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Prep coruses versus Tutor

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Prep coruses versus Tutor

by isisalaska » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:11 am
I am following Eric's advice to share this question with the forum. I am thinking on either taking a course (Kaplan/Princeton Review) or hire a private tutor. I need help in the quantitative section, I took the test in Feb. and I did fine in the verbal area. Any thoughts of what will be more effective? pros/cons?

I spoke witth the folks at Kaplan and Princeton Review and they say they guarantee results in terms of satisfaction. So basically I could take the course for free again if I am satisfied with my score or I will get my monet back. Any experience here?

The people at Princeton suggested a private tutor since I have specific needs and they say they have two excellent tutors who scored in the high 700s. Is this enough qualification? I mean, maybe theses guys are very good at taking the GMAT but they cannot teach. What question should I ask if I decide to go this route?
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Re: Prep coruses versus Tutor

by kevch25 » Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:52 am
isisalaska wrote:I am following Eric's advice to share this question with the forum. I am thinking on either taking a course (Kaplan/Princeton Review) or hire a private tutor. I need help in the quantitative section, I took the test in Feb. and I did fine in the verbal area. Any thoughts of what will be more effective? pros/cons?

I spoke witth the folks at Kaplan and Princeton Review and they say they guarantee results in terms of satisfaction. So basically I could take the course for free again if I am satisfied with my score or I will get my monet back. Any experience here?

The people at Princeton suggested a private tutor since I have specific needs and they say they have two excellent tutors who scored in the high 700s. Is this enough qualification? I mean, maybe theses guys are very good at taking the GMAT but they cannot teach. What question should I ask if I decide to go this route?
I am sure if you were seriously considering the private tutor route, that they would be willing to do a 5-10 minute sit down with you. I'd just ask them to go over a question or two, or one type of quant problem that always gives you trouble and ask them to explain it to you.

If you come away with a good feeling like you can attack that sort of problem in the future, then perhaps this is the way to go. If they are just reiterating what you already know, then you have your answer as well.

I hear most places let you sit in on one of their classes for free, so why not speak to a tutor for a couple minutes before making the investment?
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by fsar45 » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:43 pm
That's a great idea. I'll bet they would let you do that, at least meet the person and check him/her out.

Generally the best instructors are the ones who become tutors (I have a friend who taught for PR, and she had to audition to become an instructor, and had to have really good reviews from students before being considered for a tutor position).

PR should be able to share the tutors' reviews with you, so ask them about it.
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by kevch25 » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:28 pm
Alright, just got back from my GMAT. Scored a 660 ... shy of my 700+ score. isisalaska, how are you going about finding a private tutor? I live in Austin, TX and may try hunting one down myself. I feel like I can tighten myself on Math and tweak my verbal a bit. I know 700 is in my grasp, but I may need a little bit of a push to get there.

I'd appreciate any info you have on finding one in you area ... I did a google search and I'm coming up with rates of 140-150 per hour for 25 hours ... $3000+. Too rich for my blood :(
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by isisalaska » Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:49 am
Well, here in St. Louis I fodun 2 tutors through Princeton Rview. They charge $1,600 for 16 hours so yes, it is expensive. I have the option to take the course (21hours for $1299) or hire a tutor through them at $1,600. Next Tuesday they have an info session so I will go to check.

Also I check Kaplan and the prep coruse is a littel mroe expensive (150 more) I they also have tutors, I am planning to go to their infro session as well. The only thing I am concerned is they Kaplan web site says this prep coruse is for people scoring 650 already, since this is not my case this course might not apply. I will let you know.

Honesty, once you are in the $1,200 figure I don't care to spend few more dollar if a tutor will make a difference.
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by isisalaska » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:05 am
Hi
I met with a PR tutor yesterday and I was quite impressed. He gave an overview of the test of (1 hour) and went through some of the math problems. Initially I was planning to take the prep coruse (group) but since i am not new at this I feel I might get more for my money by hiring a private tutor. For instance, the first classe of the PR course is about the GMAT structure, timing etc, well I think I am pass that point :) and that is 3 hours, so maybe in my case it makes more sense to have a tutor. It is more expensive $100/hr and less hours (16) but I guess at this point it is better quality over quantitive. Would you agree? Eric? Steacy? Others?
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by catalinan » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:05 am
Hi isisalaska,

Well, I kinda have a tutor, but is not a tutor from kaplan or princeton review, he is a math teacher at a local university who also prepares the guys at the math department for the GRE.

The methodology that we use is that I make exercises from the OG or Kaplan, and I come to him with questions, and then we solve the problems together and he gives me tips and stuff like that.

Why don´t you try to hire a math teacher or somebody with a strong math background who has taken the GMAT or the GRE? the good thing is that since they work by their own they might be able to help you.

My teacher is really good and he only charges me 13 bucks an hour... so is payable, maybe your teacher will charge you more, but if you short of budget (like I am) maybe somebody really good at math can help.

Tons of luck!
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by isisalaska » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:27 am
Catalian
the problem is since I am not a student anymore I don't know any math teacher...and also, I need to learn shortcuts and "tricks" or something since my main problem is I spend too much time doing calculations, etc. But 13 bucks! that's a steal, you are lucky :)
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by catalinan » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:01 am
Well, I got lucky...

But you know... I am not a student either, I finished college almost 4 years ago, but I started to call universities and one gave me the name of my tutor.

Another idea that might help you, is that if you have a friend that is really good at math, go to him so he can help you with the problems that you had trouble with... and then with the problems that you are still feeling unconfortable go to the tutor.

The whole idea is if you are getting a tutor, at least go there with a good amount of questions, so in that way you can get the most out of it.

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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:56 pm
If you find a good tutor and you can afford the cost, then it is the best way to go. I would caution you about working with a general math (or English) tutor - you want someone who understands how the questions are tested on this exam and how important speed is to your performance. If a general math tutor also gets this, that's fantastic - but standardized test technique is a HUGE part of the test. It's not just about knowing the rules. You can obviously see this yourself when you compare GMAT-type questions to the kinds of questions you had in math classes in school.

I fully agree that you should do lots of work between sessions and come with lots of questions. Have at least a week between sessions so you can learn a ton on your own (or via Beat The GMAT!) and you can just work with the tutor on the areas that are giving you trouble. Definitely more cost-effective that way.
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by isisalaska » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:53 am
just an update...

Last Tuesday I went to the Princeton Review info session. It was good although I knew pretty much everything about the structure of the GMAT, timing, etc (I have been studying since October). Since my nightmare is math I ended up signing for 16 hours private tutoring. I am above average on verbal, according to my test results in Feb. so I though it would be better for me to "pick my battles" :wink: . Tutoring is more expensive ($1,600 for 16 hours), the course is $1,290, but I think it will pay off (hopefully).

I am starting this coming Saturday. The tutor seems to be very competent and most important, he really knows how to explain the problems in an effective way. During the info session I could checked this since he explained some of the problems (we were only 3 people so we had plenty of time to ask questions)

Also, another thing that made choose tutoring over a group course is that the course is 21 hours (more hours than tutoring) but the first 3 are an overview about the GMAT, which I don't really need, so basically you have really 18 hours. Compared to tutoring is about the same.

I hope this approach will be right for me. For my first session I am putting together a list of problematic areas.

Any other advice? also, how long should each session last? I am thinking 1 hr is probably not good enough...it is really up to me since I have 16 in my "bank"
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:51 am
Either 1.5 or 2 hours. 1 is too short - you need more time to get traction. 1.5 or 2 allows you to get deeply into a topic but you don't spend so much time that your brain is fried and you stop learning before the session is over.

As for deciding between 1.5 and 2, just depends on you. You could also do a mix of the two.
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by aim-wsc » Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:19 am
Where the heck I was when this thread grew!

The figures are scaring me :o

JUST to remind you that you can always come back here to solve problems and learn new tricks.

Good decision btw 8)
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