How expensive is it to hire a bar exam tutor? (And what else should I ask before hiring a bar exam tutor?)
How expensive is it to hire a bar exam tutor?
(And what else should I ask before hiring a bar exam tutor?)
One of the most common questions we get asked is, “how expensive is it to hire a bar exam tutor?” The answer is, it is pretty expensive! Here, we tell you a few specific questions you should ask your tutor before signing a contract with them. But first, we’ll answer the question everyone wonders: why is a bar exam tutor so expensive?
Why is a bar exam tutor so expensive?
If you think about it, you are not only retaining the services of a lawyer (we hope and assume your tutor passed the bar exam!) but you are also retaining the services of a lawyer who is knowledgeable in several areas of law and excelled on one of the most difficult exams. So, this is no ordinary lawyer—it is a very specialized lawyer!
Most bar exam tutors charge a minimum of $200/hour. Some charge significantly more ($300 or $400/hour). We recommend you see what comes with tutoring services, especially if you are being charged a significant amount. Hopefully, your tutor will grade essays/MPTs and give you outlines or other resources if they charge significantly above the $200/hour rate. If no other services come with the tutoring, see if they have extensive experience or some other reason to be charging a lot. We discuss this further below.
How much should I expect to spend on a bar exam tutor?
This depends on how much your tutor charges and how many sessions you need!
Some students only want one or two sessions to brush up on certain areas of law or certain techniques. They usually spend between $400 and $1000.
Others need about 5-10 sessions to pass the bar exam. These are first-time takers who need an extra boost or repeat takers. They spend between $2,000 and $5,000.
Some need even more tutoring. These are typically students who have failed the bar exam multiple times or by several points. We have had students sign up for 15+ sessions if they need a lot of help.
*Note: we are assuming these sessions are about two hours each. Some tutors only meet for one hour at a time, so double-check with whomever you hire!
Make sure to also ask the following questions:
In our last post, we gave you an overview of some basic questions you need to ask your bar exam tutor. Here, we have some additional specific questions you should ask a potential bar exam tutor:
1. Do you charge for time spent outside of tutoring sessions? (If your tutor is billing you for every phone call or email answered, or essay graded, you should know this ahead of time!)
2. Can I add appointments if necessary? (Some tutors do not allow this. Others are flexible.)
3. What is your cancellation policy? (Remember, tutors are depending on you to show up to your sessions. Oftentimes, a tutor will expect you to pay the full rate or a reduced rate if you cancel.)
4. What comes with tutoring? (Essay grading? Outlines? Or other materials? MBE or essay questions? Make sure to ask this up front so you know exactly what you are getting!)
5. Can I try out a session before committing to several? (If you have to pay for ten sessions up front—and you don’t benefit from the tutoring services — you have just spent a lot of money and time on something that is not helpful! Ask if you can test a session out before making a commitment.)
A few notes about JD Advising tutoring services:
- Please read more about our bar exam private tutoring here.
- We meet students in one-hour increments.
- Our appointments come with outlines, essay grading (depending on the jurisdiction), and essay/MPT questions/answers (depending on the jurisdiction).
- We only charge for the tutoring session — not any time spent outside of the tutoring session.
- We do have a cancellation policy since our tutors book up quickly.
- We are happy to allow students to try out a tutoring session to make sure it is the right fit before committing to several sessions!
Go to the next topic, Topic 5: Advantages and disadvantages of hiring an online bar exam tutor.
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If you’d like to apply for a position with JD Advising please send your resume and your bar exam score report to employment@jdadvising.com. Thanks!
Not a post–just a query. Are you hiring bar exam tutors? I am a retired lawyer. At one time I was an active member of the bars of Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia. This is largely because I have worked in bar review for years. I wrote and updated study materials across a number of states and practice areas for several bar prep companies but currently only score practice questions during the two bar seasons each year. I would be interested in ways in which I might supplement my work schedule with you or if it would be advantageous to make a complete change. Of course, right now I am up to my ears in practice questions to score and I will be out of reach in August, but let me know if you would like to talk later.