Altius Review Summary

Altius Test Prep is an online and in-person tutoring company that mentors students for their MCAT exams. To be hired you must have scored well in the Test, and be willing to work a minimum of 10-15 hours a week. Pay is $30+/hr with potential bonuses, though management attracts negative reviews from tutors.

Altius Test Prep Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Simple application form
• Bonus and discount schemes
• Free help with AMCAS (if mentoring over 20 weekly hours)

Cons:

• Only open to those who have taken the MCAT exam
• Prep/admin duties requires unpaid time
• Some negative reviews from mentors
• Heavy criticism of management

Is Altius Legit?

Altius Test Prep is a legitimate MCAT tutoring company that was founded in 2005 and is based in Utah, USA. They have since helped 128,540 students and currently have a Trustpilot score of 3.1 out of 5.

In this video, Altius’ Vice President of Student Success talks about the company and its approach:

What Does Altius Do?

Operating under the motto, ‘we don’t lecture, we mentor’, Altius MCAT Test Prep combines principles of memory science with evidence-based instruction to help students develop through one-on-one tutoring, classroom sessions, practice exams, medical school mentoring, admissions consulting, and undergraduate science tutoring.

Online sessions are conducted via Zoom.

Altius MCAT tutoring responsibilities include:

• Mentor individual students regularly in order for them to succeed with their MCAT preparations and goals.
• Provide exceptional care in inspiring, motivating, and supporting students.
• Teach key principles and strategies in classroom and individual settings.
• Attend all assigned trainings and weekly Student Progress Meetings.
• Record the weekly progress for each assigned student and submit progress to managers in a timely manner.
• Collaborate and work well with other mentors and management.
• Maintain consistent, regular communication with students through text, e-mail, and phone calls. 
• Promote Altius, as needed at local universities including: hanging posters & flyers on campus, help at pre-med fairs and Altius sponsored events, provide support and announcements for relevant clubs and science classes.

Altius Test Prep Salary Information

The Altius Test Prep pay rate starts at US$30 per 1-hour session for 1st-year MCAT Mentors. Additional financial perks include:

• ‘Extra-mile mentoring’ bonus of $250-$1,000 the more students/classes you teach
• Save 10-20% on expenses accrued when traveling for medical school interviews
• Paid time from proctoring practice exams
• Refer a friend
• Attending Altius events
• Pay raises based upon tenure and performance.

Altius Test Prep Hours and Schedule

One-on-one Altius tutoring sessions last 1 hour, and are scheduled in agreement between the mentor and student.

Mentors are expected to commit to a minimum of 10-15 Altius hours a week. These are not guaranteed and are dependent on student schedules, classroom assignments, and enrollment numbers.

Mentors who average 20 weekly hours or more qualify for the following bonuses:

• Complementary Sapphire Medical School Admissions Package (valued at $999): Altius’ team of ADCOM officers will review and perfect your AMCAS personal essay, school choices, and 15 Activities section.
• Mentor Leadership Project: Altius’ ADCOM officers will help you design and execute a Mentor Leadership Project to generate leadership experience for your AMCAS application.

Altius Test Prep Requirements

The Altius requirements to become a tutor/mentor include:

• A qualifying score on your final MCAT exam, verified with a screenshot of the AAMC score report (you may apply with 3 recent Altius FLE/AAMC practice exam scores, but won’t be hired until you have taken the MCAT)
• Knowledge of the Altius curriculum (priority will be given to individuals who have taken the Altius program and demonstrated strong adherence)
• Availability to work a minimum of 10-15 hours per week
• Moderate computer skills, including experience with both Google Docs, Zoom, and group messaging apps
• Strong mastery over the topics covered on the MCAT
• Desire to find solutions and help others succeed
• A team player possessing a positive attitude, energy, passion and self-motivation

Altius Test Prep Hiring Process

Vacancies are listed on the Altius careers page. To apply, select the relevant position, e.g. ‘Altius MCAT Mentor’, and within the job description there is an ‘Apply for This Job’ button. Click on this and submit the following information:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Address
• City, State, ZIP code
• Country
• Date Available
• City and State you’ll be living in the upcoming academic year
• University you will be attending the upcoming academic year
• Did you have an Altius mentor for your MCAT preparations? If so, who was your mentor?
• Do you have your final MCAT Score?
  • If Yes, please provide final MCAT Score here.
  • If you have NOT taken your MCAT, when is your scheduled/anticipated test date?
  • If No MCAT Score, please provide your most recent Altius FLE/AAMC practice exam scores.
  • If No MCAT Score, please provide your second-most-recent practice exam score.
  • If No MCAT Score, please provide your third-most-recent practice exam score.
  • Attach a screenshot of your MCAT score or final three practice exams.

Altius Reviews – What Is It Like Working for Altius Test Prep

The Altius Test Prep Glassdoor page gives the company an overall rating of 3 out of 5, with 54% willing to recommend them (at the time of writing). I have collated the most-recent Mentor comments from these Altius Test Prep Reviews, which are predominantly negative, especially concerning management, communication, unpaid admin tasks, disaorganization, and lack of support, though there is some appreciation of teaching autonomy and flexible scheduling, while views of pay are mixed:

• Positive views:
  • “Lots of autonomy to teach and pretty good pay per hour
  • Flexible, self-directed, limited interactions with management
  • Great pay, relative flexibility, good for someone who is concurrently a student
  • Good pay, you can make your own schedule
  • I like that I get to teach just one class (2.5 hours) on Zoom once per week, which is manageable while in med school (basically any other part-time jobs would require a bigger time commitment). I’ll probably keep teaching until I graduate. However, I definitely wouldn’t stay at Altius if I was looking for anything long-term.
  • The schedule is somewhat flexible”
• Negative views:
  • “Lots of administrative things are put on tutors and you aren’t paid for most of it
  • Many aspects were very unprofessional: textbook had errors that had been apparent for years, pay was calculated via an archaic Excel format, and the majority of their website is defunct– without any plans to fix it in sight.
  • Unorganized and unclear. Often the office directed students to direct their questions to me, without giving me a way to answer the question without contacting the office. I felt often “on my own” with very little support or direction.
  • Numerous times I received incorrect information or was not provided with the necessary materials to succeed in this position
  • Poorly managed – Egocentric, ungrounded upper management with awful communication to mid- and lower-level employees. The entirety of middle management jumped ship in 2021-2022 after continually butting heads with upper management and feeling overworked & underpaid. As a result, the infrastructure for lower-level employees has descended into chaos (i.e. students being left without tutors, students being assigned to tutors without informing the tutor of the assignment, classrooms being filled with students but lacking instructors, tutors not being given access to materials to teach their classes, etc.).
  • Lack of support – They are pretty unresponsive to their employees. As an example, there are several minor errors (miskeyed questions, outdated links, etc.) in the student materials that have been brought up with management countless times over many years, but they refuse to correct them, causing headache to the tutors who get to explain these errors to every new student who inevitably runs into them.
  • Low pay – Pay is better than McDonald’s but worse than other MCAT prep companies. Their posted pay rates are also misleading because Altius requires several tasks that are unpaid, which can add up to hours of unpaid work (filling out paperwork, prep work, communicating with students in between official tutoring sessions, etc.). When they hadn’t reached their recent revenue goals in the middle of one Fall semester, they made the unethical (possibly illegal), unilateral decision to immediately reduce the pay rate of every tutor by 10% (a breach of contract that has permanently damaged trust within the company).
  • Poor management and leadership. Company culture tries to make you drink the kool-aid and put Altius above all. There’s horrible communication breakdown within the entire company, and if you go against what management thinks even in the slightest way, you’re fired.”

The Altius Test Prep Indeed page currently provides just 2 reviews from MCAT Mentors, rated 5* and 2*, which talk positively about co-workers and the flexibility again, but reinforce the negative picture painted of management, communication, and uncompensated time:

Conclusion – Is Altius Test Prep Worth It?

Altius does offer some unique perks through its bonus and discount schemes that you won’t find with other online tutoring jobs. The pay rate is also comparably competitive, while unpaid prep/admin duties are unfortunately par for the course in this industry. However, you should take note of the warnings from past and current Altius Mentors concerning the company’s management and culture before you decide whether this is the right position for you.

You can apply for Altius Test Prep jobs through their website. Alternative opportunities can be explored in our list of online teaching companies.