rigolinr

My son will be taking the SATs in the spring of 2007. Should we invest in a "master tutor" (out of sight price) who would work one-on-one? Or, what about the online tutor who supposedly gives personal attention in the online environment (that costs half as much).
Mom of Junior (and a college professor who can't teach her own son!)

hazmat

Please be a little more explanatory about "out of sight price". The cost of test prep varies somewhat but you must have some ballpark figure that goes beyond what is standard for test prep from a well known agency.

In many cases private tutoring is a better value than a review course. I think we'd have to know more about your son's diagnostic testing. What areas he needs tutoring in.

rigolinr

On the high end, one company offered a Master Tutor package for between 3,600 and 4,800!
The online version has personal online support (with a white board and IM/ audio connection) for 2000.
My son is likely to do well overall, but probably not stellar. (For a bench mark, my older son received a 670 M and 540 V on the old test; I expect my younger son's score to be much better in the verbal and similar in the M, bringing him to the 1300 area (old scoring system).
Hope this helps!

PeteSAT

The question you should be asking is whether your son will respond better to a one-on-one tutor or an online situation. Perhaps he'd respond better to a class, or maybe he can prep completely on his own. You should have a pretty good idea of his learning style, so go with what suits him best.

For the record, I'm not a big fan of tutoring packages. They're too generic. Some students need just a few hours of help, others need quite a lot. You may spend a fortune and find that your son has gotten everything he can from the tutor in half the time you paid for. There's not a lot of room for flexibility. It's true that you might end up paying a lot of money for hourly tutorials if your son needs lots of help, but there's a very good chance you'll spend less and get only what he needs.

You also have to be careful about so called "master tutors." There are some truly gifted tutors out there, but there are also a lot of mediocre ones who are touted as "master tutors". (The hardest thing I find about running a tutorial business is finding excellent tutors.)

My advice would be to ask around and try to find a one-on-one tutor in your area who comes highly recommended and use them on an hourly basis.

Just out of curiosity, which company quoted those rates? Feel free to send me a private message if you'd prefer.

Gyros321

I did Studyworks (I think the price was about a 1000). That really helped me. I had a 1960 but went to a 2110... however I think I may have learned new concepts and such.

rigolinr

Did you do the online class or in person or with a tutor?
Thanks for your response - - that is a big jump in score.
RR

rigolinr

I have been reading about serveral companies, but I believe it was Princeton Review which charged so much for the most experienced tutors. (And I am led to wonder just how much of that money goes to the actual tutor???)

Of course, shopping around for tutors just reinforces the point that the educational playing field is never level (that it EVER could be is, of course, open to debate). Upper-class students can afford tutors (and good schools) while lower and working class students do not have access to these resources.

This is one reason I respect those students who work on their own and achieve so much - - I see many of them on College Confidential and in my own classroom.

RR

PeteSAT

PR's highest level tutors in LA get paid quite well...somewhere in the $75/hour range from what I understand (of course, PR is making even more than that per hour)...but the last time I checked, there were only a couple of tutors at that level. The two I know of are VERY good...among the best tutors I've seen. I think they are called something higher level than "Master Tutor", however.

And I completely agree...the playing field is not level. I, too, have great respect for those who do it on their own. And great respect for people on College Confidential (like Xiggi) who try their best to give everyone the advice they need to do their best.

P

Gyros321

I did in a class :d