Brian McElroy's Tutoring Blog

Private Consultants Replacing High School Counselors

Posted 2021-07-11

There have been several articles in the news recently, examining the rise to prominence of private college consultants such as myself, who work outside of the system and bring a fresh perspective to college admissions.
These days, more and more families are turning to private consultants after realizing that their high school's guidance counselors are often too overworked or unprepared to adequately prepare their students for the college application process.
I'm not saying there ar... Keep Reading

Which Colleges Require all SAT and/or ACT scores?

Posted 2021-07-11

A lot of my students take both the SAT and the ACT, and are wondering what schools require both tests, all tests of one type, or some variation thereof. Here is a current list. Keep Reading

What is a Great Tutor Worth?

Posted 2023-02-11

Tutors, Money, and You. Keep Reading

SAT "Score Improvement Guarantees" -- and Why You Shouldn't Trust Them.

Posted 2021-07-11

The simple truth about "score improvement guarantees?" They are marketing gimmicks. Customers always love a guarantee, so most companies will offer them, but parents definitely need to read the fine print on these. Missing a class, a practice test or even a homework assignment can disqualify the student from the guarantee. Some companies will only guarantee any improvement from the first test to the last (so a paltry 10-point improvement would suffice, for example). Other companies will guarantee a larger improvement (usually around 150 points), but when the guarantee kicks in, all the student gets in return is a free one-day "refresher course." Keep Reading