Tutoring

Tutoring is no longer being offered!

We're old and don't remember too much of our USABO knowledge at this point, so we're no longer offering tutoring. However, we'd recommend you head on over to Baology to sign up for tutoring with Kevin Bao, a good friend of ours from USABO. Kevin's been teaching students in USABO for many years with finalists every year. During the pandemic, he launched his course, Baology Prep aimed to teach kids all the knowledge and skills needed to do well on the USABO. With staff members who've all been to USABO finals and a large community of active students, they'd love to help you in your usabo journey in any way they can!

Study of Life USABO Skype tutoring

Lesson Options

Lesson Type Price per hour of instruction Price per hour of instruction(10)
Tier 1 (See "Lesson Types" below) $100 $80
Tier 2 (See "Lesson Types" below) $75 $60
Tier 3 (See "Lesson Types" below) $50 $40

Signup

Click here to sign up for an informational Skype session. During this 5-10 minute meeting, we will discuss your specific goals and plan logistics regarding meeting times and payment. Having this meeting does not bind you to tutoring. We encourage you to sign up if you are unsure about starting tutoring and simply want to find out what exactly it would entail for you.

Past Years' Information

2015-2016

Student Achievements: 4 USABO Finalists, 1 member of team USA at IBO

2014-2015

Student Achievements: 3 USABO Finalists, 14 USABO Semifinalists

Testimonials:

Varun, Yilun and Abhijit's classes did a wonderful job of getting me (a freshman) ready for USABO. Their love of the subject, high energy and excellent communication skills make them the perfect tutors.

- Freshman, Interlake High School, Bellevue

After randomly deciding to pick up USABO at the start of last year, the experience I've had was amazing. Studying hard was great, but SoL tutoring was a bit different. It's awesome to be able to learn from such smart people (and great teachers!); not only does it help one learn complex concepts, it also provides an extra source of motivation. Totally worth it :D

Lesson Types

  • Tier 1 - these lessons are taught by tutors who have attended the International Biology Olympiad and/or have dozens of hours of biology tutoring experience. These tutors will teach advanced topics beyond the scope of Campbell's Biology. These advanced topics include, but are not limited to, those shown here. A full list of currently available tutors can be found here.

  • Tier 2 - these lessons are taught by tutors who have attended the USABO Finals, but not the International Biology Olympiad and/or are less experienced. These tutors will primarily teach material from Campbell's Biology. A full list of currently available tutors can be found here.

  • Tier 3 - these lessons are taught by current students at either MIT or Harvard. These tutors will teach any range of topics from general high school chemistry to AP classes in various subjects and SAT subject tests.

General Information

Lessons should be scheduled by students based on when they are prepared for the lesson. Tutors will give suggested schedules, but it is ultimately up to the student to stay motivated and finish the reading associated with the schedule they would like to follow. Accordingly, students should contact tutors to schedule lessons for around when the students will be prepared. Study of Life tutoring lessons generally consist primarily of tutors asking students questions such as "Explain the differences between alcohol and lactic acid fermentation". Anything the student does not understand or know, tutors will explain. The more prepared a student is, the more material the tutor will be able to go through, and the more time the tutor will have to introduce advanced topics they've experienced in competition or their own preparation.

If students have any questions about competitions, preparation strategy, content, etc., they should feel free to contact any of their tutors outside lessons. As their mentors, we hope to help them pursue their passion for biology on all fronts including competitions, summer programs, and research opportunities.

Student should schedule lessons at least 2 days ahead of time and, if a conflict arises, cancel at least 1 day ahead of time. Our tutors are all either college students or high school students currently applying for college, so they have many other responsibilities of their own.

All payment will be sent via PayPal. More information will be given after students schedule their first lesson. All lessons should be paid for in advance. Some students pay before each lesson individually, while other students will pay ahead for several lessons at a time. Both methods are fine, and if a student pays for several lessons ahead and chooses to discontinue tutoring, we will reimburse the extra money.