Our Competition

Things you should know about before you devote your time and money to any test-prep company.

I get a lot of emails from prospective students who want to know what sets my company apart from other test-prep companies, particularly from other online test-prep companies.

I don't like answering these emails, to be honest, because I don't like having to discuss other companies. I would rather just tell you why I think our approach is great, and provide examples of that approach in action. It's hard for me to talk about other test prep companies and remain professional.

Still, I get asked these questions enough that I think it's worth answering them here. Unfortunately, these are things you need to know if you want to raise your scores and save your time (and money).

Here are some of the things that set us apart:

• For one thing, we don't demonstrate our strategies by using them against questions we made up ourselves. We always show you that they work on questions written by the real testmakers, and we invite you to try them out against real test questions on your own.

• We don't copy testing advice, testing material, or any other content and pass it off as our own work. Don't even get me started on this one. (The funniest part about this is that even when competitors copy my test-taking approach, they tend to copy it wrong, because they don't do their homework.)

• I don't recycle test advice when it's inappropriate. For example, many test-prep companies use exactly the same approach to reading comprehension questions no matter which test they're on. But the fact is, if you really analyze the tests' unwritten rules and patterns, you see that the SAT, LSAT, and GRE have different reading comprehension sections, even if they appear similar to a casual observer. The two tests require very different approaches, but some companies just copy-and-paste sections from one book into another. Either they're too dumb to notice what's really going on, or they think you are.

• We don't use empty score guarantees, either. Many companies "guarantee" your score will increase by a certain amount--but good luck trying to find anyone who's collected on that guarantee! The fact is that no company can absolutely guarantee you a particular score, just as no coach can absolutely guarantee a particular performance from a player. The test-taker is ultimately responsible for the score, just as the players are ultimately responsible for their own performance. Other companies know this, and qualify their "guarantees" with lots of fine print that keeps you from collecting on them when your score doesn't go up. Our guarantee, on the other hand, is simple and direct: Look over our materials after you receive them, and if you don't think they'll work for you, you get your money back. If you had a product you believed in, isn't that the guarantee you'd use?

• Our student quotes are never invented or coerced. The large test-prep company I used to work for would offer incentives to students in return for testimonials--worse yet, some smaller online companies actually invent testimonials, or recycle them from one test to another.

• Our company has a white paper and a manifesto--two documents that spell out our positions on test-prep, customer service, and integrity. We're the only test-prep company I know of with strategies advanced enough to make a white paper possible.

• Grammatix, Inc. offers an iron-clad satisfaction guarantee, and uses a third-party payment processor to protect clients. If you don't feel like we're providing the service you expected, you can call our payment processor and they'll be more than happy to issue your refund. (Of course, the need for that would never arise, but it's always good to know you have a backup, just in case.)

• The biggest thing that sets our company apart, though, is that we offer personal help to every student. When you buy one of our Guides, you can ask me questions about your test for as long as you need help, and I'll always provide the best advice around. Even if most authors or local tutors could provide that kind of help, there's no way they'd charge so little for it.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Of course, other test-prep companies may give you different advice about what to look for. It's up to you to decide what's important to you.

Like I always say, see for yourself . . .

>>Now you know some of the things to look out for when you choose a test-prep company. Tread carefully, and always see for yourself . . .