All of our courses meet in-person at local schools on the Main Line and in Bucks County. Our main sites are The Haverford School in Haverford, The Phelps School in Malvern, and Villa Joseph Marie HS in Newtown. Students from all schools are welcome in any of our courses. During the school year, classes meet on Saturdays or Sundays. During the summer, classes meet on weeknights. Find our upcoming course schedule closest to you.

Our SAT prep course tuition is $2495. To enroll your student in a course, we ask for a $500 deposit. The $1995 balance is due at the first session of the course. We offer payment plans for families who would like to split the tuition over multiple installments, as long as the full tuition is paid by the halfway point of the course.

After eight comprehensive prep classes and four SAT diagnostics, students are ready to do great on the real SAT. In each class, students build confidence with the material. With each diagnostic test, students get better at applying testing techniques to real SAT questions. They’ll watch their score grow and know that they’re ready to excel on the real SAT when the course ends. Learn more about our course structure and approach to prep.

The average Capstone SAT student improves their score by an average of 160 points from their starting score. We put all of our students in a great position to maximize their potential on their real SAT, but we don’t offer any guarantees. For students who don’t improve by 100+ points, we’ll invite them to join one of refresher courses for free. We stick with all of our students until they’re happy with their score and ready to submit their results to colleges.

The SAT and ACT have many similarities: the skills and content tested are mostly the same! The scores are calculated differently, but you can use a Concordance Table to compare your scores. The tests differ mostly in style: the SAT is a slightly trickier test while the ACT is faster-paced. The Capstone course prepares students primarily for the SAT, but we also administer a practice ACT at the end of the course. That way, students have as many opportunities as possible to hit their best possible score.

Our College Admissions bootcamp is a two-week workshop that walks students through the entire college application process. Classes are organized in groups of five or fewer students and meet virtually on Zoom. Capstone offers this bootcamp in late summer and early fall. Check out this year’s course calendars.

Each class is dedicated to a different aspect of the college admissions process—selecting schools, writing essays, preparing resumes, practicing college interviews, and more. Students are expected to create each aspect of their application independently, but we provide the structure and deadlines to ensure they craft the best possible final result. Even if a student is starting from scratch, they can walk away with a completed application in 2 weeks.

Our bootcamp can provide a useful structure for all types of students: whether you’re aiming for the ivy league university, a state school, or haven’t considered your college options at all. The course is designed for incoming high school seniors. Younger students (incoming high school juniors) don’t need to start their college applications yet, but call us at 484-240-9236 to discuss what you can do earlier in the process.

Our course tuition is $1295. To enroll your student in a course, we ask for a $500 deposit. The $795 balance is due at the first session of the course.

Capstone SAT prep students excel in our SAT prep bootcamp because they’re familiar with many of the instructors and the general class structure. However, there’s no preliminary material required to participate in the bootcamp, so the course is open to all.

There are three primary factors that admissions officers consider when judging an applicant: high school course load, Grade Point Average, and standardized test scores.

There are secondary factors that matter too, like extracurricular activities, your college application essays, and teacher recommendations.

The first session of our College Admissions Bootcamp is dedicated to creating a well-balanced college list. Students should apply to a mix of reach schools, target schools, and safety schools. Use our College List Builder to see which schools may fall in your reach, target, and safety categories.

Typically, we recommend beginning your preparation as early as the summer before your Junior year and as late as the summer before your Senior year. If you start any earlier, you may be missing some of the content that is fundamental on these tests. Any later and you’ll find yourself rushing to submit your scores to colleges.

In that range, students should pick the time of year where their schedules are the most open and when they’re ready to put time in to prepare. Thankfully, at Capstone, we offer Winter SAT Classes, Spring SAT Classes, Summer SAT Classes, and Fall SAT Classes! Give us a call to discuss the best timeframe for your student!

The SAT is hosted several times per year. Most years, the SAT hosts National Tests in March, May, June, August, October, November, and December. Your school may also host a special in-school test on a separate date. For most SAT administrations, you should arrive at your test center at 7:45am.

You can register for the SAT at collegeboard.org. If you took the PSAT, you probably have a CollegeBoard account that you can use to register. You can sign up for the ACT at act.org. In both cases, the registration process can be a bit lengthy. Many of the questions are just for internal research purposes, so don’t sweat the details too much! Be sure to carefully pick the correct test date, location, and accommodations (if applicable).

When you register for the SAT and ACT, you should get an opportunity to enter information about your 504 plan or IEP. If you have any trouble entering that information, you can call College Board or ACT directly or speak to your high school counselor. If you don’t already qualify for these accommodations, you may have to go through a lengthy process to qualify. Talk to your school counselor or learning specialist to see if that’s worthwhile.

There’s no definitive answer to this question. A good SAT score depends on the student and the school! The best thing a student can do is set a goal. Students should base their goal off their starting scores and their college goals. It’s best to aim for a target score 100-200 points above your starting level (Capstone’s average score improvement is 160 points).

Students can find the average SAT score for admitted students at their target schools online. By hitting that goal, you aren’t guaranteed admission, but you'll increase your odds of being accepted and earning scholarship funds.

Most admissions officers agree: you should aim to take the SAT two or three times before submitting college applications. For schools that allow superscoring, you can submit the highest sections from individual test administrations. For schools with stricter scoring policies, taking the SAT too many times (more than three) may hurt your application.