Hello & welcome! I am so excited you’re here to discover a different way to prepare for the ACT and SAT.
Higher Scores Test Prep is a family-owned and operated company.
Think of us as your friendly neighborhood test prep company that just happens to live on the internet.
If you call, email, or contact us on Facebook, you’ll hear back from me. With more than a decade of experience helping families through this process, I am more than happy to answer your questions as you plan your testing path.
If you order one of our Complete Package programs, your books will be packed and shipped by my mom, Francine. (It’s crazy how fast she gets your package to the post office!)
And if you take any of our online ACT prep or SAT prep programs, you’ll meet my dad, Bob. He’s our CFO and my co-host for the bonus workshop Cash for College included in each of our test prep programs at no extra charge.
Our company is a family endeavor and the test prep journey is too.
At Higher Scores Test Prep, everything we create is designed to support the student who is preparing to test as well as the family who is helping their child on the journey to college.
It’s our Whole Student, Whole Family support system.
Here’s how it works…
Whole Student Support
A lot of students think they’re bad test takers. The thought of any exam causes their palms to prickle with sweat and their hearts to race.
Even students who don’t think they’re bad test takers are often flummoxed by their first ACT or SAT results. They felt pretty good about their first efforts, but are totally disheartened when the score arrives.
Most students have never dedicated any time to learning how to logically approach a multiple choice test. Some have figured it out through trial and error. Most think there is something wrong them.
Every test prep course I teach is designed to teach students what to expect from the sneaky test makers and show them how to dodge the tricks and traps they lay.
Getting higher ACT & SAT scores isn’t just about remembering the right fact at the right time. It’s also about arming students with test-specific strategies to help them boost their confidence and navigate the inherent uncertainty of these exams.
Every one of my courses does just that.
I continue to take the ACT & SAT as an adult. Taking the tests regularly not only helps me assess the shifts going on within the exams so I can add supplemental lessons to my courses if needed, it also makes me a compassionate teacher.
So when I’m giving guidance in the personalized Q&A videos included in my Quick Prep and Complete Package programs, I’m able to speak to the whole student experience since I’ve been through it recently myself – sweaty palms and all!
Whole Family Support
As a tutor, I was charging $250 an hour for my services. I knew that my prices were prohibitively high for many families, but I wanted to find a way to share my strategies that were getting my students incredible results at a more reasonable price.
I tried hiring additional tutors but realized that I couldn’t effectively pass on all that I had learned in 10+ years as a test prep tutor. So I decided to create online courses.
By going online, I was able to keep my price point low. None of my courses costs more than 2 hours of tutoring – and that’s by design.
I want all families to be able to provide their students with the opportunity to work with an expert and get their higher scores on the ACT or SAT.
But there’s another piece to the testing puzzle that most test prep companies don’t help with…
The way we see it, if you’re investing in test prep as a family and your child is working hard to boost his or her scores, we should show you how to earn that investment back in free tuition money.
To that end, every course I create includes the Cash for College workshop – a 1 hour family course designed to show you how to turn your child’s test scores into free tuition money.
These tactics aren’t reserved for 99th percentile scorers. All families can leverage the lessons taught in the program to earn the cost of their prep course (and much more!) back in free tuition dollars.
(Seriously. This student earned $160,000. How cool is that?)
Next steps…
Sadly, a lot of the conventional wisdom around when to test and how to approach these exams really stinks.
Whether you’re here after a few not-so-successful testing attempts or years before your child is set to pick up a #2 pencil, I have resources that can help you.
Lauren Gaggioli, Founder & CEO
After graduating from New York University with her B.F.A. in Theater, Lauren moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. To make time for auditions during the day, she called upon her academic roots from her high school days and began tutoring the SAT and ACT.
She quickly fell in love – not with the exams, but with the feeling that she was helping students put their feet on a firm path towards a big, bright future.
(Ok, maybe she fell a little bit in love with the exams too. Her dad didn’t nickname her #2 Pencil Nerd for nothing.)
After 7 years working as an in-home tutor with a large test prep firm and then in her own independent tutoring company, Lauren distilled her experiences into the 4 different ACT & SAT prep programs that are now available through Higher Scores Test Prep.
Lauren’s love of teaching and compassion for what students are facing in today’s complex, competitive college admissions landscape allows her to bring a little bit of calm to her corner of the college admissions process.
Lauren is also the host of The College Checklist podcast. On the podcast, she interviews college counselors and other college admissions professionals, bringing timely, relevant information to today’s college bound families.
Lauren lives in Carlsbad, CA with her husband Mike, and their 3 energetic babies: Giada the Chihuahua, Malcolm the cat, and Ava the human. When she’s not teaching, she can be found creating content for her fellow entrepreneurs, training for her next half marathon, or whipping up a new recipe in her teeny-tiny kitchen.
Bob Verbarg, Chief Financial Officer
Bob retired in 2008 after 33 years in senior management positions with a national payroll processing firm. The family moved 7 times during that period and he is ever grateful to Francine and his children for their willingness to cheerfully relocate so often.
Bob has always enjoyed sports, particularly golf and tennis, but after a 2010 MS diagnosis he has been sidelined.
Because of Bob’s diagnosis, the Verbargs & Gaggiolis founded Team Bobby V to support Progressive MS Research. 11% of all of Higher Scores Test Prep’s profits are donated to the team each year.
Bob is very proud of Lauren for her dedication to her students’ success and for her entrepreneurial spirit in starting Higher Scores Test Prep and is proud to be a part of the team.
Francine Verbarg, Delivery Leader
While raising two wonderful children and living in three states of this great country, Francine became a highly organized and structured leader of the household. She further honed these skills as an advertising sales associate at the Los Angeles Times.
Francine’s attention to detail will ensure that your orders will be handled promptly and accurately. She is looking forward to serving you!
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