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Finding a tutor

Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
in General 316 karma

Hi guys! I hope you and your loved ones are doing well!

I am in the process of finding a tutor, and I was wondering if those who utilized tutoring services during their LSAT studying could share their experiences (positive or negative).

I have some general questions:
- How did you go about finding your tutor?
- What did you look for in a tutor?
- How often did you meet with them, did you find that effective?
- What is the typical amount per session (if you don't mind sharing)?
- How long did you utilize their services?
- When did you start with a tutor (for reference- I am about to start the LG part of the CC, so still foundational)?
- Did you see a score improvement, and if so, was it substantial?
- What are some good things to ask during a consultation, to see if a tutor is the best fit for you?
- And any other general insight/ advice.

Thanks so much in advance!

Comments

  • syedasadali1900syedasadali1900 Alum Member
    12 karma

    Dave Binghamton is the greatest tutor and only going to be teaching for a few months. Nuff Said

  • Waffle23Waffle23 Alum Member
    603 karma

    ^Agreed. Working with Dave for logic games was the biggest game changer for me (no pun intended). He really knows how to break down and methodically approach games/questions in a way that's super easy to understand and replicate. I went from being super anxious about logic games to feeling very comfortable completing any game (this obviously also took a ton of practice outside of tutoring, but so worth it).

    7sage has an approved list of tutors on here btw:

    https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/4760/7sages-approved-tutors/p1

  • jmarmaduke96jmarmaduke96 Member Sage
    2891 karma

    Hi there!

    In terms of when to get a tutor, the advice that was given to me (and I think it was good) is to get a tutor when you feel like you don't really know what to do next in terms of how to improve. This usually happens when you reach a score plateau and can't seem to break past it. If you are still learning the foundational concepts in the CC then I think that you won't get nearly as much benefit out of a tutor now as you would if you invested later.

    As far as what to look for in a tutor and where to find one, I think that 7sage's list of tutors in fantastic. Most (maybe all?) of them offer free consultations, so you can see what their particular strengths are and how you feel while talking to them about what the lessons would be like. I think that some of the best questions to ask a potential tutor really are just questions about their teaching approach. What is their philosophy to teaching? what is a typical session going to look like for you? etc.

    My tutor was @Sami and she was absolutely fantastic. We never really met on a set schedule. Rather, we would have a session and I would take the feedback and work on it to the best of my ability. Once I felt that I had incorporated the feedback and was at the next plateau (or else I really ran into a roadblock attempting to incorporate it) then we would schedule another session. This did do a lot to boost my score. Before I began the sessions, I had been stuck for 8-9 months at a 167 average. I really could not figure out what to do to break it. My BR scores were higher than my target score, so I knew that it wasn't my understanding of the material per se, but something in my application of the material to the test under timed conditions. Through the sessions, I have raised my average to just under a 174. That is a fairly substantial difference and I feel much more confident going into the LSAT this month than I otherwise would have.

  • FindingSageFindingSage Alum Member
    2047 karma

    Hi,

    I have been studying for a long time now and finally starting to score in my goal range. I do not think this would have taken me nearly so long if I had gotten a tutor much earlier on. When I started my LSAT journey I had never had to study mcuh for any test and I was used to being able to cram and do really well. I learned the hard way on that- you can not cram the LSAT. I made the decsion to self study from the beginning and while I am glad that I didn't waste money on one of the big name Prep companies because I feel like they teach you more ticks and gimmicks than anything else. But if I could have done this process all over again I would gotten a tutor and also joined a study group much earlier in my prep experince than I did. I have glanced around at tutors outside of 7Sage and I can say with confidence 7Sage tutors regardless of who you use will give the best value for your money. Not only are they savvy test takers, they are all either current or former 7Sage students who have worked really hard to score the way they did. The link above with the list of 7Sage approved tutors is a great place to start. As mentioned, most if not all will offer a free consultation to see if you may be a good fit. You can also look up their names and read some of their comments and posts and find out a little more about them that way. I also want to mention that some of the tutors also offer occasional events ranging from blind review to help with a specific area like Reading Comp or test taking strategy. This might be a good way for you to get an idea of how the tutors teach and explain things. I have attended several sessions this way by different tutors but have really appreciated the help that @"Michael.Cinco" has provided me. Since I am closer to my goal he has helped me a lot with timing, confidence, strategy. But I have also seen him help others through their thought process and patiently helping them arrive at the answer on their own. He would be a wonderful person for you to talk to about tutoring.

  • 776 karma

    Two names:
    @sami & @BinghamtonDave - Hall a famers in tutoring!!!

  • Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
    316 karma

    @syedasadali1900 said:
    Dave Binghamton is the greatest tutor and only going to be teaching for a few months. Nuff Said

    Thanks so much for the recommendation!!

  • Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
    316 karma

    @Tokyo2020 said:
    ^Agreed. Working with Dave for logic games was the biggest game changer for me (no pun intended). He really knows how to break down and methodically approach games/questions in a way that's super easy to understand and replicate. I went from being super anxious about logic games to feeling very comfortable completing any game (this obviously also took a ton of practice outside of tutoring, but so worth it).

    7sage has an approved list of tutors on here btw:

    https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/4760/7sages-approved-tutors/p1

    Thank you for the recommendation and for the list! I had no idea that existed and you made this search a lot easier! I'm happy to hear that you were able to improve on anxiety, as that's something I'm trying to work on as well. Thanks for sharing :)

  • Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
    316 karma

    @jmarmaduke96 said:
    Hi there!

    In terms of when to get a tutor, the advice that was given to me (and I think it was good) is to get a tutor when you feel like you don't really know what to do next in terms of how to improve. This usually happens when you reach a score plateau and can't seem to break past it. If you are still learning the foundational concepts in the CC then I think that you won't get nearly as much benefit out of a tutor now as you would if you invested later.

    As far as what to look for in a tutor and where to find one, I think that 7sage's list of tutors in fantastic. Most (maybe all?) of them offer free consultations, so you can see what their particular strengths are and how you feel while talking to them about what the lessons would be like. I think that some of the best questions to ask a potential tutor really are just questions about their teaching approach. What is their philosophy to teaching? what is a typical session going to look like for you? etc.

    My tutor was @Sami and she was absolutely fantastic. We never really met on a set schedule. Rather, we would have a session and I would take the feedback and work on it to the best of my ability. Once I felt that I had incorporated the feedback and was at the next plateau (or else I really ran into a roadblock attempting to incorporate it) then we would schedule another session. This did do a lot to boost my score. Before I began the sessions, I had been stuck for 8-9 months at a 167 average. I really could not figure out what to do to break it. My BR scores were higher than my target score, so I knew that it wasn't my understanding of the material per se, but something in my application of the material to the test under timed conditions. Through the sessions, I have raised my average to just under a 174. That is a fairly substantial difference and I feel much more confident going into the LSAT this month than I otherwise would have.

    Congrats on the score jump!! Thank you for the thorough response and the recommendation, I really appreciate it!

  • Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
    316 karma

    @FindingSage said:
    Hi,

    I have been studying for a long time now and finally starting to score in my goal range. I do not think this would have taken me nearly so long if I had gotten a tutor much earlier on. When I started my LSAT journey I had never had to study mcuh for any test and I was used to being able to cram and do really well. I learned the hard way on that- you can not cram the LSAT. I made the decsion to self study from the beginning and while I am glad that I didn't waste money on one of the big name Prep companies because I feel like they teach you more ticks and gimmicks than anything else. But if I could have done this process all over again I would gotten a tutor and also joined a study group much earlier in my prep experince than I did. I have glanced around at tutors outside of 7Sage and I can say with confidence 7Sage tutors regardless of who you use will give the best value for your money. Not only are they savvy test takers, they are all either current or former 7Sage students who have worked really hard to score the way they did. The link above with the list of 7Sage approved tutors is a great place to start. As mentioned, most if not all will offer a free consultation to see if you may be a good fit. You can also look up their names and read some of their comments and posts and find out a little more about them that way. I also want to mention that some of the tutors also offer occasional events ranging from blind review to help with a specific area like Reading Comp or test taking strategy. This might be a good way for you to get an idea of how the tutors teach and explain things. I have attended several sessions this way by different tutors but have really appreciated the help that @"Michael.Cinco" has provided me. Since I am closer to my goal he has helped me a lot with timing, confidence, strategy. But I have also seen him help others through their thought process and patiently helping them arrive at the answer on their own. He would be a wonderful person for you to talk to about tutoring.

    I feel the same way about test prep companies, tutoring + self study definitely seems like the way to go. Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and the recommendation! You gave me a lot to think about when reaching out to tutors.

  • Jahn.SnowJahn.Snow Member
    316 karma

    @Trusttheprocess said:
    Two names:
    @sami & @BinghamtonDave - Hall a famers in tutoring!!!

    Thanks for the recommendations!!

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