The SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) is a standardized American entrance exam required for enrollment in American colleges or for obtaining sports or academic scholarships. The test consists of 3 parts: A reading test, a Writing, and Language test, and a Math test.
On the other hand, the ACT (American College Test) is a standardized test required for a student to enroll in graduate studies in America, and the questions on it are equally related to the high school curriculum in English, math, and science.
Unlike SAT, ACT is designed to focus on the specific assessment of knowledge and certain skills rather than on the ability to solve problems with the help of knowledge.
It is possible to “practice” for the ACT, as Tutor Ted’s Guide to the ACT by Martha Marion, Del Nakhi, and Stephen Black says. This means that you can get a significantly higher number of points on the exam if you target and train the necessary skills. This is where online resources come in quite handy, and we will show some of the most popular.
The main difference between PrepExpert and Princeton Review is that for beginners on a budget, Prep Expert comes with a slightly better selection of courses and discounts, but Princeton Review does its part of the job when thinking about a more comprehensive platform that offers an array of additional resources.
You can also find more details in our Prep Expert review and Princeton Review complete review.
Overall Comparison Table
| Course | Essential SAP | Advanced SAP | Essential ACT | Advanced ACT | Self-Paced Course | SAT and ACT | Private Tutoring | Additional Courses |
| Prep Expert | $799 | $1,299 | $799 | $1,299 | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| TPR | $849 | $4,700 | $1,549 | $261 per hour | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Features of Platforms for Students Learning Online
When considering Princeton Review vs Prep Experts, prospective customers should get some basic info about both platforms.
Prep Expert
- Money-back guarantee in case of failing the test.
- More than 50 thousand happy students.
- SAT Score Improvement Guarantee of 200.
- ACT 4-Point Score Improvement Guarantee.
Since its inception, more than 50,000 students improved their scores and enrolled in Top-50 US universities, and won $100+ million in college scholarships. As a matter of fact, in the school years of 2018 and 2019, the top-3 choice college accepted 97% of students who used Prep Expert services.
The platform offers various SAT Prep course types, including an 8-Week Capstone, the most popular 6-Week Flagship, a 4-Week PSAT, a Self-Paced Video, and Weekend Review.
For the first five mentioned, they offer a unique and trademarked SAT Score Improvement Guarantee of 200 points, where applicable.
When it comes to your ACT prep, the service offers an 8-Week Capstone ACT Prep Course along with a 6-Week Flagship Course. Both come with a 4-Point Score Improvement Guarantee, just like the Self-Paced Video ACT Prep Course.
Moreover, the guarantee covers a 100% refund in case the student fails to achieve the guaranteed score after completion of a course.
Princeton Review
- 96% of happy customers.
- Professional and Satisfaction Guarantees.
- Get access 550+ content flashcards for free.
- One of the oldest companies in the test prep industry.
According to the official records, more than 96% of students have improved their grades, and the site produced 5,000 on-demand sessions per school night. Money-back mode is enabled through a series of Princeton Review Guarantees, including Professional and Satisfaction Guarantees.
This is a rather unique and interesting solution where top teachers share their knowledge about topics available on this platform. If interested to participate, you can subscribe to the YouTube channel for free.
The list of extra resources continues with webinars, videos, proprietary LiveOnline tools, advice articles, and mobile apps. After downloading the free MCAT Flashcards App, students can learn on the go and access 550+ content flashcards.
Pricing & Courses Options Comparison
Customers have different kinds of needs, and Prep Expert or Princeton Review is here to address them all, or just some of them. Prices vary from package to package, just like materials and resources included.
Prep Expert
The first thing you need to do is choose between an SAP or an ACT course, so let’s guide you through the first one.
The left-hand menu is where you select a course you need – for example, a 6-Week Flagship.
There is a selection of at least 80-course instructors eligible to tutor you via Virtual Classroom. The course normally costs $1,499, but newbies are entitled to an automatically applied discount that lowers the price to $1,299.
Applying the same criteria to an 8-Week Capstone course ends with the same results, meaning that a tutor using a Live Online Virtual Classroom will charge you $1,299 for the entire course.
Students who want to get perfect or at least 99% scores also get an SAT Weekend Review Course included in the package.
Things are a bit different for shorter-term courses: a 4-Week PSAT has 6 tutors available and costs $799 after a discount is applied.
Generally, this course targets freshmen and sophomores looking their way into the National Merit Finals. The course implies 3-hour classes twice a week with exams and homework in between.
The site’s founder himself leads students through 30 hours of HD-videoed Self-Paced SAT Prep Course.
After enrolling for $499, you will get more than 100 strategies to learn anytime and any place. For about $16 per hour, students get year-long access to all materials. Of course, the guarantee is also applied to this course.
The provider also offers 4 different ACT Prep Courses. Again, the most popular is the 6-Week Flagship, and you can choose between 15 courses that cost $799.
Students and tutors meet twice a week for 3-hour long online lectures. If you want a longer course, there is an 8-Week Capstone that follows the same working routine and charges $1,299.
Dr. Shaan Patel MD MBA leads the Self-Paced 30-Hour ACT Prep Video Course, for which students will be charged $499. Lectures are taken from an online virtual classroom, and customers have 365-day access to this course.
Finally, it is possible to pick 1 out of 4 offered Weekend Preview courses in case of a last-minute crash course need before the test day.
To review all they need to know on the SAP or ACT, students meet with a tutor for 6 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday after paying a $299 fee.
Prep Expert organizes three Masterclasses for different audiences. Those seeking top 1% academic performance or want to improve grades and test scores can buy a MasterClass Package and get lifetime access to all materials.
The service costs $499. High-School students can invest $199 and receive 1-year access to Patel’s MasterClass materials.
This is where you can create an application strategy and make a difference from others. Also, the service includes essay edits and reviews, just like letters of recommendation and even campus visits.
Princeton Review
The most popular class you can take here is SAT 1400+, which guarantees a 1400+ score in just 2 months. It is available both online and in-person and normally charges $1,749, but after a code is applied by the system, the price goes down to $1,549.
Top-percentile instructors teach a 36-hour long course and offer AI-driven personalized practice drills. To enroll, you need to have a starting score of at least 1250.
Starting at $250 per hour and granting the most personalized approach, the SAT 1500+ tutoring is divided into multiple packages, so that students pick what’s best for them. The live online comprehensive tutoring that lasts for 18 hours costs $4,700, while targeted tutoring of 10 and 3 hours are charged $2,875 and $923, respectively.
Students get 2000+ practice questions, 240 online drills, 135+ expert-created interactive video classes, 25+ full-length practice tests, and interactive score reports. Exclusive textbooks and The College Board’s Official SAT Study Guide are also included.
The SAT Essentials cost $849 and include 18 hours of focused classroom sessions with unlimited access. You will get 135+ lessons created by experts, 3 auto-proctor scheduled practice tests, 8 single-length, and 23 full-length additional practice tests. The package implies tailored assignments, customizable study plans, and ACT prep materials.
The trademarked SAT & ACT Self-Paced course works as 1-on-1 tutoring, lasts for 10 hours, and costs $199. Students will get 377 online drills, 3200+ questions, a practice test, a Recommendation Engine produced by the Princeton Review team, and various online video lessons.
While this and tutoring options are in common, ACT tutoring also comes with tailored solutions. Available online and in-person, the ACT 31+ course combines an SAT self-paced prep with the ACT Advantage program.
After paying a $1,549 fee, you get 36+ hours of online classroom instructions, 4 scheduled tests, 24/7 tutoring, and a tailored study plan. Review and practice books are included too.
The ACT 34+ course guarantees you to score 34+ with the help of 135+ online drills, 1500+ practice questions, 10 tests, 100+ video lessons, and more.
The package starting price is $261 per hour, and you will receive expert materials such as the 1510+ ACT Practice Questions Review Book, unlimited LiveOnline classes, and 100+ interactive SAT lessons.
The ACT Prep Essentials is a package made of 100+ video lessons distributed through 18 hours of classroom time. Both single and full-length tests are within the package, just like assignments and study plans.
When it comes to Princeton Review’s ACT Private Tutoring, prospective clients need to make an inquiry and receive a response within a single business day. The personalized approach-ready program starts at $167 per hour and combines all the materials we discussed earlier.
Quality of Courses & Expertise of Teachers
Offered courses and prices are just empty words unless conducted by experts and professionals in the field.
In the Princeton Review Prep Expert, we questioned both real-people testimonies and CVs of tutors displayed on sites to check the value-for-money ratio.
Prep Expert
If you have any questions about the quality and standards teachers must meet, see the Prep Experts Review page. Here it is possible to read more about tutors and see their accomplishments as well as their working history.
Related to courses, real-life students share their experiences, and you’ll see one who earned $1.4 million in scholarships, another who made Ivy League dreams come true, and more.
Princeton Review
The site implements Google My Business reviewing tool where people who worked with tutors explain the good and bad sides if any. The tool works just like dealing with PrepScholar vs Princeton Review you can also read.
The site employs only educated professionals after a rigorous hiring process. All of them are accomplished scholars with degrees from top-ranked institutions.
So, when thinking about, for example, Kaplan vs Princeton, you will have enough information to make a value-based decision.
Main Disadvantages of the Platforms
Sometimes a client needs to address certain drawbacks to get a bigger picture.
Luckily, we haven’t found so many of them to say Princeton Review or Prep Expert will significantly deteriorate your user experience.
Prep Expert
Credit and debit cards are the only payment method accepted here. Some students still prefer e-wallets such as PayPal or Payoneer, so this may turn them away.
Princeton Review
We found the site overwhelms a first-comer with information that could and should be structured in a more user-friendly manner.
People can waste too much time looking for a proper service instead of following a set of straightforward steps.
Verdict
Now, after a thorough PrepExpert vs Princeton Review research, we can say that it looks like platforms target a bit different audience. PrepExpert seems more focused on SAP, while Princeton Review excels in ACT tutoring. The price range also varies, so students on a budget are more likely to go with PrepExpert.
As for user-friendliness and payments, PrepExpert is more intuitive, but if you like Princeton Review better, they will offer more methods to get you charged.
FAQ
Which prep course is better, PrepExpert or Princeton Review?
The search results largely depend on your preferences. If you want to compare Princeton Review tutors and Prep Expert online tutoring, make sure to consider their experience, education, and real-people reviews.
Both sides offer occasional discounts so that sometimes an expensive course can be found at a more affordable price.
What’s the difference between Princeton Review and PrepExpert?
PrepExpert relies on a larger base of tutors and offers many variations of SAT courses. Now for the other part of the story, Princeton Review pays more attention to ACT and includes private tutoring too.
They also offer other courses apart from those two.
