One-On-One Tutoring & Test Prep

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Our services are split approximately by: 25% high school tutoring, 25% college tutoring, 50% test prep (ACT/SAT/GRE/GMAT/MCAT/LSAT). Within academic tutoring, we have tutors available to help in almost any possible subject.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Students/customers looking for tutoring & test prep should realize two things:

1) you get out of tutoring or test prep what you put in. If you are diligent about studying/preparing, you will do well by following a variety of test prep strategies/plans, either classroom based or private 1-1 tutoring. Be sure to set objectives for individual sessions, as well as for the long term so you know what you're aiming for.

2) It's easy to pay way too much or way too little for private 1-1 tutoring services. One can find a GMAT tutor for anywhere from $20 per hour on Craig's List to $200 from a large test prep company. Our private 1-1 tutoring combines some of the best quality tutors around at a $50-$60 per hour price point by delivering a no frills offer in your home or local coffee shop and cutting away the deluge of unnecessary materials pushed by other firms.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. The nationally recognized test preparation and tutoring companies have built very strong brands, and offer valuable services. However, the value of taking a "test prep class" for the ACT/SAT/GRE/GMAT/MCAT/or LSAT is actually much lower than they'd have you believe. Both the material/content and test taking tips/insights delivered in these classes are freely available in "off the shelf" test prep books. That's why MyGuru offers test prep packages that simply combine "off the shelf" materials with an individual tutor - we think this is the most effective way to prep.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Our tutors are, generally, of a much higher quality than competing tutoring companies and relative to the averge individual tutor. Only 25% of applicants ultimately join our team as tutors.

First, we bring only graduates of top tier universities onto our team (i.e., Northwestern University, Notre Dame, University of Illinois - generally the top 100 nationally ranked schools). Second, more than 50% of our team has an advanced degree or is an advanced degree student (i.e., master's degree, JD, MD, PhD). Third, we have a preference for ex-instructors at well known national, regional, or local test preparation companies, and require all test prep tutors to have scored in the top 5-10 percent on the test for which they are tutoring.

Fourth, many of our tutors are also PhD student teaching assistants, adjunct college professors, or certified high school teachers. Fifth, we require a minimum of two years of tutoring or teaching experience for every tutor.

Finally, each tutor is screened for communication and interpersonal skills. Again, only 25% of applicants ultimately join our team.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. The founders of MyGuru were all private tutors in high school and college, and after going through the ACT, SAT, GMAT,and LSAT prep processes between the ages of 17-27, we realized there had to be a way to deliver high qualty tutoring & test prep more affordably, but with the benefits of working with a company (relative to seeking out an individual tutor with questionable quality/background, etc.). We tried to create a company that provides a price point closer to an individual tutor while also delivering many of the benefits of working with a larger company (tutor quality screening, scheduling and payment services, facilitation of objective setting, design of tutoring packages, money back guarantee, etc.).