Manila, Philippines · UTC+8

SAT tutoring for students in Manila

One-to-one Digital SAT tuition for students in Manila, Makati, BGC and across Metro Manila, taught live in Philippine time by one tutor who covers both halves of the test, planned around an August school year.

Perfect 1600 SAT score · MEng, University of Cambridge · Tutoring full time since 2015

Book a free trial lesson, no commitment WhatsApp Lewis

The trial lesson is a full lesson, free, with nothing to pay and no commitment afterwards. You can also message +44 7380 493894.

“Lewis helped me get my score up from 1200 to 1400 in a month.”Liora, SAT student

A real lesson board, sped up

Your tutor

Lewis Watson

Lewis read Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge and has tutored full time since 2015. He teaches both halves of the Digital SAT himself — the Math with an engineer’s command of the quantitative section, Reading & Writing with the ear for language the verbal half rewards.

Much of the early work was residential, living with families in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and teaching through term time and exam season, before the practice moved mostly online. More about Lewis →

Why students in Manila come to one-to-one lessons

Metro Manila's US-bound students come from the international schools, International School Manila, the British School Manila, Brent, Faith Academy, and from the senior high schools of the big private universities and the science high schools, where a student applying to the United States is often the only one in the year doing so. The Philippines' own universities run their own entrance examinations, so the SAT here is almost entirely about the US route, and the school is not always set up to help with it.

The calendar is the Manila-specific complication. Most Philippine schools run from August to May or June, so the autumn SAT sittings land in the first weeks of a new school year, and a Grade 12 student is applying to the US in the middle of their own final year rather than at its start. Preparation that begins when school does is already late.

One-to-one lessons are planned from the US deadline backwards, across the Philippine summer break if that is when the time exists, and taught at a fixed time in Manila's own afternoon or evening.

Lesson times in Manila

Manila is on UTC+8. These are the slots students here book most often, with the corresponding UK time in both halves of the year, so you can see the lesson falls inside a normal working day at the tutor's end, which is what keeps a weekly slot stable through a whole term.

Lesson time where you are	UK time, Apr–Oct	UK time, Oct–Mar
4.00pm	9am UK	8am UK
5.00pm	10am UK	9am UK
6.00pm	11am UK	10am UK
7.00pm	12pm UK	11am UK
8.00pm	1pm UK	12pm UK

The UK moves between GMT and British Summer Time in late March and late October; the Philippines does not change clocks, so the UK-side time shifts by an hour twice a year while your lesson time stays put.

What is specific to Manila

The Philippines is on UTC+8, seven hours ahead of the UK in summer and eight in winter. A 6.00pm lesson in Manila is late morning in London, a dependable weekly slot.
Planned around the Philippine school year. The summer break from April to July is often the best window for the heaviest preparation, with the autumn sitting as the main attempt.
Reading & Writing taught by a native English speaker, and the Math by the same tutor. Filipino students' English is typically strong, and the work on the verbal half is usually the SAT's specific kind of reading, not the language.
Manila test centres fill early for the autumn sittings. Register as soon as the date is chosen: the test date table lists every deadline.
Billed in pounds sterling by card link or bank transfer, after each lesson. Fees are on the fee sheet; the intro call and the trial lesson are free.

How the lessons themselves work

Live one-to-one on a shared whiteboard that both tutor and student write on, not a recorded course, and not a screen-share of somebody talking.
Homework set after every lesson and marked before the next, included in the rate.
Full-length timed mocks in Bluebook, set, marked and reviewed, so nothing on test day is unfamiliar.
A live topic tracker (one row per College Board domain) so every content area is covered, practised and signed off before the sitting. Parents can see it whenever they like.
Progress updates to parents after every mock, and a review call whenever you want one.

Where to read next

In the same time zone: Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore. If the score has stopped moving in the 1400s, the 1400 to 1600 guide explains what changes at the top of the scale. Section by section: SAT Math tutoring and SAT Reading & Writing tutoring. For the test itself, the Digital SAT explained; for the tutor, about Lewis Watson; for comparing tutors, agencies and marketplaces, choosing a one-to-one SAT tutor; and for the wider picture of applying from abroad, SAT tutoring for international students.

Common questions from Manila

Is there an online SAT tutor for students in Manila?

Yes. Altair Prep teaches one-to-one Digital SAT lessons online to students across Metro Manila, live over a shared interactive whiteboard that both tutor and student write on, at a fixed weekly time in Philippine afternoon or evening. Every lesson is taught by Lewis Watson, a Cambridge-educated tutor with a perfect 1600, who covers both Math and Reading and Writing himself.

What time are SAT lessons for students in the Philippines?

The Philippines is on UTC+8, seven hours ahead of the UK in summer and eight in winter, so a 6.00pm lesson in Manila is 11.00am or 10.00am in London. Altair Prep holds after-school and evening slots in Philippine time as a standing weekly appointment through the term, and weekend lessons are available for students whose weekdays are full.

How does SAT preparation fit the Philippine school year?

By using the summer break. Most Philippine schools run from August to May or June, so the autumn SAT sittings fall in the first weeks of the new school year, and a Grade 12 student is applying to the US mid-year. Altair Prep usually plans the heaviest preparation across the April-to-July break, with the autumn sitting as the main attempt and a winter date kept in hand as a resit.

Do Philippine universities accept the SAT?

Generally no. The University of the Philippines, Ateneo, De La Salle and the other major universities run their own entrance examinations, and the SAT is not usually part of admission to them. It is required or recommended for most applications to universities in the United States, which is what students in Manila take it for, and Altair Prep plans the sittings around those US deadlines.

Preparing for the SAT in Manila?

Tell Lewis the target score, the sitting you are aiming at and which universities are on the list. The intro call and the trial lesson are both free, both in Philippine time, and there is nothing to pay before them.

Book a free trial lesson, no commitment Ask Lewis on WhatsApp

Prefer email? Write to lewis@altairprep.com.