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Award-Winning IB Psychology HL Tutors

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Rebecca
A Northwestern psychology degree gives Rebecca the theoretical grounding to teach HL core topics like schema theory, the biological approach, and sociocultural influences — while her current social work master's at UChicago keeps her actively reading and critiquing the kind of empirical research IB ...
Northwestern University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (minor in Religious Studies)

Certified Tutor
10+ years
Jessi
The jump from SL to HL psychology means tackling qualitative research methods, writing a proper experimental report, and mastering an additional option topic in real depth. Jessi's own IB diploma, her psychology degree from Rice, and her current research at UPenn give her firsthand experience with e...
Yale Divinity School
Masters, Religion
Rice University
Bachelors in Psychology

Certified Tutor
Nicole
At the HL level, IB Psychology adds qualitative research methods and a deeper engagement with approaches like the biological, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives. Nicole digs into the underlying science behind topics like neurotransmitter function and brain localization, drawing on her chemist...
Cornell University
Bachelor of Science

Certified Tutor
Melanie
HL Psychology adds qualitative research methods and an extended essay component that demand a deeper level of analytical writing than most students have attempted before. Melanie's graduate training in social work at NYU, combined with her undergraduate PTSD research, gave her direct experience desi...
New York University
Master of Social Work, Social Work

Certified Tutor
Justine
Film production might seem far from psychology, but Justine's arts training at Emerson sharpened exactly the skills HL Paper 3 rewards — structured argumentation, critical evaluation of sources, and clear analytical writing under pressure. She applies that discipline to breaking down ERQ prompts and...
Emerson College
Bachelor in Arts, Film Production

Certified Tutor
HL Psychology adds qualitative research methodology and an extended essay-length internal assessment to an already demanding curriculum. Gabriel digs into the HL extensions — approaches like thematic analysis and the distinction between credibility and transferability — while keeping students organi...
University
Bachelor's

Certified Tutor
Jenny
The jump from SL to HL psychology comes down to the qualitative research methods and the extended essay expectations, and Jenny tackles both head-on. She walks students through designing interviews, coding themes, and writing the kind of critical analysis that earns top marks — skills her own underg...
Georgetown University
Bachelor in Arts, Psychology

Certified Tutor
10+ years
Robert
The jump from SL to HL in IB Psychology adds qualitative research methods and a deeper dive into options like abnormal psychology or health psychology. Robert's bachelor's in psychology means he can unpack experimental design, ethical considerations, and the nuances of studies like Milgram or Rosenh...
New York University
Bachelors, Psychology

Certified Tutor
I am a licensed physician from Florida who is currently changing careers. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 and have extensive tutoring and editing experience. While a student, I became a certified writing tutor through the Critical Writing Department. Since I completed my writ...
Nova Southeastern University
PHD, Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Bachelors, History
University of Pennsylvania
undergraduate

Certified Tutor
Kate
I'm available to tutor biology, chemistry, physics, math from Algebra up through AP Calculus, SAT test prep, and French. I've been tutoring students in science and math for 7 years. I also spent 8 months working and studying in France, and have tutored high school and adult students in French. When ...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Masters, Environmental Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bachelors
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Jai
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I'm a recent Stanford graduate (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), and have been working at a major Management Consulting firm for a few years now. I personally scored a 2360 (out of 2400) on the SAT and 35 on the ACT and was successful in gaining admission to several top universities. I'm looking forward to helping you improve your scores towards improving your chances at getting in to your dream school.
Jeffrey
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I am enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering PhD program at Rice University which will begin Fall 2020, and I am hoping to return to academia as a professor after earning my PhD. In the meantime, I am looking to share my passion for gaining knowledge, specifically in STEM, by educating the up and coming members of such a great field. I have experience tutoring both Calculus and Physics at Notre Dame, as well as experience as a Student Assistant for Differential Equations and Mechanics. I believe the key to learning is much deeper than learning to solve problems and that seeking knowledge is one of the best means for personal improvement.
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I am available to tutor middle and high school math, history and test prep. I have tutored math and history in the past and I previously taught a test prep course at a school in Hanoi, Vietnam. I have a lot of experience teaching all the need-to-know tricks to doing great on the SATS/ACTS! When I am not in school myself, I love rowing, equestrian and exploring my new city of Boston! I look forward to meeting and working with you soon!
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I am a current student at the University of Chicago. I am working towards a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, and I am on the pre-medical track. I am extremely passionate about tutoring, and I have several years of experience tutoring students in my high school's learning center in various subjects as well as tutoring private clients in Standardized Test preparation. Given that I graduated high school recently, I have taken several Standardized Tests and high school subjects myself, so I have a comprehensive understanding of not only how to tutor these subjects and exams, but also what it is like to take them. While I have a wide range of interests and am able to tutor various subjects, I am most passionate about tutoring in Standardized Test preparation (including ACT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP Exams), Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Spanish. I truly believe that students should have the opportunity to learn in the way that works best for them, and I love being able to help them succeed by creating a comfortable tutoring environment in which we can best assess their particular needs and use strategies specific to them. My passion for learning drives everything that I do, and tutoring is the platform that I use to try to spread that passion to others. In my free time, you can find me playing badminton, listening to music, or baking something (hopefully) delicious.
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I am a graduate of the University of Chicago, and I will be starting a graduate program at Columbia in August. I am about to complete a year of service with City Year, an education non-profit that places young adults into under-served schools. As a City Year member, I worked full-time in the classroom with middle-school students who were in approximately the 10th percentile for math (meaning they score lower than 90% of students). One-fourth of those students were able to grow around 15 percentile points by the end of the year! Hobbies: reading, cooking, gardening, music, art, nature, books, writing
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I am a recent graduate of Yale University and incoming first year medical student at Columbia University. Originally from the DC area, I have always had a passion for science and medicine and pursued a degree in Biology while at Yale. During the 2008-2009 academic year, I tutored science, math, English, history, and Mandarin Chinese part-time with a DC-based tutoring company. At Yale, I worked as a freshman counselor to provide academic and career advice to incoming freshmen. I have taken both SAT and MCAT test prep classes and am familiar with both tests as well as the preparation necessary to score well. My personal career goals include attending medical school to pursue either immunology/infectious diseases or psych/neurology, teaching biology at the university level, and working in public/global health with either the CDC or the WHO.
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I'm a highly creative person who works best with visual thinkers. Very recently graduated from Stanford University, I majored in Human Biology with a concentration in Bioinformatics and Stem Cell Science. Technical though my background may be, I am currently gigging as a singer/songwriter/composer in NYC and tackle even the most hard-science of problems with a top-down, big-picture, holistic approach. If you have a propensity to look at problems in a cross- or inter-disciplinary manner (or want to learn how to do so), I'm the tutor for you!
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I'm a first-year medical student and recent graduate from Duke University, where I studied Global Health Determinants, Behaviors, and Interventions. From running a piano program at a nonprofit children's theatre to private tutoring in math, science, and standardized test prep, I enjoy helping my students become confident and self-sufficient learners! Hobbies: photography, travel, reading, music, writing, running, art, books, traveling
Samuel
AP Calculus AB Tutor • +29 Subjects
I am a freshman at Caltech majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics. My favorite subject to tutor is math because I find it very rewarding to simplify complex topics to aid in understanding. I have lots of tutoring experience. In high school, I ran and taught an SAT prep class and was vice president of my school's NHS chapter where I ran our tutoring program, and I, myself, tutored. I also was a teaching assistant in the summer of 2020 for a class in discrete mathematics through a program called PACT (Program in Algorithmic and Combinatorial Thinking). I love learning and hope to make the process enjoyable for you!
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Frequently Asked Questions
IB Psychology HL students typically struggle with three interconnected challenges: balancing memorization of 8+ core approaches (biological, cognitive, sociocultural, etc.) with the deeper analytical skill of applying them to novel scenarios; mastering research methods and statistics well enough to critically evaluate empirical studies and spot methodological flaws; and developing the nuanced essay writing that distinguishes correlation from causation while avoiding overgeneralization. Many students can recite Bandura's social learning theory but struggle to evaluate its limitations or apply it to a real-world case study with appropriate caveats.
Research methods in IB Psychology HL requires understanding not just how to conduct experiments, surveys, and case studies, but critically evaluating their validity, reliability, and ethical implications. You'll need to distinguish between correlation and causation, recognize confounding variables, understand sampling bias, and evaluate statistical significance—skills that go far beyond simply knowing definitions. A strong approach involves practicing with real empirical studies from psychology journals, learning to spot design flaws, and being able to explain why a particular method was chosen for a specific research question and what its limitations are.
IB Psychology HL essays demand evidence-based argumentation with explicit evaluation of theoretical frameworks—you can't just describe Piaget's theory, you must assess its strengths and limitations using research evidence. Strong essays integrate multiple approaches to a single question (e.g., explaining aggression through biological, cognitive, and sociocultural lenses), acknowledge competing explanations, and avoid absolute statements by using appropriately cautious language ("research suggests" rather than "proves"). You're also expected to engage with real empirical studies, not just textbook summaries, and to consider cultural and ethical dimensions of psychological research.
The IB expects you to see the eight approaches (biological, cognitive, sociocultural, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, evolutionary, and sociocultural) as complementary lenses on the same phenomena, not isolated units. For example, understanding depression requires considering neurotransmitter imbalances (biological), cognitive distortions (cognitive), family dynamics (sociocultural), and past trauma (psychodynamic)—each adds explanatory power. Practice organizing your study around core concepts like memory, aggression, or attachment, and for each, map out how multiple approaches illuminate different aspects. This integration is what separates higher-level responses from lower-level ones on IB exams.
IB Psychology HL explicitly requires you to evaluate research through an ethical lens—understanding why studies like Milgram's obedience experiments or Harlow's attachment studies raise serious ethical concerns about harm, deception, and consent. Beyond recognizing these issues, you need to explain how ethical constraints shape what psychologists can actually study and how they design alternative methods (like correlational studies instead of experiments). When discussing real or hypothetical research, demonstrate awareness of informed consent, confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and the researcher's responsibility to participants—this critical perspective is expected throughout your responses.
IB Psychology HL case studies require you to move beyond surface-level application—instead of simply stating "Bandura's social learning theory explains this behavior," you need to explain the specific mechanisms (observational learning, modeling, reinforcement), acknowledge what the theory does and doesn't explain, and consider alternative explanations from other approaches. Strong responses identify the limitations of applying a theory developed in one cultural or historical context to a different scenario, consider individual differences that might affect how the theory applies, and use specific evidence from the case to support your analysis. Practice with real case studies from psychology research and news, and always ask yourself: "What does this theory predict here, and what evidence would confirm or challenge that prediction?"
IB Psychology HL requires understanding descriptive statistics (mean, median, standard deviation), correlation, and basic inferential concepts like statistical significance and p-values—not to perform complex calculations, but to critically interpret research findings. You need to understand what a correlation coefficient tells you (and doesn't tell you), recognize when sample size affects reliability, and evaluate whether reported results are practically meaningful or just statistically significant. Many students struggle with distinguishing correlation from causation and understanding why a large, well-designed study is more credible than a small convenience sample. Developing comfort with reading and critiquing the statistical components of empirical studies is essential for both the research methods unit and essay questions.
IB Psychology HL explicitly expects you to recognize that much psychological research is based on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples, which limits generalizability to other cultures and contexts. Strong responses acknowledge when theories were developed in specific cultural contexts, consider how findings might differ across cultures (e.g., individualism vs. collectivism affecting attachment styles or conformity), and recognize that psychological concepts themselves may be culturally constructed. Rather than treating culture as an afterthought, weave it throughout your analysis—for example, discussing how Ainsworth's attachment classifications might not apply equally across cultures, or how individualistic vs. collectivistic values shape the expression and interpretation of mental health.
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