In this guide, we will explain signs that you might be ignoring or overlooking—signs that clearly indicate you may need an ACT tutor. We will also cover signs that show you don’t need a tutor and are doing well on your own. Read this guide carefully, because these are important signals that students often ignore.
5 Signs You Need an ACT Tutor
1. Struggling With Content.
You’ve gone through the entire syllabus and collected all the online materials. You felt confident that you understood everything. But when you actually start studying on your own, you struggle with the basics in math, English, reading, and the optional sections. You’re unsure where to begin and why your score isn’t improving. This is a strong sign that you should get a tutor. A tutor can help you identify your weak spots and guide you on how to start improving.
2. Low or Plateaued Practice Scores
You might spend hours studying, taking practice tests, and still see scores below your target. It’s frustrating. Especially when you feel like you’re giving it your all. The truth is, effort alone doesn’t always guarantee results. Often, the real issue is that you can’t clearly see where you’re slipping. A tutor can step in here. They’ll point out the exact areas that need attention and show you smarter ways to study so your effort actually pays off.
3. Poor Study Habits or Lack of Structure
You tell yourself you’re going to study for 4 hours or finally get that tough topic done. Then your phone rings, or you scroll through Instagram for a bit, or you just feel too tired and stop. Every time you don’t follow through, it gets easier to quit. A tutor can help you actually stick to it and get things done instead of just planning.
4. Anxiety or Problems with Test Strategies
You run out of time on questions, feel really nervous on tests, or make the same silly mistakes over and over again. You spend hours studying. You take practice test after test. And still… the scores are not what you want. It’s really frustrating. Especially when you feel like you are trying your best. But working hard alone doesn’t always help.
5. Aiming for Top Scores or Scholarships
For students who want to get top scores or high-value scholarships, working with a tutor allows students with low grades to experience the specific practice and adjustments to their skills that probably yield significant and measurable improvement.
3 Signs You Might Not Need an ACT Tutor
Not every student needs a tutor to reach their target ACT score. In fact, some students may benefit more from self-study as they are on the right track already. Here are three signs that tutoring might not be necessary for you:
1. Consistently High Scores From Self-Study
If you are able to score higher than your set target on your own, using books, online courses, or practice tests, then you may already be on the right path, which means you don’t really need a tutor; your self-study is effective
2. Motivated, Organized, and Resourceful
If you can make a study plan that works for you, follow it every day, and use good resources effectively, then you don’t need anyone to push you. You don’t depend on motivation, because it doesn’t last, you stick to your goals. In that case, you don’t really need a tutor.
3. Confident With Test Strategies and Timing
Some students work well on their own because they have a clear sense of timing. They know how long to spend on each question. They can handle harder questions without panicking. They remain calm even when only a few minutes remain. If you regularly finish tests early and feel confident in your approach, additional tutoring is unlikely to make a significant difference. Your study approach is effective.
Conclusion
You might want a tutor if some subjects are still tricky. Or if your grades aren’t quite what you hoped for. Maybe studying alone feels hard, or you just can’t keep yourself motivated. Tests stressing you out? That’s another reason. And of course, if your aim is a really high score, help can make a difference.
But if you can keep things organized, study every day, do well on practice tests most of the time, and understand the test strategies, then self-study could be enough. It works for many students.
How The Princeton Review Can Help
The Princeton Review has educational ACT prep programs to fit all students’ learning styles and their target scores.
We have tutors who are skilled at the ACT and know how to take the tests to help students work on their strengths and weaknesses. The studies are personalized and tailored to focus on building their core skills (English, Math, Reading, and Science) as we also build in test strategies (time management, pacing test questions).
Students are given frequent access to realistic practice test situations that mirror the actual testing environment to help grow confidence and to become familiar with the test experience.
The Princeton Review can deliver help to the student, whether it is 1:1 tutoring, in small groups, or online options, while providing the student with the flexibility to prepare for the ACT around their busy school schedules. We track their progress and we give feedback in steps to keep students moving forward.
In addition, our instructors interface to give insight into college admissions standards and how each student can reach their college admission goals by performing at their best level on the ACT. With exploited systems and proven success for decades and thousands of students achieving their dream score, we believe we are the best partner for students to perform at their very best level on the ACT.