Considering Private tutoring

Good question - Karishma asked me to chime in and, as usual, I totally agree with what she has to say. I can most effectively speak to my own experience with 10+ years of tutoring, but here's my recommendation:

GMAT tutoring works best when:

-Students are motivated and proactive. If you come to sessions with homework completed and notes on what worked / what didn't / what you didn't understand / where you need to improve, sessions go well. If you send your tutor a day or two in advance those results/notes and any concepts/questions/strategies/concerns you want to cover, your tutor can build a strong gameplan for how to get the most out of your session and can come prepared with activities for you to complete afterward to reinforce and diagnose.

-Students are familiar with the basics of the GMAT and its related skills. With a GMAT-specific tutor you're paying a premium for their mastery and knowledge of this particular test - of common traps on Data Sufficiency and helpful methods for abstract questions and ways to focus on the most value-added words in a Sentence Correction question. We're all pretty good at basic algebra and geometry, but you shouldn't pay that premium to have someone like me list "common right triangle ratios" on a whiteboard for you in a one-on-one setting. The real value-add comes from a tutor's insider knowledge of what works on the test; her knowledge of common mistakes that students make that you'll need to address; and her ability to help you diagnose weaknesses and prescribe recommendations and activities to turn them into strengths.

-Each session has a predetermined focus. If you're meeting because "we always meet on Tuesdays" that's probably not going to be your best session. But if you're meeting to "review these 5 questions from Sunday's practice test and figure out how we're going to address my pacing problems with Geometry problems" you're on to something. Which isn't to say that impromptu discoveries and tangents in meetings don't work - sometimes that's where I find things click the most - but I've found that tutoring sessions go best when we're there with some specific emphases in mind, and they don't go as well when neither the student nor I have come in with much of an agenda.

Given your situation - you've already taken a class and you have some specifics in mind of what you want to cover, plus you've been proactive in seeking out advice related to it - you seem like you'd be a good candidate for tutoring. And my bosses will cringe if they read this, but I'd also advise being stingy with the hours - even if you end up meeting 10-12 times with an instructor, go into the engagement thinking you may only meet 4-5. Having a sense of urgency with each meeting is really helpful - we *need* to figure out Data Sufficiency problems today and make some real progress - and it's also helpful to add more sessions for a specific reason. Shoot, keep your instructor hungry, too - make sure they know that you're only adding sessions (and paychecks) when you see specific, tangible value in them...make them add value each session to keep you coming back for more!