How much does GMAT tutoring cost?
The national average cost of GMAT tutoring is $55 - $110 per hour-long session.The price depends on how many hours of GMAT prep a student needs prior to the exam, as well as the credentials of the tutor and their record of success at improving student test scores.
The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is a standardized, computer-adaptive exam that quizzes students on their math, communication, and reasoning skills. Similar to the GRE, or Graduate Record Examination, it's used as an entrance exam for graduate programs. Unlike the GRE, the GMAT is a specific requirement for business school program applications, like a master's in business administration (MBA). Think of it as the b-school student's version of the SAT.
The GMAT isn't easy but it's an important part of applying to business school -- whether you're on track for an MBA or another type of business degree. Private tutoring provides students with the one-on-one attention needed to address problem areas and learn skills to become a more effective test taker. Before you hire a private GMAT tutor to help you improve your scores, get an estimate on how much a tutor will cost.
What's in this cost guide?
The biggest factor affecting the cost of GMAT tutoring is how many hours a student plans to meet with a tutor, the teacher's qualifications and track record, and whether you need help with all sections of the GMAT or just one or two.
Specialization of the teacher
Rates will increase if the tutor specializes solely in GMAT prep, they have high educational credentials, more experience as a teacher, and if they've helped past students earn high test scores.
For example, Dan the GMAT Man, based in New York, NY, charges $200 an hour for his tutoring services as he's a specialist in GRE and GMAT exam prep, and has helped students gain acceptance into all 5 of the top MBA programs in the nation.
Test prep versus academic tutoring
Some tutors, particularly math tutors, charge less for test prep tutoring than for academic tutoring in subjects such as calculus or science. For example, Dave Markham based in Hartford, Connecticut, offers the following tiered pricing system:
- Algebra, geometry, ACT, GMAT, GRE, SAT tutoring: $36 per hour
- Algebra II, precalculus, trigonometry, SAT subject tests: $39 an hour
Location and travel times
The cost of a GMAT tutor may also increase if you're meeting in-person and they need to account for travel time. Keep in mind that while remote tutoring is often more affordable, it's not always the ideal learning environment for many students.
While not everyone enlists the help of a tutor to prep for the GMAT, hiring an experienced teacher to help can be worth the investment -- especially if you're feeling challenged by a subject (say, math) that doesn't come easily to you. Below are a few benefits of working with a GMAT tutor:
Personalized instruction
Customized lessons provide the test-taker with strategies to improve their weaknesses and focus in on their strengths. For example, a student who isn't the best at math, but has strong verbal skills, might decide to focus more of their tutoring sessions developing math skills than verbal.
Experience with the GMAT exam
Not only will a good quality GMAT tutor have experience with other students, they will have also taken the exam themselves. A good tutor will have scored over 760 on the GMAT exam. When looking for a tutor, ask them what their GMAT score was. This is a good indicator of their ability to lead others to also score highly on the exam.
Time-saving, compared to self-study
While self-paced studying is an option when preparing for the GMAT, it will likely take longer to identify the right resources to learn from them. Relying on the expertise of a GMAT tutor, however, can be time-saving since they'll already have resources and test-taking strategies on hand.
Increase a student's GMAT score
The goal of working with a private tutor, whether video-based or in-person, is to increase your GMAT score. Your tutor's experience taking the exam, tutoring others, and in-depth knowledge of the exam's structure can give test-takers the edge they need to boost their scores on this standardized test.
Many students hire a GMAT tutor three to six months in advance of taking the GMAT, but there's no exact schedule to follow. When you hire a GMAT tutor depends on where you're at in the process of preparing for the exam, what your ideal score is, and the exam date you scheduled.
The types of GMAT prep tutoring available depends on whether a student needs help preparing for the entire exam or a specific section in particular. It's best to have a tutor assess which sections a test-taker needs to focus on over others.
Here are the four sections of the GMT Exam to account for according to the Graduate Management Admission Council:
| Test Section | Description |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | This section of the GMAT measures a student's abilities in critical thinking and communicating ideas effectively. A GMAT tutor can help you practice questions and give you feedback on ways to improve your writing and communication skills. |
| Quantitative Reasoning | This section of the GMAT tests how a student analyzes data through problem solving and drawing conclusions using reasoning skills. To improve your test scores on this section, a tutor will work with you to improve math skills and quantitative reasoning. |
| Verbal Reasoning | This section measures a student's reading skills, comprehension of written materials, evaluation of arguments, and editing or writing in line with standard written English. Tutoring help can help you focus on your verbal skills and prep you for this section with practice tests. |
| Integrated Reasoning | This section measures a student's ability to analyze data and evaluate information shared in different formats. Pre-calculus and other math skills are examples of things you might work on with a teacher to improve your score on this section. |
How to Hire a GMAT Tutor
Beyond reviewing their pricing, feedback from their past students, and the experience of the tutor, it's important to understand their teaching style and instructional approach.
Reputable tutors will offer an exploratory call where they learn about your needs and explain their offerings, providing students a chance to understand if they're a match.
When first contacting a tutor for hire, it's important that they provide a sample lesson or an example of practice exercises to offer a sense of how they structure tutoring sessions.
Studying for any standardized test -- whether it's the GMAT, GRE, SAT, or LSAT -- is never easy. Having the right instructor to guide you will make your test prep easier, and hopefully push you into a higher percentile, which can make all the difference to whomever in that admissions office is looking over your application.
