PSAT Summer Bootcamp in Livingston, NJ

Session-by-session schedule

The four mornings run August 17 to 20, 2026. The October PSAT/NMSQT is still about seven weeks out, so the last session closes the summer work rather than serving as a final tune-up before the exam.

Diagnostic
Sunday, Aug 16

Full-length diagnostic simulated exam
Monday
Monday, Aug 17

Reading & Writing: Information & Ideas · Math: Algebra
Tuesday
Tuesday, Aug 18

Reading & Writing: Craft & Structure · Math: Advanced Math
Wednesday
Wednesday, Aug 19

Reading & Writing: Conventions · Math: Data Analysis
Thursday
Thursday, Aug 20

Reading & Writing: Expression + timed practice · Math: Geometry + timed practice

Diagnostic or practice exam No class

What the 1 week covers

Every student begins on Sunday, August 16 with a full-length diagnostic under real section timing: 98 questions, two Reading and Writing modules and two math modules. We score it by section and also compute the Selection Index the way the National Merit program does, doubling the Reading and Writing score before adding math, which shows families at a glance where the leverage sits for a junior. The four mornings that follow are set in advance, and the diagnostic decides the emphasis inside them: which student gets pushed on which domain, what gets extra drilling during individualized review time, and what to practice between sessions.

Included in tuition

A full-length diagnostic on Sunday, August 16, 6:00 to 8:15 PM, run under real section timing: 98 questions, two Reading and Writing modules and two math modules
A score report with the section breakdown plus the diagnostic Selection Index, calculated the way National Merit calculates it: (Reading and Writing x 2 + Math) divided by 10
Twelve hours of instruction across four mornings, taught in person by certified New Jersey teachers
All four Reading and Writing domains: Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Standard English Conventions, and Expression of Ideas
All four math domains: Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry
Practice with the built-in graphing calculator, which is available for the entire math section
Pacing work for the two-module adaptive structure: 27 Reading and Writing questions in 32 minutes, 22 math questions in 35 minutes
Timed practice in both sections on Thursday morning, August 20, the last session of the week

Class details

Meets Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
1 week of instruction
Built for the October 2026 PSAT/NMSQT exam
160 S Livingston Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039
Small group, in person, taught by certified NJ teachers
No separate materials fee

Where students usually lose points on the PSAT

These six patterns come up again and again on the digital PSAT, and each one gets direct attention during the week.

Reading and Writing 54 questions in 64 minutes

Information and Ideas

Where the points go

Command-of-evidence and inference questions. Students pick the choice that is true about the passage instead of the one that supports the specific claim in the question. On the quantitative items they read the graph or table correctly, then select a conclusion the data does not actually support.

What we do in class

We split the work into two steps: say what the question needs before reading any choice, then test each choice against that statement. For the graph and table questions, students practice writing the single sentence the data supports before they look at the options.

Reading and Writing 54 questions in 64 minutes

Craft and Structure

Where the points go

Structure-and-purpose and cross-text connection questions. Students who read for content can say what a paragraph said but not why a given sentence is in it. On paired texts they summarize each passage separately instead of locating the exact point where the two authors part ways.

What we do in class

Students label the job each sentence is doing, claim, example, counterpoint, or qualification, and reduce a paired set to one sentence per author before answering. Words-in-context work stays on predicting the meaning from the sentence's own logic first, then matching.

Reading and Writing 54 questions in 64 minutes

Standard English Conventions

Where the points go

Punctuation and sentence boundaries. A pattern we see often: students choose by where they would pause reading aloud, which produces comma splices, and they treat the no-punctuation option as a trick rather than a frequently correct answer. Subject-verb agreement across a long modifying phrase goes the same way.

What we do in class

A short set of rules generates most of these questions. We drill the independent-versus-dependent clause test and the habit of crossing out modifiers to find the real subject, then repeat it until the decision stops being a guess. For juniors this is high-value time, since the Selection Index counts Reading and Writing twice.

Reading and Writing 54 questions in 64 minutes

Expression of Ideas

Where the points go

Rhetorical synthesis and transitions. The bulleted-notes questions are unfamiliar to students who have not worked with the digital format, so they read every bullet closely and fall behind the module's pace. On transitions, students pick the connector that sounds smooth instead of the one the logic between the two sentences calls for.

What we do in class

On synthesis questions the stated goal is the filter, so students read the goal first and scan the notes only for what serves it. On transitions they commit to a label for the relationship, agreement, reversal, cause, or example, before reading a single choice. Thursday morning we run both types under time.

Math 44 questions in 70 minutes

Algebra

Where the points go

Linear equations, systems, and inequalities dressed as word problems. The algebra itself is material these students have done. Points go to translating the sentence into an equation, losing track of which variable represents what, and solving for x when the question asked for the value of 3x.

What we do in class

We rehearse the translation step by itself: label each quantity, write the relationship, then solve. Students also practice underlining what the question actually asks for, and we work through when substituting answer choices back into the equation is faster than solving forward.

Math 44 questions in 70 minutes

Advanced Math

Where the points go

Quadratics, exponential relationships, and function notation. The PSAT arrives before many students have finished the coursework it draws on. A rising junior coming out of Algebra II is on familiar ground, while a rising sophomore may not have met exponential growth at all, so points go to unfamiliarity rather than carelessness.

What we do in class

We cover the setups that repeat: interpreting a function in context, moving between the standard, factored, and vertex forms of a quadratic, and reading growth and decay out of an equation. We also show where the built-in graphing calculator settles a question faster than algebra does, since it is available on the whole math section.

Practice challenge

5 questions · about 2 minutes

Can your student spot the traps?

Five real-format digital PSAT questions, with 30 seconds each. You will get a skill breakdown at the end, the same way our boot camp starts with a diagnostic before anyone opens a textbook.

0:30

1. If 2(x − 3) = 14, what is the value of x + 4?

10
14
11
17

Answer: 14. Divide first: x − 3 = 7, so x = 10. The question asks for x + 4, which is 14. Answering 10 means solving the equation correctly and then forgetting what was actually asked, which is the single most common avoidable error on this section.
Skill: Algebra, covered in Week 1 of the boot camp.

2. If f(x) = x² + 5, what is f(−3)?

14
−4
−14
4

Answer: 14. Substitute carefully: (−3)² = 9, because a negative squared is positive. Then 9 + 5 = 14. The trap answers all come from treating (−3)² as −9, which is what you get if the exponent is applied before the sign.
Skill: Advanced Math, covered in Week 2 of the boot camp.

3. A recipe uses 3 cups of flour for every 2 cups of sugar. If a baker uses 12 cups of flour, how many cups of sugar are needed?

6
18
8
9

Answer: 8. Set up the proportion 3/2 = 12/s. Cross multiply: 3s = 24, so s = 8. Answering 18 means flipping the ratio, which is why writing the proportion with labeled units beats doing it in your head.
Skill: Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, covered in Week 2 of the boot camp.

4. A researcher notes that a bird species began nesting three weeks earlier than it did fifty years ago, and that local spring temperatures have risen over the same period. Which choice best states the conclusion the researcher is building toward?

The bird species is in decline.
Nesting behavior in this species appears to be shifting along with warming spring temperatures.
Spring temperatures will continue to rise.
Other bird species nest at the same time each year.

Answer: Nesting behavior in this species appears to be shifting along with warming spring temperatures.. The correct choice stays inside the evidence given: two things changed together. The wrong answers each add something the passage never said, a decline, a future prediction, or a claim about other species. On this question type the right answer is almost always the least adventurous one.
Skill: Information and Ideas, covered in Week 1 of the boot camp.

5. Which choice correctly completes the sentence? "Because the storm knocked out power to the observatory ______ the team postponed the launch."

and
, so
,
no punctuation

Answer: ,. The sentence opens with "Because," which makes the first half a dependent clause. A dependent clause followed by an independent clause is joined with a single comma. Adding "so" or "and" on top of "Because" doubles the connector, which is a common error the test rewards you for catching.
Skill: Standard English Conventions, covered in Week 3 of the boot camp.

Why families choose this boot camp

Finished before the school year starts

The class ends at noon on Thursday, August 20. Junior year begins with the summer PSAT work already done, and September stays free for coursework, applications, and everything else that lands at once.

Reading and Writing counts twice

The National Merit Selection Index is (Reading and Writing x 2 + Math) divided by 10. For juniors that makes Reading and Writing the higher-leverage half of the exam, so the week covers all four Reading and Writing domains, one each morning, and students see which rules generate the most questions.

A full exam before day one

Sunday's diagnostic runs all 98 questions under real section timing. Teachers walk into Monday morning already knowing which domains this particular group is losing points in, and which student needs the extra attention during review time.

Certified teachers, in one room

Every morning is taught in person at our Livingston center by a certified New Jersey teacher who has taught this material in a classroom and can explain it a second way when the first way does not land.

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Six classes across the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Pick the one that lines up with your student's exam date.

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PSAT

PSAT Summer Bootcamp

Target exam: October 2026 PSAT/NMSQT

Monday to Thursday
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
1 week
In person, Livingston, NJ

$780 Viewing this class

PSAT

PSAT Fall Bootcamp

Target exam: October 2026 PSAT/NMSQT

Tuesdays & Thursdays
6:00 to 8:00 PM
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Fall SAT Boot Camp

Target exam: Saturday, October 3, 2026

Tuesdays & Thursdays
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ACT

Fall ACT Boot Camp

Target exam: Saturday, October 24, 2026

Mondays & Wednesdays
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In person, Livingston, NJ

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SAT

Winter SAT Boot Camp

Target exam: Saturday, March 6, 2027

Tuesdays & Thursdays
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ACT

Winter ACT Boot Camp

Target exam: Saturday, April 10, 2027

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Questions about this class

When does the PSAT Summer Bootcamp meet?

The full-length diagnostic is Sunday, August 16, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:15 PM. Classes then meet Monday to Thursday, August 17, 18, 19, and 20, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The whole program is finished by lunchtime on August 20, which is the point of running it in August rather than during the school year.

Which test does this class prepare for?

The October 2026 digital PSAT/NMSQT, taken in the Bluebook app. Both 10th and 11th graders sit that exam, and only 11th grade scores are used for National Merit consideration, so the week works as a first exposure for sophomores and as the real thing for juniors.

How much does the PSAT Summer Bootcamp cost?

Tuition is $780. That covers the Sunday diagnostic, the score report and Selection Index breakdown, and all four morning sessions. There is no separate materials or book charge.

Where are the classes held?

At the Teacher Tutors center, 160 S Livingston Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039. All five meetings, the Sunday diagnostic and the four mornings, are in person. This bootcamp is not offered online.

Is the diagnostic exam included in tuition?

Yes. The Sunday, August 16 diagnostic, 6:00 to 8:15 PM, is part of the $780 and not an add-on. Every enrolled student takes it, because it tells the teachers which domains to push each student on during the week's individualized review time and what to practice between sessions.

How many students are in a class?

Enrollment is capped so a teacher can sit down with individual students during practice sets and timed drills. Call the center for current openings in the August week.

What happens if my student misses one of the mornings?

Let us know as soon as you can. In a one-week intensive each morning carries its own domains, so we arrange coverage before the next session builds on it, usually the session notes plus a short one-on-one.

Do you also offer one-on-one PSAT tutoring?

Yes. Some families use the August week for structure and add private sessions in September to work on one domain the diagnostic flagged. Others prefer to work entirely one-on-one from the start. We can talk through which makes sense for your student.

PSAT Summer Bootcamp in Livingston, NJ

Session-by-session schedule

What the 1 week covers

Where students usually lose points on the PSAT

Information and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Standard English Conventions

Expression of Ideas

Algebra

Advanced Math

Practice challenge

1. If 2(x − 3) = 14, what is the value of x + 4?

2. If f(x) = x² + 5, what is f(−3)?

3. A recipe uses 3 cups of flour for every 2 cups of sugar. If a baker uses 12 cups of flour, how many cups of sugar are needed?

4. A researcher notes that a bird species began nesting three weeks earlier than it did fifty years ago, and that local spring temperatures have risen over the same period. Which choice best states the conclusion the researcher is building toward?

5. Which choice correctly completes the sentence? "Because the storm knocked out power to the observatory ______ the team postponed the launch."

Why families choose this boot camp

Finished before the school year starts

Reading and Writing counts twice

A full exam before day one

Certified teachers, in one room

Other classes

Questions about this class

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