Fairfax Collegiate Test Prep
Be confident on test day—and prepared for what comes next.
SAT Prep: The Hard Problems
Level Up, and Max Your Score
Already scoring above a 1200? Most high school students raise their ceiling faster in a live classroom than on another online video course.
Do you already know what's covered on the SAT? Have you taken a prep course, worked through practice tests, and done well in school? You need a course that takes you to the next level—not another self-paced module covering Easy and Medium questions you already know.
Why Practice Hard Problems In Person?
The College Board ranks SAT questions by difficulty: Easy, Medium, and Hard. If you are scoring at least a 600 in Math and/or Reading and Writing, you are ready to practice exclusively with Hard-level problems.
Those hardest questions are exactly where online-only prep falls short. Watching a recorded explanation is not the same as working a Hard problem with an instructor who can see where you get stuck, challenge your approach, and push your pacing. Fairfax Collegiate's in-person Hard Problems course gives strong students that live feedback—alongside peers who are aiming just as high.
If you have also mastered math through Algebra II, and your reading skills are past typical high school level, you should be studying with the most difficult problems the SAT has to offer. Every SAT skill is covered with Hard-level problems for group and individual practice, so you improve both accuracy and speed.
Enroll in a school-year Hard Problems section and prepare where serious students get coached—not just streamed content.
What Will You Learn?
Overall Goals
- Reinforce strategies for all question types at the Hard difficulty level to improve accuracy and speed
- Develop a study plan aimed at your target score—often 1400 and above
- Pinpoint strengths and gaps so your studying stays efficient
Reading and Writing
- Information and Ideas: Find main ideas and details, identify evidence, and draw inferences
- Craft and Structure: Build vocabulary, identify purpose, and connect ideas across passages
- Expression of Ideas: Create clear transitions and tailor writing to a goal
- Standard English Conventions: Master grammar and punctuation under Hard-problem pressure
Math
- Algebra: Solve linear equations, systems, and inequalities
- Advanced Math: Work with quadratic and exponential functions and equations
- Problem-Solving and Data Analysis: Handle units, percentages, probability, and statistics
- Geometry: Calculate angles, triangle and circle measurements, area, volume, and trigonometric ratios
Course Content
Class time is evenly divided between the Reading and Writing and the Math sections of the SAT. Students practice Hard problems in each topic throughout the class sessions, take practice tests to gauge progress, and complete targeted practice to master the toughest question types.
We help you identify specific review goals and design an individual study plan. That plan integrates live content review, interactive problem discussions, The Official SAT Study Guide, practice problems, practice tests, and key online resources.
School-Year Locations
During the school year, SAT Prep: The Hard Problems meets on weekday evenings at convenient Northern Virginia high schools:
Still building foundations? Start with Complete SAT Prep, then move up to Hard Problems when you are ready to push past 1400.
Find an in-person Hard Problems section near you—and take your score to the next level with coaching you cannot get from a screen alone.
Looking for summer options? Explore our Summer SAT Prep courses as well.