How to become an LSAT tutor for a company? Forum

[thatsnotmyname]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, how does one become a tutor for a test prep company. Like what's the process and where do you apply? I really have no idea, as I have no experience with test prep companies or their services. I'm interested in potentially doing this as a summer job... My LSAT score is in the low 170s, is that good enough or do you have to have it in the really high 170s to get hired?

Thanks.

[Muckduck]

Why don't you contact the companies and ask them?

[typ3]

170 is generally the cut off.. that's 98%.. generally to get the best tutoring jobs you need to be 178-180

[skip james]

170 is generally the cut off.. that's 98%.. generally to get the best tutoring jobs you need to be 178-180

haha, where are you getting these numbers from?

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, how does one become a tutor for a test prep company. Like what's the process and where do you apply? I really have no idea, as I have no experience with test prep companies or their services. I'm interested in potentially doing this as a summer job... My LSAT score is in the low 170s, is that good enough or do you have to have it in the really high 170s to get hired?

Thanks.

yeah you could easily become a tutor. it helps to have teaching experience (outside the LSAT is okay). I should warn you though, most prep test companies aren't interested in hiring 'tutors' per se, but rather teachers for their classrooms and tutoring hours on the side.

With your score, I say apply to Testmasters, Princeton Review, Kaplan, and Blueprint (Powerscore and Atlas is out, since you don't have a 99th percentile score, though I suppose you could retake if you felt up to it).

The hourly breakdown is as follows:

Testmasters = 50/hr, no prep time paid for, 1 week of pretty rigorous training with the Singh himself (non-paid, but hotel and airfare is paid for)

Princeton Review* = Ask Tomwatts for more details since he seems to be the PR liaison for TLS. I think pay starts between 15-20/hr, but this is deceptive since you get paid for prep time (at I think 8/hr)

Kaplan* = Pretty much the same sort of compensation as PR

Powerscore = 25/hr for classrooms, 50/hr for tutoring

Blueprint = 60/hr

Atlas = 100/hr, but they are pretty selective as they require teaching experience, a 99th percentile score, and a rigorous training period.

*The starting pay for these companies will be decently higher if you have teaching experience, there are also hourly bonuses if your students like you, i.e. you get good student reviews (at least for Kaplan).

edit:

My personal thoughts: I think the way to go is Atlas, from a money only perspective.

I think Kaplan and PR have an edge on teaching for Powerscore and Testmasters, not because their materials are superior or anything, but because you'd likely get many many more hours, if you wanted, and could really capitalize on the fact that Kaplan and PR have a substantial market share. Personally, I think the elevated pay structure for TM and PS is a bit deceptive, since you don't get paid to prep (which you will have to do, especially if you have an interest in actually teaching your students effectively). Blueprint sounds like a decent deal too, especially for the non 99th percentile scorer.

From a compensation package point of view, Atlas > Blueprint/Kaplan/PR > TM > PS. I'd be iffy about Atlas though, since they are newer and even with 100/hr, I'd be concerned about having a decent number of hours.

[Snuffie]

Testmasters = 50/hr, no prep time paid for, 1 week of pretty rigorous training with the Singh himself (non-paid, but hotel and airfare is paid for)

Bit of an aside, but any word on that suit filed by LSAC?

[skip james]

Testmasters = 50/hr, no prep time paid for, 1 week of pretty rigorous training with the Singh himself (non-paid, but hotel and airfare is paid for)

Bit of an aside, but any word on that suit filed by LSAC?

Yeah I think it got settled, and Singh had to pay like a mill in licensing fees.

[typ3]

What about Blueprint? They settle their suit?

[skip james]

What about Blueprint? They settle their suit?

They say they did, but TM is saying otherwise. I doubt it really matters, Blueprint has a sizable market share now, I think they've hit the point of no return, and are bound to become one of the staples of the LSAT prep test industry.

[tomwatts]

Princeton Review* = Ask Tomwatts for more details since he seems to be the PR liaison for TLS. I think pay starts between 15-20/hr, but this is deceptive since you get paid for prep time (at I think 8/hr)

Totally unofficial, but yeah, I can answer things about Princeton Review, since I'm a current teacher/tutor/trainer. LSAT starting rates vary a little bit by market, but the number is around $20/hr. for actual teaching time, plus $8.10/hr. for prep, plus $10/hr. for any communication that you do with students (emails, phone calls) outside of class. Number of hours varies substantially by market as well, but if you become a tutor pretty quickly (good reviews from your first couple of classes), you get tutorials at a tutoring rate that's $5/hr. above your classroom teaching rate and a decent number of hours per week.

You're paid for training, too; I think it's $10/hr., but don't quote me on that, and training is two or three weekends (anywhere from 32-48 hours), depending on the number of people training with you. Running one now with 7 people that's 40 hours (five days on three weekends).

[typ3]

What about Blueprint? They settle their suit?

They say they did, but TM is saying otherwise. I doubt it really matters, Blueprint has a sizable market share now, I think they've hit the point of no return, and are bound to become one of the staples of the LSAT prep test industry.

Found the judgement filed june 15, 2009. BP was ordered to pay $183,000 in damages. Less than the 18,000,000 TM was suing them for. I decided not to go with them after viewing them on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2q5t8RR5vI

My favorite is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmBGY0fY ... re=related

facepalm

[r6_philly]

I am planning on advertising in my UG this fall. It'd be easier than going through a prep company. Actually I may just petition my UG to run a course.

If you have a good score and teaching experience find your own clients. If not then best to go through a company. Knowing something and being able to teach something is entirely different.

[lakerfanimal]

Princeton Review* = Ask Tomwatts for more details since he seems to be the PR liaison for TLS. I think pay starts between 15-20/hr, but this is deceptive since you get paid for prep time (at I think 8/hr)

Totally unofficial, but yeah, I can answer things about Princeton Review, since I'm a current teacher/tutor/trainer. LSAT starting rates vary a little bit by market, but the number is around $20/hr. for actual teaching time, plus $8.10/hr. for prep, plus $10/hr. for any communication that you do with students (emails, phone calls) outside of class. Number of hours varies substantially by market as well, but if you become a tutor pretty quickly (good reviews from your first couple of classes), you get tutorials at a tutoring rate that's $5/hr. above your classroom teaching rate and a decent number of hours per week.

You're paid for training, too; I think it's $10/hr., but don't quote me on that, and training is two or three weekends (anywhere from 32-48 hours), depending on the number of people training with you. Running one now with 7 people that's 40 hours (five days on three weekends).

How many hours a week do you work? PR is one of the places I'm applying to teach at.

[tomwatts]

Me personally? Like, a million. But that's because I teach everything: LSAT, SAT, two sections of the MCAT, GMAT, various other things, and I teach and tutor students and train new teachers, and I develop materials for our courses, and I teach online, and I... well, you get the picture. Typical workloads are 10-20 hours per week, depending on the time of year, schedule of course you're teaching, how much prep you're doing, whether you're proctoring your test's classes, whether you're tutoring, and various other things.

[blhblahblah]

Me personally? Like, a million. But that's because I teach everything: LSAT, SAT, two sections of the MCAT, GMAT, various other things, and I teach and tutor students and train new teachers, and I develop materials for our courses, and I teach online, and I... well, you get the picture. Typical workloads are 10-20 hours per week, depending on the time of year, schedule of course you're teaching, how much prep you're doing, whether you're proctoring your test's classes, whether you're tutoring, and various other things.

Is this a deliberate red herring?

[JazzOne]

Me personally? Like, a million. But that's because I teach everything: LSAT, SAT, two sections of the MCAT, GMAT, various other things, and I teach and tutor students and train new teachers, and I develop materials for our courses, and I teach online, and I... well, you get the picture. Typical workloads are 10-20 hours per week, depending on the time of year, schedule of course you're teaching, how much prep you're doing, whether you're proctoring your test's classes, whether you're tutoring, and various other things.

Is this a deliberate red herring?

I'm not sure what you mean by red herring, but I also found PR to be a great company, and I ended up doing many different jobs during my employment. I used to teach SAT full-time, LSAT, and three sections of the MCAT. I had my problems with PR, but no employer is perfect, and I worked there for four years up until law school. To be honest, PR helped me get into law school and get a nice scholarship with my LSAT score, so the benefits of the job can be substantial.

[tomwatts]

Me personally? Like, a million. But that's because I teach everything: LSAT, SAT, two sections of the MCAT, GMAT, various other things, and I teach and tutor students and train new teachers, and I develop materials for our courses, and I teach online, and I... well, you get the picture. Typical workloads are 10-20 hours per week, depending on the time of year, schedule of course you're teaching, how much prep you're doing, whether you're proctoring your test's classes, whether you're tutoring, and various other things.

Is this a deliberate red herring?

I have no more of a clue what you're talking about than JazzOne does.

In case I wasn't clear: I work a lot more than most teachers do, but a typical new LSAT teacher will do 10-20 hours per week.

[HiLine]

If a tutor is paid $20/hr while working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, his income will be:
$20x40x50=$40000/year
LSAT tutoring is quite a tough job

[suspicious android]

I've taught the LSAT for a bout two years now. Where you want to work really depends on your personal situation, but I think one of the biggest factors is how many hours you're likely to get. I get about 20-30 hours per week when I have classes (teaching hours plus tutoring), but that's only about 8 months a year. That's fantastic for me, but only because I have other sources of income and I'm extraordinarily unambitious and don't mind having 4 months of unpaid vacation to travel/lay around. It won't work for everyone though, figure out if you want something to supplement your income or are you looking for something resembling a "real" job.

My company is one of the ones that doesn't pay for prep, but pays $45-60/hr for classes and tutoring. When I first started teaching classes, I would spend close to 50 minutes prepping for each hour that I taught. So my effective salary was almost cut in half, maybe pulling in less than the companies that paid for prep. However, the second time I taught classes that was closer to 10-15 minutes prep per hour taught. At that point I'm pretty sure I was making significantly more for the hours worked with my company that I would at Kaplan, etc. At this point, except when I have to go over new material (maybe 5-6 times per year), I only need to prep maybe 5-10 minutes to prep for a 3-4 hour class. I'm VERY pleased with my company's pay structure compared to that of the companies that pay for prep.

[tomwatts]

The other end of that is that promotions jump your pay rate up a whole bunch at Princeton Review, so by the time you no longer have to prep stuff, you're for sure going to be a tutor (higher pay rate) and you may be a high-end tutor (Master instead of Standard), which about doubles your pay rate.

[meowmeow]

my friend is an instructor for Kaplan and she had a 166!!

[BigA]

Is there any more definite information on the score that is needed?

[suspicious android]

Is there any more definite information on the score that is needed?

Each company's website is pretty clear on what score is needed to teach for them, I think the only exception is Kaplan. Since they're by far and away the market leader, and they don't pay as well as many other companies, they sometimes go below the 98/99th percentile score that most companies have.

I went through part of the Kaplan training process before bailing for a better deal.

[skip james]

I went through part of the Kaplan training process before bailing for a better deal.

haha, me too. God I hated teaching their methods.

[dextermorgan]

Step one is to stop posting about it on TLS.

[FreeGuy]

Step one is to stop posting about it on TLS.

Haha. Yeah, some people out there were raised by wolves.

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