The best way to improve your score is to study (i.e., receive instruction and practice). Students who study on their own using test prep books or online programs (e.g., Khan Academy) improve their scores similarly to those using paid tutoring or courses. However, most students don’t study on their own. Test prep tutoring gets results because it forces study time.
So if the primary benefit of test prep is forced study time, why pay $200 an hour for study time? Pay less and get the same result. After all, how much do you think companies charging $100-200 an hour pay their tutors? The answer is $20-50 an hour.
The simplest way to think about how admissions officers evaluate applicants is to break an application into two components: The Academic Score and The Personal Score.
The Academic Score is made up of your grades, strength of curriculum (i.e., harder classes are weighted more heavily), SAT/ACT scores (if you submit them), and potentially other information based on the school (e.g., AP Scores). Schools combine this information into a single score and then admissions officers provide a final score by considering additional context (e.g., what classes were available to you, how competitive your high school is).
As a rule of thumb, colleges believe 4 in 5 applicants have the academic profile to be academically successful at their college. You can quickly get a sense of how academically competitive you are by clicking here for a guide.
Note that your SAT/ACT scores may be weighted more heavily in some situations. For example, if you’ve switched high schools or your high school doesn’t frequently send students to their college, test scores may be weighted more heavily for understanding whether the college thinks you’ll be academically successful.
It’s often difficult to differentiate between students – 10,000s of applicants have similar academics and extracurriculars. Colleges use the content of your essays – what you write about and how you write about it – to differentiate between applicants. The data shows that only 1 in 5 applicants to Ivy and equivalent colleges have strong Personal Scores (i.e., strong essays), resulting in a 10x increase in admissions chances.
Working with a Prompt writing coach is the best way to ensure you write about your most compelling content (from the perspective of admissions officers) and write clearly and concisely.