All seminars consist of six meetings plus one or two practice tests taken at the same location. All seminars cover the same material.

In all formats, you should expect four hours of homework per session. The seminars cover all sections of the test.

While school is in session, choose our Weekend Seminars consisting of six four-hour meetings with one meeting per weekend (except for one practice test weekend, for which you'll need both Saturday and Sunday).

During the summer and some school breaks, we offer Intensive Seminars where we meet as often as every other day. These seminars typically have one last meeting on the week of the test.

In an Intensive Seminar, we cover the same material as our Weekend Seminars by meeting more frequently. When you add in four hours of homework per session, it's a very busy time. So our students finish their SAT prep in a week or two without taking any time away from academics.

Success with the Intensive format depends on a very high level of focus. You need to commit to bringing your "best self" to each of the seminar's meetings as well as to your (considerable) homework. This commitment will ensure you've given yourself every opportunity to maximize your SAT score. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in such a short time! This commitment means:

1. You will get a full night's sleep prior to every class or homework session, AND
2. You will do no other significant work or activity that will diminish your capacity to give your full attention and energy to each day's four hours of class time or homework.

If you feel you cannot make this commitment, then we recommend you register for one of our Weekend Seminars which will cover all the same material, but with the benefit of a week between each meeting. Feel free to call us if you need help making your decision.

Because we want to underscore for our students and their parents that their experience will be far from the experience of the usual test prep class, with its often-tedious lectures and in-class exercises.

BodSAT is a small, advanced, undergraduate-style experience designed for high school students who are looking for an intense, dynamic experience guided by two highly experienced and engaging teachers and shared with other like-minded students.

Students are asked to complete four hours of preparation prior to each session. Usually, they:

1. Complete several timed sections from an official SAT
2. Score each section
3. Retry missed questions, noting clearly next to the problem what went wrong and how they might avoid such an error in the future
4. For any problems that remain unclear, even after an un-timed retry, they clearly articulate a specific question about that problem to bring up at the next meeting

To a large extent the seminars are driven by the notes and questions from steps 3 and 4. In this way, students learn from each other. Moreover, each student learns how to learn from his or her own mistakes.

In part, this is what makes BodSAT seminars so different: we aren't memorizing content, but rather are acquiring new skills.

Yes. At every meeting, we hold an office hour, during which students are invited to stay to further discuss SAT problems.

If yet more help is needed (e.g. because a student misses a seminar), we do our best to make time available for private sessions (at an additional cost).

Our standard seminar fees range from $1200 to $2100, depending on location and time of year. Please also note the following offers:

Refer one or more friends, and we will be delighted to give you each a referral credit.

We have a limited number of scholarships available. This program will not expire. Feel free to contact us to see whether you qualify.

The PSAT serves only two purposes:

1. It's the qualifying exam for National Merit Scholarships.
2. It helps you to determine what kind of preparation (if any) will best serve you for the SAT.

If you believe your score will be in the top 2% and qualify for National Merit Scholarships, then by all means, take the PSAT.

The danger in taking the PSAT to determine what kind (if any) of SAT prep you need is that the results won't be known until late December. By then, your options for preparing for the SAT are reduced. Yet if you wait until the May or June SAT dates, you are preparing for the SATs at the same time as the SAT Subject Tests, APs and academic final exams.

BodSAT offers a solution for gifted students: prep much more quickly with our seminars, which can be begun after you receive your PSAT scores, and finished before the next available SAT dates.

Three to eight students. Small seminars encourage students to think of themselves as a necessary part of the overall experience. This helps keep their preparation and contribution at an appropriately high level.

Justin and Wes teach all classes. Nobody else we know has our combination of academic background and thousands of hours of SAT experience. We feel that both qualifications are required to conduct an elite group of students who would quickly lose interest in a class that teaches to the middle. The success of students like these depends in part on teachers who can lead them to their limits.

Each student must have the equivalent of an SAT 1800+ which means any of the following:

• A score of 1800+ on an official SAT, of which at least 550 points must be in math
• A score of 170+ on an official junior-year PSAT, of which at least 50 points must be in math
• A score of 160+ on an official sophomore-year PSAT, of which at least 50 points must be in math
• A score of 1800+ on a self-administered practice SAT, of which 550 points must be in math

If you need a self-administered practice test, just contact us.

In short: our method only works with students who are already fluent in the fundamentals.

In detail: The success of a skills-based seminar depends in part on exercising those skills by way of Socratic discussion, which in turn relies on students having nearly mastered math, reading and writing fundamentals. In this environment, students benefit as much from each other as from the teachers, both in skills and inspiration.

We are teachers at heart, and we thrive on the interest and growth of our students. By working only with the most effective students, we create an experience that honors our students' time and effort as well as our own.

Yes! We enthusiastically welcome all visitors, from students to parents to college counselors.

The only practice tests we use are official College Board tests, because no third-party test questions can properly illustrate the most effective SAT strategies.

Our Student Manual carefully guides students through the rigorous process of self-examination at the core of our methods. However, students expecting to take no notes will be disappointed; it's up to each student to highlight and/or to capture those methods and nuggets of wisdom that best serve him or her. Our students own the responsibility for their own progress, and we have and will provide every resource we can to nurture and support that progress.

Check the welcome email you received for the username and password, then go here for all the materials you'll need.

Yes! We would be happy to accept your help in arranging a meeting that would better suit the needs of your son or daughter and a few others. Just contact us for details.

Some students don't even have the time for our extremely efficient seminars.

Others simply prefer a one-on-one working environment.

Finally, some require more work on their fundamentals before taking our seminar.

We're happy to work with all of these students privately. On our Sign Up page, just click through to the Private Package options.

Bodhisattva seminars are about learning how to learn. Conscientious students will find that the skills they acquire here will help them to learn more, faster, throughout high school and beyond.

(And for our part: the joy of facilitating that process is why we have stayed in the SAT business for so long.)

We have found that even the smartest students typically move quickly -- often too quickly -- from test to test. By contrast, we teach our students the skills required to dig deeply into the learning opportunities created by missed questions. We guide them to learn from asking themselves what went wrong and figuring out what would have put them back on the right track. It is not enough for our students to learn how to do a specific SAT problem, for they will never run into that exact problem again. To maximize improvement from test to test (and therefore to minimize the number of tests it takes to reach their goal) requires learning skills for rigorous self-examination.

In addition, students learn how to analyze and write compositions, improve their grammar and style, strengthen their math fundamentals, and master standardized test strategies.

Finally, we aim to help students get better at triage. With the demands on today's college-bound high schoolers, learning to decide what's most important is more important than ever before.

That depends on why you feel BodSAT isn't for you.

If BodSAT seems right, but no seminar works within your schedule, consider private work with Justin and Wes.

If you don't qualify for our seminars, then consider either private work with us or others to bolster your fundamentals. Some other companies also provide good support for fundamentals acquisition.

Some other advice:

When evaluating SAT prep options, keep in mind as a general rule that the bigger the enterprise, the less the teachers are paid, which in turn lessens the likelihood of working with an excellent teacher.

Also, know your needs: if your fundamentals need a lot of work, look for a class that has a lot of extra practice tests and review sessions.

Some important questions to ask about prospective SAT classes:

• What is the typical class size?
• Which teacher will I get, and what is his or her experience?
• Can I sit in on a class?
• Do you separate kids by skill level?

We have worked for many SAT companies, selecting, training and evaluating their tutors, writing their curriculum, and so forth. We can assure you that in the same way that we are the best offering for our particular niche of students, there are many excellent options available for students of all ability levels and requirements, provided you sift through the bad ones by asking these questions.

To cancel your participation in a BodSAT seminar, you must contact us by email (beth@bodsat.com) or by phone (800.291.4661).

When contacting us to cancel, please be ready to provide your name and contact information.

Please note that deposits are non-refundable.

We see ourselves as the very best of the SAT prep options for smart, hard-working students. To underscore this vision, we stand by promises that no other offering can afford:

All our students will enjoy an increase of at least 200 points over a previous official SAT, or we will provide free ongoing private tutoring until they do. Period.

Any Private Seminar student gaining fewer than 100 points may instead opt for a full refund.

These offers are contingent only on students' doing the work we assign. We hope and intend that you will understand these promises in the spirit we intend them: in an industry averaging only 30 points' gain (see here and here), we are serious about this work, and we expect the same from our students and their families.