Results. Experience. A local touch.  And actually cool tutors. We take results seriously; we don’t pat ourselves on the back just because our students liked working with us. We want to see you rewarded for your effort. Open Future’s typical improvement is easily 6 points, often more for many of our students. Brantley, our founder, has worked with (no kidding) thousands of students *one-on-one* -- our test prep strategies were developed in-house by him based on 15 years of student experience and feedback. It’s just us! We are not a part of a larger corporate structure, which means we are free to work with our customers on their terms. And, finally, kids like working with us – we are cool, engaging, and build strong relationships that inspire confidence.

Honestly, it's never too early to start mapping out a college strategy. Some of the factors that are most decisive in the process, like extracurricular activity and GPA/course selection, start as soon as you begin high school. For test prep, you could tackle this as early as Sophomore year. We strongly encourage families to consider having test scores sewn up by the spring of junior year. This gives you more control over application season and frees up some precious bandwidth in your senior year.

Ideally, 10-12+ weeks. Think of it as a performance; you need to be ready to handle the pressure. That means giving yourself a window to get ample practice tests and tutoring so you can be ready for the pressure of test day.

For our intensive program, it is typically 2 hours/week plus some homework. We also recommend 4-5 practice tests during test prep, though many of our students will do more.

As many as you can stomach! We see a strong correlation between practice test attempts and results. Students who do 3 or fewer typically come in around 3-4 points; students who take 5+ do far better. It can take a couple of practice tests to get truly comfortable, and then from there, we want to see consistent improvement.

Absolutely. As long as it is working for you. We partner students with tutors who are there for the whole journey, building rapport, learning strengths and weaknesses, and who are able to give you very specific feedback (everything from “You have a bad habit of hesitating over the right answer” to “You need to make sure you don’t forget what a semicolon does!”).

We definitely recommend finding a window during your academic year when you are not at peak stress. It's hard to find, though! Open Future students tend to be ambitious and heavily involved in a variety of activities. We make it work, and we take the responsibility for threading the needle on your schedule. We are here to help, not to stress you out; we understand schedules change, and some weeks are just a scheduling disaster. You will find us patient and helpful throughout. 

Getting a great test score is about performing well under pressure. You can think of us as your coaches. We don’t just teach, we encourage and inspire. But we also teach the test better than anyone else. You won’t find Open Future tutors coaching you on warmed-over, decades-old Princeton Review insights or telling you to “just pick the shortest answer” (not reliable!). We have figured this test out, and we will show you how you can, too.

Hoo boy. On one level, it really depends on what colleges are on your list. The more competitive it gets, the more important it is to perform well on both metrics. If you talk to college admissions offices, they will admit that test scores are a more reliable indicator of a student’s ability to perform than GPA. At the same time, GPA is a great indicator of academic ambition and the ability to thrive at the college level. The more quality you can put on the table for a college, the harder it will be for them to say no.

College essay coaching helps students brainstorm, write, and refine their application essays to effectively communicate their story and stand out.