FAQs

Our service can be summarized in two words: customized prep.

Customized means our classroom prep sessions led by expert instructors are adapted to your course at your university. We only cover the key concepts and problem-solving skills you need to know to excel on your exam – nothing more, nothing less.

Prep means we sharpen your problem-solving skills and teach you how to apply course concepts to exam questions. We start by analyzing past exams from your course. We discover what concepts are being covered, the types of questions being asked and how difficult they are. Then we develop step-by-step methods to solve these questions and pass them on to you at our prep session.

Once you’ve taken a Prep101 course, you’ll be able to handle any question your professors throw at you.

Prep101 is NOT affiliated with your university. Prep101 is a private company started by students at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University in 1999.

Prep sessions are intensive workshops that sharpen your problem-solving skills. We know the types of questions that keep showing up on the exams for each course, and we help you to recognize them and to solve them. There's no better way to prepare.

Our expert prep instructors have three key goals:

1. Show you the types of question you can expect on your exams
2. Teach you step-by-step methods to solve those question types
3. Give you lots of exam-writing strategies and study tips

Taken separately, each of these prep methods is invaluable. Combine them, and they add up to better grades than you ever thought possible.

For more info, see What is a prep session?

One thing that sets us apart is our course booklets. Written by our instructors and customized to each course at each university, course booklets are packed with hundreds of practice questions based on actual exams. You won’t get that with textbooks or text supplements. Our practice questions follow the exact format and are just as difficult as the ones written by your professors. Plus they come with detailed solutions that show you how to get full marks for every question. If you can master these questions, you’ll be in great shape when you write your exam.

But you get more than just practice questions. Each course booklet also includes a comprehensive yet concise review of key concepts explained in plain, simple language. You get lots of study tips and exam-writing strategies too.

And the best part? The course booklet is included in the price.

For more info, see course booklets

Yes. We know that every course at every university is unique. We make sure our instructor knows everything there is to know about your course. You can be sure our instructor has thoroughly studied lecture notes, textbook readings, and past exams* from your course. Each instructor also spends up to 50 hours writing a customized course booklet that is worked through at the prep session. Moreover, our instructor tutors one of your classmates throughout the academic term to stay connected to the course.

In short, the prep session and course booklet will only cover key concepts and problem-solving skills you need to master to do well on the exam: nothing more, nothing less. And the practice questions in our course booklets are just like those you’ll face on the actual exam so you should be able to handle any question your professors throw at you.

Our instructors have graduate degrees and extensive teaching experience. But you can be confident our instructors will help you for one simple reason: we let the experts pick them. Each instructor scored top marks from an audience of students at competitive auditions. We can't think of anyone better qualified than students to spot the best teachers so we let your peers decide who we hire. No other prep company goes to such lengths to find the best instructors.

We also firmly believe that our prospective students should know who’s going to teach them. That’s why we post information about all our instructors on our website, including a full biography, educational background, and teaching history. But we don’t stop there. We ask each of our students to rate their instructor’s performance. And because you ought to know how well the person who’ll be teaching you performs in the classroom, we post those reviews alongside the instructor’s biography. With Prep101, you know exactly what to expect from your instructor.

To find out more about our instructors at your university, go to: Instructors

Below are several reasons to go with Prep101:

1. Proven Track Record: Prep101 is the original exam prep company. Since 1999, we've helped over 100,000 university students get better marks than they ever thought possible. Our reputation speaks for itself.
2. Proven Methods: We sharpen your problem-solving skills. We know the question types that keep showing up on exams for each course, and our instructors help you to recognize them and to solve them. There's simply no better way to prepare.
3. Proven Results: Don't just take our word for it. Check out what your peers think: Student Comments
4. Instructors: Our instructors have graduate degrees, teaching experience, and, most importantly, got top marks from hiring committees of students at competitive auditions. No other prep company goes such lengths to find the best instructors.
5. Course Booklets: Written by our instructors and customized to your course at your university, our course booklets are the Perfect Study Guides.
6. Value: At $10/hour (or less) including a course booklet, classroom instruction from an expert instructor, and follow-up email tutoring, prep sessions are a definite bargain.
7. Putting students first: Prep101 is the only prep company that offers bursaries to students who can’t afford our service and presents free prep sessions to over 5,000 students each academic term.

Prep101 is your most affordable tutoring option too. Prep sessions for midterms (7 hours) cost $70 and prep sessions for exams (12 hours) cost $110. At $10 (or less) an hour, you get a lot of bang for your buck: classroom instruction from an expert instructor, a course booklet, follow-up email tutoring from the instructor. Do the math. It’s an unbeatable deal.

We’ve helped over 100,000 university students get better marks since 1999. But you don’t have to take our word for it. See what your peers think: Student Comments.

We recommend you register online to reserve a spot at the prep session. We cannot guarantee admission to students who do not register in advance. To register, go to: Sign-Up.

You can pay online by credit card or by bank card or in-person by cash. Information about in-person payment options at your university is posted at Payment.

See: Contact Us

If you paid in advance, you get a full refund if you advise us by phone or email that you wish to cancel your registration no later than 48 hours prior to a prep session.

If you paid by credit card, we issue a charge-back on your credit card. Please note that it may take several weeks for this to show on your credit card statement.

If you paid by cash, we mail you a refund cheque. Accordingly, please include a mailing address in the email canceling your registration if you paid by cash.

We grant a maximum of one discount per student per prep course. If you are eligible for multiple discounts, we will honour the discount with the highest dollar value.

Prep101 offers a limited number of bursaries to students who are not otherwise able to attend a prep session. Bursaries are awarded based on financial need.

See: Bursaries

Sorry, no. Course booklets are intended to be used as workbooks with an instructor as your guide during the prep session – not as independent study guides.

Sorry, no.

Sorry, no. However, some of our instructors are also private tutors. Students who wish to receive individual tutoring after the Prep session can make a private arrangement with the instructor.

Sorry, no. Take note that getting help with your homework assignments and essays may be an academic offence.

Sorry, no.