Timing is one of the biggest challenges students face, since you have about 1 minute 25 seconds per question. Expert tutors help you develop strategies like identifying which questions to tackle first, when to skip and come back, and how to avoid getting stuck on difficult problems. Practice with real SAT tests under timed conditions is essential—your tutor can review your pacing patterns and help you find the rhythm that works for you.

The best way is to take a full-length practice test and analyze your results by topic—algebra, advanced math, problem-solving, geometry, and trigonometry. This shows you exactly where you're losing points. Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who can review your practice tests, identify patterns in your mistakes, and determine whether your struggles are conceptual gaps or test-taking errors like misreading questions.

Most students benefit from 3-4 months of consistent preparation, studying 5-7 hours per week. However, this varies based on your starting score and target score—if you're aiming for a significant improvement, you may need longer. A tutor can help you create a realistic timeline and study schedule that fits your life, breaking down your prep into manageable weekly goals rather than cramming.

Your first session focuses on assessment and planning. Your tutor will likely review your SAT practice tests, discuss your target score and timeline, and identify your strongest and weakest math topics. This helps create a personalized study plan tailored to your needs. You'll also get a sense of your tutor's teaching style and how they explain concepts—it's a chance to make sure the fit is right before diving into content review.

Test anxiety often stems from feeling unprepared or unsure of your approach to problems. By working through practice tests repeatedly with a tutor and building confidence in your problem-solving strategies, you reduce that uncertainty. Your tutor can also teach you specific techniques like how to manage time pressure, when to take a breath and refocus, and how to approach unfamiliar question formats without panic—all of which make test day feel less overwhelming.

The SAT Math section includes multiple-choice questions, student-produced response questions (grid-ins), and multi-part questions. Each format requires slightly different strategies—for example, grid-ins don't have answer choices to work backward from, so you need to be confident in your calculation. Expert tutors help you practice each format, understand what the test makers are looking for, and develop strategies specific to how each question type is designed.

Most students benefit from taking 5-8 full-length practice tests under timed conditions throughout their prep period. This gives you enough data to identify patterns in your mistakes and build stamina for the actual test. Your tutor can recommend which practice tests to use, help you review your results after each one, and adjust your study plan based on what you're learning from them.