GREENWICH · 2026–27
IN-PERSON SSAT PREP · MONDAY EVENINGS
In-person SSAT classes
in Greenwich, CT.
Built for the right level.
What is included? Every target-date option provides the same complete nine-hour course: six level-specific classes with direct instruction, guided practice, timed decision-making, error analysis, and a practical test-day plan.
LATE-SEPTEMBER START · NOVEMBER 14 SSAT
Choose the right level.
Both six-session courses meet in person in Greenwich on Monday evenings and prepare students for the Saturday, November 14, 2026 Standard Paper SSAT. Each level receives the full nine hours.
MIDDLE LEVEL
Grades 5–7
MONDAYS · 4:15–5:45 PMBest fit: Students taking the Middle Level SSAT who need strong foundations, clear routines, and age-appropriate strategies before timed practice.
Enroll Middle Level ↗UPPER LEVEL
Grades 8–11
MONDAYS · 7:15–8:45 PMBest fit: Students taking the Upper Level SSAT who are ready for more advanced content, faster decisions, and sustained work across timed sections.
Enroll Upper Level ↗Official test date: November 14, 2026. Middle and Upper Levels are offered on that Standard Paper SSAT administration. Test registration is separate.
WINTER 2027 SSAT OPTIONS
More test dates.
The same focused six-Monday plan.
Every target-date option includes six 90-minute meetings and nine total instructional hours. Middle Level meets from 4:15–5:45 PM; Upper Level meets from 7:15–8:45 PM.
MIDDLE LEVEL4:15–5:45 PM
UPPER LEVEL7:15–8:45 PM
6 classes · 9 total hoursCalendar note: includes December 21, December 28, and January 4 holiday-period Mondays.
MIDDLE LEVEL4:15–5:45 PM
UPPER LEVEL7:15–8:45 PM
6 classes · 9 total hoursCalendar note: includes year-end holiday-period Mondays and January 18.
MIDDLE LEVEL4:15–5:45 PM
UPPER LEVEL7:15–8:45 PM
6 classes · 9 total hoursCalendar note: includes February 15. Confirm holiday-week meeting details with Ivy Bound.
Winter dates and level eligibility were verified against the official 2026–27 Standard Paper SSAT calendar. Holiday-week class dates should be confirmed before publication.
WHAT STUDENTS WILL LEARN
Not just more questions.
Better ways to answer them.
Mark teaches students to recognize the task, select an efficient approach, manage the clock, and learn from the wrong answers that looked tempting.
Quantitative reasoning
Translate words into operations, choose efficient setups, estimate before calculating, and check whether an answer is reasonable.
Verbal reasoning
Attack synonyms and analogies by using roots, word parts, precise relationships, elimination, and disciplined vocabulary study.
Reading comprehension
Find the passage’s structure, distinguish main ideas from details, support inferences with evidence, and identify tone and purpose.
Writing sample
Plan quickly, establish a clear direction, use specific support, organize paragraphs, and leave time for a controlled final check.
Pacing and section control
Set checkpoints, recognize time traps, move past low-value questions, and protect enough time for the problems a student can solve.
Guessing and decision-making
Understand the Middle and Upper Level scoring rule, eliminate before guessing, and avoid turning one difficult question into several rushed misses.
WHAT EACH STUDENT GETS
Nine hours with a purpose.
The value is not simply time in a classroom. Students receive a coherent preparation sequence taught at the correct SSAT level, with every class building toward more accurate and more controlled test-day decisions.
Level-specific instruction
Middle and Upper students are taught separately, so examples, vocabulary, math content, passage difficulty, and pacing expectations match the test they will actually take.
Guided practice with explanation
Students work through representative problems and learn how to identify the clue, select the method, and explain why an answer is supported.
Timed strategy and pacing
Students practice checkpoints, skipping and returning, answer-sheet discipline, and the difference between productive persistence and a time-draining question.
Error analysis
Mark helps students classify misses—content gap, misread direction, weak elimination, rushed calculation, or pacing—so the next practice has a clear purpose.
A repeatable test-day process
Each student develops concrete routines for quantitative, verbal, reading, and writing sections instead of improvising under pressure.
A final priority plan
The final class turns lessons from practice into a focused plan: what to review, what to rehearse, and how to approach the target test.
THE LEVELS ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE
What changes from Middle to Upper?
The test structure is similar, but the academic range, vocabulary demands, passage complexity, and expected pace rise at the Upper Level.
Build the method.
Fractions, decimals, percent, ratios, number properties, basic algebra, geometry, measurement, and multi-step word problems.
High-frequency vocabulary, roots and word parts, synonym precision, and the exact relationship expressed by an analogy.
Main idea, stated detail, sequence, context clues, and evidence-based inference without over-reading the passage.
Marking work clearly, using scratch space, checking answer-sheet alignment, and building confidence with a repeatable routine.
Refine the decision.
Algebraic equations, exponents, proportions, coordinate ideas, geometry, patterns, data interpretation, and denser multi-step problems.
More advanced vocabulary, nuanced synonym distinctions, abstract analogies, and faster elimination when several choices look plausible.
Argument structure, author attitude, tone, purpose, inference, paired ideas, and selecting the answer best supported by the text.
Balancing accuracy with pace, triaging difficult questions, maintaining focus through longer work, and recovering after a hard section.
THE SIX-CLASS ARC
Every Monday has a job.
The exact mix can adjust to the class, but the sequence moves from diagnosis and core methods to timed application and final rehearsal.
- 1
Know the test
Question types, section timing, scoring, baseline strengths, and the habits that cost avoidable points.
- 2
Build the math toolkit
Efficient arithmetic, algebra, geometry, estimation, backsolving, and translating word problems.
- 3
Make words workable
Synonym and analogy methods, roots, word families, relationship language, and smart elimination.
- 4
Read for proof
Passage mapping, main idea, tone, inference, evidence, and a practical writing-sample plan.
- 5
Perform under time
Mixed timed sets, pacing checkpoints, when to move, when to return, and how to recover from a difficult item.
- 6
Rehearse test day
Section-level practice, error review, individual priorities, and a final plan for the days before the SSAT.
SINCE 1987
TAUGHT BY IVY BOUND’S FOUNDER
Mark Greenstein brings veteran test-prep judgment to a younger student’s test.
Mark has taught test preparation since 1987 and founded Ivy Bound in 2000. He lists the SSAT and ISEE among the tests he tutors—and the SSAT remains his favorite K–12 course to teach.
Students learn directly from an instructor who can explain not only why the right answer works, but why a wrong answer was designed to look attractive.
QUICK ANSWERS FOR GREENWICH FAMILIES
Before you choose a level.
When do the classes meet?+
Each cohort meets on the six Mondays listed with its target SSAT date. Middle Level meets from 4:15–5:45 PM, and Upper Level meets from 7:15–8:45 PM. Every cohort includes nine total instructional hours.
How much is the course, and what is included?+
Tuition is $475 per student for six 90-minute classes and nine total instructional hours. Students receive level-specific teaching across quantitative, verbal, reading, writing, pacing, guessing, error analysis, and test-day planning. Official SSAT registration is separate.
Which level should my child take?+
The Middle Level SSAT is for students in grades 5–7; the Upper Level is for students in grades 8–11. Ivy Bound can confirm placement when you inquire.
Which target test dates are supported?+
Cohorts are mapped to the November 14, 2026; January 9, 2027; January 30, 2027; and March 13, 2027 Standard Paper SSAT administrations. Each option provides the same six classes and nine instructional hours.
Where are the classes held?+
The classes are held in person in Greenwich, Connecticut. Ask Ivy Bound to confirm the current venue and seat availability for the selected target-test cohort.
READY WHEN THE DATE IS RIGHT
Choose a target date above. Then choose Middle or Upper.
Every option includes six Monday evenings, nine focused hours, and level-specific preparation with Mark Greenstein in Greenwich.
Review dates and enroll ↑ Or call (844) 677-4484BEFORE YOU GO
Still deciding?
That usually means one detail is still unresolved. Ivy Bound can help with the level, the best target date, holiday-week scheduling, the Greenwich location, or whether this course fits your student.