There’s some confusion surrounding what MCAT tutors do to help you improve your score and whether working with a professional tutor is worth it for pre-med students. This guide will walk you through what working with one of Inspira Advantage’s expert tutors looks like.
Step 1: Building You a Personalized MCAT Tutoring Package
Before you work with one of our private exam coaches, you must choose a package that fits your needs. The first step is to speak with an Inspira Advantage Enrollment Manager during a free 20-minute consultation.
Your Enrollment Manager will take the time to understand your MCAT prep concerns, challenges, and when you plan to take the test and apply to medical school to determine your best-fit package.
No two tutoring plans are the same, because every student learns differently and has their own way of studying and digesting material. Almost every aspect of our programs can be customised. Here are a few ways we can personalize your MCAT tutoring program:
We can adjust the number of hours you spend with your tutor to ensure every hour you spend with them directly impacts your score.
We can add a score increase guarantee to give you peace of mind that you’ll see an improvement in as little as two weeks.
We can ensure more hours of your tutoring program target the MCAT sections you find the most challenging.
We can supplement your tutoring program with hand-picked resources for the greatest impact on your score, such as practice tests, question sets, and timed drills.
We can use your preferred MCAT study materials that you already own to guide your program, including prep books.
We can adjust your prep program pacing to align with your planned MCAT test date, whether it’s this cycle or next year.
We can customize your tutor’s instruction to cater to your learning style, whether you learn best with visuals, repetition, written steps, or any other preference.
We can build a fast-tracked tutoring plan for students who have little time to prepare before their planned test date.
We can ensure your tutor provides detailed feedback on how you think through questions to improve your approach.
We can add regular accountability check-ins and progress emails to help students and parents stay on the same page as you complete your tutoring program.
If you can't find exactly what you're looking for, your Enrollment Director can create a custom service or payment plan that fits your goals and budget.
Here’s what Ankita, a past Inspira Advantage applicant, had to say about working with us throughout the MCAT tutoring process:
“My MCAT score improved by 12 points between the two tests I took…Not only did I score 4 points higher than my goal score, but I got a score that was even better than I possibly imagined I could ever get.”
You can take a look at Ankita’s full breakdown of her experience with Inspira Advantage by watching the video below:
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Step 2: Completing the Student Onboarding Questionnaire
Completing our Student Onboarding Questionnaire helps your tutor learn more about you. The answers you provide in your questionnaire help us match you with a tutor who will fit your needs and test prep goals best.
We will ask for your personal information, including your name, email, and phone number.
Our Student Onboarding Questionnaire will also ask about your academic background and preferences, including:
What is your cumulative GPA?
What is your science GPA?
How do you learn and work best?
Are there any personality traits, qualities, or communication styles you’d prefer in your tutor?
The Student Onboarding Questionnaire will also ask questions about:
Your availability to meet with your tutor
Planned test date
MCAT studying challenges
MCAT sections that you need help with the most
How many hours per week you’d prefer to meet with your tutor
You can also write anything else you would like your tutor to know about you in the Student Onboarding Questionnaire before you two meet.
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Step 3: Matching You With Your Best-Fit MCAT Tutor
After completing and submitting the Student Onboarding Questionnaire, your name and information will be added to our customer relationship management (CRM) system.
You will receive a welcome email from your Student Success Manager that covers important details about when you will be matched with a tutor and tips to help you and your tutor work together effectively. Your Student Success Manager is your contact for any questions, concerns, or comments at every step through your tutoring program. Here is what Kaitlyn, one of our Student Success Managers, has to say about the Student Success team’s role as you navigate your tutoring program:
Your Student Success Manager will match you with your best-fit tutor within 1 to 2 days based on the information you provided in our questionnaire. Factors your Student Success Manager will evaluate to match you with a tutor include:
The days of the week and times you’re available to meet with your tutor
Your time zone
Your learning and working styles
Which MCAT sections you find the most challenging
Your target MCAT score
Here’s a screenshot of a few of our 525+ scoring tutors you can work with:
Inspira Advantage’s private MCAT tutors work with only three to five students at a time. Many larger tutoring firms will allow one tutor to manage many students through private tutoring (often ranging from 5 to 20). Some firms with classroom and group settings may have one tutor managing several cohorts of 20-40 students each. Our commitment to a smaller student-to-tutor ratio (from 3:1 to 5:1) allows us to provide students who work with us with a premium, focused learning experience.
After you are matched with your tutor, they will email you to set up a time and date for your first call. You will also receive login information for AdvantageOS, our online organizational platform for students, parents, and tutors. The AdvantageOS home screen, pictured below, allows you to chat with your tutor, view your personalized MCAT study plan, and keep on track to achieve your target score on test day.
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Step 4: Calls With Your Tutor to Work Toward Your Target MCAT Score
Your first meeting with your tutor will help them learn more about you. They will ask questions about your background, goals, and preferences to better understand what you need and how to personalize your tutoring program further. This call ensures you will work well together and can create a strategy for maximizing your MCAT score.
Your first call will cover these key points:
Tutor introductions
Discussions about your background, MCAT prep progress, and challenges
Going over the process for document sharing via Google Drive
Sharing an MCAT study plan that will be personalized to your needs after your call
Determining a communication cadence that works for you
Establishing your preferred communication methods (email, video chat, etc.)
Explanation of next steps
A Q&A session for any questions you want to ask your tutor
How frequently you meet with your tutor depends on your initial and target MCAT score, when you plan to take or retake the test, and your availability. You and your tutor will set up a tentative tutoring schedule that works for you and allocates all the hours in your package before test day.
After your first meeting with your tutor, you can use the messaging system within the AdvantageOS platform. You can use this system to chat with your tutor, ask them questions, and schedule or reschedule your next tutoring session.
Check out what it looks like in the screenshot below:
You and your tutor will meet regularly to review your progress as you work through tailored weekly assignments and take up missed answers from practice tests you complete.
The AdvantageOS scheduling feature, pictured below, allows you to see upcoming tutoring sessions on your calendar.
Each tutoring session will be personalized to your needs and goals. However, the general structure for each session is as follows:
Go Through the Meeting Agenda: Your tutor will outline specific MCAT topics and question types you will work through together during your session.
Practice With Real MCAT Questions: You will try to solve questions with your tutor, walking them through your approach to each question.
Your Tutor Will Identify Your Weaknesses: Your tutor will identify any weaknesses you may have in your Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems (Chem/Phys), Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems (Bio/Biochem, Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior (Psych/Soc), or Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) content knowledge. They will also evaluate your approach to questions and provide insights on how to boost your speed and accuracy.
Ask Questions From Weekly Assignments & Practice Tests: You can work through questions you answered incorrectly from weekly assignments or full-length MCAT practice tests you’ve completed. Your tutor will explain how to answer these question types so you can confidently arrive at the correct answer the next time you see them.
Receive Weekly Assignments & Question Sets to Work On: Your tutor will assign homework to complete before your next meeting.
Take a look at a sample one-on-one MCAT coaching session below, where our instructor takes a student through two practice questions and highlights strategies for tackling other challenging MCAT questions.
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Step 5: Creating a Personalized MCAT Study Plan
Creating a personalized MCAT study plan is one of the most crucial elements of your tutoring package. Your tutor will create a plan just for you based on your:
Diagnostic test/initial MCAT score
Weekly availability
Proficiency in Bio/Biochem, Chem/Phys, Psych/Soc, and CARS sections
Test-taking weaknesses, such as poor time management
Your MCAT study schedule will include which lessons, questions, and review assignments you should complete daily, as pictured in the example below:
Since our MCAT study schedules are tailored to each student, your prep will only focus on high-impact activities that will lead to you achieving a 515+ MCAT score guarantee.
You can read what one Inspira Advantage MCAT test-taker had to say about our tailored study schedules below:
Your tutor will also help you determine the best time to take the MCAT based on your progress throughout the program and how long it takes you to master key concepts.
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Step 6: Access MCAT Resources
Our tutoring programs include exclusive resources to help pre-med students understand and master the MCAT. Every tutoring program includes:
Access to all official AAMC online practice resources
5 full-length MCAT practice tests
400+ content review videos
1,000+ high-yield MCAT questions and flashcards
You will also find helpful resources within the AdvantageOS Docs & Files tab, as pictured below. These resources include original Inspira Advantage MCAT ebooks, test and score release dates, information about registering, and much more.
Your tutor will assign tailored weekly assignments to help you retain what you have learned in tutoring sessions and build upon your knowledge, one building block at a time. These weekly assignments will include:
Content Questions: These questions will help you practice with the material you reviewed in your previous tutoring session.
Timed Exercises: These assignments help you improve your speed and ensure you’re answering questions on pace with actual MCAT timing.
Flashcards: Flashcards will help you build familiarity with key topics and question types.
You can see an overview of your weekly assignments in the Advantage OS To-Dos tab in the screenshot below:
This overview of all action items ensures you don’t miss any key steps or content practice as you work through your tutoring program.
Your tutor will also triage weekly assignments within the AdvantageOS Card Table tab, as seen below.
This triaging system ensures you and your tutor understand which assignments are not yet started, in progress, or are ready for your tutor’s review. After your tutor reviews your weekly assignments, they will move the card for the task to the “Proficient” column. Your tutor will work through any questions you answered incorrectly with you in your next tutoring session.
In addition to weekly tailored assignments, your tutor will assign regular full-length MCAT tests to gauge how much you’ve improved. Your practice test performance can help your tutor identify remaining knowledge gaps, time management issues, and anything else that may be impeding your progress toward your goal MCAT score.
For example, you can read Taehwan’s experience with us below to learn how we helped him overcome test anxiety and boost his MCAT score by 14 points.
Iterate MCAT Study Plan, If Needed
Your tutor is dedicated to ensuring every hour you spend together directly impacts your MCAT score. This also includes editing your MCAT study plan based on your performance on practice tests and weekly assignments.
It’s possible that your MCAT prep needs can change as you progress throughout your program. For example, you may master the Bio/Biochem section ahead of schedule, or your tutor may recognize that you need more practice with CARS questions. In such cases, your tutor will modify your MCAT plan to reflect your current needs, strengths, and weaknesses.
The Automatic Check-Ins tab within the AdvantageOS platform gives you the opportunity to share comments, struggles, and questions with your tutor weekly. If you need to spend more or less time on a concept or section, you and your tutor can discuss how to further personalize your MCAT study schedule.
Privacy guaranteed. No spam, ever.
Step 8: Achieve Your Goal MCAT Score
Now that you understand what working with one of Inspira Advantage’s private MCAT coaches looks like, it’s time for the next step in the process. Book a free 20-minute call below to speak with our team and take the first step toward a 515+ MCAT score, guaranteed. Our team of top-scoring tutors can’t wait to help you achieve a great MCAT score and improve your profile for medical school.
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