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Local College Students Launch Tutoring Start-Up at NYU

 Left to right: College students Saul Ancona, Eddie Levy, Miro Sutton and Joey Levy are launching a new tutoring app at New York University.
Left to right: College students Saul Ancona, Eddie Levy, Miro Sutton and Joey Levy are launching a new tutoring app at New York University.
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Saul Ancona

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Three college students at different New York City schools collaborated to launch a peer-to-peer tutoring service at New York University.

Saul Ancona, a rising sophomore at NYU, is the new venture's chief marketing officer, with Baruch College student Miro Sutton as the chief executive officer and Brooklyn College student Eddie Levy as the chief operating officer.

Their product, Prepp, is a new app and website that pairs students with peers for tutoring.

"What makes Prepp unique is that we connect students with peer tutors within the same university, and we allow students to browse tutors by individual courses or professors," Ancona said. "We’ve just launched our beta version, and we’re thrilled at the number of users, on both the student and tutor ends, who love the idea and are excited to use Prepp during the coming fall semester."

They plan to launch Prepp at NYU this fall, with aspirations to expand to other East Coast schools soon after.

Students can search for tutors by academic categories and see their background, reviews, location and rates. Ancona and his colleagues are including a money-back guarantee and say that their service will be faster and "much less expensive" than traditional tutoring services.

Tutors can apply to be featured on Prepp by submitting their academic transcript. They must have an A- or higher in the class or subject they wish to tutor. Once accepted, they set their own prices, hours and the locations where they are willing to travel.

Sutton said students can all relate to "this exact scenario: finals are coming up, you’re stressed, overwhelmed and frankly unprepared."

"You can’t afford a professional tutor, your on-campus tutoring services are over booked, and the self-studying thing just hasn’t been working," Sutton said. "What does one do in this time of need? As education is becoming more competitive, students are required to raise their standards. Prepp is here to help." 

Students who want to be beta testers for the app can sign up on their Kickstarter page through Aug. 19, where they are also offering branded gear including backpacks, t-shirts, stickers and pens.