<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I think its time we consider hiring a tutor - can anyone suggest a good way to find one? We're looking for basics here - not stellar scores. Honestly we just want "good enough" scores. Math is the biggest issue. One on one help will probably go a long way. We're on the east coast. I don't want to go the yellow page route - I'd much rather have a recommendation.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I'm also wondering the same thing; is Sylvan any good? I know they do SAT tutoring, but it is expensive.</p>
<p>Has anyone tried private tutoring using Ivy Bound?</p>
<p>What's Ivy Bound?</p>
<p>I'm the director of a tutoring program in the Boston area and I do some hiring. Some quick tips:</p>
<p>1) Make <em>sure</em> you get references, and call them. A good, experienced tutor will have no trouble providing them.</p>
<p>2) Go to the website of your local newspaper and search the archives (usually very easy) for "SAT." Most of the time, in my experience, you will see a profile of a local company written in the last couple of years. The best tutoring value is often your leading <em>local</em> company--not PR or Kaplan, but some solo shop. </p>
<p>3) Ask about what kind of practice tests the tutor prefers to use. The only good answer (in my opinion) is "real College Board exams."</p>
<p>The best and most professional tutoring managers I know always ask prospective tutors to do a section of a test, themselves, in the interview setting. Not a bad idea. I always try to do something like this in an interview--actually see how the tutor handles real questions or real teaching situations.</p>
<p>I'd try to set up meetings (actually interviews, of course) with 3-5 local tutors. You might bring your student along, because chemistry is important. </p>
<p>Lastly--and importantly--if your student is scoring below 550 on the Math section, you should find a tutor who has experience in tutoring algebra and geometry as well as SAT prep, or your student will struggle. A score below 550 often indicates that the student needs to shore up his or her knowledge of high school math fundamentals, but many SAT tutors are not prepared for this kind of instruction and will only teach SAT tactics. In a case like this, your kid will often stagnate and get frustrated. </p>
<p>I have heard that Gruber's is the best guide for Math, by the way.</p>
<p>As far as getting leads, I'd call area college counselors. Try college counselors at private schools in your area and see if they have any names or recommendations.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I am concerned that she's lacking basic algebra and geometry knowledge. I found tutors with these descriptions: </p>
<p>I am a middle school Math teacher who teaches seventh grade pre-algebra and eighth grade algebra. I have tutored every level of mathematics in the past ranging from elementary school to high school, and I enjoy working with students on an individual basis. I graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and then continued to pursue my graduate degree in Education at Saint Joseph College. Teaching at the middle school level has given me a great deal of experience in teaching students with various learning styles, and I enjoy the challenges of meeting the needs of every individual and unique student. or</p>
<p>21 years experience teaching students of all ages from Pre-K to college; three years experience teaching every math, science, reading, writing, social studies course; tutor presently for two school districts and own clients ; have prepared students for SAT's, Mastery and CAPT tests; have tutored Latin and four languages </p>
<p>Do you think it would make sense to start with someone like this instead of an SAT tutor? I know a SAT class would be worthless - it has to be one on one or a small group. She is doing online prep work and bringing anything she's stuck on to her math teacher at school for help.</p>
<p>Ivy Bound (google it) is an SAT prep service offering everything from private tutors to classes. </p>
<p>Thanks again -</p>
<p>Hmmmmm. On paper, at least, Tutor 1 looks like a great junior high math tutor. :) I love finding people who have a strong academic background in education AND in their subject (math in this case). Tutor 2 is hard to evaluate because s/he has tried to look like an expert in every subject: s/he may be a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. You might call and ask if s/he has any specialties. </p>
<p>The easiest thing to do would be to call Tutor 1 and, if s/he checks out, ask him or her to teach SAT Math as well from Gruber's and from the College Board Blue Book. That could work well, as long as Tutor 1 is willing to familiarize himself with SAT strategies. (The only danger is that sometimes academic tutors spend lots of time on learning real classroom math, when they might be raising scores faster by teaching SAT tricks. So you need to find a tutor who's really willing to learn SAT tactics and then pass them along to your son or daughter.)</p>
<p>If you're solid in math yourself, you could hire Tutor 1 for math help and then work through a book like Gruber's yourself with your son or daughter; that might work pretty well.</p>
<p>In a perfect world, you would be able to find a tutor who specializes in both areas: <em>both</em> SAT <em>and</em> classroom math. Those people do exist, but they are not always easy to find.</p>
<p>If you want to spend some time looking, calling Sylvan is not a bad idea. I don't know very much about their services, but they seem like a possible source of a tutor trained in both areas. If you call the center in their area and they have somebody trained to tutor both math and SAT, ask to get some references <em>for that specific teacher</em>. If you get positive comments back, I would say that you may have a good fit. </p>
<p>I wouldn't completely give up on the yellow pages, either, just because established tutoring places are a good source of people who have experience teaching in more than one subject. The trick again would be to get references <em>for the teacher.</em> If you find a tutoring company that has been featured in a local paper, and you can get phone numbers for two or three happy students/parents from that company (for a single instructor), I would consider you as safe as you would be with a word of mouth recommendation.</p>
<p>Has anyone tried StudyWorks? Is so what was your experience like? Would you recommend them?</p>
<p>When I first started looking at classes I found the small group tutoring class that Princeton Review does, and a mom whose daughter took it and then became a tutor with them gave me a great rec for it (in this forum). They work with 3-4 students in a group, so if your daughter has other friends in the same boat, they could do it together. It's a lot cheaper than one-on-one tutoring but they still use the best teachers who do their one-on-one tutoring for it.</p>
<p>It might make sense to start with just a math tutor, and you might be able to find one through the high school. In my junior year I tutored a classmate's little brother in spelling, and his parents found me by asking the English teachers who the top students were, and who they thought would make a good tutor. I guarantee you there are some math whizzes at your daughter's school who would be happy to make $15 an hour and have another EC to put on their applications!</p>