How many hours of tutoring will I need?
Are Inspirica programs classes or one-on-one?
What score increase should I expect?
Where does tutoring take place?
What if I want to continue tutoring but am going away for a month?
Do you stay on top of current trends?
What curriculum materials will I use?
A friend of mine said I can work with my Inspirica tutor online. Is that true?
One-on-one tutoring sounds great, but how will I practice for the actual exam?
What does Inspirica offer for students with learning differences?

 

How many hours of tutoring will I need? We customize every program to the needs of our individual students, so there are no predetermined tutoring packages. When you call, you'll speak with your own educational consultant who will serve as your personal guide to the test preparation process at Inspirica. Factoring in baseline scores, your personal goals, and your timetable, we will design a program specific to your needs.

Are Inspirica programs classes or one-on-one? Our programs are strictly one-on-one and customized to each student. We begin our programs with a diagnostic to identify each student's areas of strength and areas of improvement. Our educational consultants use these results along with conversations about goals, interests, and learning needs to find just the right tutor. Every student is different, and a student who works well with one tutor may not learn as well from another. Between the personalized tutor match and customized program, we keep our tutoring programs focused on the student.

What score increase should I expect? Because we customize all of our programs to our students, it's difficult to draw an average score increase from their incredibly diverse goals. Using the SAT as an example (although students approach us with comparable goals in the GMAT, GRE, SSAT, etc.), some students come to us with a 500 in each section and hope to reach 650 across the board. Others come to us having reached 700 in each section and would like an extra boost to 750 across sections. In the first instance, the student moves 150 points per section, for a an overall score increase of 450 points; in the second, the student "only" moves 150 points across sections. Both cases are successes.

Students also have varying time frames for their programs. Some students will prepare for months before taking an exam, and sometimes begin academic enrichment a year before the exam to build core skills before switching to test preparation. Other times, students will decide on a test at the last minute and simply want to spend the two weeks before the exam learning basic strategies. The goal is familiarity with the test rather than score improvement. Both of these programs are successful because they meet each student's individual goals; an average score increase does not tell the whole story.

At Inspirica, we work with you to create a customized testing plan and will keep you apprised of the progress made over the course of the program. Come test day, there should be no surprises!

Where does tutoring take place? Your sessions will take place when and where it is convenient for you. Many families like to have tutors come to their homes. Our tutors meet with students at libraries or other quiet locations. Tutoring in our offices can also be arranged. If you do not live in the greater New York, Boston, or Philadelphia areas, speak with an educational consultant about our Custom Trips and "Inspirica Anywhere." Our tutors are available to meet with you either in-person or virtually, whether you live across the nation or abroad. Inspirica tutors have traveled to thirty-eight states and to four continents to work with our students, and they also conduct tutoring sessions online.

What if I want to continue tutoring but am going away for a month? There are a couple of possibilities for continuing your program while you are traveling. We offer Custom Trips, and our tutors will travel to work with you wherever you are. We also offer a video tutoring program, called "Inspirica Anywhere." As long as you have a laptop, webcam, and Internet connection, you can maintain your regular tutoring sessions while you are away, and continue in-person when you return.

Do you stay on top of current trends? At Inspirica, we track the latest information in testing, education, and admissions. We also collaborate with professionals in the field of admissions and testing and hold ongoing professional development workshops with our tutors. We regularly update our curricula to reflect changes to tests, and we actively reach out to our families to let them know about information that may affect them. You can rest assured that we will keep you informed of exam changes and that our students learn from up-to-date information.

What curriculum materials will I use? We use official material that was created by the test writers whenever possible. If official material is not available, we find the best substitute for the actual exams, and in some cases write tests ourselves. We supplement the official material and practice tests with binders that we've created on strategies and content. Inspirica breaks tests into their composite question and content types so that students can practice and improve their skills and strategies before putting all of the pieces together. Our tutors work with students on their specific areas of improvement and carefully select material for each session. We regularly update and evaluate our materials to make sure that our students receive the best possible support.

A friend of mine said I can work with my Inspirica tutor online. Is that true? Inspirica offers a video tutoring program, called "Inspirica Anywhere." Students can meet online with their tutors through video and share a collaborative workspace so that they can work through problems and practice strategies together. For more information, please call us and speak with one of our educational consultants.

One-on-one tutoring sounds great, but how will I practice for the actual exam? In addition to our customized, one-on-one tutoring programs, we offer a complimentary mock exam program to our students. Graduate entrance exam students are welcome to schedule mock exams in our offices. Students taking independent/boarding school exams and college entrance exams can call us to register for mock exams at a local college.

Mock exams are held regularly and are open to all Inspirica students to make them as realistic as possible. The exams are held first thing in the morning on a weekend, and students test in a group. "Mocks" are a good way to see how students will perform on an actual exam, and we offer a complimentary analysis after each one.

What does Inspirica offer for students with learning differences? Many students with learning differences have tutors to help them master various subjects and skills. Our tutors stand out in their ability to help students understand how admissions exams work and how to customize test-taking strategies to each individual. At Inspirica, we have worked with hundreds of students with a wide variety of learning styles, successfully helping them to achieve their best scores. Working one-on-one with students allows our tutors to adapt lessons to each student's learning needs and to refine strategies for any testing accommodations.

Starting early is the key. The sooner you call our educational consultants, the better. They can plot out a timeline that is custom-designed to achieve your goals. We would be delighted to advise you.