ACT & SAT
Test Prep
One student. One tutor. Every session.
No classrooms. No rotating staff. No handing your kid off to whoever's free that week. Since 1992, families across Downers Grove and the western suburbs have worked with The Stehlik Institute — and after one session, Greg will tell you honestly what's achievable before you commit to anything.
What you actually get
- The same tutor from first session to test day
- An honest score projection before you commit
- A program built for one student, not a curriculum
- A full 4-hour practice test the week before
- A free phone call with the owner to start
GSGreg Stehlik
Greg Stehlik brings a unique blend of discipline, academic rigor, and a passion for student success to the Stehlik Institute for Testing Excellence. His approach goes beyond standard tutoring, focusing on building confidence and strategic thinking.
With a strong foundation built during his service in the US Marine Corps, Greg understands the value of dedication and meticulous preparation. He leverages his diverse teaching background to adapt to each student's unique learning style, ensuring they reach their highest potential.
He joined the company his mother founded, coming on in 2001, and has been providing personalized tutoring for the past 25 years.
The big test-prep chains run students through a system. We build one around your student.
Three things make the difference, and none of them are complicated.
You never get handed off
At the national chains, tutors turn over constantly and your student re-explains themselves every few weeks. Here, Greg knows exactly where your kid struggles by session three, because he was there for sessions one and two.
We won't oversell you
No guaranteed perfect scores, no secret tricks. Most students already have the ability — they've just never been taught to use it under time pressure. That's the actual work, and we'll tell you upfront how much of it your student needs.
Thirty years, one family
Helen Stehlik, Greg's mother, founded the Institute in 1992. He's been teaching here for twenty-five years and full-time in test prep his whole career. This isn't a franchise someone bought last spring.
Everything here is one-on-one
Most families start with test prep. Over the years, our students have asked for more.
ACT & SAT preparation
The main program: six two-hour sessions, then a full practice test the week before your student sits for the real one.
Speed reading
Students routinely get to 1,000–3,000 words a minute without losing comprehension. It helps on the test, and it helps for the next four years after it.
Study skills & time management
How to actually work through a reading load. These are the habits that outlast any single exam.
Graduate exams
Same one-on-one approach for students preparing for graduate admissions tests.
College guidance
Where to apply and how, from someone who has watched thirty years of scores turn into acceptances and scholarship offers.
College essay consulting
Help getting a real voice onto the page — the part of the application no score can carry for you.
Twelve hours. One tutor. Zero guesswork.
Most families come to us not knowing what test prep will actually get them. So before you commit to anything, we tell you exactly where your student stands and exactly where we can take them.
Here is the entire program — every session, start to finish.
A phone call with the owner
Not a sales rep. You talk directly with Greg about your student's target schools, current scores, and test date — and he'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.
The diagnostic — and a real number
One session is all it takes to establish where your student is now and what score is realistically achievable by test day.
95% accurate. Our projections hold up 19 times out of 20.The work that closes the gap
Four one-on-one sessions aimed squarely at the point difference between where your student is and where they're going — content gaps, pacing, reading speed, and the strategy behind each question type. Targeted homework between every session.
A full 4-hour proctored practice test
We simulate the real thing — full length, real conditions, real timing. By the time your student sits for the actual ACT or SAT, they’ve already done it once, which is why our students walk in calm instead of anxious.
Reviewing the practice test
We go through the results together and spend the final session on the areas where the most points are still on the table.
Nothing new happens
That's the entire point. No surprises, no unfamiliar format, no scrambling on pacing. Just execution of something already rehearsed.
What students and parents tell us
Pricing
By the session
- Always one-on-one with Greg
- Scheduling Monday through Saturday
- Any service on this page
- In person in Downers Grove
The full ACT or SAT program
- Diagnostic session and an honest score projection
- Six two-hour sessions built around your student
- Specific homework between each one
- A full 4-hour practice test before test day
Start with a phone call. It's free.
Before you spend a dollar, you talk to Greg. Tell him your student's target schools, current scores, and test date, and he'll tell you honestly what's achievable — including if he thinks you don't need him.
Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00
School year hours
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 16:00–22:00
Sat 8:00–18:00
Sun 8:00–16:00