What I Tutor
Topics, Specialties, and an Honest List of What I Don't Teach.
This isn't exhaustive — I like being challenged, and I've tutored plenty of topics I had to learn alongside a student. Below is the long version: my specialties, what I'd rather you find another tutor for, what I'm working on, and a near-complete course list.
Specialties
Where I spend most of my time.
Mathematics
I've tutored math at every age level — first graders learning the number system, middle schoolers on pre-algebra, and adults working through calculus or graduate topics like algebraic geometry and topology. If you have a math question, I'm fairly confident we can work something out.
Most math struggles trace back further than people expect — a shaky grasp of fractions, for instance, undermines everything built on top of it. So sessions often start with a quick review of fundamentals, regardless of a student's age, before moving to the actual problem at hand.
I don't push one "correct" method. The answer matters more than the path to it, and creative routes to a solution are encouraged, not corrected away.
Experience: a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics, university instructor for precalculus and calculus, TA for abstract algebra and numerical analysis, and over a decade of tutoring — from integer arithmetic to GRE math subject test prep.
Writing
No formal writing degree — just four college degrees' worth of papers, and a habit of returning drafts covered in red marks. Friends started handing me their important papers to review before I ever called it tutoring.
That scrutiny carries over: feedback for professors on publications, students on theses, and a fair number of five-paragraph essays I'd rather not assign but understand why students still need help with.
Longest project so far is a roughly 70-page thesis, but I'm open to longer. I also help with standardized-test writing sections, including the GRE's.
Chemistry
My focus is the mathematical side of chemistry — physical chemistry, mostly, at the undergrad and graduate level. I teach concepts, not memorization. That gets you most of the way on an organic chemistry test, though some flashcard-style memorization is unavoidable for the rest.
Less in-demand than math, so less tutoring experience here — general, organic, and analytical chemistry, some NMR, less on quantum mechanics. I have a degree in it, but I live and breathe math first.
Test Preparation
Where I started tutoring, back in high school. Partial list of exams: high-school entrance exams, PSAT, ACT, SAT, ASVAB, GRE (including the math subject test), MCAT, LSAT, GMAT, NCLEX, and a long run of AP exams.
These tests are imperfect — which also means they're preparable. How long it takes depends entirely on how solid the base material already is.
Test prep isn't my favorite subject to teach, but it's necessary, and it gives me plenty to rant about — which I enjoy more than I probably should.
Honesty Over Sales
Topics I'd rather you find another tutor for.
A better tutor exists for each of these. If you've looked and can't find one, I'm still willing to discuss it.
Foreign Languages
No conversational fluency in any foreign language. I read Spanish at an undergraduate level and can help with Spanish grammar questions if you're already my student in another subject. French, German, and Russian: reading-level only, mostly for math papers.
Computer Science
Self-taught — Fortran, C++, Python, database basics. I can help with algorithms and theory, and have helped non-CS-majors pass required courses. A computer science major should look elsewhere.
Literature
I don't enjoy classical literature, so I won't be the most enthusiastic guide to it. Standard high-school reading is fine. AP Literature and undergraduate literature courses: not recommended, though I won't turn a student away.
History
Bad with dates and names — it's memorization, and I'm not built for it. That said, I did well on AP US and European History because of the essay portion, so I can still help students who mainly need writing support.
In Progress
Biology & the MCAT.
Not a biologist — too much memorization for my taste — but the MCAT's broad scope (biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics, math, behavioral science, and critical reasoning) plays to my strengths everywhere except biology itself.
I already cover chemistry, physics, and math directly, plus a psychology degree for the behavioral science section. The plan is to study the remaining biology material and sit for the exam myself to validate it. If you'd like to be a trial student while I do, that's negotiable at a discount.
The Long List
Every course I can recall.
Formally studied
Tutored before
Don't see your topic? Call — odds are good we can still work something out.
FAQ
Questions about what I do and don't tutor.
Do you tutor at the graduate level?
Yes, primarily in mathematics — algebraic geometry, algebraic topology, real and complex analysis, and similar graduate topics. Graduate-level chemistry is possible but more limited.
What if my subject isn't listed?
Call anyway. Plenty of past students brought topics outside the usual specialties — they supplied materials, I stayed a week ahead, and we worked through it together. Not guaranteed, but often workable.
Do you tutor foreign languages?
Not conversationally. I can help with reading-level Spanish, French, or German grammar and academic papers, but this isn't a primary specialty, and another tutor is usually the better fit.
Can you help with MCAT prep?
Yes for chemistry, physics, math, and the behavioral sciences. Biology is the weaker area, and I'm actively studying it to close the gap — worth knowing upfront if biology is your main concern.
Do you tutor computer science or programming?
Only in a limited capacity. My programming background is self-taught, so a computer science major should look elsewhere — though algorithms and theory overlap well with my math background.