ACT® & SAT® Prep Coach | Franklin & Brentwood TN

ACT® perfect score 36 — official score report

The Root Problem

The Real Challenge
Beneath the Surface

Underneath the drive to meet the demands of our culture — get the highest GPA, go to the best college, find your passion, make good money, make something of yourself — most high school students deal with a combination of challenges...

Challenges that, if left unchecked, would try to knock your student out of the game. Sideline them. Keep them living small and without significance.

And there's a problem lying at the heart of it all:

Students often feel as though they do not have what it takes to succeed.

While this can manifest in varying degrees from student to student, what I've found over 16 years of this work is that eventually, during my time with a student, SOME form of lower confidence will usually show up.

Maybe it's test anxiety right off the bat. Maybe it's a belief that they won't be able to make it into college. Or maybe it's the shaken countenance that comes only after they try an official test and realize that their nerves unexpectedly spiked when the pressure got turned on on Test Day.

What Your Student Gains

The Tools to Win

Over the course of our time together, your student will gain the spiritual, mental, and emotional tools necessary to:

Defeat anxiety, worry, fear, and lack of confidence once and for all — in EVERY part of life, the test especially.

Develop a deeply ingrained Conqueror's Mindset and the kind of daily rituals and habits that lead to winning in life and staying strong through challenges.

Attack the SAT or ACT as if it were an enemy — as David against Goliath — and understand the numerous ways the test intentionally tries to trick and mislead them on each question.

Make it through the Reading section WITHIN the time limit without feeling lost, scrambled, and zoning out — and WITHOUT falling for their trick answers.

Master all the grammar concepts that will show up on the test AND sift through convoluted ACT sentences by learning the behind-the-scenes black and white rules.

Turn the intimidating Science section into a surprisingly easy "reading test" by learning how to think less, not more.

Conquer the math test by thinking outside the box and using a combination of "street smarts" AND book smarts.

Increase speed and accuracy so the dreaded timer doesn't completely monopolize their worry on test day.

Walk into the test center with unprecedented confidence and defend against nerves and anxiety should they rear their ugly head.

This is me and my amazing wife, Corrie.

Published Author

More Than Standard

The book behind the method. Available on Amazon →

Your Coach

17 Years. One Mission.
Help Students Conquer.

I started doing test prep because I saw a gap nobody was filling — students with real potential who were being beaten not by the test, but by their own heads. Test anxiety. Low confidence. The belief that they just weren't built for this.

So I built a different kind of coaching. One rooted in strategy, yes — but also in the belief that God designed every one of these students to conquer. I wrote a book about it. And I've been proving it in session after session for 17 years.

17 Years Coaching Published Author 200+ Families Faith-First Approach

Read My Full Story →

What I Offer

Where Do You Need Help?

SAT & ACT Prep

Learn how to get out of the victim mentality that keeps students stuck in test anxiety and panic mode.

ACT/SAT Reading & Math Battle Plans
Specific grammar & style practice
Eliminate test anxiety & build confidence
Includes full online training course

Student writing college application essay

College Essay Crafting

Not just checking a box — crafting a testimony of who God has made them to be and their true potential.

High self-worth mindset coaching
Efficient game plan for multiple prompts
Powerful brainstorming exercises
Guidance from draft to admission

Schedule Your FREE Consultation

The Full Picture

Everything You Get
When You Work With Me

This is what $247.50 per session actually buys. Look at this list and tell me it isn't worth it.

90-Minute Intensive Sessions

Weekly, one-on-one, personalized to your student's exact goals, strengths, and weak areas. Not a group. Not a generic curriculum. You.

Custom ACT/SAT Battle Plan

Built from day one around your student's specific score gaps, test timeline, and target schools. No two plans are the same.

Conqueror's Mindset Coaching

Identity-level work rooted in Philippians 4:13. Not just test strategies — the confidence and mental framework that lasts well past test day.

Written Session Notes

After every session you receive a written summary — what we covered, practice results, and the exact homework plan. Parents are never in the dark.

College Essay Coaching

From brainstorming through final draft — helping your student write the essay that tells admissions committees who they really are.

Between-Session Availability

Questions, college application advising, scholarship guidance, and more — not just an hourly clock that stops when the session ends.

Scholarship Score Strategy

Some colleges offer full-ride merit scholarships for students who hit specific ACT/SAT score thresholds. Matt knows what those scores are — and builds your student's plan around them.

17 Years of Proven Results

Students typically gain 5–10 ACT points (150–350 on the SAT). Dozens of 30+ scorers. SAT scores in the 1400s and 1500s. 200+ families. The track record is real.

Faith-Integrated Approach

God designed your student to conquer — and that's what they'll learn, alongside every strategy and skill. No other coach in Williamson County does what happens in these sessions.

Professional Endorsements

What School Leaders Say

Principals, directors, and guidance counselors trust More Than Standard with their students.

He calls students to Christ winsomely, gently, humbly, powerfully, and poetically. He avoids cliches. Like Christ, he is a wonderful storyteller — captivating even the skeptical student in the back row who can't help but be won over by the sincerity with which Matt approaches everything and everyone. Matt excels because he cares more about making Christ known and adored than himself.

Nathan Talley

Director of Spiritual Life

Monte Vista Christian School

Matt has such a great sense of purpose and care for his subject and his students. He has the unique ability to instantly connect with his students and meet them where they are. We are impressed not only with his command of the material but with the way he presents it — making it relevant and giving every student purpose and meaning. He comes to every organization with our highest recommendation.

Rick Fitzgerald

Principal

Trinity Christian Academy

Matt was able to connect with the students. He introduced himself and the overall mindset students should have when preparing for the SAT before diving into course content — an effective method that allows students to see that the SAT is not a typical exam and requires more preparation than most. As a school counselor, I appreciate when teachers can do that. Matt did it exceptionally well.

Luis S.

HS College Counselor

Monterey High School

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the process and what to expect.

How long does it take to see score improvements? ▾

While every student is different, most begin seeing noticeable improvements in both their confidence and their practice scores within the first three to four sessions. That said, I recommend that all students commit to at least 10 to 12 sessions in order to get all of the foundational strategy and academic instruction under their belt — and to build a solid foundational amount of practice. After 10 to 12 sessions, some students are good, and others both want and need to keep going.

Do you offer online sessions or only in-person? ▾

I offer both. I work with students locally in Brentwood and Franklin, Tennessee, at places like the Whole Foods in Cool Springs, Franklin Library, the Brentwood Library, various Starbucks locations, The Factory, The Good Cup, and West Haven. I also offer Zoom sessions for students who live in other states, or for local students during times of travel or bad weather.

What is the difference between your SAT® and ACT® prep? ▾

The tests are similar but also different. The overall mindset work, confidence building, critical thinking, and analytical reasoning training is the same for both. But each test requires its own specific strategies — especially for the English and Reading material. Not to mention, the ACT® has a Science section while the SAT® does not.

How do you incorporate spiritual mentorship? ▾

Spiritual mentorship is inextricably woven throughout my work with every student. On day one, I lay the groundwork of a Conqueror's Mindset, rooted in Philippians 4:13.

Every day thereafter, I'm constantly having conversations about how top performers think — whether elite athletes, elite business people, leaders — and how that method of thinking was actually invented by God, whether the person knows it or not.

The truth is, God wants these students to succeed and overcome. He designed them to change the world. And that's what they learn from me before we're done.

How much homework should my student expect? ▾

Typically, students will have 1 to 2 hours of targeted practice between our weekly sessions. I ensure this work is highly focused on their specific growth areas so we aren't wasting time. The homework is typically multiple sections from real ACT® or SAT® tests. I'm also happy to adjust the amount up or down as parents see fit.

Keep in mind — I try to find the delicate balance between quick progress (which comes from more practice) and not burning out (which can come from too much practice).

Powerful Test Prep
& College Essay
Coaching

The Real Challenge
Beneath the Surface

The Mindset of a Conqueror

The Tools to Win

17 Years. One Mission.
Help Students Conquer.

Where Do You Need Help?