The Framework That Improves Student’s SAT Scores By 60% More Than Princeton Review
5 data-driven steps to get your child into the school of their dreams
Getting into a top university is not about prestige.
Studies have shown that graduates from elite universities earn significantly more than those from less prestigious institutions. For example, mid-career median pay in 2022 was $161,888 for Ivy League graduates. This is compared to $101,777 for graduates from other institutions.
Your child’s dream school is not just a status symbol. It’s what leads to better career opportunities, higher lifetime earnings, and invaluable networks.
With stakes this high, it’s no wonder that parents are eager to give their children the best possible chance at success.
But here’s the biggest misconception parents have when trying to prep their kids for the SAT:
The SAT tests intelligence.
The exam follows a predictable structure — two sections for reading/writing and two for math. These sections follow a limited scope of knowledge, focusing on specific math, reading, and grammar rules. They don’t measure problem-solving ability in a broader sense. As a result, test-taking strategies often end up mattering more than domain knowledge.
The sole purpose of the SAT is to determine how good a student is at taking the SAT itself. Since the SAT is not an intelligence test, cracking it is all about iteration. And iteration is driven by data.
Here’s the 5-step, data-driven framework that the founder of Academic Allies recommends to boost your child’s SAT score and get into the school of their dreams.
Step #1: Administer a diagnostic exam
There’s no reason to make your child study for the SAT if they don’t know what to study.
Before any effective SAT preparation can begin, students need a clear starting point. A diagnostic exam highlights baseline strengths and weaknesses. Without this data, your child risks wasting time on ineffective study methods, like drilling dozens of no-calculator math problems when they already have a perfect score in that section.
This first step ensures that every hour of study is focused on making improvements where they’re most needed.
Step #2: Analyze the results
OK, now that your child has taken a diagnostic exam, what do the results mean?
The purpose of this exam isn’t just to figure out a student’s overall score. It’s to break down exactly which sections they need to focus more on and which ones they need to continue excelling in. After taking a diagnostic exam and analyzing the results, a student will have a custom-crafted study plan designed to increase their score in the highest leverage way.
Instead of blindly working through practice problems, your child will know exactly which areas to focus on and which strategies to reinforce for maximum improvement.
Step #3: Conduct regular study sessions
Success for the SAT does not happen in an instant.
On average, most students aiming to improve their SAT scores by +100 study for 2–3 months. For larger score improvements (which is often necessary for getting into Ivy League universities), students often study for upward of 6 months. During those months, it’s crucial that students regularly engage with exam content. By holding weekly study sessions, SAT content remains top-of-mind for students. As a result, they become far less likely to forget the test-taking strategies they’ve learned.
As the saying goes, “Use it or lose it.”
Step #4: Give weekly exams
The best way to improve at anything is to do the thing.
It sounds simple, but one of the highest leverage study strategies for is to take the SAT itself! By providing students with full-length, timed exams every week, they gain familiarity with the conditions of the real exam. This approach builds endurance, sharpens problem-solving skills under time constraints, and ultimately helps students reduce the anxiety they’ll face on exam day.
In order to fight in the rain, one must train in the storm.
Step #5: Curate data-driven practice problems
The key to rapid improvement is focused practice, not just more practice.
The final step is fine-tuning performance through targeted problem sets. Instead of random practice, students work on data-driven assignments to eliminate their weaknesses. This ensures that every study session leads to measurable improvement by turning weaknesses into strengths.
When practice is precise, progress becomes inevitable.
The Academic Allies Approach
This approach is what Academic Allies attributes to their students’ massive SAT score improvements.
As AA’s founder, Aditya Palekar states: “We’ve found that by focusing on the data that students provide through taking diagnostic exams and creating study plans specifically tailored for individual students, we’ve seen score increases of 350 points in a matter of 3 months. That’s 60% higher than what Princeton Review purports.”
Learn more about how you can get your child into their dream school by visiting the Academic Allies website:
