Varsity Tutors Review

Given that this is a lengthy and detailed review, we’ve provided jump-to links above so you can quickly navigate this post.

Varsity Tutors: How It Works

I’ll start by saying this – Varsity Tutors is way more than just a tutoring service. When I first heard of them, I assumed (probably like most people) that they only offered one standard service.

However, they actually have about a million study products to choose from. Literally everything from self-study books and courses, to live online classes, to 1:1 tutoring. While they have the scale to cover almost any subject, my testing revealed that Varsity Tutors often feels more like a staffing platform than a dedicated test prep company. You aren’t necessarily paying for a proven curriculum; you’re paying for access to a massive database where the quality varies wildly from one tutor to the next.

But in the context of test prep, I’d say they have two main offerings: live prep classes and tutoring (with the two sometimes bundled into one product). And this is for every exam. Whether you’re studying for the GMAT, SAT, or CPA exam, the product offerings all look nearly the same.

You can choose from a bunch of different options offering some mixture of live online classes, private tutoring, or both. And these all come in different formats.

Some classes are 10 weeks long meeting once per week for an hour, while others are bootcamp-style and meet 5 days in one week for 4 hours each day. And of course you can purchase straight tutoring in just about any increment of time.

For example, I personally used Varsity Tutors to study for the GRE. I could choose from a 5-week live prep class, 10-week live class, on-demand self-study type package, a monthly pay-as-you go package, and 1-on-1 direct tutoring. That’s a pretty common slate of offerings based on what I’ve seen.

I ended up taking the 5-week GRE prep class and bundling it with 4 hours of 1-on-1 tutoring. I’ll share more of my thoughts on that experience below, but I feel like this was a pretty good example of what Varsity Tutors has to offer.

The classes meet over Zoom and are generally capped at 6-9 students (mine had 8). They meet at the same times each week (you choose your days/times upfront), and the sessions generally go for 1 to 4 hours (mine were 2 hours).

There is a pretty big list of different classes to choose from (at least there was for GRE), so you should be able to find a package that fits your schedule.

From there, it’s a pretty typical online class experience, actually. You attend class, the instructor leads the lesson, you engage with your classmates, and then do the assigned homework after class.

And around that main class structure, you get access to practice problems and some other resources, like short on-demand video lessons, a progress tracker, study schedule, and more.

Then on the flip side, you’ve got the tutoring. If you’re looking at Varsity Tutors for prep classes, know that they will try to get you to upgrade and add a few tutoring sessions. After all, they are primarily a tutoring service, so what do you expect?

I did choose to add a few hours of 1-on-1 tutoring with my specific GRE class teacher, But of course, you can choose any tutor you want. Varsity Tutors has thousands of tutors and lists them out like a marketplace, where you can see their name, picture, and experience.

This will be how you choose one if you aren’t looking for a prep class and just want tutoring. You can scroll through their tutors, pick one, and then they have you fill out a short form (answering questions about when you plan to take your exam, how much help you need, etc.). It’s a bit of a process, and the first session is usually spent on assessment rather than actual prep work.

It’s important to realize that this matching process felt to me like a sales funnel. Unlike more transparent platforms, you can’t simply see a price and book a session. The process nudges you toward bundled packages before you have had a chance to properly vet your tutor.

Once you purchase a package and get matched up with your tutor, you’ll usually then spend a good portion of the first session getting acquainted, assessing your current strengths and weaknesses, discussing your goals, and more.

For me, this initial part was a little expedited since I was already in my tutor’s live class and she knew me, but it will generally be the same for you if you aren’t taking a class or using a tutor who isn’t your teacher, albeit slightly more in-depth.

From there though, the tutoring will proceed generally how you’d expect. You meet over Zoom, discuss progress from your customized homework assignments, and work through pain points.

You’ll review practice problem sets, learn hacks for certain question types, and generally cover any area that you need to improve on.

That’s probably the biggest difference between the live prep classes and the tutoring. The live courses generally have a more structured flow to them, where you work through preexisting lesson plans and all get the same homework.

The tutoring though is much more personalized and ad hoc. You cover the topics where you need help, and the sessions flow to what makes sense to help you make gains. In other words, it’s sort of a one-size fits all approach vs total customization.

That flexibility sounds great on paper, but research shows tutor quality and consistency directly impact outcomes, and that is exactly where Varsity Tutors is hit or miss.

In the end, that’s why I opted to add a few hours of tutoring into my live class bundle.

But that’s generally it in terms of how Varsity Tutors work. It’s a pretty simple process. Your live class or tutoring bundle meets via Zoom, and you do the work that gets assigned to you. Just know that the experience can vary quite a bit depending on your tutor. Studies on online tutoring effectiveness consistently show that tutor training and consistency matter, so doing your homework before picking one is worth the extra time.

Varsity Tutors Cost

The Varsity Tutors pricing is a little all over the map, and totally depends on your exam and product. For example, there’s an LSAT package that combines 20 hours of live class time with 12 hours of 1:1 tutoring, which costs $2,000, and an NCLEX prep class that provides 16 hours of live class time for $200. It just varies widely.

As an example, here’s the menu of options I had to choose from for my GRE prep:

• GRE On-Demand Course – $149
• GRE 5-Week Prep Class – $599
• GRE 10-Week Prep Class – $599
• GRE 5-Week Class, Tutoring & On-Demand Bundle – $849
• GRE Serious Study Plan (Monthly) – $99/mo
• GRE Success Plan (Monthly) – $299/mo

I would say that’s pretty typical of most of the major exams (SAT, ACT, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, etc.). They almost all have a similar menu of study choices.

Then for the tutoring, it ranges as well, depending largely on which exam you’re studying for, how many hours you purchase in a bundle, and of course, your specific tutor.

On average though, Varsity Tutors charges students somewhere between $50 and $100 per hour. That range sounds reasonable until you compare it to marketplaces like Wyzant, where you can find highly rated tutors for most of the same exams at $30 to $60 per hour, with full pricing transparency and no package commitment.

You can sometimes catch discounts and special deals, especially when you bundle tutoring with a class, but that is the general range you can expect to pay. The lack of transparent pricing is a real frustration and frankly a red flag when you’re trying to comparison shop.

Because rates are dynamic and often depend on the persistence of the salesperson you speak with, it’s nearly impossible to know if you’re getting a fair market rate.

My Thoughts On Varsity Tutors

Honestly, my experience with Varsity Tutors was decent, though I’ll be the first to say I got a little lucky with my instructor. Again, I took the 5-week GRE prep course and added in 4 hours of tutoring.

The class itself was just OK. We had 8 students total, which was manageable but left little room for personalized attention. I kind of got to know everyone over the course of the 5 weeks, which made it a little less intimidating to share and speak up.

The lesson plans were laid out well, but sometimes I felt the material was pretty basic and we’d spend a good chunk of time reviewing stuff I already knew (like geometry, that’s my jam).

But the problem, of course, is that others needed the refresher, and I’d be twiddling my thumbs for 30 minutes while we broke down stuff I had already mastered. So that’s the downfall – not all time is used efficiently when you take a one-size fits all approach like that.

And of course my GRE instructor was not bad. She was knowledgeable, but I recognize I likely got lucky. In a marketplace this large, consistency is the first thing to go, and that is the core problem with the Varsity model. Because they operate without a standardized teaching approach across their thousands of tutors, your results are entirely dependent on the individual luck of the draw. As we have seen across a range of third-party reviews, the gap between the best and worst instructors is significant.

Getting a great tutor here is not a given. It is a gamble. Ultimately, if you land an inexperienced match, you are essentially paying premium corporate prices for entry-level guidance.

Verdict: Varsity Tutors Reviews

Overall, my experience with Varsity Tutors was average. I walked away feeling like I could have gotten more depth for the money. The small class size is a plus and the structured format helped me stay on track, but the material felt surface level at times and I found myself wanting more.

I did get lucky and land a decent instructor but that is not something you can count on. Browse third-party reviews and you will find plenty of students who had the opposite experience, which is the risk with any tutor marketplace where quality control is inconsistent.

Bottom line, Varsity Tutors is not a bad service, but there are better options for most students at this price. If you want a tutor you can vet yourself with transparent pricing, Wyzant is a better starting point. If you are a self-directed learner with budget in mind, a test prep company like Magoosh delivers structured content for less.

Varsity Tutors LSAT Review

In terms of LSAT prep, they offer a few different study options, though nothing that stands out from the crowd. You can choose from small group live classes that last 5 to 10 weeks, private LSAT tutoring, or mixed bundles with both. The cheapest option for prep classes is the LSAT 5-Week Prep Class, which costs $799 (breaks down to $40/hour).

Compared to other LSAT prep options, the price looks reasonable on paper. But Kaplan, Princeton Review and Blueprint all offer more structured, content-rich LSAT programs that go considerably deeper than what Varsity Tutors provides. And check out Magoosh for a value priced option at just $200. If you are serious about the LSAT, the depth gap is real and worth paying for.

If all you need is a tutor and want to keep costs down, Wyzant has a deep bench of LSAT tutors at transparent hourly rates with simple packages. It’s worth taking a look at these other options before you commit to anything from Varsity Tutors.

➡ Check out our full Best LSAT Tutors review

Varsity Tutors MCAT Review

When it comes to MCAT prep, they have just three options to choose from, which is noticeably thin for an exam this complex: the MCAT 5-Week Prep Class, the MCAT 10-Week Prep Class, and private tutoring. The two classes cost $599, while tutoring runs anywhere from $70 to close to $100 per hour.

The $599 price tag looks attractive compared to the broader MCAT market, and we get that. But the MCAT is one of the most demanding exams out there, and the Varsity Tutors price reflects that in the product you get.

Premium options like Blueprint, Kaplan, and Prep101 all offer far more comprehensive MCAT programs with deeper content coverage, more practice material, and better support structures. You will also need to purchase the AAMC materials separately on top of Varsity Tutors’ fee, which runs about $300 on its own and closes that price gap quickly.

If you need a tutor to supplement your studying, Wyzant is worth checking first given the pricing transparency and flexibility. And for a structured on-demand option for under $400, Magoosh is a solid pick before you commit to a full Varsity Tutors package.

➡ Check out our full Best MCAT Tutors review

Varsity Tutors GRE Review

As I mentioned earlier, I took the GRE prep class and private tutoring package from Varsity Tutors. Honestly it was just OK, and looking back I think there were better ways to spend that money. For GRE prep they offer a range of options including:

• GRE On-Demand Course – $149
• GRE 5-Week Prep Class – $599
• GRE 10-Week Prep Class – $599
• GRE 5-Week Class, Tutoring & On-Demand Bundle – $849
• GRE Serious Study Plan (Monthly) – $99/mo
• GRE Success Plan (Monthly) – $299/mo

The pricing is comparable to or less than what other companies charge, but comparable does not mean it is the best value. Manhattan Prep and Princeton Review both offer more rigorous GRE programs with richer content if you are willing to spend at that level.

For most students though, Magoosh or Achievable is where we would point you first. Their GRE courses covers the material thoroughly, cost a fraction of a Varsity Tutors bundle, and allow you move at your own pace. If you want live tutoring on top of that, Wyzant lets you see pricing and offers a wide pool of GRE tutors to choose from.

➡ Check out our full Best GRE Tutors review

Varsity Tutors GMAT Review

For GMAT prep, they provide different study options. You can choose between small group live classes (5 or 10 weeks), live class + tutoring bundles, a bootcamp, or private GMAT tutoring (runs close to $90 per hour on its own).

While the standard GMAT class is $599, it’s important to note it isn’t a full fledged course. Manhattan Prep and Princeton Review both offer significantly more structured and content-rich GMAT programs, and for serious test takers the depth difference is hard to ignore. The GMAT Focus Edition has also changed the exam considerably, and you want a prep company that has fully adapted their curriculum to the new format.

For a budget-friendly self-study option, Target Test Prep’s or Magoosh’s GMAT course costs considerably less than Varsity Tutors. If you want a tutor specifically, Wyzant is the cleaner option with clear per-session pricing.

➡ Check out our full Best GMAT Tutors review

Varsity Tutors SAT and ACT Prep Review

For SAT and ACT tutoring, Varsity Tutors charges roughly $55 to $75 per hour, which sits on the higher end for a market flooded with qualified independent tutors. Their digital platform is clean and keeps everything in one place, but you are paying a premium for that convenience.

Wyzant is the more practical starting point for most families. You get full pricing transparency at low rates, a huge pool of vetted SAT & ACT tutors, and no package commitment. For self-study, Magoosh, UWorld, PrepScholar and Kaplan all offer strong courses at a range of price points. If you want the most comprehensive option, Princeton Review is worth the premium.

➡ Check out our full Best SAT Tutors review

Varsity Tutors NCLEX Review

Varsity Tutors offers a few NCLEX prep options including a crash course, full prep class, private tutoring, and bundles combining both. Classes run around $200 and bundle packages with tutoring come in around $400.

The price is fair, but here is the thing about NCLEX prep worth understanding before you spend anything. What moves the needle most is not live class time or tutoring. It is drilling a high quality qbank and practicing on a realistic NCLEX simulator until the format feels second nature, and that is not what Varsity Tutors is built around.

For specific content gaps a tutor can help, and Wyzant is the more flexible option there. But for most nursing students a dedicated NCLEX course will serve you far better. Nursing.com is our top pick with the best SIMCLEX simulator on the market. NCLEX Bootcamp is excellent for test taking strategy at just $99. Simple Nursing is a strong option for visual learners. All three are under $200 and are purpose built for this exam in a way that Varsity Tutors is not.

➡ Check out our full Best NCLEX Review Courses guide