Private Tutoring, Test Prep & College Admissions Counseling in Georgia

No. Georgia has no exit exam. Graduation runs on course credits, and the state tests through four Georgia Milestones End-of-Course assessments in Algebra: Concepts and Connections, Biology, U.S. History, and Literature and Composition. Those EOCs count toward the semester grade in the course, at a weight each district sets, but they play no role in college admissions. The SAT and ACT are a separate, voluntary track that families choose and pay for themselves.

A 1200 SAT or a 25 ACT composite, earned in a single sitting before graduation, alongside a 3.7 HOPE GPA. The single-sitting rule is the part that catches families out, because superscoring across test dates does not count toward Zell Miller even though most colleges will superscore for admission. The HOPE Scholarship itself requires no test score at all, only a 3.0 HOPE GPA and the required rigor credits, so the test score is what separates partial tuition from full tuition.

Yes. The University System of Georgia ended its test-optional waiver beginning with Fall 2026 admission, and an SAT or ACT score is now required at UGA, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Augusta University, Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern and Georgia College and State University. For students who had planned to apply without scores, that is a significant change to the junior year timeline.

Georgia recalculates a separate GPA on a 4.0 scale using only academic core courses, with a half-point bump for approved AP, IB and dual enrollment classes. Electives that lift a school-reported weighted GPA often do not count, so a student can carry a 4.2 at school and a 3.6 HOPE GPA. We build course plans around the recalculated number, because that is the one the state uses for HOPE and Zell Miller.

Most of our Georgia students start the spring of sophomore year or the summer before junior year, which leaves room for a diagnostic, a full prep cycle, and two or three real test dates before applications. Students chasing Zell Miller often need an extra window, since the single-sitting requirement means a strong composite built from superscored sections will not qualify. Students targeting Georgia Tech engineering usually start earlier, because the math track that supports a 750+ math section is set in middle school.

Our Georgia families come from the North Fulton and Forsyth corridor (Northview, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Milton, Lambert), East Cobb (Walton), Gwinnett including GSMST and North Gwinnett, the intown DeKalb schools, McIntosh in Peachtree City, and the independent schools, principally Westminster, Pace, Lovett, Woodward, Paideia and Marist.

Yes, and most families use both. Full-cycle counseling covers college list construction with acceptance probability modeling, the Common App personal statement with unlimited revisions, every supplement, activities positioning, early decision strategy, financial aid, and mock interviews. Georgia families in particular need the in-state versus out-of-state math run carefully, since Georgia Tech admits in-state applicants at roughly three times the non-resident rate and HOPE or Zell Miller can make a USG school dramatically cheaper than a comparable private.

Yes. Our instructors are trained in ADHD, CAPD, dyslexia and executive function support, and we handle College Board and ACT accommodations requests for you, including extended time, breaks and separate settings. We also coordinate with a school’s existing IEP or 504 team so the prep plan matches the supports already in place.

Sessions run on Zoom with a shared digital whiteboard, so the tutor and student write on the same problem at the same time. Every session is with the same senior tutor, not a rotating pool, and parents get a written recap after each one. Practice tests are taken in Bluebook under timed conditions at home and reviewed question by question in the next session.

For the class of 2026, the most recent year with officially confirmed cutoffs, Georgia required a Selection Index of 220. The Selection Index runs from 48 to 228 and is calculated from the PSAT/NMSQT taken in October of junior year, doubling the sum of the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math section scores. Cutoffs are set separately for every state and shift by a point or two each year, so treat 220 as a planning benchmark rather than a guarantee. Cutoffs for the class of 2027 are announced each September.

The Georgia average was 1038 for the class of 2025, with 56% of graduates tested. The participation rate matters more than the number. A state that tests nearly every graduate posts a much lower average than a state where only college-bound students sit the exam, so comparing raw state averages without participation is misleading. For students in the competitive districts we work with, the relevant benchmark is the admitted range at their target colleges, not the state mean.

Georgia gives no free school-day test, so the choice is genuinely open. We run a timed diagnostic on both and pick on evidence. The one constraint is Zell Miller, which requires a 1200 in a single sitting and does not superscore, so a student chasing it usually commits to one test and repeats it. The two tests are scored differently but weighted equally by colleges, and every US college that accepts one accepts the other.