Kate Fisher Tutoring

Kate Fisher Tutoring Personalized one-on-one tutoring for SAT, ACT, SSAT, ISEE, AP exams, executive function, & academic enrichment. Based in NYC, serving families locally & online.

Empowering students to exceed goals with expert guidance & proven strategies.

The SAT is May 2nd. Percent problems show up every test and most students get them wrong for the same reason — they try ...
04/23/2026

The SAT is May 2nd. Percent problems show up every test and most students get them wrong for the same reason — they try to do the math in their heads instead of using a system.

The system: pick 100. No starting number in the problem? Use 100. Percent means out of 100, so it makes every step simple arithmetic.

This carousel walks through four problem types you'll see on test day:
→ Percent change (and the trap answer the SAT sets for you)
→ Stacked discounts (why you can't just add the percents)
→ Up-then-down (why 20% up then 20% down isn't a wash)
→ Chained percents (the "a is X% greater than b" format)

Each one uses the same shortcut. Each one takes under a minute.

Comment PERCENT and I'll DM you my percentages guide with more practice problems and shortcuts.

ACT scores are out. Before you do anything with that number, look at three things.Your composite is the average of Engli...
04/22/2026

ACT scores are out. Before you do anything with that number, look at three things.
Your composite is the average of English, Math, and Reading now. Science is separate. Each section is a full third of your score, so one weak area pulls harder than it used to.

When you open your report:
→ Skip the composite. Look at your sections first.
→ If any section is 3+ points below your highest, that's where your points are.
→ Most colleges superscore — they take your best from each sitting.
→ You don't have to beat everything next time. Just what was off.

June ACT registration deadline is May 8. If you're even considering it, register now. You can cancel later.

Comment RETAKE and I'll DM you my guide on whether retaking makes sense and how to plan it.

04/20/2026

ACT scores come out tomorrow. Before you Google "is a 28 good enough" — your composite is an average of three section scores. Two students can both have a 28 and need different prep. The section breakdown matters more than the number at the top of the page.

When you open your report:
→ Find any section 3+ points below your highest
→ That gap is where your points are
→ Most colleges superscore — they take your best section from each sitting
→ You only need to improve what was off

Comment SUPERSCORE and I'll send you my superscore guide. It covers what to look at and whether a retake makes sense in terms of college admissions.

04/16/2026

Digital ACT scores are out today.

If you or your child took the digital version this month, you’re probably staring at a number right now.

Before you sign up for the next test date, figure out what this one is telling you. Is it a content gap, a pacing issue, a stamina thing, or the wrong test altogether?

Then check whether the colleges on your list will actually use an improvement the way you think they will. A lot of them superscore. Some of the ones your kid wants most don’t.

Comment SUPERSCORE and I’ll send you the full breakdown.

04/10/2026

If you're taking the ACT tomorrow, here's what I tell all my students the night before.

Stop studying new material. You're not going t 👉o learn anything new tonight that sticks. What you CAN do is look back at the questions you got wrong in practice and remind yourself what tripped you up.

Then print your ticket, set out everything you need, and go to bed at a normal time. Sleep matters more than one extra hour of review.

Tomorrow during the test: if you're stuck on a question for more than a minute, move on. Pick one letter to guess with when you have no idea (just be consistent) and keep going. The points you can get are more important than the ones you can't.

One thing that catches a lot of students off guard: the early math questions feel easy because it's stuff you learned in 7th grade. But that's exactly why people mess them up. They move too fast and make careless mistakes.

If you want a quick refresher tonight, I put together free guides for ACT Math and ACT Grammar. You can download both at https://www.katefishertutoring.com/resources.html

03/11/2026

If you have a sophomore at an independent school in New York City, the SAT/ACT conversation probably just started to feel real.

That timing is actually typical here. In NYC, many families begin the process in spring of sophomore year with diagnostic tests.

The general timeline tends to look like this:

Sophomore spring → diagnostics
Summer → prep
Junior fall → testing

Finishing testing early gives students the chance to focus on what really matters during junior year: grades, extracurriculars, leadership, and recommendations.

There’s another reason families should approach the process with fresh eyes right now: both exams have changed significantly.

• The SAT went fully digital in 2024
• The ACT launched a major redesign in 2025

A lot of the advice circulating among parents is already outdated.

The most useful first step is simple: have your student take a full-length diagnostic of both tests. The results usually make the SAT vs ACT decision much clearer.

I explain the differences between the exams and how the NYC testing timeline typically works in my latest Substack post: katefishertutoring.substack.com

03/04/2026

Attention NYC parents applying to private school for fall 2027 — there are things about the ISEE that will catch you off guard if no one tells you first. 👆 Watch this before you’re behind.

This is what high school admissions season looks like in my texts and inbox.The Upper Level ISEE and SSAT are genuinely ...
02/25/2026

This is what high school admissions season looks like in my texts and inbox.

The Upper Level ISEE and SSAT are genuinely hard tests. We’re talking 8th graders doing math they’ve never seen, vocabulary that assumes reading habits most kids don’t have. The prep is intense. The stakes feel real. And then one Friday in March, the emails start coming in.

Different students, different tutors, different schools. Same week.

So proud of this team. 💛

01/19/2026

ACT and SAT practice tests are data. Review is the score-mover. ”

01/15/2026

ACT Reading: how to do line-number questions fast (proof hunt). Go to the line, read a few lines above/below, prove the answer.

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