A future investment.

Principia offers 1:1 tutoring, test prep, and college consulting services on an hourly basis, remotely across the country and in-person at our McLean office. We believe 1:1 sessions are the most effective, efficient, and flexible way to learn and build a mentoring relationship.

Our Services

An hour of tutoring is 55 minutes in duration. The additional 5 minutes of each hour is used by tutors to compile notes from the session. Our tutors’ rates are determined by their respective levels of expertise and experience.

For remote tutoring, Principia utilizes the Pencil Spaces platform for a streamlined whiteboard and video learning experience. All of our policies and level of instruction are the same regardless of the teaching format.

  • In-person and hybrid academic tutoring at Principia starts at $135 per hour and includes all subject areas with the exception of AP courses. For in-person and hybrid sessions, rates are:

    • Instructor: $135 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $160 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $220 per hour

    For all-remote tutoring sessions, rates are:

    • Instructor: $121 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $144 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $198 per hour

  • In-person and hybrid AP tutoring at Principia starts at $170 per hour and includes all AP and IB HL subjects. For in-person and hybrid sessions, rates are:

    • Instructor: $170 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $195 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $275 per hour

    For all-remote sessions, rates are:

    • Instructor: $153 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $175 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $247 per hour

  • Test prep tutoring at Principia starts at $170 per hour and includes the SAT, ACT, TJ, and SSAT tests. For in-person and hybrid sessions, rates are below:

    • Instructor: $170 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $195 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $275 per hour

    For all-remote sessions, rates are:

    • Instructor: $153 per hour

    • Senior Instructor: $175 per hour

    • Master Instructor: $247 per hour

  • Principia offers ad hoc and package consulting services for private school and college admissions. Our consultants include former admissions officers from NYU, Washington University in St. Louis, Bowdoin College, as well as former deans of admission at elite, nationally-ranked private schools.

    Rates start at $250 per hour for private school consulting and $395 per hour for college consulting. To learn more, please refer to our private school consulting and college consulting pages.

Our Process

The first step for new families is to set up a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our client placement coordinators. In the phone or video call, we’ll discuss your student’s areas for improvement and learning style to make the appropriate teacher recommendation.

Once sessions and schedules are confirmed, our office will be in touch to send over our parent agreement and instructions on how to complete your account setup — we use the Teachworks platform to share instructor notes after each session and communicate about billing and scheduling.

 FAQs

  • We bill at the end of the month for that month's sessions using Stripe, a securely encrypted, PCI-compliant card processing system. If you'd prefer to preload your account via check, please contact info@principiatutors.com to make arrangements.

  • For parent-teacher consultations, we recommend utilizing the first or last 15 minutes of the session. Please reach out 48-hours in advance so your instructor can plan their session accordingly. For more in-depth instructor meetings, please reach out via email to schedule—these meetings will be billed in 15-minute increments at the instructor's current hourly rate.

  • We believe that students learn best when they build a strong mentoring relationship with their instructors. To create that space, all private tutoring sessions are 1:1 except in rare cases where the instructor has requested the parent to join for a specific reason.

  • Principia understands that our clients have busy schedules. To that end, we're happy to cancel or reschedule sessions and appointments with at least 48-hour notice. The best way to reach out is via email — please contact your instructor and cc info@principiatutors.com so we can adjust schedules and calendars accordingly.

    In cases of inclement weather and emergencies, we may waive this policy. Principia's client coordinators will make a determination on fee waivers for late cancellations due to emergencies. Please note that all no-shows and cancellations made on short notice will be charged the full amount of the scheduled time billed at the instructor's hourly rate.

  • Our instructors spend significant time throughout the week prepping for their sessions, often far in advance of our 48-hour cancellation policy. Uncompensated last-minute cancellations are one of the top reasons for instructor turnaround; our policy is designed to retain the best instructors over the long-term to provide a consistent learning experience for our students, often over many years.

  • Yes! We offer small group SAT and TJ group classes as well as our 1:1 options. For more information on these courses, you can set up a time for a 20-minute consultation or sign up directly on our SAT and TJ pages.