Your hourly price next to the package price
Boston Test Prep shows $190 a session beside the package total and calls it "Transparent pricing."
For you $250 an hour now sits next to your $7,500 package.
Nobody promises a reply faster than one business day.
I looked at eight competitors' pages, signed up for their free offers and followed what landed in my inbox. Here's what I'd borrow, and where nobody is serving parents well.
Who you're up against
Varsity Tutors shows up in 86% of the same Google auctions you do. Wyzant and Preply are marketplaces, so I left them out. Your own profile is on Wyzant.
How often each shows up in the same Google auctions as you
Share of auctions, August 30 to October 30 (Google Ads auction insights)
Competitor studiedMarketplace, not studied
Most lead with a guarantee, and few show a price
What each page promises up top, whether it shows a price, what a parent gets for free, and the guarantee.
| Competitor | Promise on the page | Price shown | Free first step | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varsity Tutors | "Award-Winning SAT Tutors" | None | 60-second tutor-match form, free practice hub | Linked, not read |
| Princeton Review | "SAT Tutoring", personalized | $2,000 (10 hrs), $3,150 (18 hrs) | Consultation form; free practice test sits behind checkout | Refund if the score doesn't rise |
| PrepScholar | "We Raise Your SAT Score, Guaranteed" | $995 to $4,795 | 5-day trial (card needed); first tutoring hour risk-free | 160+ points or refund |
| StudyPoint | "Industry-Leading SAT Score Increases" | None | Info request, call | 18 free hours if the goal is missed |
| Prep Expert | "Raise your child's SAT score by 200+ points. Guaranteed." | None on course pages | Parent webinar with $1,000 of bonuses | 200 points or refund |
| Boston Test Prep | "We'll teach your kid to win it." | $190 to $200 a session; packages $800 to $3,800 | Free 20-minute call, free checklist | Refund of the rest |
| Revolution Prep | "Raise Your Student's SAT Score With Expert-Led, Proven Prep" | From $499 group, $1,990 private | Free practice exam, free advisor call | 1500+ or +150 points |
| Compass | "Test Scores & Scholarships" | None | Free admissions guide, newsletter, call booking | None found |
Their ads on Facebook and Instagram
An ad that keeps running for months is usually paying for itself. So I checked Meta's Ad Library to see how long each competitor's ads have been running.
Longest-running ad I found
Days running, as of November 3
StudyPoint, Boston Test Prep, Revolution Prep and Compass aren't running any Facebook or Instagram ads that I could find.
What each one does, from ad to first email
Open any row to see more.
Varsity TutorsThe biggest advertiser in your searches
Ads
About 50 ads running, all started on October 21. See the ads above.
Page
4.9 from 3.4 million ratings, tutor cards that show each tutor's score and a "Perfect Score" tag, six testimonials. No price, no guarantee wording on the page.
Lead capture
"Get Started in 60 Seconds!" opens a form that begins "Who will be getting tutoring?" with "No obligation." It ends in a callback.
The Princeton ReviewTwo priced packages and a plain refund promise
Ads
About 15 SAT and ACT ads, the longest running since March 23. See the ads above.
Page
$3,150 for 18 hours (marked most popular) and $2,000 for 10. "If you don't score higher on your exam, we'll refund your tuition." A better-match promise after session one. No ratings or score-gain numbers.
Lead capture
"Add to Cart", or a two-step consultation form that promises a reply "Within 1 business day." The free practice test needs an account.
PrepScholarA 160-point guarantee with the conditions spelled out
Page
Six priced tiers, from $397 self-paced to $4,795 for 32 tutoring hours, with 18 hours at $2,995 marked "Recommended". The guarantee lists its conditions: finish the lessons, mail official score reports, claim within 360 days. A student starting at 1370 or above must reach 1530. Tutors are sold as "99th percentile".
Lead capture
A "5-DAY FREE TRIAL" that needs payment details, a "risk-free" first tutoring hour, a phone-and-name consultation form, a call-back widget and a newsletter.
Follow-up
Nothing has arrived since I signed up for the newsletter.
StudyPointFree hours as the guarantee
Page
"Our students increase an average of 124 points." "Over 60%" of clients are referrals or repeats, with four named testimonials. No price, only "below $99/hour" in a comparison table. If the goal is missed, 18 free tutoring hours for the next test.
Lead capture
"Call us today" or "Request more info", which asks for name, email, mobile, street address and grade.
Follow-up
Nothing has arrived since I signed up for the newsletter.
Prep ExpertA live parent webinar carrying $1,000 of bonuses
Promotion
The webinar page carries a Shark Tank coupon code ($200 off), so the promotion leans on the show.
Page
"Raise your child's SAT score by 200+ points. Guaranteed." "Founded by a perfect-scorer, featured on Shark Tank, trusted by 100,000+ families." Course prices aren't shown, though a "30% OFF" code is. A scholarship guarantee ($1,000 in offers or a refund) and a Mark Cuban endorsement.
Lead capture
A free live webinar for parents, "7 Strategies For Parents To Help Your Child Earn $100,000+". Those who attend live get "$1,000 in free courses, books and bonuses". It isn't recorded. Registration takes name, email and phone.
Follow-up
Three emails inside ten minutes: a confirmation with the Zoom link and every bonus, a calendar invitation, and "Should Your Child Take The SAT or ACT?", which pushes the 6- and 8-week courses. The webinar itself is on November 8.
Boston Test PrepPublished prices and a reassurance line under the button
Page
"The SAT is a game. We'll teach your kid to win it." One tutor, one-on-one. $190 a session in the 12-session package ($2,280, "Most chosen"), $200 a session for a sprint, a $200 trial session. "Transparent pricing. No packages you don't need." Proof is "+150–350" as a typical gain, 500+ students and two named reviews. The guarantee is "I'll refund the rest and help you find a better fit", with no terms shown.
Lead capture
"Book a free 20-minute call", with "Reply within 1 business day · No credit card · No obligation." directly under it. Also a free 29-topic checklist in return for an email.
Follow-up
One email so far, asking me to confirm. The free checklist hasn't arrived yet.
Revolution PrepA free practice exam and parent webinars
Promotion
The homepage banner offers "Claim up to $900 toward tutoring".
Page
"100% risk-free. Money Back Guarantee." The score guarantee has conditions: 20+ hours, four practice tests, an official SAT within 14 days, and "a 1500+ score or a 150-point improvement". Tutoring from $1,990, group from $499. "Less than 2% of applicants hired." No ratings.
Lead capture
A free live-proctored practice exam with a score report, free parent webinars, and "Talk to an Expert (Free)". The webinar sign-up asks for the parent's phone and the student's details.
Follow-up
Two emails: the Zoom confirmation for the November 5 webinar, and about eight minutes later "Junior Year is Here. Is Your Test Prep Plan Ready?", which offers a free consultation and a small-group course.
Compass Education GroupCounselor testimonials, no price, no guarantee
Page
"Test Scores & Scholarships", "We Raise Scores One Student at a Time". No price, no numbers and no guarantee. Proof is testimonials from counselors and school staff.
Lead capture
A pop-up for a free college admissions guide (name, email, role, class year), a newsletter, and "SCHEDULE A CALL" on Calendly.
Follow-up
Nothing has arrived since I signed up for the newsletter.
Two sales emails arrived in ten minutes. Neither asked about the student.
Both are generic, one about SAT or ACT and one about junior-year planning, and both push a course. PrepScholar, StudyPoint and Compass never emailed me at all after I signed up.
Emails received after I signed up on November 2
Each dot is one email. Varsity Tutors and Princeton Review end in a callback, so I didn't sign up.
Confirmation, calendar invite, sales email
Confirmation, sales email eight minutes later
Confirmation request only
No email
No email
No email
What I'd build for you
What works in their funnels, what I take for yours, and how I make it better.
I've already added this
Your guarantee in plain words
Revolution Prep and PrepScholar spell out what a parent has to do to qualify.
For you Your guarantee now opens with a one-sentence version, so nobody has to decode the "or".
A reassurance line under the booking button
Boston Test Prep: "Reply within 1 business day · No credit card · No obligation."
For you Yours is faster, because you usually reply within the hour.
A free guide in exchange for an email
Prep Expert gives away a free SAT playbook, and Revolution Prep gives away a free practice exam.
For you A guide that answers what parents actually fear, followed by emails that ask about their student.
Parents' own words in the ads
PrepScholar's whole ad set is parents and students talking to camera. Varsity Tutors uses parent reviews.
For you I'll build ad angles from your own Google reviews, with the score jumps parents describe. How you run them is up to you.
A first email that's useful
Prep Expert and Revolution Prep both emailed within ten minutes. Both only pushed a course.
For you Your first email asks for the student's score and test date, then answers with a plan for the first hour.
A live session for parents
Prep Expert's "7 Strategies For Parents" webinar, with $1,000 of bonuses for those who attend live.
For you A good test once the page is converting.
What nobody is doing
Answer in hours
The fastest promise on any page I read is one business day.
Speak to students already at 1400
Competitor guarantees are built on average point gains (160, 200, 150). PrepScholar's own terms ask a 1370 student to reach 1530. About 20 of your 109 inquiries are strong students stuck below 1500 and asking for 1550. Nobody speaks to them.
Open with a diagnosis
No sign-up produced a message that asked about the student or said where the points are likely being lost.
Pages I looked at: Varsity Tutors, Princeton Review, PrepScholar, StudyPoint, Prep Expert, Boston Test Prep, Revolution Prep and Compass.