| Unless your senior is planning on visiting the Sorbonne | | | | parent conscience spending that kind of money? |
| for a tour, or applying to two-dozen different | | | | Why not tell our senior to hit the books on their own |
| colleges, the most significant of these expenses can | | | | instead? |
| often be the cost of tutoring. Of course, tutoring is | | | | The fact is, the results of test prep services |
| not as essential to the college application process as, | | | | don’t lie, even when the “guaranteed score |
| say, the SAT itself, or a strong personal essay. But | | | | increases” and supporting data published by many |
| SAT tutoring has persisted as a popular after-school | | | | test prep services can be exaggerated. SAT tutors |
| activity for many seniors because taking the test | | | | do help, often more than just studying prep books. |
| requires a unique skill set, untaught in many high | | | | It’s probably not coincidental that the top |
| schools. As long as the SAT remains a barometer for | | | | tutoring services publish their own study guides, |
| scholastic performance, schools will continue to | | | | guides that can be significantly augmented by their |
| prepare their students for the SAT with varying | | | | own tutors. Independent tutors, while less likely to |
| degrees of success, or disregard the test and teach | | | | guarantee their results, are generally less expensive. |
| their own way. Either way, students will continue to | | | | Some, such as Parliament Tutors, even offer a sort |
| receive varying test scores based on these factors, | | | | of financial aid program, offering discounts to |
| and many others. But what if our senior’s school | | | | students in need. Will financial aid for SAT tutoring be |
| doesn’t believe in “teaching for the | | | | widespread in the future? The outlook is doubtful, |
| test”? There’s a good chance the college | | | | but it seems a step in the right direction. What would |
| they want to go to won’t look at their | | | | be truly ideal would be a financial aid program for the |
| application without SAT scores. The SAT, and all the | | | | entire application process. But who would provide |
| cost and preparation it entails, seems unavoidable. | | | | such aid? The senior’s high school? The college |
| Enter the SAT tutor. Year after year, tutoring | | | | he or she gets accepted to? With endowments |
| services like Kaplan and The Princeton Review | | | | down, and public and private high schools strapped |
| maintain a stable of college-aged tutors, prepared to | | | | for cash, neither case seems likely. It’s ultimately |
| give seniors the inside track to SAT success. At the | | | | up to the parent to decide what the value of an |
| rate of about $150 per hour, SAT tutoring is often a | | | | SAT tutor is, and find a tutoring option to meet their |
| source of groans from parents, and a very popular | | | | price point. |
| job for college students. In a recession, how can a | | | | |