ScoreSmarter was built on a simple belief: every student deserves honest, accessible guidance when investing in their test prep. Here's who we are and how we evaluate courses.
10 Years in Education Technology
After a decade working in education technology, I've seen firsthand how the test prep industry can be both transformative and exploitative. I've watched students invest thousands of dollars in courses that weren't right for them — not because the courses were bad, but because they didn't have the information to make an informed choice.
I believe in lowering barriers and making test prep more equitable and accessible. Too many students — especially first-generation college students and those from underserved communities — lack access to the guidance that helps them navigate the overwhelming number of prep options available today.
My goal with ScoreSmarter is simple: ensure no funds are wasted and that students can make informed decisions about investing in themselves. Whether you're preparing for the MCAT, LSAT, DAT, ACT, SAT, GRE, or GMAT, you deserve to know exactly what you're getting before you commit your time and money. Every student should also be able to maximize all reduced tuition opportunities available to them.
That's why every review on this site is transparent about pricing, honest about limitations, and focused on helping you find the course that fits your situation — not the one that pays us the highest commission.
Every student deserves access to quality test prep information, regardless of budget. We highlight free and affordable options alongside premium courses.
We disclose all affiliate relationships and never let them influence our rankings. A course earns its position through merit, not commission rates.
We believe the best course is the one that fits your learning style, budget, and goals — not necessarily the most expensive one.
Test prep is an investment in your future. Our goal is to ensure every dollar you spend moves you closer to your target score.
Every course on ScoreSmarter is evaluated across five standardized dimensions. Each dimension is scored on a 1–5 scale, and the overall score is a weighted average. This methodology is applied consistently across all exam types and providers, regardless of affiliate relationships.
We evaluate adaptive learning engines, analytics dashboards, mobile accessibility, and how well the platform uses technology to personalize your study experience.
We assess the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and clarity of course materials — including video lessons, practice questions, and study guides — against actual exam content.
We look at instructor qualifications, teaching methodology, and whether the course builds genuine understanding or relies on surface-level tricks.
We compare pricing against what you actually get — access duration, included materials, score guarantees, and refund policies. A $2,000 course isn't automatically better than a $200 one.
We evaluate the quality and quantity of practice tests, the realism of test simulations, and how well the platform tracks and reports your progress.
ScoreSmarter earns revenue through affiliate partnerships with some of the courses we review. This means we may receive a commission when you purchase a course through our links. However, this never influences our rankings or scores. Courses are evaluated on merit alone, and we regularly recommend free options like Khan Academy SAT when they're the best fit. For full details, see our Affiliate Disclosure.