Nathan C.

About Nathan

My very simple and effective practice method is what helped me and continues to help my students achieve scores in and approaching the 99th percentile, on all of the tests that I teach.

There are 2 parts to my study regimen - 1) doing as many practice tests/problem sets as possible (which the student does on his/her own, between lessons), and 2) mastering each test/problem set before taking the next one, to get to the point where the student would get a perfect score if he/she took it again. Together with me, we break down every single question that the student either got wrong, or got right but didn't feel 100% confident on. We make every single question easy as pie so that the student can feel confident looking at that question again and knowing how to determine the answer right away. Then we move onto the next practice test, and track progress over time. Since every GRE/LSAT/GMAT/SAT/ACT is similar to every other GRE/LSAT/GMAT/SAT/ACT, if a student does this enough times it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for his/her score not to approach the 99th percentile.

(Note: Due to the adaptive nature of the GRE/GMAT and the lack of full practice tests available that accurately reflect the real test, we spend a lot of time on problem sets with realistic questions, and group them together in ways that simulate the test experience as accurately as possible.)

Common sense dictates that the best way to learn to do something well is simply to do it repeatedly. Thus, when I began studying for my LSAT, I started off by doing a timed test. Then, I thought, I'd just have to do many more timed tests until my score reached 180 (a perfect score). But, I started to notice that over the first few tests, my score stagnated and even moved down a couple of points. I began noticing that it was always the same point in the section when I would start running out of time and have to rush through or guess the last bunch of questions. I realized that instead of getting better at taking the LSAT, I was in fact training myself to make the same mistakes each time by ingraining them! The key here is that you have to learn how to do something WELL before learning to do it FAST.

Think about the first time you tied your shoes. You probably took a lot of time to do it properly - had you tried to do it as fast as you can do it today, you would have certainly failed. More importantly, had you repeatedly tried to do it at that speed everyday until now, you would have NEVER learned how to tie your shoes! But with the right instruction, learning how to do it well and repeating it over and over again, doing it quickly just started happening naturally over time.

This is exactly what I do with all of my students. A student starts off by taking a timed test or two, to set a benchmark as well as to get a feel for the rhythm of the timed sections. Then, the student switches to un-timed, but measures how long each section takes. We master and drill every wrong or difficult question on every section so that the student would get perfect on those questions if answering them again. Then, we move onto the next practice test, and try to do it a little bit faster than the last one. As long as a student is dedicated and sticks to this method, he/she WILL MASTER THE TEST. (For GRE/GMAT, we supplement with problem sets.)

The most important thing worth mentioning is that when I studied to master both of these tests, I didn't use any 3rd party books or methods. I devoted myself to developing my own simple tips and tricks for how to clearly think through each and every type of question - the 3rd party books and schools want to turn everything into a science, so that they can sell more books and classes, and as such they tend to overcomplicate things. These tests are all very simple at their cores, and I use plain English and simple strategies and analogies with my students to think through even the most difficult questions.

My one disclaimer - the only person who can determine what score you get is YOU, and this is worth mentioning. Don't get me wrong - my tutelage has helped students achieve scores that get them into top notch, sometimes Ivy League institutions. But all I can do is guarantee to get you on the quickest and easiest path towards a perfect score - the rest is up to you!

IN-PERSON vs ONLINE LESSONS:

In addition to in-person teaching I also offer online lessons (almost all of my students choose this method!), which I conduct using advanced software that allows me to draw/write on a tablet and have it show up directly on your computer screen, while you can still see and hear me, like a virtual whiteboard. In all of my experience, these lessons are just as effective and produce the same amazing results, in addition to being much more comfortable and convenient. As such, even students that live down the street from me have opted for online lessons. I definitely recommend trying at least one online lesson - no student of mine that has tried this method has ever been dissatisfied with it (even those who were the most skeptical initially!). My very simple and effective practice method is what helped me and continues to help my students achieve scores in and approaching the 99th percentile, on all of the tests that I teach.

There are 2 parts to my study regimen - 1) doing as many practice tests/problem sets as possible (which the student does on his/her own, between… Read more

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