Scoring higher on college entrance exams is all about the prep.

College entrance exams. The mere thought can evoke terror in the heart of the most confident student. Fear not, says Varun Tewari, owner of Victory Step Test Prep, an educational company with locations in Dallas and Plano. “The ACT and SAT are boring, so half the battle is making it through the test,” Varun says with a chuckle.

Victory Step provides exam preparation for the ACT and SAT, academic tutoring for grades 6 through 12, and prepares college students for the GRE and GMAT exams. Students receive one-on-one tutoring at their home or in small classes at one of Tewari’s locations. CBS News ranked Victory Step as one of the Top 5 Best Test Prep and Tutoring Companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Tewari says Victory Step stands above the rest due to:

1. Quality tutors. Victory Step only hires those who scored in the top 2% on the SAT or ACT.

2. Engaging instructors who make the process interesting.

3. A thorough, individualized curriculum formulated to strengthen weaknesses based on the results of an initial practice test.

4. Reasonably priced instruction. 

“Our objective is that students are happy with their results. That only happens with practice.” Tewari says Victory Step “puts students in the ‘test zone’ to help build endurance. They must be mentally and physically prepared to perform their absolute best.” That includes proper sleep, eating breakfast on test day and being ready to tackle the exam.

As a general rule of thumb, college entrance depends on 20% extracurricular activities, 35% GPA and 45% standardized test scores, yet the allocation of study hours is not equitable. “Over the course of high school, students study about 400-500 hours for extracurricular activities, about 4000-5000 hours to achieve their GPA, and only about 4 hours for the ACT or SAT without test preparation,” says Tewari. To combat study deficiency for standardized exams, Victory Step provides 50 hours class time plus 50 hours homework.

Tewari measures his success by satisfied customers and referrals. Plano mom, Sheree Rose says her son’s ACT Composite score climbed 5 points after attending Victory Step. (The Composite score ranges from 1 [low] to 36 [high] and is the average of the four ACT test scores: English, Math, Reading and Science.) “I wish I had used Victory Step for all my kids. They have a gift for teaching and motivating.”

Tewari says summer is a great time to prepare for the ACT and SAT. “It’s a good time to retain more material. It’s a slow and steady approach without distractions like AP exams or school year extracurriculars.”

“Summer is a great time to prepare for the ACT and SAT.  It’s a good time to retain more material….without distractions like AP exams or school year extracurriculars.” –

– Varun Tewari, owner of Victory Step Test Prep