’m currently teaching at another private school. My passion is making chemistry relevant to my students, and especially connecting my curriculum to current environmental issues.
At the same time I started teaching, I began tutoring the SAT and ACT. I use my knowledge of classroom teaching to infuse my tutoring sessions with strategies for students to help improve their scores. I love helping students do well on these tests so that they can shine in other areas of their college applications. I never want a test score to limit a student from their potential dreams and goals.
SAT / ACT tutoring with Kaitlin is $175 per hour ($157.50 / hour for 10 or more hours).
She meets students in her Sorrento Valley office or online.