Should I Get a GMAT Tutor?
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“Do you think I should get a GMAT tutor? Is it worth it?” As a GMAT teacher, I hear these questions often and I’ve realized that they tend to come at three specific times during class. I have a few hypotheses as to why these questions come up at these particular times, and some suggestions for you if you share these concerns.
1. Right after you’ve taken a trial class (Session 1) or even before you’ve come to class…
If you are this type of student, you’re probably worried about your math skills. You probably haven’t been in a classroom for a while and you feel really rusty. You’re not sure you can hack it in class. Let me reassure you that you are not alone in these feelings! This is mostly just fear. You know what fear stands for? Future Events Already Ruined. Sure, you might be rusty, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to shake off that rust. Your fear doesn’t have to be your reality.
That said, most people tend to benefit from individualized attention, like tutoring. However, tutoring is substantially more expensive than class. So, my advice to you is that if you have the funds and a paralyzing amount of fear, then go ahead and sign up for tutoring. But, you must be aware that you’ll need a large number of hours of tutoring to get through all the material you would cover in class. Probably somewhere in the 20-ish hour range (possibly more). If you don’t have that kind of cash money lying around (like most people!), then take a class, see my other blog post about being scared of math, and then think about potentially getting a GMAT tutor farther down the road.
2. Halfway through class…
If you are this type of student, you fall into one of two categories: you are thinking of dropping out of class and just tutoring, or you’re staying in class but you want to supplement it with a GMAT tutor. Whichever category you fall into, chances are that you feel like you understand the material in class (for the most part), but then can’t do the homework problems successfully. You have trouble translating what you’ve learned with the aid of a teacher into doing problems on your own.
A tutor might be able to help you bridge that gap! In this scenario, you wouldn’t need quite as many tutoring hours since you’ve already learned a lot of the basics from class. My advice is to STAY in class so that you can continue learning those basics and then polish those new skills with a GMAT tutor. You could potentially do class once a week, followed by a tutoring session once a week. You might need somewhere in the 10 hour range for tutoring. This type of schedule can be fairly time-consuming, so I warn you to think about it carefully before diving in. It WILL help you get through class, but it will require a large amount of dedication.
3. After the final class…
If you’re this type of student, you might feel fairly confident with most of the skills needed for the GMAT, but you’re just not getting a practice score that you like. You also may already realize where the holes in your knowledge lie. You are the most common type of tutoring student!! I highly recommend tutoring if you feel this way. You may only need a few sessions (maybe around 5 hours) to lock in on exactly what you have left to study. I’m not saying that tutoring will be the magic bullet, but those few sessions will help you figure out what you need to attack and how you need to attack it. But then you have to put in the work of actually waging that battle. Your GMAT tutor will give you the blueprint, you just have to build it. (Too many metaphors? Battles and blueprints? Sorry!)
In summary, I almost ALWAYS think tutoring is “worth it.” Not everyone needs a tutor, but I don’t think there’s a downside to having one. At Manhattan Prep, the tutors put in a great amount of effort to really understand what their students need. We even go through a separate training program to make sure we’ll be good one-on-one tutors since tutoring is a different skill than classroom teaching! We know how much you’re investing in tutoring, so we strive to give you an individualized lesson and helpful strategies for studying on your own. The only thing you need to do is figure out the best time to start tutoring. We’ll take you the rest of the way! ?
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Elaine Loh is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in psychology and a desire to teach others. She can’t get enough of standardized tests and has been a test prep tutor and teacher for over half her life. Check out Elaine’s upcoming GMAT courses here.