Is your goal to take the SAT just to see how you'll do?
Then any time is good. Sign up at collegeboard.com today.

For those who choose to prep, we believe that SAT success means reaching your goals without driving yourself crazy. We say "prep wisely; prep once" to help prevent the SAT from turning into the grand crazy-making enterprise it too often becomes. A little advance planning can go a long way.

The reality is that sometimes you have no choice as to when to take the SAT. If you don't have the luxury of planning ahead, don't panic. We offer several types of seminars at many times, so you can get what you need. We also offer private tutoring, both at your home and at our offices. Our tutoring packages are explained on our Sign Up page. Or, if you prefer to work with us on an hourly basis instead, that's also easy to do. But if you have time on your side, answer these questions:

Do you have a heavy AP course load?
If so, then avoid the May test date. You'll be too busy to sleep enough, let alone to study for the SAT.

Do you enjoy finals week?
If not, you're not alone. Avoid June.

This leaves October through March. Consider summer prep for the October SAT: two weeks of intense work with us, and it's done. We even include an optional review session right before the October SAT. You'll have plenty of time and a minimum of pressure. (You can even use the tools you acquire in our seminar to study further on your own for a later SAT if you like.) You're positioned for success no matter what.

Whichever SAT date you choose, we have seminars throughout the year to help you prepare for it. Just go to our Sign Up page and select your preferred location and test date, and we'll guide you through the short signup process.

This test is highly predictable. That doesn't make it easy, but it should inform your preparation method.

Each official SAT question has been painstakingly crafted through a rigorous process that takes over a year and includes at least twelve committee and expert reviews. The resulting questions and answers are more precise and objective than on almost any other test. As a direct result, the correct answers are verifiable, and the wrong answers are misleading in predictable ways.

BodSAT students come to understand these inner workings of the test, and are thereby empowered to analyze and verify the correct answers, and to ferret out the wrong ones. Respect for the craft of the testmaker becomes the inspiration (and the means) to master the test itself.

Among students testing below about an 1800, the SAT distinguishes between students based on their relative knowledge. BodSAT is not intended for these students.

But among students testing above 1800, the SAT differentiates students primarily based on their skills, most notably creative problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, and ability to "game the test," by which we mean skills related specifically to standardized tests, of which the SAT is the epitome.

This distinction between these two score ranges is the core of the Bodhisattva SAT Prep model, as we specialize in helping these "1800+" students. We call these BodSAT students.

The more fluid you are with the basics of math, grammar, and reading, the freer your mind will be to employ skills that help you to discern the correct answer even with imperfect understanding of the question content.

Come to us with solid fundamentals, and we'll help you take the next leap forward.

All schools, and therefore all GPAs, are not equal. Excepting personal interviews, the SAT is probably the single most trusted means of ranking high-school students nationally. As such, it can detract from or even invalidate a high GPA with respect to elite college admissions. On the other hand, a high score can also mark a student as a promising late bloomer.

Because the test is so consequential, it's vital to prepare rigorously and wisely, and to make sure that the professional preparation service you hire to help you achieve your best score is a good match for your particular needs and temperament.

This does not mean that the SAT should supersede all other priorities. Rather, it means that whatever time you choose to dedicate to preparing for the test should be highly focused and effective for you.

It has been our privilege to meet and work with many conscientious parents of talented students, and we hope that we will come to count you among them. The most common question parents ask after deciding to work with us is: how can I best help the process? This dialogue may help not only answer the question, but also to shed light on how a skills-oriented seminar like ours may differ from most classroom experiences:



These distractions probably seem like no big deal. In our experience, however, they make a huge difference.

This is because the BodSAT student isn't absorbing new knowledge (which can be done despite distractions), but rather is acquiring new skills. Skill acquisition requires focused practice under optimal conditions.

Think of this analogy: an athlete sustains an injury, which compromises her technique. She has a big game coming, so she practices regardless. What happens? She is unlearning good technique, and learning an inferior technique in its place. The practicing has actually hurt, not helped. The moral is: make sure your child has a quiet place to train. If it can't be done at home, help him or her find a place where it can.

Taking the SAT many times has always been the hallmark of both the most-prepared students and the most stressed.

In 2008, the makers of the SAT began a new policy called Score Choice, intended to make the SAT less stressful for all. Score Choice gives students the option of selecting which tests (though not which individual sections) to report to colleges. On the surface, this seems to be a boon: if a student bombs the test, no one need ever know.

In practice, though, the policy incents highly competitive students to take the test as many times as it is offered, further widening the gap between the most- and least-prepared students.

Many therefore advise students to take the SAT "as many times as they can afford to."

We believe this policy decision of The College Board's -- and the response of those advisors -- to be short-sighted and self-interested.

Unlike most SAT-prep professionals, we suggest: "prep wisely; prep once." We believe that all the benefits of concentrated preparation can be attained through a highly focused and dedicated course of study, and that the lucky score gains that one might achieve by taking the test many times are not nearly as significant as the value of spending that extra time on other pursuits -- value, that is, not only to the college but also to the student.

Prep wisely; prep once: Don't allow the SAT to interfere with schoolwork, with extracurricular activity, or with personal development and downtime any more than is required.