Common questions
FAQ
We’re already scoring around 1400. What is left to gain?
Every SAT course teaches tricks: elimination, plugging in numbers, pacing rules. They matter, because without speed you run out of clock. But the test is engineered so that its hardest questions look like trick questions, then quietly break the pattern, and students who lean on shortcuts alone stall in the low 1400s. A 1500+ score comes from judgment: knowing when the fast route is safe, and recognising the moment a question demands real problem-solving instead. That judgment is what we train — tricks for speed, understanding for everything the tricks can’t reach.
What material do you teach from?
Preparation is anchored to official College Board material, with regular full-length timed mocks in Bluebook so nothing on test day is a surprise. Alongside it, Lewis brings his own bank of challenging problems, built for the current Digital SAT and kept up to date as the test changes. That means less of each lesson spent drilling questions a student already finds easy, and more on the harder problems that resist a memorised method — which is exactly where the points above 1500 are won.
How does payment work?
One rate, set out on the fee sheet. Take lessons as and when you need them, billed after each one has taken place, with no minimum commitment and nothing paid in advance. Payment is by card link or bank transfer, and there is nothing to pay before the free intro call and demonstration lesson.
What does the Digital SAT involve?
The SAT is now fully digital, taken in the Bluebook app at an approved test centre. It lasts about 2 hours 14 minutes and has two sections, Reading & Writing and Math, each split into two adaptive modules. Scores range from 400 to 1600, and a calculator is allowed throughout the Math section.
What equipment does the student need?
A laptop or tablet, a quiet hour, and a stable connection. An iPad with an Apple Pencil is strongly recommended, because it lets the student write directly on the shared whiteboard, which makes lessons far more interactive. A laptop works too.
How far ahead of the test should we start?
Twelve to sixteen weeks of weekly lessons is a comfortable runway for most students. The SAT is offered on several international dates each year, so we plan backwards from the chosen sitting, leaving time for at least one retake before university deadlines if needed.
Do you teach both sections?
Yes, both Math and Reading & Writing, by the same tutor. Reading & Writing is taught by a native English speaker, which matters on a section built around nuance in vocabulary, grammar and argument; the Math is taught by the same person, drawing on a Cambridge Chemical Engineering degree and over a decade of one-to-one teaching. One tutor across the whole test, so the verbal half is never handed to an associate. Many students weight their plan towards one section based on their diagnostic; that balance is reviewed after each mock.
Are parents kept in the loop?
Yes. Parents receive short progress updates after mocks, and are welcome to join a review call at any point. You will always know the current score, the target, and the plan to close the gap.
