SAT tutoring
8th grade through junior year
A diagnostic first, then we work only on what is actually costing points. Average gain is 180 points, and you see the practice scores move every week.
Learn moreMeet The Founder
I've put students into McCombs, Grainger, Berkeley, Cornell, Rice and Vanderbilt. I founded Arka Academy, where 15+ tutors have now taught 1500+ students, and running it at that volume is how I learned exactly what moves a score and what wastes a semester. Every semester I keep 15 spots on my own calendar and teach those students myself, start to finish.
Spots are opening for Spring 2027
Arjun Manda
- 1500+ students taught at Arka Academy
- 180 point average SAT gain
- 5.0 from 76+ reviews
My students were admitted to
Why hundreds of parents and students recommend me
-
I started working with Arjun the summer before senior year, convinced my essay was finished because my English teacher had given it a 98. He told me, kindly, that nothing in it could only be about me. We cut the first two paragraphs and rebuilt it around my grandmother's weekly pill organizer, which I never would have considered essay material. He also caught that McCombs BHP requires a separate application with its own essay, two weeks before the deadline. I was admitted to BHP.
Ananya R. Accepted to UT Austin McCombs (BHP), Rice, Emory, Georgia Tech
-
My practice scores sat at 1390 for three months before I started with Arjun. I scored a 1540 on the real test.
Rohan M.
-
We spent almost a year at a tutoring center in Frisco and our daughter moved from 1240 to 1280. Arjun did a single diagnostic and found she was losing most of her points in the first math module, not on the difficult questions as we had assumed. Eleven sessions later she scored 1470. I only wish we had started with him.
Meena S.
-
Arjun helped me understand that getting into a school and getting into its computer science program are two separate problems. We built my list around that, and I was admitted to Grainger for CS.
Karthik V. Accepted to UIUC Grainger (CS), Texas A&M Engineering, UT Dallas
- 15+ tutors I trained at Arka Academy
- 150 students I have taught myself
- 15 spots on my calendar each semester
How I've helped hundreds of students
I founded Arka Academy. 15+ tutors, 1500+ students taught, and admits at McCombs, Grainger, Berkeley, Cornell, Rice and Vanderbilt.
At that volume you see the patterns. The same few things cost students points, and they are almost never what the student thinks. In the first week I can tell you what your kid needs to fix and what their score should be by test day.
Most families at Arka get one of my tutors. I trained them and they are good. But I keep 15 spots a semester on my own calendar and teach those students myself.
You see the diagnostic, the target, and the practice scores as they move. Nothing about the semester is a guess.
Spots are opening for Spring 2027
Most popular services
I've personally worked with over 150 students to raise their SAT scores and coach them into their dream schools.
College admissions consulting
Start any time, it picks up in junior year
The essays are where this is won. Thousands of applicants have your kid's scores and grades. The essay is the only part they control, so I work the drafts until it lands, then build the list around it, for ApplyTexas and the Common App.
Learn moreFrom first call to test day
-
A free consultation call
Thirty minutes on where your kid is and what is realistic. If it is not a fit, I will tell you.
-
A diagnostic test
A full practice test in Bluebook, the app used on test day, to find exactly what is costing points.
-
Weekly sessions
Focused only on those weak spots, with regular retests so you can see the score move.
-
Get the result
Test day, with a score that reflects the work and a strong base for college applications.
Book your free 30-minute call
Pick a time. We go over where your kid is now and what to work on first. 15 spots for Spring 2027.
[Calendly booking calendar]
Frequently asked questions
Do you tutor in person or online?
Both, and plenty of my students are online only. In person across Plano, Frisco, Coppell, Allen and the surrounding suburbs, and online anywhere in Texas or out of state. Online works better than most people expect for test prep, since the digital SAT is taken on a laptop anyway.
Do you do the ACT as well as the SAT?
Yes. If your kid has not sat both, working out which one suits them is part of the first diagnostic. The two tests reward different things, and the gap between them is often worth more points than months of prep on the wrong one.
When should we start?
For the SAT, sophomore spring or the summer before junior year leaves room for two sittings without cramming. For applications, junior spring. Later than that still works. It just narrows what we can change.
What if the score does not move?
The diagnostic is what makes this predictable rather than hopeful. Once I have seen it, you get a realistic target and a session count before you commit to anything.
Whose words end up in the essays?
Your kid's. I ask questions, push back on whatever is vague or borrowed, and edit for structure. I do not write essays for students. Admissions officers read thousands of these and can tell.
Our high school already has a counselor. Why would we need you?
School counselors are good at their job. They are also juggling several hundred students each, which means they do not have time for your kid specifically. And they do not sit down and work through essay drafts, build a list against a specific major, or track a practice score week to week. That is where I come in.