FAQs

  • Sheer efficiency. I’m always thrilled by how rapidly my students seem to grow (provided they do the work), and I pride myself on consistently beating the industry standard in this regard. Most prep courses and private tutoring programs require 30-60 hours of instruction time alone (before accounting for time spent completing homework and taking practice tests).

    By contrast, my typical student sees significant gains within 6 - 12 hours of tutoring. While taking practice tests on a regular basis and completing homework diligently are still mandatory, I pride myself on eliminating as much of the mindless “busy work” as possible from my already-overworked students’ lives.

    Overall, my average student gains:

    • 5 - 9 points on the ACT (versus the industry standard of 2 - 4 points)

    • 120 - 300 points on the SAT (versus the industry standard of 60 - 100 points)

    • 9 - 20 points on the GRE (versus the industry standard of 4 - 8 points)

  • I have been a full-time tutor specializing in standardized test prep for 17+ years! I have a dual background in both STEM and in Literature/Writing, thus providing me with a strong foundation to teach the Verbal AND the Mathematical aspects of each exam for which I provide coaching. Most importantly, however, I have a track record that consistently exceeds the industry standard by a wide margin (see answer to “What sets you apart from other tutors or test prep options?”)

    For much more detailed information on my background and qualifications, please visit the About Me page.

  • Too many test prep tutors and companies (though certainly not all) tend to err on the side of one of two extremes:

    (a) Overly Academic - that is, they approach the exam in a rather “text-book” manner that does very little in terms of either helping students understand the material intuitively or showing them how to apply it strategically.

    (b) Overly Gimmick-based - they are overly focused on “tips and tricks”, many of which are:

    • too broad or vague to be usefully applied

    • too case-specific, only applying to one question-type at best, one which could easily be changed or varied by the test-makers

    • just rephrasings of common sense advice.

    By contrast my approach is far more practical, with:

    • a focus on intuitive understanding of the fundamentals (as opposed to purely academic definitions) and practical, easier-to-use-under-time-limit methods that emphasize applicability over formal “correctness”

    • a relatively compact set of clear, concrete instructions for every FAMILY of tasks or questions (Reading Comprehension, for instance) that allows students to use fundamental ideas and overarching strategies to answer all questions within that group (as opposed to having to memorize a long list of one-off “tricks” & question-specific tips).

    For more detailed information on how I teach each of those tests (and what the advantages of my approach are), please visit my Methodology page.

Why Me?

  • I’ll answer this in two ways:

    a)      What they are NOT:

    • LECTURES that simply convey information and facts

    • CLASSES that are syllabus-guided or built around completion of modules and objectives like a course or class-room experience

    b)     What they ARE:

    • STRATEGY SESSIONS (especially in the beginning of the process) designed to instill in each student the best APPROACH to the sections for demonstrable and dramatic score improvements that will be apparent very quickly

    • TARGETED REVIEW SESSIONS that aim to cover areas of content weakness in the most efficient and digestible manner possible.

    • COACHING SESSIONS (especially toward the end of the process) built around:

      • doing questions together

      • intensively reviewing the questions immediately after the student’s attempt

      • giving personalized, real-time feedback on how they handled that question

      • and having the student integrate the feedback into their performance on the next question.

  • Undoubtedly. That said, I am sensitive to the demands people already have on their time, and I try to keep the homework down to very manageable levels. Most students report that it takes less than 40 minutes per day, 4-5 days a week, to complete the homework (not including practice tests). My philosophy regarding homework is that consistency beats quantity.

  • Every case is different. Having said that, the bulk of my students need somewhere between:

    ---8 to 12 weeks (with an average of 1 session per week) for the ACT or SAT. The ones who start closer to their target can often get away with 6 sessions or fewer.

    ---8 to 16 weeks (with an average of 1-2 sessions per week) for the GRE or GMAT. The ones who start closer to their target AND/OR are not presently encumbered by a full-time work schedule (or a similar obligation) might see a substantial gain in about 1 month, depending on their level.

  • At present, I am only available for online tutoring.

  • The minimum duration of a session is one hour and the maximum duration is two hours.

    The most typical schedule most students keep with me is one hour a week. Students who have more material to cover may opt to begin with 2+ hours a week and then decrease to one hour a week later.

    I am sensitive to how incredibly overworked most students are, and I try to deliver the best value in the least possible time.

How it works

  • There are 2 ways to purchase sessions:

    • Buying individual lessons on a pay-as-you-go basis at the rate of $250/hour.

    • Making an upfront payment for a bundle of 8 or more hours at the discounted rate of $200/hour. Additional hours can be purchased afterwards at the same rate.

    ***NO-REFUND POLICY: Please note that all purchases are FINAL and NON-REFUNDABLE. Any unused hours purchased as part of a package do NOT expire and can be repurposed for a younger sibling, help with college admissions essays, etc.

  • For SAT/ACT prep, all materials - including practice tests - are included. For GRE/GMAT prep, much will be provided by me, but certain materials will still have to be purchased from the test makers.

  • A minimum of 24 hours’ notice must be given in the event of a cancellation. Lessons cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours' notice may be cancelled or rescheduled with no fee incurred. Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice but prior to the start of the session are subject to a fee upto (but not exceeding) 50% of the would-be lesson fee. No-shows (or cancellations made after the start of the session) incur the full charge of the would-be lesson. In the case of students who have purchased packages, the equivalent number of hours will be deducted from the package.

  • When you purchase a package of hours, a discounted rate is automatically applied. See above.

    Beyond that, I also have a referral policy whereby students may claim 1 free hour of tutoring (in addition to any they have already purchased) for every referral that results in a lesson with a referred student.

Pricing & Policies