Who you'd be working with
Jake Beckman. Independent college counselor in New York City, working with students nationwide. A one-person practice: no hand-offs, no junior staff, and you get my number. More about how I work
Whether to test, when to test, and how to make your scores work for you.
Most families jump straight to tutoring. That skips the questions that actually determine outcomes: should this student test at all, SAT or ACT, on what timeline, and what score would genuinely change their options? In a test-optional era those questions have real answers, and they're different for every student and every list.
I am not a test tutor, and I do not sell tutoring hours. That means my advice about testing has no thumb on the scale. If the honest answer is that testing isn't worth your time, I'll say so and we'll put that energy somewhere it counts.
Test or not. A real analysis based on your list, your practice scores, and what test-optional actually means at each of your schools.
SAT vs ACT. A diagnostic of each, then a commitment to one. Splitting effort across both is the most common mistake I see.
The calendar. Which test dates, how many attempts, and how prep fits around your actual life, including sports seasons and finals.
Score strategy. What to send where, how superscoring works at your schools, and when a score helps versus when it quietly hurts.
The testing decision is a 20-minute conversation. Book the free call and we'll make it.
Book a free call
Jake Beckman. Independent college counselor in New York City, working with students nationwide. A one-person practice: no hand-offs, no junior staff, and you get my number. More about how I work
Free strategy calls. No pitch, no pressure, just a plan.
Book your free call