Nick Standlea is the President and founder of Test Prep Gurus. He is a graduate of Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate University. Nick earned a perfect score on the SAT. He spent five years as a research associate at the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont Graduate University -- researching growth mindset, intrinsic motivation, flow, and education. 

When he began to apply this research to the process of test prep he discovered that it was possible to transform the process into an enriching experience that was empowering to students, while also producing superior results on the SAT and ACT.

To this day, Nick personally trains all of the instructors at Test Prep Gurus in his unique methodology. 

The Secret Sauce:  We focus on the student.  Who are you?  What are your goals for college?  How can we help you reach those goals?  When a student knows why they are prepping for a specific exam, and how the process is relevant to their goals for the future, motivation increases exponentially.  Increased motivation, and a sense of ownership over the process, leads to healthier, happier students who earn scores above and beyond what otherwise would have been possible.    

Our students' superior results on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and other standardized exams over 12+ years proves that it is possible to lower the pressure put on students in the college admissions process while simultaneously achieving higher scores than those produced by the standard (outdated) models of test prep.