Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Mederos.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story really starts with a simple belief: that the kind of rigorous, high-quality academic preparation that gets students into top universities shouldn’t be reserved for those who can afford it.
I grew up in Coral Gables, Florida, and from an early age I was genuinely just a kid who loved math. That led me to Ransom Everglades, where I got involved in research and eventually had the opportunity to present experimental biophysics work at the APS March Meeting in 2024, an experience that honestly taught me as much about hard work and humility as it did about physics. Along the way though, I kept noticing that a lot of students around me didn’t have the same access to support and mentorship that I was lucky enough to have. That stuck with me.
Before my senior year I started organizing free tutoring programs through Education & Humanitarian Initiatives, eventually reaching students across multiple countries and raising over $4,000 for relief and scholarship efforts. It was small, volunteer-run, and a start.
When I got to the University of Chicago to study Applied Mathematics and Statistics, I wanted to keep building on that. I also couldn’t ignore what I was seeing in the tutoring market. I’d heard of some tutors in the Miami area charging $200 to $250 an hour. I get it, good tutoring takes real time and expertise, but for a lot of families that’s just not realistic. I thought there had to be a way to deliver the same quality at a price that more people could actually access.
So Mederos Prep came out of that. I built it from scratch, figuring out pricing, curriculum, how to find clients, all of it by trial and error honestly. It’s grown to the point where we’ve delivered over 200 hours of instruction and brought on an independent contractor. We’ve had some really rewarding moments, like a student who went from a 29 to a 35 on ACT Math in a month. That’s the stuff that makes it worth it.
Right now I’m balancing Mederos Prep with a full course load at UChicago, a consulting engagement applying machine learning to sales forecasting for Dell, and co-founding a student-run quantitative investment fund called A&O Quantitative where we’re building systematic trading strategies and working toward our first real AUM target. It’s a lot, and I definitely don’t have everything figured out, but I think that’s kind of the point. I’m learning as I go, and every piece of it feeds back into the mission.
The long-term vision is bigger than tutoring. I want to eventually build something that fundamentally rethinks what a world-class education looks like and who gets to have one. But for now, I’m just focused on doing good work and helping students get where they want to go.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all, and I think anyone who says their path has been smooth is probably leaving something out.
The earliest challenge was simply not knowing what I didn’t know. When I started tutoring seriously, I thought the hard part was the content. It wasn’t. The hard part was learning how to actually run a business. Figuring out what to charge, how to find clients, how to structure sessions in a way that produces real results rather than just filling time. None of that has a textbook. I made a lot of mistakes early on and had to course correct as I went.
Balancing everything has also been genuinely difficult. I’m a full-time student at a demanding university, I’m working on a consulting engagement with Dell, co-founding a quantitative investment fund, and trying to grow Mederos Prep at the same time. There are weeks where I’m stretched thin and something inevitably gets less attention than it deserves. Learning to manage that without dropping the ball entirely is still a work in progress.
There’s also just the psychological side of building something from scratch with no guarantee it works. Early on, before the word of mouth picked up, there were stretches where I questioned whether it was worth the effort. You put in the work and sometimes the results aren’t immediate. You have to trust the process even when the feedback isn’t there yet.
I don’t think any of it was a setback so much as tuition. Every hard stretch taught me something I needed to know to get to the next stage.
We’ve been impressed with Mederos Prep, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Mederos Prep is a tutoring company built around one idea: that the quality of your academic preparation shouldn’t be determined by your zip code or your family’s income. We work with students on SAT and ACT prep, AP courses including Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry, and advanced math from Algebra through Linear Algebra. Every session is personalized. We don’t do one-size-fits-all curriculum because students don’t learn that way.
What sets us apart is probably the profile of who’s doing the teaching. Our tutors come from places like MIT and the University of Chicago, which means students aren’t just getting help with homework. They’re learning from people who have genuinely mastered the material and can explain not just the “how” but the “why.” That deeper level of understanding is what produces lasting results rather than just a temporary score bump.
The other thing I’d want readers to know is that we’re deliberately accessible on price. Elite tutoring in this market can run $200 to $250 an hour. We believe that’s a barrier that shouldn’t exist, and we’ve structured our pricing to reflect that without compromising on quality.
What I’m most proud of, honestly, isn’t any particular metric. It’s the moments where a student who came in frustrated and convinced they “just weren’t a math person” leaves a session with real confidence. That shift is what the brand is really about. Score improvements matter, and we deliver them, but the deeper goal is helping students realize that with the right support, the ceiling is a lot higher than they thought.
What makes you happy?
Honestly, the moments that stick with me most are pretty simple. It’s when a student who has been grinding through a concept for weeks finally gets it. You can see it happen in real time. Something clicks, and the way they engage with the problem completely changes. That never gets old.
I think what makes me genuinely happy is building things. Whether that’s a tutoring session that lands, a trading strategy that holds up under scrutiny, or just a proof that finally comes together cleanly, there’s something deeply satisfying about taking something from messy and unclear to structured and working. I’ve been that way since I was a kid with math and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.
I also find a lot of meaning in the bigger picture. I’m young and I have a lot to figure out still, but I have a clear sense of what I’m working toward. The idea that the things I’m building now could eventually become something that genuinely changes how people access education, that keeps me motivated even on the hard days.
And outside of all of it, I train. Wrestling and jiu jitsu keep me grounded in a way that’s hard to explain. There’s something about a pursuit that humbles you constantly and demands total presence that balances out everything else. It’s a good reminder that growth is uncomfortable and that’s exactly the point.
Pricing:
- One-on-one tutoring sessions are $60/hour
- For context, comparable tutoring services in the Miami area can run $200 to $250/hour
- No packages or commitments required — students can book sessions as needed to fit their schedule and budget
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mederosprep.com
- Instagram: @mederosprep
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mederos-89a7332b8
