Private GMAT Tutoring FAQ's

Content

1. Is there a difference between the in-class instructors and the tutors?
2. I’ve yet to begin preparing for the GMAT. What are the benefits of enrolling in a private tutoring package as opposed to a 9-session class?
3. Do you offer a score guarantee or score-improvement guarantee for your tutoring?
4. I would like to sign up for a tutoring package. Which package should I choose?
5. Will I get a set of books and access to the online resources with a tutoring package? What if I only sign up under the hourly rate?
6. What happens during my first tutoring session?
7. Are some of your instructors better than others? Do you have instructors with different specialties?
8. If I don’t like my instructor after my first session can I switch?
9. I took your class and my score improved, but I’m still not at the level I would like to be. Would private tutoring help me reach my ultimate score goal?
10. I took your class and my score improved, but I’m still not at the level I would like to be. I’m trying to decide if I should take a certain workshop or if I should enroll in private tutoring. What should I do?

Logistics

1. I travel a lot. Can my tutor be available in my home city and also for virtual tutoring?
2. How long is each tutoring session?
3. How do I register for private tutoring?
4. When will I get set up with an instructor?
5. Can I pick my instructor?
6. If I start off by paying at the hourly rate and then decide that I would like to do a package, can my hours be prorated?
7. How often will tutoring sessions take place?
8. Where does tutoring take place?
9. I’m working full-time and only have evenings to prepare for the GMAT. Can a tutor accommodate my schedule?
10. How does your virtual tutoring work?

1. I know that your class instructors are superior to those of your competitors…are the tutors just as great?
There is no difference.  Our instructors generally teach classes and engage in private instruction. They are the same people that scored in the 99th percentile, had 100+ hours of unpaid training before setting foot in a classroom, and are the highest paid instructors in the industry.


2. I’ve yet to begin preparing for the GMAT. What are the benefits of enrolling in a private tutoring package as opposed to a 9-session class?
One benefit is that the instructor, instead of tailoring his/her instruction to a diverse group of students, will tailor the instruction specifically to you. This means that your instructor will work with you to formulate a curriculum to achieve the score you want. Another benefit is that your instructor will be constantly evaluating your progress, giving you prescriptive advice, and tailoring the instruction to better address your dynamic needs.


3. Do you offer a score guarantee or score-improvement guarantee for your tutoring?
In the end, success on the GMAT encompasses many factors--many of which are outside of our control.  But while we don't offer a guarantee, we do maintain records of our students' official GMAT scores and the fact is, half of our students score a 690 or higher. Moreover, if you don't get the score you want, we will provide you with a free post-exam assessment with one of our instructors to ascertain what went wrong and how to address these problems.
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4. I would like to cover a course-load of material within a tutoring package. Which package should I choose?
This question is quite difficult to answer without knowing your specific situation or knowing more about your strengths and weaknesses. We typically tell students that a 15-hour tutoring package is comparable to a 9-session course in content breadth and depth. We recommend the 20 and 25-hour packages to students that feel they will need a concentrated effort in one or more specific concept areas. Often this decision is difficult to make without first taking a diagnostic test and receiving an instructors' assessment of your test. In this case, we recommend that you simply sign up for one 2-hour session. This gives you the opportunity to hear the instructor’s feedback, go through one full lesson and confer with the instructor on what he/she thinks is best for you based on your test results, time constraints, score goals, etc.


5. Will I get a set of books and access to the online resources with a tutoring package? How about if I only sign up under the hourly rate?
If you sign up for any of our packages, you will receive a full set of books and access to all of our online resources. If you only sign up for tutoring at the hourly rate, you will have to purchase the books and access to the online resources separately. 


6. What will happen during my first tutoring session?
First you will meet your instructor, who in all likelihood is quite a character! After that it really depends on what you decide with your instructor. In all likelihood, your sessions will include reviewing your diagnostic test, developing a plan of action, going over a few questions with your instructor so that he/she can observe you work through them, and receiving some instruction.  And remember, communication between you and your instructor is essential!
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7. Are some of your instructors better than others? Do you have tiers of instructors?
All of our instructors are phenomenal--to even land an interview, they need a 99th percentile score (combined, not in one section) and prior teaching experience. We do not have different tiers of instructors. This benchmark and the selection process ensure to the highest possible degree of certainty that our instructors are the best of the best.


8. If I don’t like my instructor after my first session, or a few sessions in, can I switch?
If by some crazy fluke of nature you are not pleased with your instructor, we would be more than happy to accommodate any changes needed. This occurrence has been a rarity among rarities throughout the history of ManhattanGMAT, so you should rest assured that you will find your tutor not only agreeable, but truly outstanding.


9. I took your class and my score improved, but I’m still not at the level I would like to be. Would private tutoring help me reach my ultimate score goal?
Absolutely! We have essentially two types of students coming into our private tutoring programs: those who have yet to begin studying and those who have taken our course and still have a few kinks to work out. If you fall into this latter category, private tutoring is highly recommended for you, especially if you feel that you have hit a wall in a few specific areas.
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10. I took your class and my score improved, but I’m still not at the level I would like to be. I’m trying to decide if I should take a certain quest or if I should enroll in private tutoring. What should I do?
You can do either. The workshops are designed for students who have specific areas that they would like to focus on.  For instance, if your main concern is achieving mastery in sentence correction, then the Sentence Correction workshop is probably your best bet.  If the areas you'd like to address are more varied, then private tutoring will likely be the most effective course of action.

Logistics

1. I travel a lot. Can my tutor be available in my home city but also for virtual tutoring?
This can be arranged.  Our tutors are quite flexible and have been trained for virtual tutoring.  You can experience the virtual platform we use here.
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2. How long do the tutoring sessions usually take?
Most tutoring sessions are two hours long. We have found this to be a comfortable amount of time, though you are free to determine the length of each session with your instructors.


3. How do I register for private tutoring?
To register, complete the Private Instruction Planning Form or call 800-576-4628 to begin a conversation with our Student Services Team. In order to start the process of getting set up with an instructor, you must pay a $20 nonrefundable deposit towards the price of your initial two-hour tutoring session. When we find you an instructor, the remainder of your balance will be automatically deduced shortly before you receive a confirmation e-mail with your instructor's name. Your instrcutor will call you within the next 24 hours regarding setting up the first two-hour session. After you meet, if you wish to upgrade to a tutoring package or continue on an hourly basis, simply call the Student Services Team to arrange for more tutoring hours.


4. When will I get set up with an instructor?
The time it takes to get in touch with an instructor depends solely on the availability in a particular city. Generally, if one of our instructors is available, the time it takes from the moment you place you deposit to the moment you receive a call from the instructor is 2 - 3 days. If instructor availability is limited, we will let you know the extended wait time before you place your deposit.

5. Can I pick my instructor?
We will take requests and do everything in our ability to accommodate that request, but we cannot guarantee that you will work with the instructor of your choice. Our instructors often teach classes and do private instruction concurrently, while keeping their day job. As such, it becomes incredibly difficult to guarantee such arrangements. And besides, it's not advisable to base a preference solely on a biography or personal referral when all of our instructors are so talented.


6. If I start off by ordering tutoring hours by the hourly rate, and then later decide that I would like to do the package rate, will my hours be prorated?
Absolutely. It is often recommend that a student interested in purchasing a tutoring package initially buy 2 hours worth of tutoring and confer with the tutor to decide if a package is a good fit. That said, we are more than happy to accommodate prorating at any point during the tutoring process when applicable.
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7. How often will my tutor and I meet?
The answer to this question will wholly depend on your schedule and the amount of time you have to commit to studying. Tutoring, just like our classes, will require hours of work before and after each session to prepare for and reinforce the material. For students working a full-time job, meeting once a week is very common. However, if you have taken a break from work and/or have a limited amount of time before your test, meeting more often is possible.  Please remember that the effectiveness of tutoring greatly depends on the amount of time spent studying, so meeting multiple times a week is ill-advised unless you can commit 8-10+ hours between sessions.


8. Where will my tutor and I meet?
If you’re in New York, Boston, Chicago, or San Francisco you can meet at our centers.  Other meeting places can be arranged between you and your instructor at your convenience.


9. I’m working full-time and only have evenings to prepare for the GMAT. Can a tutor accommodate my schedule?
Of course! The majority of our students are working full time and a good number of them can only meet during weekday evenings.
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10. How does your virtual tutoring work?
Our virtual tutoring works through the same platform as our virtual classes.  Take a look at a recording of a virtual preview and see how effective the virtual platform can be.  Or, you can sign up to attend the first session of a LIVE virtual class; the upcoming schedule is here.