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Private Tutoring Services Math, Statistics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry I am currently seeking new students to tutor in math, physics, biology, and chemistry in the New York City metro area. I currently reside in the Upper East Side, and will be embarking on a full-time career as a software engineer at a major financial firm. I recently moved to New York, and therefore a little unsure about my schedule's availability, although I am seeking a few students that are easily accessible from Manhattan. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley earning a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Biology. I plan to be taking the MCATs over the next year and applying to medical school on the East Coast. I have lived in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and went through the community college system before transferring to Berkeley. Therefore, I am especially in-tune with the concerns of current community college students seeking to transfer to 4-year universities, as well as the concerns of high school students and parents seeking admission to the top Universities directly out of high school. I have five years of professional tutoring experience. I have worked as a tutor in college academic centers, private educational services, and with private students. I was the Master Tutor in the Math Learning Center at Long Beach City College for two years, and have been working with private students since 2002 in math and science. I have assisted thousands of students through the open-access Math Learning Center, and have tutored several dozen math, chemistry, biology, and physics students in private settings. My resume is available online. Tutoring Style My tutoring style focuses on providing a comprehensive strategy towards student success in math, physical and biological science coursework. I have worked with students in individual, one-on-one sessions as well as small groups. I prefer working with students in informal environments to decrease anxiety and to engage students to take an active part of their education through conversation and inquiry. The ultimate goal is to enable students to develop solid critical-thinking and problem-solving skills with minimal assistance from other people, thereby dramatically improving test scores and promoting efficient studying. My tutoring style has been described as being "part teacher, part therapist," as I give great attention to individual students' needs and cater to their learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Who are my Students? The majority of my students have been involved in community college programs and lower-division university programs, and represent a wide cross-section of ages, educational backgrounds, and personality types. However, I've also worked with high school and middle school students with great success, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area working for Xcel Educational Services. What to Expect Seeking a tutor requires a fair bit of initial commitment. While I've led review sessions before major exams, most people are seeking out the longer-term benefits, including higher grades with less effort. Most students generally see a significant boost in their grades as well as enhanced self-confidence towards approaching new and unfamiliar material, though it may take several sessions before noticing these results. On average, if tutoring begins soon enough during a course, parents and students can expect to see their class averages rise between 10-15% of their overall grade, assuming a C-average performance at the beginning. Frequently, some students have raised their grades by two or more letter grades. Tutoring generally works best when students meet once or twice a week for one-hour sessions at the beginning. However, students often notice that after a while, they're finding their classes much easier than they ever expected, and tutoring sessions will taper off as a result. This is my ultimate goal for each of my students - to reach a level where they are confident and capable of completing assignments and studying on their own, as it's the clearest marker that they've benefitted in a way that will carry them through their current courses, future studies, and careers. Fees Tutoring rates depends on a variety of factors, including travelling distance, frequency of sessions, and the difficulty of the subject material. For this reason, students who desire to meet in a convenient location (within Manhanttan) and thus is considered when negotiating rates. Students who also make a commitment to meet regularly also receive a discount. Students who pay for multiple sessions in advance may also receive a discount, provided they follow the cancellation policy. Special group rates are also available. Subjects Covered: Chemistry: Elementary Chemistry, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry Physics: Trigonometry and calculus-based Mechanics, Wave Motion, Thermodynamics, Optics, Modern Physics, Special Relativity (Anything equivalent to a science major first-year physics requirement.) Mathematics: Basic Arithmetic, Introductory Alegbra (Algebra I), Intermediate Algebra (Algebra II), Trigonometry, Single- and multi-variable calculus, Elementary Linear Algebra / Differential Equations, Elementary Statistics. Other Subjects: Also qualified to teach basic C/C++ programming, web site design, and music theory. Late Policy In the event that a student arrives late for a tutoring session, the student is responsible for paying the full amount for the agreed-upon time period, even if as a consequence a tutoring session must be cut short due to the student's tardiness. However, at my sole discretion, tutoring sessions may continue past the original end-time in order to accommodate the student whenever possible, up to the original session length. Cancellation Policy I require at least 24 hours advance notice for cancellations, except for unforeseeable emergencies. I reserve the right to charge a $20 cancellation fee in the event an appointment is cancelled within 24 hours of meeting, or in the case of students who have paid in advance, the non-refundable forfeiture of that tutoring session. Setting up an appointment is a commitment between students to work together towards their success, and therefore a very important matter. The Cancellation Policy applies whenever a verbal agreement establishes specific a specific date, time, and location for the next meeting. Several students work on a meeting-to-meeting basis. The vast majority of students have been very reliable, but there have been some unfortunate occasions which require this disclaimer. Scheduling an appointment Please contact jsmith@cal.berkeley.edu if you are interested to schedule an appointment. I am generally available on evenings and Saturdays. I look forward to hearing from you. Copyright (C) 2002-2007 Jeffrey J. Smith - All Rights Reserved. All content may not be reproduced without expressed written permission from the copyright owner. Questions or comments may be directed to the webmaster.