Raleigh Test Prep for SAT, ACT, SSAT and GRE

Forgione Tutoring offers SAT and ACT prep and other top-quality test prep services in our three Triangle locations or virtually. We specialize in private (1-on-1) or semi-private (2-on-1) SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SSAT prep. We have experience working with students of all ability levels, as well as students with learning disabilities, test anxiety, and low academic self-confidence. Although raising students’ test scores is our primary goal, we believe that the boost of confidence, competence, and motivation are important by-products of our work.

We have multiple programs to meet your child’s needs: Comprehensive Program, Subject Area Focus, Semi-private sessions, and small group classes.

Visit these pages to learn more:

Comprehensive Program: these are 1-on-1 lessons in which all test subjects are covered each week, requiring 2-2.5 hours/week of tutoring and 12-20 weeks. Lessons can be broken up into two separate sessions or combined into one 2-hr lesson. Comprehensive tutoring should be booked 3-4 months in advance of the test date and is subject to availability. Many students stretch the hours throughout a 3 – 9 month period, often taking multiple test administrations.

Comprehensive ACT (4 subjects): average of 30 hours total
Comprehensive SAT (3 subjects): average of 24 hours total
Covers 3 subjects for SAT (Reading, Writing, and Math) or 4 subjects for ACT (English, Math, Reading, and Science)
Recommended schedule: 2-2.5 hours per week and 12-20 weeks
Best availability to begin: mid-June, early Fall, or early January
Recommended hours are estimates. We can better quote a recommended number of tutoring hours after analyzing the student’s scores (PSAT, Pre-ACT, PLAN or a diagnostic administered with us) and find out the student’s goal scores.

Subject Area Focus: Some students prefer to concentrate on 1 or 2 test subjects at a time to keep the work load and time commitment manageable. The Subject Area Focus is a great option for busy students or for those who prefer to focus only on certain test subjects.

1 test subject: 6-10 hours total and 1 hour per week
2 test subjects: 12-20 hours total and 1.5 – 2 hours per week

Flexible Scheduling for 1-on-1 Prep

Hours during the school year are 3- 8:30 pm on weekdays and 9 am – 6 pm on weekends; during busy seasons, availability is limited, so please book early.
In the summer, we offer daytime availability as well as evenings and weekends.
Sessions are scheduled on the same day, time, and location each week.
We do our best to schedule make-up sessions when students need to reschedule or cancel, but we cannot guarantee there will be an alternative slot open.
Tutoring takes place on a weekly basis; anything less frequent will not produce desired results.

Diagnostic and Mock Testing

We offer in-house diagnostic testing for new students who have not taken a PSAT or Pre-ACT recently. Diagnostic testing is included in the cost of tutoring for in-coming students and $50 per administration for students who are not tutoring with us. These are offered on Sundays from 9 am – 1 pm in our midtown Raleigh and our Cary offices. Mock tests are designed to simulate the “real” test and should be taken 2-3 weeks before a student’s official test date. An unlimited number of mock tests are included in the cost of tutoring and are strongly recommended.

Program Details

SAT/ACT/SSAT Reading

Our students learn a variety of critical-thinking and active reading strategies to enhance their engagement in the reading process. By using direct instruction, we demonstrate to students how to apply reading strategies, why and when each strategy is useful, and how to modify reading strategies to fit different passage types. Through extensive guided practice and explicit feedback from the tutor, students become more active and strategic readers. We integrate fundamental test-taking and pacing strategies necessary to improving; however, our instruction goes beyond basic test-taking techniques, especially for those who would like significant gains.

SAT reading requires an average of 8 hours of strategy lessons, plus 2-4 hours for further practice with timed practice tests.
ACT reading can sometimes be accomplished in a minimum of 6 hours, with further pacing practice often needed.
Lesson duration is 1-1.5 hours per week.
Homework will average 1-1.5 hours per week per subject.
Our tutors customize lessons based on the number of hours the student has available and his or her score goals.
For students scoring at/over a 600: we can abbreviate and accelerate lessons to target a student’s areas for improvement.
Practice homework tests are real, previously-administered tests

SAT/ACT/SSAT Math

Our students learn a variety of test-taking strategies that make the math questions less tedious, time-consuming, and intimidating. We aim to uncover and close gaps in a student’s learning through a review of targeted math concepts. Students often need a content review in order to make full use of the strategies. Therefore, we do our best to remediate weaknesses whenever time permits. We also help students better recognize question types and different difficulty levels, so they can pace themselves appropriately. We get to know each student’s strengths so these can be used as an advantage and a source of confidence. As with all our instruction, we bring a “can-do-it” attitude to the math, while making math learning fun and dynamic.

Our program offers:

strategy instruction integrated with concept review
use of real, previously-administered tests for HW and mock exams
our in-house strategy guide and math worksheets that cover the math concepts encountered on the test
multiple approaches so students can be flexible in their approach
emphasis on logical reasoning and critical thinking skills to help students narrow answer choices and make educated guesses

SAT Writing & ACT English

The SAT Writing and ACT English are multiple-choice sections, and a student’s performance on these sections factors significantly into the composite score. Because grammar instruction is not consistently taught in schools today, we review the most commonly-tested grammar rules using our in-house Writing Guide as our main resource.

Rates

1-on-1

$70/hour with Staff
$80/hour with Lead Staff
$90/hr with a Director
$110/hr with Heather, Owner (pay-as-go) or $100/hour (20-hr package)

Semi-Private (2-on-1 or 3-on-1)

Semi-private sessions are arranged by families themselves. If your student has friends, siblings, cousins, or classmates he or she would like to tutor with, we will do our best to find a time slot that accommodates the students’ schedules. Semi-private lessons work best when the students have similar similar needs and goals.

$50/hour per student for 2-on-1

There are no contracts or set number of hours required to purchase in advance, but we do require 2 weeks notice for discontinuation.

We accept check, cash, or credit card payments. A 3% convenience fee will be added to credit card payments.

Find more answers to frequently asked questions here: FAQs