<p>Hi I was just wondering if anyone has used Ivy Global as a tutoring service. I recognize that the majority of users here are self studiers (like myself). However, I'm just curious to see if anyone has any success with this particular tutoring company. Thanks! </p>
Judging by their book New SAT, they are awful. They don’t even have the right number of test sections in their practice tests. The math reference sheet is wrong and the new math concepts are way off base. Their reading and writing sections aren’t any where new the format of the new SAT. Their reading passages are bogus and based on the old test. All I can see is a bunch of people who seem to care more about making money by exploiting the fear among students about the new test. If they really cared to provide accurate materials regarding the new test, they would remove their “new” book from the market.
They hire mostly tutors in their 20s with close to perfect scores and sell the lessons at a huge markup over what they pay the tutors. The quality of their tutors in probably a lot better than with many services, but I agree with the other poster that they seem kind of greedy.
Yeah, this is all because they rushed to be “first to market” with a “NEW SAT” book. I’m sure it was profitable, but since they rushed it out, it turns out not to have much of a resemblance to the actual revised SAT format. The early bird may get the worm, but haste makes waste.
They literally charge over 3x what they pay their tutors. They get tutors with top scores who are still in college or trying to make it in theater or something like that. They probably are good, but you can get better value hiring a tutor directly or on Wyzant or something.
Not commenting on this company in particular, but high scoring tutors in their early 20s are very likely to know very little about the SAT or about teaching in general.
@jgoggs -
Seconded.
This seems to be a standard business plan. Get kids with close to perfect scores cheap and sell their services at 3x+ markup. Prep Scholar does this, but there is some point to it, as their tutors are familiar to with their software. Kaplan also has a similar markup, and uses most young tutors, but I think they only require 700 scores. There is a firm called Princeton Tutoring, which uses mostly Princeton students.
They want to advertise perfect scores, and experienced tutors with those kind of scores charge a lot more. Most of the people not as young with top scores from top schools are doctors or lawyers or whatever and not interested in tutoring. It seems sort of exploitative of employees and clients.
However, you could do worse, and there are many SAT tutors who can’t get 700 in what they are tutoring, which limits their effectiveness as tutors.