[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-267433-105":59,"doc-detail-267433-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","another-college-expense-preparing-for-the-sat-and-act","Another College Expense - Preparing for the SAT and ACT","","Rising higher-education costs extend beyond tuition to the expense of preparing for college admissions tests, especially the SAT and ACT. The article details the price spread for tutoring and test-prep programs, contrasting group classes with high-priced individual services. It weighs claimed score improvements against independent findings that suggest smaller average gains. It also highlights free or low-cost alternatives, including College Board plans in partnership with Khan Academy, and addresses whether colleges require test scores.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/another-college-expense-preparing-for-the-sat-and-act/267433/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/another-college-expense-preparing-for-the-sat-and-act/267433.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mia  ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-14",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",14,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What kinds of SAT and ACT test-prep expenses do students typically face?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Expenses include commercial test-preparation classes and tutoring for the SAT and ACT. The cost can range from relatively affordable group packages to tutoring that can reach thousands of dollars.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How do independent findings compare with providers’ claims about score gains?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"A report commissioned in 2009 found average gains from commercial prep were around 30 points on the SAT and less than one point on the ACT, lower than providers typically claim. It also noted small score differences can still influence admissions distinctions.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What lower-cost or no-cost options are available for SAT preparation?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The College Board plans a no-cost preparation program with Khan Academy ahead of the new SAT. It also offers an SAT guidebook and provides free online practice tests, while other sites provide sample tests.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},267433,1789418811,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":39},687207024478,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Another College Expense: Preparing for the [SAT and ACT-NYTimes.com](SAT and ACT-NYTimes.com) Page 1 of 3  \n[http://nyti.ms/1tI9Jfs](http://nyti.ms/1tI9Jfs)  \nYOUR MONEY | YOUR MONEY ADVISER  \nAnother College Expense: Preparing for the SAT and ACT  \nBy ANN CARRNS OCT. 28, 2014  \nWith all the hand-wringing over the price of higher education and the growing  \nburden of student debt, it’s easy to overlook the substantial cost of simply  \npreparing to apply to college.  \nThe expenses start piling up well before students ever set foot on campus, in the form of commercial test preparation classes and tutoring for the SAT and the ACT, the two main admissions tests colleges use to evaluate applicants. Some inperson or one-on-one online tutoring packages can cost thousands of dollars.  \nThe higher cost is in part because of the demand for individual tutoring.  \nGroup classes, offered by companies like Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep, are still popular and relatively affordable. Thirty hours of group preparation with Princeton Review, for example, costs $1,000 to $1,600, depending on the size of  \nthe class.  \nIndividual tutoring, however—whether online, in person or a combination—is all the rage, and it usually comes with a steep price tag. One New York-based tutor, Anthony-James Green, recently gained attention with his fee of $1,000 an hour; he claims to increase his students’SAT scores by more than 400 points, on average.  \nArborBridge, which provides online tutoring via videoconferencing, offers a 60-hour test preparation package for about $9,000 . That’s more than the average cost of in-state tuition and fees at a four-year public university, which reached about $8,700 last year, according to the College Board. Andrew Finn, co-founder of ArborBridge, said that the service also offered lower-cost options, like a 12-hour program for about $2,500, and expects to revise its fees early next year to make its  \n[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/your-money/another-college-expense-preparing-for-the-sat-... 10/30/2014](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/your-money/another-college-expense-preparing-for-the-sat-... 10/30/2014)  \nAnother College Expense: Preparing for the [SAT and ACT-NYTimes.com](SAT and ACT-NYTimes.com) Page 2 of 3  \nservices affordable for more students. After 17 years of preparing a child for  \ncollege, he said,“You want the best outcome.”  \nStill, the prices are clear indicators that students and families are engaged in a college admissions “arms race,” said Robert A. Schaeffer, public education director of FairTest, a nonprofit that advocates against the “overuse and misuse” of  \nstandardized tests.  \n“They think they’re competing for slots at these elite universities and they’rearming themselves with the most sophisticated weaponry,”Mr. Schaeffer said.  \n“They believe if the other guy is doing it, you need to do it, too.”  \nIs spending all that money worth it? The National Association for College Admission Counseling, a membership group for college admissions officers, highschool counselors and other education professionals, found in a report it  \ncommissioned in 2009 that average gains from commercial test preparation courses were around 30 points on the SAT, and less than one point on the ACT—both lower than the providers typically claim. However, the report also noted that colleges and universities might make “inappropriate” distinctions among  \napplications based on small score differences,“making even minimal test score  \ngains potentially important in those decisions.\"  \nPrinceton Review offers a money-back guarantee for some prep packages, if students’scores don’t increase by at least 200 points on the SAT, or by 3 points on the ACT. (The maximum score on the SAT is 2400, while the top ACT score is 36.) Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review, says schools use the scores not just for admission decisions, but also to determine  \nscholarship awards, so preparation is importa","cbCaitmdhnWTYA9g","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitmdhnWTYA9g","pdf",148941,"English","# Another College Expense: Preparing for the SAT and ACT\n## Costs and tutoring options\n## Is spending worth it?\n## Lower-cost and free alternatives\n## SAT/ACT requirements for colleges","[{\"question\":\"What kinds of SAT and ACT test-prep expenses do students typically face?\",\"answer\":\"Expenses include commercial test-preparation classes and tutoring for the SAT and ACT. The cost can range from relatively affordable group packages to tutoring that can reach thousands of dollars.\"},{\"question\":\"How do independent findings compare with providers’ claims about score gains?\",\"answer\":\"A report commissioned in 2009 found average gains from commercial prep were around 30 points on the SAT and less than one point on the ACT, lower than providers typically claim. It also noted small score differences can still influence admissions distinctions.\"},{\"question\":\"What lower-cost or no-cost options are available for SAT preparation?\",\"answer\":\"The College Board plans a no-cost preparation program with Khan Academy ahead of the new SAT. It also offers an SAT guidebook and provides free online practice tests, while other sites provide sample tests.\"}]","Another College Expense - Preparing for the SAT and ACT | PDF"]