Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara B.
Tara, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Before I started tutoring professionally, I used to help my classmates with math and science at a boarding high school in Nepal, and during college years in Boston. Before the final exams, many of my classmates gathered around me to learn the “shortcuts” for passing the exam. By then, I had already sort of discovered my knack for teaching and had gained some valuable experiences, but I had never imagined teaching professionally since I planned to become a researcher. At the boarding school I attended, using a calculator was forbidden in the exams, and the exams were highly condensed with not a lot of time to finish. Math was also my favorite subject and I loved the challenging material. The exam conditions gave me an opportunity to come up with shortcuts and mental math skills, which turned out to be extremely useful in tutoring for tests with limited allocated time.
During my junior and senior years, I was short on money, and one of the professors recommended tutoring and even referred some students. I welcomed any opportunity to help other students with calculus and recent college graduates with the GMAT and the GRE. Later, I added ACT/SAT to my list. I received extremely positive responses on my teaching methods and style so decided to continue. There was a short hiatus in my tutoring after I started graduate school in genetics at The University of Chicago, a serious endeavor that kept me very busy. However, I lost interest in the program after about 2 years, so instead of going for the full PhD, I received a master’s degree. When I got out of the UChicago, I had more free time than I had had for a long time. Thus, I started tutoring for the standardized tests again, this time more professionally.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road at all. There have been ups and downs. The first down was going against my family’s expectations. As an Asian child, my family (my parent’s generation) had planned a medical profession for me. Although I was getting a high quality education at a great institution, I was not satisfied from the inside. I was interested more in mathematics and had a more natural flair for teaching, creativity and communicating with people. At some point, I had to pave my own path. I wanted to pursue either university level teaching or private tutoring.
Another obstacle was that initially, it was not easy to promote myself and for a long time, I had to heavily undersell myself and learn to be okay with making very little. In the beginning, I also used to be at disadvantage when parents of potential students interviewed me over the phone or in person as English was not my first language, but I was able to overcome this relatively quickly.
Some of my relatives and close acquaintances were also critical about my career path since it was not as lucrative as other professions that I had previously planned. As I was doing an excellent job at tutoring and loved every bit of what I was doing, I was able to ignore the criticisms and follow my passions. I was interested in living a peaceful and creative life and wanted to pursue some of my hobbies, something that would have been very difficult if I had followed a traditional job route.
The Star Tutor – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Star Tutor is a standardized test tutoring business. Currently, I am the only tutor and plan to keep it that way. My largest clientele is recent college graduates and young professionals seeking help with the GMAT or the GRE for business school or graduate school, closely followed by high school students taking the ACT/SAT.
I am especially known for revolutionary teaching methods for the quantitative section of the tests. I spent a significant part of my school life coming up with shortcuts, mental math skills and solving complex logical puzzles, and I have been able to incorporate those experiences in my teaching methods. I do not, however, establish a single method as universal but like to tailor my tricks to the needs and learning style of individual students.
I am obviously most proud of the success of my previous students. I feel happiest when I receive an email or a call from students/parents reporting a very high score or admission into the university/graduate school of their dreams.
Students have consistently stated, both verbally and in written reviews, that my teaching methods are both unique and effective. Students have also mentioned several times that I care a great deal about their successes and am not primarily motivated by money. I knew that my efforts would not go unnoticed. My online ratings have also reflected the results of my efforts. I also consider myself a complete coach, a trainer who is dedicated towards every single aspect of test preparation such as time management, stamina building, dealing with anxiety etc., rather than just a tutor who teaches students and leaves the rest in their own hands.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, at the business level, success is creating a product or a service that the public will love. You may be able to over sell yourself through clever marketing/advertising skills etc., but in a long run, people will be able to recognize what they like. At a personal level, success is achieving the freedom to pursue things you have been dreaming of, whether it’s a career, a hobby, or a lifestyle.
From a tutor’s viewpoint, success for me is being able to break down complex concepts and make them easy to understand as well as interesting to learn. A high quality tutoring is not limited to teaching the necessary content but includes a complete training that helps the student remain calm and confident to tackle questions that may initially look foreign. I treat every student as though they were preparing for an important sports event of their lifetime. I don’t simply teach them to how to build muscles; I teach them how to win.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thestartutor.com
- Phone: 312-487-1783
- Email: testprepstar@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/testprepstar/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-star-tutor-chicago
Image Credit:
Yelp
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