PrincetonReview vs PrepScholar: Detailed ACT and SAT Comparison

Overall Comparison: Princeton vs PrepScholar

ACT and SAT Features of Providers for Students

User Interface

The Princeton Review’s user interface is excellent and fairly intuitive. There is little space for mistakes with their mobile apps and online websites.

PrepScholar is the epitome of simplicity, with just three tabs on the top navigation bar and a very straightforward interface.

The design is simple and clear. The dashboard links to your core learning resources, the strategy tab links to your strategy courses, and the progress tab link to the progress tracking aspect of the website.

Supplemental Study Resources

Princeton provides a few online materials, in addition to the essential parts of your course, some of which are helpful and some of course materials which are not.

The SAT Advantage sessions are by far the most beneficial of these optional extras. These additional lectures are available to view both in-person and on-demand online.

Keep in mind that “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

These classes drill down into in-depth review and testing techniques, touching on a wide range of subjects. You are allowed to ask questions when your tutor delves into the specifics of a certain scenario.

It’s just one more chance to speak with a Princeton Review subject-matter expert and gain additional insight.

Princeton Review Refund Policy

Princeton also boasts a very generous refund policy. If you purchase one of their prep products and are not satisfied with it, you can generally return it within 7 days for a full refund (minus shipping costs).

Princeton Review: How Is It Better than PrepScholar?

There’s a big difference between the Princeton Review or PrepScholar.

TPR was founded in 1981 and now operates on a large scale, employing over 4000 teachers and tutors in the United States and Canada. It offers a wide variety of various prep classes and courses for all kinds of standardized tests.

In all their courses they offer, you’ll find self-prep courses, live-online courses, in-person classes, and intensive boot camps, all designed to give you lots of intensive preparation before college admissions start.

Princeton Review is seen as a premium brand on the market, but its prices are more or less the same as other ones from the competition.

PrepScholar: How Is It Better than Princeton Review?

PrepScholar’s complete SAT online prep course costs less, at $397. The materials appear to have only recently been revised from the old to the new complete SAT online prep one; thus, they may still be a little stale.

The best part of this course is that it offers you access to over 700 videos in which knowledgeable instructors walk you through practice problems one at a time and provide thorough explanations.

Additionally, at the start of the course, you would need to complete a diagnostic questionnaire as well full length practice tests such as PARCC practice tests for standardized exams.

However, compared to the enormous number of resources you’ll receive from Princeton Review, that still doesn’t amount to much.

First, a knowledgeable educator who received an SAT score in the 99th percentile will tutor you throughout.

Second, you will have 24/7 on-demand tutoring available to you. Anytime you get stuck with any question, you can reach out to your assigned teacher and get a response within a couple of hours.

Moreover, with TPR, you will take a ton of practice tests for successful in SAT prep courses. The best thing is that 4 of them are proctored, which means you will have to complete them under the watchful eye of your instructor.

This is a great way to reduce exam-related anxiety because you’ll get a good idea of the actual exam. You will also receive 20 more practice exams to help you improve your SAT score.

Overall, TPR’s “1400+” is what I would suggest if you’re searching for a great day program that will ensure a good score.

Pricing Comparison

Quality of Learning and Value for Money

PrepScholar

PrepScholar features more than 2,500 ACT practice tests and 7,100 SAT practical sessions combined.

Between the two practice tests, that comes to roughly 10,000 practice questions. to admit, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see the answers to all of these practice tests.

Simply said, there’s just a lot to cover. I appreciate PrepScholar providing this incredible number of questions, but chances are, you won’t ever need them.

After finishing the questions, you must go through the problems. Each question is accompanied by a written explanation that fully explains the problem. The degree of depth that these detailed explanations provide is amazing.

Many other SAT and ACT prep companies just briefly explain why the correct answer option is the best choice in a few phrases.

But I particularly enjoyed how the PrepScholar explanations are like mini-courses in and of themselves.

Your quiz results will determine if you have mastered the material or still need further Tutoring. The lesson is rotated back into the schedule to be reviewed afterward until you have grasped the subject.

PrepScholar takes no chances and wants to guarantee that you pass each module before you finish.

You move on to the following module in your list whenever you’ve done reviewing a certain subject. And until you can satisfactorily pass all your courses, the process typically proceeds in this manner.

Although it takes great effort, it also seems to go quickly. Since every learning module takes no more than 60 minutes or so, you’ll be able to make significant headway after plugging away for just a month or so.

Prepscholar will recommend that you take your first standardized mock exam after your first 6 lessons. This exam is conducted like the real thing.

Once you’re done, you’ll be fed feedback on your progress.

If you decide to submit your essay for evaluation, any of Prepscholar’s battalion of experts will give you feedback on it.

Don’t lose heart if you don’t score as high as you want.

This particular exam is meant full length practice tests to be taken after your first few lessons to get you familiar with how the real exam goes.

Princeton Review

One of the best comprehensive SAT preparation curricula is the prep books offered by Princeton Review.

Princeton Review goes beyond the 60 hours of study that most other prep books and companies estimate you need to prepare for the SAT.

Princeton Review provides more than 140+ video lessons and lectures, 240 exercises, 2,000 practice questions, hundreds of practice exams, and maybe some degree of classroom teaching, depending on your chosen program.

But it is not just the sheer quantity of test prep materials and resources that impressed me with Princeton’s curriculum. More so than anything, I like the structure of the Princeton Review SAT course.

At the outset, Princeton prompts you to enter which days of the week you can study and for how long. You also enter your long-term SAT (and college) goals and take a diagnostic practice test.

Ideally “The aim of the college, for the individual student, is to eliminate the need in his life for the college; the task is to help him become a self-educated man.” – George Horace Lorimer.

They use this data to create a customized study plan for you that takes into account your goals, time constraints, and starting skill level. This personalized study plan also changes as you go forward in your job.

You are instructed to work on learning modules covering particular SAT themes within your study schedule, which may be accessible through the dashboard of your web platform.

Each of these study modules may be finished in around 30 minutes.

You will thus be given one study block on Thursday if you inform Princeton that you can study for 30 minutes on Thursdays.

Additionally, they will give you three blocks on Sundays if you inform them you can study for 1.5 hours on that day. You see what I mean.

Your study plan charts your progress through the course material and is regularly updated in light of your schedule and overall course performance.

These study units serve as the building blocks of your preparation program. Each study unit is broken down into two parts: a “Learn” component and a “Practice” component.

The unit’s Learn section handles the instructional tasks and imparts the knowledge you need to know to you.

This component generally takes the form of a module consisting of slides, a video, detailed lesson plans, and drills. You open the module from your dashboard, and it pops up right in the same window.

Main Disadvantages of the Platforms

PrepScholar

• No Mobile App.

Unfortunately, PrepScholar does not offer a mobile app like many of its competitors do. Given that they are a 100% online course, it would be nice to see them provide a mobile-based application as many students like to study from their phones.

And with how busy today’s high schoolers are, it would be beneficial to slip in some studying between school and extracurriculars. So, this is a little disappointing.

• It might be challenging to choose the ideal tutor.
• It is among the priciest exam preparation methods, sometimes costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Princeton Review

• Lack of good in-person, classroom courses.
• Sometimes classes get canceled, and you have to wait for another date.
• Slightly higher prices than the competition.
• It sometimes lacks prompt customer service.
• You won’t always get a teacher with many years of experience.
• Access to the online platform could be a bit longer (usually, it’s around 4 months).

FAQ

Is PrepScholar or Princeton Review better?

We rate the prep courses from both PrepScholar and Princeton Review extremely high but, ultimately, see PrepScholar as having the better overall SAT and ACT prep program.

Is PrepScholar good?

This is a fantastic alternative if you’re seeking adaptable, thorough courses with individualized help and confident score-increase promises.

Is PrepScholar SAT worth it?

Yes. PrepScholar offers and delivers adequately on its score increases assurances.

Is Princeton Review a Good Website?

A comprehensive program is offered by PrepScholar, which ought to be effective for most college aspirants. PrepScholar outperforms on the study materials front with several hours of coursework, thousands of problems, and 14 total mock exams.