Online GRE tutors
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Video: How GRE Prep is like the Pizza Industry
The most important factor in GRE prep is the person teaching you.
Private GRE tutoring using Zoom
Zoom works really well for online tutoring! We can share materials so we're literally on the same page, record the session so you can review it later, and draw on the screen so you get a visual of what we're explaining.
You may also want to check out our GRE tutoring pages for LD/ADHD students and older / non-traditional students. Also, we offer a 15% discount for active duty military.
Normally, we work on the entire GRE with people, but if you'd like, we can just focus on the verbal or math section.
P.S. We also help people write their graduate school admissions essays and statements of purpose!
The most important question to ask, we think, is this: "Who will be the person actually tutoring me?"
We're probably the most expensive tutors in San Diego. Why? In stark contrast to our competitors who employ a rotating cast of 23-year-olds, our tutors have an average of 10 years of experience. We pay them really well because we only hire tutors who are extremely good at what they do.
Meet our online GRE tutors here!
One-on-one GRE tutoring, with us, is completely customized to your learning style, personality, and needs.
In our online GRE tutoring sessions, talking through the nuances of practice questions not only allows us to explain, in detail, the strategies that work, but those conversations also allow us to see what you're thinking and adjust our instruction minute-by-minute - something you can't easily get from a big class and that you certainly can't get from a GRE video course.
(Above: Vince explains a level 5 out of 5 difficulty reading comprehension question.)
Conversation is what makes private tutoring so valuable. It allows us to see the best way to help you, whether the problem is content, strategy, timing, test anxiety, or even your personal approach to studying and test-taking.
"Is online GRE tutoring worth it?"
Here are some of the benefits:
- A study plan and schedule tailored to your specific situation and adjusted as you go
- Talking through questions with someone with several years of experience with the GRE and its many quirks
- We get straight to what YOU need to improve your score as efficiently as possible
- Math explained in plain English
- Feedback on your essays
- Accountability and encouragement :)
"How long does it take?"
We usually recommend about 10 hours of tutoring. That's enough time for us to talk through the strategies for each type of question and go over a few practice tests with you. Of course, some people need fewer or more than 10 hours. Given that tutoring is pretty expensive, we'll optimize everything based on your situation to give you the most bang for your buck.
"What's your average score increase?"
Most people, given a typical tutoring plan and a couple of months to study, increase their GRE scores about 10 points. Some people improve way more -- or way less -- than that. A lot depends on how much study time OUTSIDE of tutoring the person has, and how effectively they use that time.
When you hear about a huge score increase, it's often because the person had a strong verbal and math knowledge base and just needed to figure out how the GRE worked... and/or because they truly worked their ass off! The converse is also often true: people with below average reading ability and who never learned the math concepts the GRE tests will generally have a much tougher time and need a longer-term study plan.
You can count on us to be honest about your potential given your situation, goals, and progress with the material, and to give you every resource we know of to help you improve, including a completely personalized homework / study plan.
Look for each tutor's location and pricing in their bio.
Vince Kotchian
Vince: I grew up in small-town Connecticut and completed the honors program at Boston College, graduating with a B.A. in English Literature. I moved to San Diego in 2007, and I’ve been working full-time as a test-prep tutor ever since. I've scored a perfect 170 in verbal (twice) and a 167 in quant on the GRE.
GRE prep is literally all I do. I've co-authored prep books and created GRE courses and apps, but I spend most of my days working with people one-on-one. I enjoy tutoring since it's a conversation, and discussion is actually what makes the process so valuable. It lets me follow what you're thinking and focus on what you need most, whether that's content (like understanding math concepts), strategy (like figuring out if a reading comprehension answer choice is right or wrong), timing, or even something like study skills or test-taking skills.
All of Vince's tutoring clients get a customized GRE study plan so you know exactly what to work on for homework between sessions.
My goal is to help you both master the GRE and be efficient and productive with your study time. I'll work with anyone, but if I had to pick a specialty, it'd be helping MBA applicants get from 320 to 330. If you're applying to a competitive program and want to give yourself every possible chance to score well, I'm your guy.
Vince is a true GRE specialist - he's one of the very few tutors out there who ONLY teaches GRE prep. His publications include Barron's 6 GRE Practice Tests, LinkedIn's GRE prep course, and the apps "GRE Math Knight" and "GRE Vocab Cartoons". He also teaches for GregMAT+ and is a moderator of the GRE subreddit.
If you're interested in working with him for private GRE tutoring via Zoom, please contact us with a description of your situation, and we'll set up a free 15-minute consultation. Most people work with Vince for 5 to 15 hours in total.
"I took the GRE a couple of times before and was not happy with the score I received and then reached out to Vince for one-on-one tutoring (online). I improved my score by 10 points! He was extremely helpful and taught me many things about the test." - Olivia Spinosa
Blake: I’m a native San Diegan, father, and an aficionado of basketball, vintage video games, pitchy karaoke, and lecturing my son on how much better Star Wars was "back in the day." I played college basketball at St. Mary’s College and Whittier College, where I earned my B.A. in Psychology in 2002.
Having been a full-time test prep coach for over 13 years, I have seen just about every type of student and tutoring situation. This allows me to give my students exactly what they need to reach their goals.
My years of experience have also led me to coach my students a little differently than most. A lot of test prep revolves around how to answer a question. While that is a necessary component, identifying what is needed to answer a question is at least as important, especially for timed tests like the GRE. I show my students how to look at the test the way I do, to the patterns and tendencies of the test to make them faster and more accurate.
GRE tutoring with Blake is $199 / hour (or $179 / hour for 10 or more hours). Most students use between 10 and 15 hours total.
He meets clients in his Del Mar Heights office or online via Zoom.
Blake Jensen
Kaitlin Douglass
Kaitlin: I am originally from Amarillo, TX, where I developed a love of BBQ, country music, and beautiful sunsets (I can still get about 2 out of 3 of these things in San Diego).
I attended the University of Pennsylvania, and received a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering with minors in Spanish and Nanotechnology. Following that, I worked at Siemens for a couple of years in building automation. I then made the move to teaching and am a high school credentialed chemistry teacher at a local private school
At the same time I started teaching, I began teaching test prep. I currently tutor private GRE clients and teach a GRE prep course at CSU San Marcos. I use my extensive training in classroom teaching best practices to infuse my tutoring sessions and group classes with strategies and activities for students to help improve their scores. I love helping clients do well on these tests so that they can shine in other areas of their applications. I never want a test score to limit a student from their potential dreams and goals.
I have also gone through the process of taking the GRE and being accepted to graduate school (twice!) I understand the stressors associated with applying to graduate school, often on top of working or family commitments. My goal is to not only help you understand the test, but to also figure out a reasonable plan of action for studying and preparing.
GRE tutoring with Kaitlin is $159 per hour ($143 / hour for 10 or more hours). Most students use between 10 and 15 hours total.
She meets students in person or online.
"Kaitlin was an awesome tutor! I scheduled 10 sessions with her and she was very articulate when it came to having a study plan that is best catered to you and what you need to work on specifically to get a decent score on the GRE. I hadn't done most of these kind problems since high school, but she never made me feel dumb and gave me confidence to do better and better. Highly recommend her for somebody working from the ground up like I was!" - Greg G.