Busy working professional scored 680 on the first GMAT attempt sharing her 3 reasons for choosing 1-on-1 tutoring

Three reasons for choosing a tutor:

Efficiency:
While large-group classes are cheaper, time and money are equally valuable for working professionals. Thus, I chose to spend money to save time.

Effectiveness:
Large-group classes are usually 2-3 hours long every day, It sounds effective but is it really what you need? Also, are there any questions that you are still confused about but be overlooked?

Flexibility:
The ability to understand math and RC differs from person to person. Since the GMAT is a complex exam with various logic and changes, do you think large-group class really suitable for everyone?

As a working professional, I had no idea how to prepare for the GMAT when I first started. Naturally, I began looking for GMAT programs serving large groups. However, due to my job, often asked to work overtime on weekday evenings or weekends, the first issue I encountered was the time conflict between the program and my work schedule. Even if I rushed to the class through traffic after work, I was already mentally and physically exhausted. As someone from a science background, what I needed was to identify my weaknesses quickly and address them. Massive materials offered by these kinds of programs may seem worthwhile, but it was actually overwhelming for me as it was time-consuming to find personal weak spots and improve thoroughly. The content taught by teachers might not be what I needed. It felt like hitting baseballs without knowing if I could hit it.

Luckily, I found Candice and Max through internet. After trial lessons, I felt that both of them were very experienced, so I decided to rely on them and their guidance. Tutor Candice would first test the student’s understanding and proficiency in each subject, then ask about the time availability of studying, the ideal test date, and target score to create a personalized study plan. While this sounds simple, it requires a lot of experience, including knowing the topics where students typically struggle and providing students with a structured way to solve questions. This helped me stay calm in areas where I wasn’t strong, such as the remainder. I could avoid traps and find answers step by step. I believe the biggest problem when preparing for tests is that you feel like you’re studying but not making actual progress. Candice checked in with me regularly by testing me with different types of questions to ensure my learning results. She also encouraged people to assess themselves frequently because it would be a waste of time and money if you are not growing! At this point, flexible strategies are important to help us keep improving.

On the other hand, tutor Max helped me a lot with the Verbal section. Since I am not a native English speaker, I struggled just to understand what the teachers were saying in large-group English programs. Max followed my learning style and provided many resources to help me achieve decent Verbal scores without relying on the traditional style of grammar learning. Especially in the CR and RC parts, since people have various issues caused by different logical reasons, Max was very patient with the student, discussing why I chose the wrong answer, what was my thinking process, how to correct it, and built good question-solving habits. This enabled me to spot tricks and answer questions in the CR section under high pressure. As for the RC section, it’s the area where I felt I made the most progress. When facing long paragraphs, sometimes even chaotic, Max guided me to break down the structure of each article, helping me understand the role of each part. This helped me see through the ”main idea” questions and find key points.

The time preparing for the GMAT test felt like playing baseball, and taking Candice and Max’s courses were like learning how to hit different kinds of balls right!

For those who have attended GMAT programs for large groups but haven’t seen the desired results, or those who feel lost in preparations, I highly recommend you to schedule a free trial lesson for GMAT tests with Candice!

Effective teaching should be a two-way process, where the teacher understands the student’s level and customizes the class and teaching style accordingly. It shouldn’t be giving every student the same materials, starting from the same page, and speaking the same lines. To prevent wasting time, start by understanding what you truly need. My experience above as your reference!