We get 8th graders accepted to private high schools

No. We will do our best to open another section of class once the day and time you want fills up but that is not always possible. The best way to ensure you get the day and time you need is to enroll early before summer.

Yes. Our Early Enrollment discount before June 1 is discounted $200. Early enrollments help us avoid an influx of last-minute enrollments we have to turn away because we don’t have enough instructors. Enrolling early allows us to plan our hiring and training of instructors over the summer so we turn away as few students as possible and are able to keep our class sizes low.

We also offer a $50 dollar discount for each student who signs up based on your referral.  Every year we have parents significantly reduce the cost of the program by becoming a Gallagher Prep Champion at their school and referring multiple students.

All our classes are taught via Zoom with a low average class size of 5 so the instructor see the students at all times and makes sure they are engaged and participating.

Over the years, as our program became more and more popular, and private schools became more competitive, we became inundated with families who just wanted a free exam and a few pointers. Luckily there are more free online resources for test prep than ever before.

We work with families that are looking for a comprehensive approach to the admissions process rather than just a test prep course of tips and tricks (although we have a few of those too;) These parents recognize that they will be investing tens of thousands of dollars in their child’s education and want to unlock the best options by getting the most acceptances they can. These families are looking for the security and comprehensive advantage in the admissions process which unfortunately is not as straightforward as it should be. Although we get great results, we can’t guarantee admission, but we can guarantee to give your student the best chance. That all starts with the Admissions Consultation and getting the right ECs.

We do it because we’re very concerned about results and acceptances. Kids starting the Fall program with deficiencies that we uncover in the diagnostic exam will be at a disadvantage and quickly fall behind and become discouraged. To remedy this, we implemented the summer program to remedy deficiencies and put students in a position to succeed. About 15% of students will attend our summer program to get ramped up for the Fall.

No. Best practice in test prep is to prep right up until you take the exam. A student who does prep months before taking the exam really isn’t going to score as well as they would if they would prep right up until they take the course. Unfortunately, like any other skill, we forget if we’re not in the material consistently right up until we take the test.

We do not handle sophomore admissions because the process is less competitive and varies widely by school. What we find is that, depending on the school, often it is easier to transfer in as a sophomore and schools will use your previous test score when you re-apply. The reason is that each year, students will leave and there are openings for students to transfer in. While it’s easier to get in as a sophomore in general, it’s less desirable because students have already made friends as freshman and leaving a freshman class to a new school can be challenging.

Unfortunately, we do not offer sibling discounts because our costs are the same for each student.

We do not offer scholarships. That said, having a good application to the schools will ensure your best possibility at getting a merit or needs-based scholarship through the schools you’re applying to.

We regularly have students score in 99th percentile nationally because our proprietary test prep curriculum is the best and we offer more hours of instruction with the lowest class size of any program.  Our test prep truly is exceptional for these reasons.

However, the reason we are better than other elite programs is that they don't handle the essays, interviews, ECs or letters of recommendation.  By working on all of these critical areas together, we get far and away more acceptances than any other program.

A lot of these free classes offered by schools are just focused on test prep largely and the courses are far too short and often taught from an off-the-shelf-book. Our course is 39 hours of live instruction and practice plus 3 full-length practice tests. Then we also focus on the other elements of admissions: interviews, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation and essays.

All of our classes are recorded for students to review the class they missed and complete the work.

We focus on more than just the test. We focus on every aspect of the admissions process.

Much like choosing which college to attend, being able to choose which high school to attend is an opportunity. Attending with friends is great but it’s also a bigger decision than that. Which school has extracurriculars that are going to develop your student into a more competitive college applicant? Which school has the right overall social fit? What about the commute? We encourage families to explore all the options so at the end, even if the student decides to stay in their same school, they feel confident that they explored all the options available and they feel excited at the school they will be attending. At the end of the day, that is the peace of mind we get to with families. Compare that to other families we hear from every year who got rejected because they didn’t really prepare and weren’t able to create the opportunities.

We realize that kids are already burdened with lots of homework. So during the last hour of class, kids work on homework and get it completed before the end of the class. They’re able to ask questions just like a student would if they were staying after class with the teacher to ask questions and get work completed. That way, parents and students aren’t worried about getting the homework completed during the week.

It depends on the learning difference. Every year we do work with students who are allotted extra time on the exam. However, this must be negotiated with the school/testing center where you will be taking the exam and documentation is required before the test. If your student has a professional diagnosis following your state guidelines make sure and check that diagnosis falls within a valid window of time. Many schools want a diagnosis within the last 18 months but it depends on the school. So a diagnosis recieved in the 6th grade may not work to get extra time. We advise all parents to start looking into this at the time of the admissions conference.

Yes! The key is having low-class sizes where the teacher has a view of every student at all times and can engage them and make sure they participate. Our class sizes average 5 so our teachers can really work with the students and make sure they are engaged during each class and get individual attention.

Yes. We work with students from all 50 states.

Yes. Each year we see students applying internationally to private schools in the US who take our courses.