Hi everyone,

My name is Alex, and I'm writing to offer my services as a tutor. I’ve worked as a professional educator for more than a decade, both in the classroom and in private instruction. I’ve worked with hundreds of students with diverse learning styles, and have (I'd like to think) developed some expertise in the art of teaching.

Over the years I've learned a critical (and humbling) lesson: the brilliance and subject-matter expertise of the teacher is irrelevant if they're misaligned with the learning needs and learning style of the student. This forum and thread is crawling with talented tutors who are likely a perfect fit for many of you. I'd like to provide you with some specific information about who I am as a teacher, my philosophy and approach, etc. in order to help you make an informed decision before you spend your hard-earned money.

Here is my approach (in a nutshell):

My overall goal is to make the test feel much simpler (but don't expect simple). This exam is inevitably hard, and there are questions that require a lot of brainpower. There are also, however, many easy questions masquerading as "hard" through complex language, disorienting syntax, trap answer choices, and other LSAC trickery. As a point of emphasis, I teach students to cut through the noise and distill each individual question type into its simplest form. The time this will save you (not to mention the energy) is invaluable when it comes to improvement.

Within the scope of this larger, overarching aim we will of course focus on the unique set of needs each student has (timing, specific question types, comprehension strategies, little "tricks of the trade", etc.). But the simplification is my central goal and thesis.

I myself earned a 176 primarily through focused self-study. I began with a 152 diagnostic. I know firsthand that this test is learnable, and I'd like to think that my improvement speaks to the efficacy of my approach, but again: it won't for everyone. If you feel, though, that it might be a fit for you, feel free to reach out here in the comments. Over the past few months, I’ve been fully booked with students preparing for the November LSAT. Many of them just hit the scores they’ve been working for, which has opened around three or four spots in my schedule. I’m looking to fill them with students who want consistent, serious preparation. I take this very seriously, and I wish to work with students who can offer a similar level of commitment.

I should mention also: I work with both individual students and small groups. Some people learn best by talking through problems with others; some prefer a quieter one-on-one space. I structure both formats so sessions feel focused, purposeful, and productive. A benefit of group lessons, of course, is the lower individual cost, but have some risk if people drop out. At the bottom of this post I've outlined a policy to mitigate this.

Please reach out in the comments if you have any questions or would like to work together. I wanted to keep this short and failed, but hey, at least you got some Reading Comp practice!

My rates are below

Meeting once per week: $75/one-hour session or $140/two-hour session ($70 per hour).

Meeting twice per week: $130/two one-hour sessions ($65 per hour) and $240/two two-hour sessions ($60 per hour, $120 per session)

Meeting three times per week: $165/three one-hour sessions ($55 per hour) and $300/three two-hour sessions ($50 per hour, $100 per session)

Group lesson policy

Group lessons are a great way to reduce cost, but there's a risk that students will drop out. Here's how I've tried to reduce that risk:

Group rates are the same as the individual rates listed above. If, however, a group member can't make a session, if I am given 24-hour notice, I will reduce the cost of the lesson to a degree that allows each student to continue paying their normal rate, up to a 25% reduction. I know that sounds like a logical reasoning question, so let me provide an example to illustrate this:

If a group has 5 people, and I'm meeting with them for two-hour sessions twice per week, their cost per session is $120. Split 5 ways this is $24 per student. If one member can't make it and I'm provided 24 hours notice, I'll reduce the price to $96, which allows each student to continue paying $24 for that lesson. I can, however, only reduce my price by a maximum of 25%. So if two students can't make it, I will charge $90 (25% off) which will bring the remaining three members to $30 for that lesson.

While this is imperfect, I think it strikes a decent balance and makes the risk on both ends tolerable.