Common Questions

Among our tutor ranks are valedictorians, National Merit Scholars, academics, faith leaders, lawyers, artists, actors, classroom teachers and more – all of whom share a passion for providing excellent customer service and helping students achieve their goals.

Some of our tutors have a little more experience (because they have been with us longer), are a little more in demand (because they are requested from one family to the next), have a larger skill set (they can tutor for more types of tests), and have a longer history of demonstrated results with us.

Preferred Tutors are skilled and dedicated professionals with strong teaching or tutoring backgrounds. All of our preferred tutors have passed our rigorous training process and are well-suited for standard test prep and tutoring needs.

Premium Tutors are top performers with a track record of exceptional results. They are ideal for students needing specialized instruction or seeking significant score improvement.

Elite Tutors offer concierge-level tutoring for exceptional results. Our Elite tutors have been selected for their expertise, dedication, and proven success driving transformative results. As the most requested tutors at Applerouth, Elite tutors meet rigorous criteria and have track records of helping students achieve their goals, including perfect scores. The average Elite tutor has worked with Applerouth for over 11 years and completed over 5,000 tutoring hours. They are among the best tutors in the industry.

There is no fixed schedule for private tutoring. Once you sign up for tutoring our Program Director will gather as much information as possible about your student’s schedule, and we’ll match you with a tutor who has similar availability. Specific tutoring dates and times are then scheduled directly with the tutor.

In areas where we offer in-person tutoring, our tutors can meet at your home, one of our main locations, or anywhere else that is convenient and offers a quiet and suitable tutoring environment. Of course, tutoring can also take place online!

Same goes for the actual location where the tutoring will take place. You can schedule to meet your tutor at one of our locations or anywhere else that is quiet and agreeable to you and your tutor.

Your Program Director will let you know who your tutor is just as soon as the assignment has been finalized. In addition, you’ll also receive an automated notification email from our system, and your tutor will call you to introduce themselves to you directly!

As a reminder, at any time you can also find out which tutors you have been assigned to, the subjects they are assigned for and their contact information by logging into your Applerouth Account and looking for the Tutors section.

We require 24 hours advance notice to reschedule or cancel an appointment. Please note that, in the event a session is cancelled within 24 hours or your child does not show up for a scheduled session, you will be charged the full cost of the session.

A positive student-tutor “fit” is essential to a successful tutoring program, and we take great pride in matching students with specific tutors based on needs, personality, and learning style (as well as the same availability). We have lots of excellent tutors who work for us, and our tutor matching success rate is very good! 

In the (rare) instance when a tutor is not an excellent fit, please contact your Program Director right away. They will be happy to speak with you about the situation, get as much information as possible relating to the fit, and will work to match you with a new tutor right away at no additional cost.

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Following any missed session, your tutor will provide a detailed report outlining the material covered and homework assigned.  Additionally, private tutoring is available to help your student make up a missed session or reinforce group work.

If you can't attend your scheduled practice test, please contact your Program Director. You’re welcome to register for another test independently. If you're signing up for an online test, be sure to select “print materials” since you’ll receive them as part of your class registration.

A standard practice test replicates typical testing conditions for the SAT or ACT. An extended time practice test provides extra time for students approved for accommodations due to a diagnosed learning disability. If your student will take the regular version of the test, choose the standard practice test.

Most tests, including the SAT and ACT, allow a student to register for an official test date online or over the phone. See the table below for registration information for the most common tests or contact us for more information.

• SAT Test Registration
• ACT Test Registration
• PSAT Test Registration
• SSAT Test Registration

Note You cannot sign up for any official test dates through this website. Any test dates listed are for scheduling purposes only.

Click here to get your SAT scores

Click here to get your ACT scores

Once you have viewed the scores, please share them with us so we can update your account and help you evaluate your student's progress. You can track all your student's test results at your personalized Applerouth account.

All of us have off days. That's why we recommend a strategic test prep plan that includes at least two or three testing dates. From the mock tests we expect our students to take after every 4-6 hours of tutoring, we analyze the error pattern to get more context about their performance. We can determine if it was a case of many careless errors, missing many of the early math problems, or a timing issue, many wrong answers at the end, or a few botched passages or if there are big blocks of wrong answers.

Other factors that will affect a student's performance include lack of sleep or food, distraction, stress, or testing anxiety. A suddenly motivated student may try out new strategies without first practicing them on a mock test. We've seen scores drop as a result. This is valuable information from a mock test report and useful for the student's tutoring, but not so encouraging when it happens on the real test.

Misgrading is very unlikely. To check on it or to report any issues with the testing site or administration of the test, contact ACT or College Board (SAT) customer service.

The key is get back "on the horse." Focus on the next opportunity to test, schedule another mock, complete practice problems, and meet with the tutor to review and analyze results. Keeping a positive perspective throughout the ups and downs of the testing process is essential.

Register for standby testing on the SAT test

Register for standby testing on the ACT test

Unless you are scoring in the high 600s or higher on your PSAT and are interested in qualifying for National Merit (you will get this year's test results early next year from your school counselor), then we advise a baseline mock test after you complete your sophomore year. From the baseline mock test results, we will recommend what you should do to prepare for your first SAT and/or ACT. We advise juniors to complete at least two SATs or two ACTs.

Yes! We see the same increases for SAT and ACT students regardless of platform.

If you have a broadband internet connection (cable, DSL, etc.) and live in the USA, you should have no issues with our online tutoring system.

For students outside of the USA, the important thing is not necessarily the speed of your connection but its reliability. Our online tutoring system does not require much bandwidth, but if the connection is spotty you will not have the best audio and video experience. If you already use Skype or any other video conferencing software, then your experience with our system should be similar.

If you are still unsure about your connection, contact us to setup a demonstration.

The only difference between in-person private tutoring and online tutoring is where you are sitting! You get access to the same tutors and course materials. Your tutor might be on the other side of the country, but you will be able to interact through audio, video and the whiteboard as if they were sitting right next to you.

We use Zoom to conduct our online tutoring, so you will need to download the program at https://zoom.us/download. We recommend that you use a computer rather than a phone, tablet, or Chromebook. You will need a microphone and a camera to get the most out of the program. The ones built into your device should be fine, though you may prefer to use a headset or earbuds if you are working in close proximity to others. If you want to check your computer to make sure everything runs smoothly, you can go to https://zoom.us/test.

As an Applerouth student, you will have access to take your practice tests in whichever manner is most convenient for you. We typically offer in-person practice tests at our offices along with "live online" practice tests most weekends. For these "live online" practice tests, your test will begin and end at a set time, and a human being will serve as proctor, just like on test day.

If you can not attend any of our scheduled mock tests, we also provide an online proctoring option to complete a practice test at home and on your schedule. Just log into your Applerouth account and follow the instructions for the online proctor.