FAQs

.
Yes, I would recommend a private tutoring package for your chosen test.  Every one of our products is a membership subscription, however, so you can continue as long as you need to get your dream score, secure scholarships, and get admitted to college with our private coaches and mentors.  Feel free to pause or cancel this membership at any time by canceling us or logging into your account here on our webstie.

This is one of the biggest misunderstandings in higher education right now, so I’m so glad you asked!  So many students and parents are frustrated and wish they understood what this change really meant for them.  First, it’s important to understand the difference between test-optional and test-blind.  If a school is test-blind, you really don’t need to worry about the ACT or SAT.  However, if it is test optional, you need to focus on it just as intently as when the school was test-required.  In fact, many admissions experts believe it is even more important than before to submit your best test score.  Very few schools are test blind, but many are test-optional, meaning the ACT or SAT will still be one of the most important factors, if not the most important factor, for admissions.  Even more importantly, it is still REQUIRED for scholarship consideration.
.
With millions of students submitting ACT and SAT scores for scholarships and admissions to college, the competition is fierce and only getting worse.  Students around the nation often start private tutoring for the ACT in middle school.  And then they apply for the same scholarships and admissions spots as you using their test scores.  So let’s dig into the value of getting your best score.

Your ACT/SAT score is still one of the most important parts of your college application, if not the most important.
.
To put the significance of an ACT/SAT score in context, consider the other number that is important for college applications and scholarships:  your high school GPA. Everyone understands how important it is to get a good GPA.  The irony is that while most students and parents are willing to put in over 7,000 of hours of work over 4 years toward getting a good GPA, most students take the ACT/SAT with 0 hours of preparation.  I think you already see where we’re going with this, but just consider:  between your GPA and your ACT/SAT, where do you think your time is best spent to beat out the competition?  You leave high school with two incredibly important numbers, a GPA and an ACT/SAT score – one of them you spent 5,000 hours on and the other you’re ok with spending zero hours on?  Not us!
Imagine that your student skipped school for 4 weeks during our ACT Academy and got a 0% on every assignment at school during that period of time.  The data tells us that if they improve their ACT score by merely 1 point during that time, it would be a better use of their 4 weeks than if they had attended school.  Now, we are not advocating for skipping 4 weeks of school but we ARE showing you the silly logic behind skipping out on ACT or SAT prep because of a busy school schedule!

This is one of the most important questions to ask, so thank you for taking the time to ponder the very question that was the catalyst for creating Olympia Prep.

Depending on your perspective, Olympia Prep could be considered expensive or relatively cheap.  The difference between the two perspectives is an understanding of what it takes to be a test preparation program that actually WORKS.  Buying Olympia Prep’s services is not like spending $200,000 on a car and money is no object for you.  Buying Olympia Prep’s services is like buying a car that actually works rather than one that may not actually always work.  Like you, we appreciate VALUE.  We believe this will be the greatest investment you ever make – potentially paying back tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship money and hundreds of thousands of dollars in career salary trajectory based your student’s higher education path, which is often dictated so strongly by this test.

Ultimately what you want are RESULTS.  You need a car that you know will actually work.  And work really well.  Our program contains resources unlike any other and commits the hours needed to actually get results.  And we put our money where our mouth is with our money-back guarantee on your results.

With Olympia Prep, nothing is left to chance.  Every student receives private tutoring.  Every student takes real practice tests and completes more than 40 hours of test preparation created and improved methodically over nearly a decade of successful ACT, SAT, and PSAT preparation.  Every student will have a detailed proprietary software breakdown of their test and will be given private tutoring with over 6,000 questions of ACT and SAT curriculum built specifically for their individual strengths and weaknesses (we use your test data to create your own curriculum).  We use data alongside our unique formula for success to bring you a preparation experience that we have down to a science at this point.  You WILL get results.  From the outside looking in, we understand that it can be difficult to appreciate the VALUE our customers can appreciate after completing our program.  But, have faith that you are getting invested in something that WORKS and your success is based not on hope and simple exposure to the test, but on data, propriety proven formulas for success, and a track record to bolster our lofty claims.  Welcome to Olympia Prep! 

It’s actually never too early to take the ACT or SAT, and the tests do not limit based on age.  You could take it in elementary school!  However, we suggest a first attempt during freshman year or early sophomore year.  And then, late sophomore year, get started with preparation. If you wait longer than that, your student will be too far removed from the content tested on the test, so will need to ‘review’ old concepts to improve their score.  Also, sometimes the anticipation of the test can just make the nerves worse! It’s better to become familiar with the test when there isn’t much pressure.

The graph below shows correlation between what high school students learn each grade and how well it applies to the SAT and ACT tests.

We certainly understand why people want to do this.  Getting a fresh look at the test before investing a lot of time in preparation seems appealing.  Unfortunately, we do not recommend this path.  Why?  Consider what happens with that “cold” first test comes back and the results are terrible.  Students develop a negative association with the experience.  They come to Olympia Prep looking for elite Test Preparation but at that point they don’t even want to think about the test anymore.  They already have the negative emotions and a reluctance to fully invest in their preparation.  Conversely, entering the test with confidence breeds consistent success.

The short answer:  Our instructors and most successful students have taken the test 4 or more times. For you, it will depend on your goal score and how hard you work at it!
Why take it so many times?  The reason the ACT and SAT are so beatable is that they hardly change from test date to test date! If you never study, there’s no guarantee you will go up each time, but the proctored exams in each Olympia Prep course or tutoring program come with feedback and tips for improvement. If you’re looking to study on your own, make sure you take the time to get whatever help you can on the things you don’t know or you will likely make the same mistakes again!

Yes for some students, no for others. While usually students do about as well in each test, occasionally a student will dominate one test and not the other. Obviously, you should simply stick with the better test in that scenario.
For most students, we find that the ACT is the easier test to beat with preparation. The SAT aims to be an aptitude test, asking difficult questions that students often perceive as trying to trick them. The ACT is a bit more straightforward. However, it has very limited time and a good pacing strategy is a must.

Olympia Prep Academy includes access to both the ACT, SAT, as well as the PSAT, and admissions + scholarship consulting, and academic tutoring.

Our student:instructor ratio averages 12:1 or less, ensuring attention for all.  Every student also has a private instructor and private tutoring hours.

Yes. Please contact us about your needs.

Our Academy is scheduled so that there is always one day of making up any missed classes.  We expect there to be some schedule conflicts and so will staff this special “make-up” session with the appropriate instructors for the subject you missed.  Each class also repeats on a ~6 week cycle.  If you ever cannot make this scheduled day, there will be ample time to make up the session.

You are guaranteed you reach your dream score – our promise to never quit until you get there.  We will never give up before you, but if you do give up you would still be eligible for our score-improvement-or-your-money-back Olympia Prep Guarantee, which offers a full money-back refund for our graduates that don’t improve and don’t have the time or energy to stick with our program.

Click the Details and Registration button at the top right of the website Navigation bar.  We do all registrations through our website – cash and checks are currently not accepted.