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How Useful Is Tutoring for the MCAT?
A Complete Guide
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With the MCAT being one of the most difficult standardized tests administered in the United States, it is no wonder that people often seek out tutoring from top scorers on the exam. Having expert guidance from people with a proven track record of success in any subject is bound to help you improve – right? Well, the truth is that the subject of tutoring on the MCAT is a nuanced one. Here’s everything you should consider before hiring a tutor for the MCAT, all in one article.
If you’re committed to raising your MCAT score, you shouldn’t study alone. Work with a tutor who provides structure, feedback, and a personalized study plan, and start with a free session.
Table of Contents
Why Do People Hire MCAT Tutors?
Typically, people hire MCAT tutors after they’ve already tried their hand at studying for the exam on their own. Sometimes this is after already giving an attempt, but other times it is after they notice their practice scores are stagnating. That said, we often see requests for tutoring from students who are just starting out and simply want guidance on where to even begin studying for the 7-hour beast of an exam. Here at The Match Guy, we see students in all stages of MCAT preparation, so in reality, most students seek out tutors whenever they feel lost.
The bottom line is that we recommend students seek a tutor after at least some attempts at studying or self-assessment so that you know where your strengths and weaknesses are. This approach typically leads to the best tutoring relationships and outcomes. Having a diagnostic score can often be extra helpful in that regard.
When Should I Consider Hiring a Tutor?
We typically recommend hiring a tutor either when you have identified significant roadblocks, are plateauing and cannot figure out why, or are struggling to grasp content in a specific area. Students who may benefit greatly from a tutor include:
- Students retaking an exam looking for guidance on strategizing
- Students plateauing in practice exam scores and unable to understand why
- Students with a predetermined weak subject area
- Students who are returning to school after a nontraditional path
- Students who do not score well on exams despite high subject knowledge and UWorld performance
- Students who are overwhelmed and do not know how to start studying
Other examples exist, but these are some of the more common cases we see. That said, it is always worth asking for a consultation to see if tutoring might benefit you as well.
If you want to know the best time to take the MCAT, check out our guide here.
How much can I Improve with a Tutor?
This is the most important question. The truth, unfortunately, is not black or white. It depends. We have seen students improve as much as 20 points on the MCAT with tutoring between test attempts, however it largely depends on your expectations and work ethic going into tutoring. We like to set the expectation that with a good tutor, anyone can achieve an above average (510+) score if the following conditions are met:
- You have good rapport with your tutor
- They are available consistently
- The tutor adapts the plan to your strengths and weaknesses
- Your tutoring is strategy-based, not just content based
- You are consistently doing work between tutoring sessions
The last point is the most important. You cannot out-tutor a poor study strategy. Without consistent work between sessions, practice problems and subject review, there is no way for tutoring to magically increase one’s score. However, a good tutor will also guide a student on how to study to make efficient use of their time, so be sure to follow the advice they give.
What Does Proper Tutoring Look Like?
Score improvements may not happen right away. Typically, a good tutor will start out by getting an assessment of the student’s skills. This typically means an initial diagnostic test. Once that is done, the tutor will develop a study plan for the student, involving content review, practice problems, strategy revision, and a regular schedule of practice exams. You can find more content on what a good MCAT study schedule looks like on our blog page for examples.
Regardless, the next steps will be setting regular meetings during content review. At this stage, your goal is to review content areas that are a problem for you as well as gain exposure to question style. A good tutor will incorporate MCAT-style practice problems into sessions so you gain a sense for how you will be assessed in the context of the exam; they will not be focused on making you memorize facts in a vacuum. After a month or two of content review, your strategy should change. Your meetings should focus almost entirely on problem solving, discussing the most difficult questions from UWorld Blocks or practice exams and developing strategies for how to solve them again in the future.
The mark of a truly great tutor? You should feel like you need to see them less and less as you approach your test date. A great MCAT tutor will focus on equipping you with test-taking and study strategies that allow you to excel on your own and need less help apart from the most difficult questions and occasional re-strategizing sessions. We find with many students that meetings go down from weekly to monthly as they approach their test date, and that can often be a good thing: it means that their studying is working.
If you want to know the best MCAT resources we personally recommend based on our tutoring experience, check out our guide here.
How Much Will I Have to Pay for Tutoring?
MCAT Tutoring can vary widely in terms of price. Prep companies typically embed private tutoring as part of set packages with their content. In these cases, students should typically expect to pay upward of $2000-3000 for a “prep season” consisting of 3-6 months of support.
On the other hand, independent tutors can charge anywhere from $20-100+ per hour. While that may seem like less, keep in mind that depending on a student’s needs, this can quickly exceed the packages offered by companies anyway, so it is not necessarily cheaper. That said, there are still certain students who may benefit more from the personalized approach here, so the right choice depends on the student.
Who Should I Go to for Tutoring?
MCAT Tutors are quite easy to find these days. They exist on platforms like Wyzant, within study groups on social media, and affiliated with prep companies. There are pros and cons to finding tutors either via the independent or company-affiliated route.
Independent
Pros
- Often have high flexibility for timing
- Can be cheaper
- Materials are often customized to students
- Direct rapport with the instructor and intermediaries for scheduling logistics
Cons
- The highest quality tutors are usually still very expensive
- Very wide range of quality
- Typically no score guarantees
- Limited clients per tutor
Company-based
Pros
- Can often try multiple tutors at one company to find best fit
- Rigorously tested programs and curricula
- Lots of verification of tutor quality
- Often have score guarantees
- Often have bundled prep resources
Cons
- Can be expensive on account of operational costs
- May only come as part of prep packages
- Some programs have set curricula, not custom
- May have set tutoring hours that don’t work for your schedule
- May involve required materials or work on your end for guarantees
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Our recommendations when choosing a tutor
1. Above average MCAT score
It is really important your tutor actually took the MCAT and did well so that they know what strategies work. A subject matter expert in science is not enough, they need to know how to specifically do well on this exam.
2. Proven track record
If your tutor does not have any references or reviews, whether through a company or independent, it is worth taking pause. Tutors with proven success stories of good outcomes are essential. Someone could be a very high scorer but not be very skilled at teaching. Check previous students’ reviews to ensure they have both.
3. High availability to cost ratio
This one is very important. Tutoring will inevitably be very expensive if it goes on for long enough. Therefore it is very important that you are getting a lot of availability with the amount you are paying. In our view, if your tutor is not available at least twice a week, it might be worth shopping around.
4. Quality Assurance
Even some independent tutors offer guarantees for time put in. If people have guarantees for the time put in, you can breathe a little easier that your time won’t be wasted, not only because you can potentially get money back in the worst case, but also because your tutor truly then believes in the quality of their service if they are willing to offer this
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Conclusions and Final Thoughts
MCAT tutoring can be an extremely valuable resource, but only when paired with a good teacher-student relationship, a solid study-ethic, and proper strategy. Not every student needs a tutor, but the tutors who focus on problem-solving, study strategy, and empowering students typically make the most difference. Select well-experienced, fairly-priced tutors who can tailor their strategy to your individual needs, and you will see results. If you want to see how our philosophy on tutoring translates into our own services, which are tailored to each student, reach out for your free consultation today and take the first step toward your medical school dreams.
You don’t have to go through this journey alone. With the right guidance, your study time becomes more efficient, less stressful, and far more effective. Start a free tutoring session!
Good luck!
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