Why choose Arete?
At Arete, we believe every student can excel—truly excel—when they’re given the right tools, mindset, and support. Our approach isn’t about quick fixes or tutoring dependency. It’s about helping students build the skills, habits, and confidence they need to take charge of their learning—for good.
Arete (Greek): The pursuit of excellence.
Arete is a full-service tutoring and educational consulting company that’s deeply committed to helping students reach their full potential. Whether that means getting into an Ivy League university or boosting an SAT score by 300 points, we work with learners of all ages to turn big goals into real results.
What makes us different? We don’t just focus on grades or scores—we focus on the student as a whole. Our work balances the immediate academic pressures with long-term growth, building habits and mindsets that last well beyond any single test or class.
Coaching That Builds Confidence
Arete coaches are more than tutors. They’re highly trained educators who know how to spot what’s holding a student back—whether it’s poor organization, low confidence, or something deeper—and help them move forward. We teach students how to truly own the material, build academic resilience, and start seeing themselves as capable, independent learners.
Our team is dedicated to empowering students of all ages and grade levels reach their academic goals. We provide academic coaching in all subjects as well as tutoring for the SHSAT, SSAT, ISEE, ACT, SAT, GED, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, DAT and more. We also provide application support for all levels of academia including kindergarten through high school, college, business school, law school, medical school, joint degrees, etc.
Our History
Arete was founded by Nikki Geula, a graduate of the Dalton School and Vassar College. Back in 1994, Nikki began tutoring students and noticed a pattern: many were looking for a “band-aid” solution to a bad grade, rather than a thorough fix. She realized students needed more than just help with content—they needed to learn how to learn.
So she created a new kind of tutoring: one that combines structure, accountability, and emotional insight to unlock a student’s full potential. Over the years, this approach has helped thousands of students overcome academic roadblocks and achieve goals they once thought were out of reach.
We are proud to say that many of our students don’t stay with us forever—not because they didn’t love working with us, but because they grow into learners who don’t need us anymore. And that’s the point.
Ultimately, Arete strives to ignite self-motivation within individual students, empowering them to fulfill their academic promise and reach goals beyond what they thought possible.
Our aim is to “graduate” a student from tutoring. Ongoing tutoring is always available but may not be necessary.
The Arete Process
Every student begins with a consultation where we carefully match them with an Arete Coach who fits their academic needs, learning style, and personality.
In the first session, they’ll set clear, realistic goals—like raising a grade from a C to an A- or building a stronger study routine—and put a step-by-step plan in place to get there. Weekly sessions, check-ins by phone or email, and tailored strategies help keep the student on track. And once they’re ready, we gradually reduce support, with the goal of full independence.
Because at the end of the day, success isn’t just about getting ahead in school—it’s about learning how to take charge of your future.