Press Release: Intellegym Working to Disrupt SAT Prep Industry

Huntingdon Valley Startup Working to Disrupt SAT Prep Industry

12+ CEO Raymond John, Frank Wang and Mark Gribman

In an industry infamous for high-pressure, ‘drill-and-kill’ methods, Huntingdon Valley startup Intellegym is taking an innovative approach and hoping to make a social impact at the same time. The new center aims to disrupt the status quo by providing holistic academic guidance and transferable skills that will serve students long after the have taken the SAT itself. In order to promote educational equity, the center will also be reserving a number of seats for students who would not otherwise be able to pay for such programs.

Intellegym co-founder Mark Gribman explains, “Most of this industry is built around crash courses or pay-per-hour personal tutoring. This is stressful, expensive, and forces an exclusive focus on results in the form of test scores. One of the major differences in Intellegym’s model is our memberships. Members have unlimited access to our space and resources, and on-site tutoring staff.”

The “gym” in Intellegym is a reference to this model, in which membership is sold not in terms of a class with a start and an end, but as access to a resource-rich environment. In order to develop that environment, the company is partnering with area educators, bringing their services into the space. Summer 2019 offerings include a Science Camp and High School Readiness Camp.

Intellegym does still offer traditional test preparation, in the form of a comprehensive SAT prep course and an abbreviated crash course, but even there, Gribman hopes Intellegym can distinguish itself with a data-driven approach. “We’ve got a staff of full-time educators, which is unusual for the industry. Together we’ve coding and analyzing past administrations of the SAT to build a Diagnostic tool that pinpoints students’ problem areas so that we can target instruction directly to their needs,” Gribman says.

While this industry has the potential to widen the inequality gap, as the recent college admission scandal has shown, Intellegym hopes to change that. Intellegym has committed scholarship seats to underserved youth in 12+ programs, as well as cash donations to the organization.