Frequently Asked
Questions

Teachers: All of our classes are taught by our top-notch instructors with 99th percentile scores, an average of over 7 years of test-specific teaching experience, and more 5-star reviews than you'll find with any other option.

Small Group Classes and Private Lessons: We focus on personal attention and live interaction, which is the best way to learn a systematic approach and improve your score. We strictly limit our class size to give every student real interaction with the instructor.

Investment in your success: Our instructors chose to focus on teaching because we love the satisfaction that comes from helping hard-working, motivated students achieve their goals. This isn't a side gig for us.

Up until the pandemic, we only offered in-person courses! Though we still enjoy that environment, our business moved online and we don't currently have plans to go back to in-person classes.

The online format has actually proven to be better in many ways — students get the same material, more small group tutoring hours, and save significant commute time.

No idea! This depends on a few factors: 1) your starting score; 2) your goal score and 3) how many hours/week you have to study. To figure out your starting score, take a full-length, timed practice exam before doing any studying. Reach out to us for a realistic practice exam and instructions.

Typically, your goal score should be at or above the median score of the most competitive school you're applying to. This along with a practice exam score will allow us to build a realistic timeline together.

Most schools now state that they will accept both the GMAT and the GRE. Here's a general guide:

Consider the GRE if:

• Your quant score is at or below the 25th percentile on practice tests
• You're applying to non-business programs in addition to MBA programs
• You find the GMAT's adaptive format stressful
• You struggle with sentence correction-style questions

Consider the GMAT if:

• You can achieve above the median GMAT score at your target schools
• You're applying to finance or consulting programs where GMAT is the traditional standard

Not sure? Call us at 415-323-5728 — we're happy to walk through it with you.

We recommend scheduling your test after you hit your goal score on a practice exam.

Don't schedule the exam before you start — you want flexibility to adjust based on your progress.

Yes, we record all sessions and offer make-up options. We do limit make-up classes to 4 sessions per full course to ensure fairness across the cohort. We also offer online videos of all course materials.

You can, but be realistic about the workload. Each course requires roughly 5 hours of homework per week in addition to class time. Taking quant and verbal simultaneously, for example, means approximately 10 hours per week of studying outside of class time and Small Group Tutoring. That's too much for most students who work full-time.

For each class session, we assign roughly 5 hours of homework, plus approximately one full practice exam every two weeks.

We are certainly not certified to help with issues like anxiety. But we've worked with many students who experience test anxiety, and our patient, non-judgmental teaching approach is effective for many students with anxiety. We also incorporate timed practice and test-day strategies throughout the course.

Yes. We partner with Affirm to offer flexible payment options. For example, on a $1,295 GRE course, you may pay as little as $81/month. Rates range from 0% to 10–25% APR depending on your credit profile.

We also offer a limited number of need-based scholarships. If cost is a barrier, please reach out — we want to help.

Yes. If your actual score after the GRE course is not higher than your pretest score, you are eligible for a free retake of the GRE course.