ConnectPrep Service Areas

Both. We run in-person programs in seven metros: Fairfield County Connecticut, New York City, Westchester, Northern New Jersey, the Philadelphia Main Line, the Washington DC metro area and the Chicago North Shore. Everywhere else we work live online, with the same senior tutors and the same materials.

All 50. Twenty states have their own page with local detail, and the rest are covered through our nationwide online program. If your state does not have a dedicated page yet, get in touch and we will build a plan around your district and college list.

It varies more than most families expect, and it changes how we plan. Illinois and North Carolina administer the ACT to every junior. Connecticut and Michigan administer the SAT. Florida requires districts to give the SAT, ACT or CLT to all eleventh graders, and Virginia now requires divisions to offer a school-day SAT. Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon and California have no statewide program. Each state page has the current rules.

Also varies. Georgia restored a requirement at seven public universities beginning Fall 2026, and UT Austin and UT Knoxville have both reinstated. UVA, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, UConn, Michigan, UNC and most SUNY campuses are test-optional. The University of California is test-free and Washington State is test-blind, meaning scores are not considered at all. We plan submission school by school.

SAT and ACT prep, college admissions counseling, K-12 subject tutoring, AP and honors support, private school admissions including SSAT, ISEE and SHSAT, graduate school prep covering GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and JD-Next, executive function coaching, and BS/MD and specialized track advising. Most families use several over the years.

Book a free 30-minute consultation with founder Jeremy Fine. We review your student’s baseline, school context and college list, and outline an honest plan. There is no obligation, and if we do not think we are the right fit we will say so.

For the class of 2027, announced in September 2026, New Jersey has the highest at a 223 Selection Index, tied with Washington, DC and US students abroad, followed by Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington at 221, and California, Connecticut and New York at 220. Minnesota and Tennessee were the lowest of the twenty states we cover at 214. The Selection Index runs from 48 to 228 and is calculated from the PSAT/NMSQT taken in October of junior year. Because cutoffs are set per state against a fixed national number of Semifinalists, the same score qualifies comfortably in one state and misses in another, which is why a family relocating between junior and senior year can see their odds change without their score moving.

Almost entirely because of participation, not student ability. Michigan averaged 953 with 100% of graduates tested and Minnesota averaged 1210 with 3% tested. Michigan does not have weaker students; it tests everyone, including students with no college plans, while Minnesota is reporting a small, self-selected, college-bound group. Any comparison of raw state averages that ignores participation is misleading. Illinois at 961 with 99% participation and Colorado at 987 with 90% are the same phenomenon.

Among the states we cover, Illinois, North Carolina and Arizona administer the ACT to all eleventh graders. Connecticut, Colorado and Michigan administer the SAT. Florida requires every district to give the SAT, ACT or CLT. Tennessee requires one and makes it a graduation requirement. Ohio and Minnesota leave the choice to districts, and Minnesota funds it only for students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Texas funds one attempt through HB 3. Virginia divisions must offer a school-day SAT from 2026-27 under HB 410. Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and California have no statewide program.

It depends on the whole list, not the flagship. The University of California is test-free and will not look at a score even if you send one, and Washington State is test-blind. UNC requires a score only from applicants below a 2.8 GPA. But UT Austin and UT Knoxville have both reinstated requirements, the University System of Georgia restored testing at seven institutions for Fall 2026, and Yale requires testing in some form. Selective private universities and out-of-state publics are where scores still carry the most weight, and merit aid at national universities frequently turns on one. We plan submission school by school rather than as a single decision.

The teaching is identical. Same senior tutors, same diagnostic-driven plans, same materials and the same score improvement guarantee. In-person means in-home or library sessions, available in Fairfield County Connecticut, New York City, Westchester, Northern New Jersey, the Philadelphia Main Line, the Washington DC metro area and the Chicago North Shore, subject to tutor availability. Everywhere else runs on Zoom with a shared digital whiteboard, so the tutor and student write on the same problem at the same time. Families in our in-person markets often mix the two across a program.

From two inputs, never from a generic benchmark. First a full timed diagnostic, a Bluebook-aligned Digital SAT or a full ACT, to locate a true baseline rather than a self-reported one. Second the college list, because the admitted middle 50% at the actual target schools is what determines whether a score helps, hurts or is better withheld. State averages and National Merit cutoffs are useful context but they are not targets. We then work backward from application deadlines to set test dates, and we revise the plan every two weeks against practice test results.