Pricing
There are two ways to work with Dr. Sahota. One-on-one tutoring is $200 per hour, billed per session, with no package and no minimum commitment. Semester group classes — a small batch of students from the same course, meeting weekly alongside their school class — are $75 per student per session for Honors and $110 for AP. The first 20-minute intro call is free either way.
Intro call
Free 20 minutesA conversation about the course, the teacher and the last test — and an honest opinion about whether tutoring is the right fix.
One-on-one session
$200 per hourOnline or in person around Fremont. Same rate for AP, Honors, regular and college chemistry. Includes preparation before and worked problems after.
Honors group class
$75 per student, per 90-min sessionFour to eight students in Honors or college-prep chemistry, meeting once a week for the semester and tracking their school course. How group classes work
AP group class
$110 per student, per 90-min sessionDeliberately smaller — two to four students — because AP moves fast and free-response work needs individual marking. How group classes work
What $200 an hour actually includes
- A full 60 minutes of one-to-one teaching — not shared, not on-demand chat
- Preparation before the session around the student's actual assignment or upcoming test
- Practice problems chosen afterwards for that student's specific gap
- Saved worked problems from online sessions
- Short progress updates to parents
What the group class rate works out to
Group sessions run 90 minutes, so the per-hour equivalent is about $50 an hour for Honors and $73 an hour for AP — below what a college student charges in this area, with a Ph.D. chemist teaching. The trade is attention: the class follows the syllabus the whole group is on rather than one student's specific gaps.
| Format | Group size | Length | Per session | Per teaching hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-on-one | 1 student | 60 min | $200 | $200 |
| Honors semester class | 4–8 students | 90 min | $75 per student | ~$50 |
| AP semester class | 2–4 students | 90 min | $110 per student | ~$73 |
How this compares
Bay Area chemistry tutoring generally runs from roughly $50 an hour for a college student tutoring on the side, to $80–$130 for an experienced subject specialist, to $150–$250 through premium agencies. One-on-one work with a Ph.D. chemist at $200 sits at the top of the specialist range — but paid directly, with no agency taking 40–60% of it before it reaches the person actually teaching.
The more useful comparison is against hours. A cheaper tutor who needs three sessions to accomplish what a specialist does in one is not cheaper. And if the budget is the constraint, the group class is the honest answer rather than fewer one-on-one hours: a student who sees a Ph.D. chemist every week all semester for $75 a session will finish ahead of one who sees her twice in April.
Payment
Zelle, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay and cash are all accepted.
Questions about cost
Is there a discount for buying multiple sessions?
Not for one-on-one work — the rate is flat at $200 per hour so families are never locked into something that stops being useful. If cost is the deciding factor, the semester group class is the answer: it is $75–$110 per student per session rather than $200 an hour.
What is the cheapest way to work with Dr. Sahota?
A semester group class. Honors is $75 per student per session in a group of four to eight; AP is $110 per student in a group of two to four. Both run 90 minutes once a week alongside the student's school course. Per hour of teaching that works out to roughly $50 for Honors and $73 for AP.
What is the cancellation policy?
Ask on the intro call; reasonable notice is expected but life happens. Group classes run to a fixed weekly schedule for the semester.
Should we do one-on-one or the group class?
If the student is lost — failing tests, missing a foundation like moles — one-on-one first, because a group cannot stop to rebuild one student's footing. If the student is coping but wants to stay ahead of the class and go into each unit test confident, the group class is designed for exactly that and costs a fraction as much. Some families do a few one-on-one sessions to repair a gap, then move into the group for the rest of the semester.
Is the intro call really free?
Yes. Twenty minutes, no charge, no obligation, and no pressure to book.