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How much do/would/should you or your child pay for private tutoring when they need help in their college classes? Does it depend on the subject? the level of the class? the qualifications of the tutor? your geographical location? the type of college they attend? Do parents pay for this, or do students pay for it with their own money? Does anybody have any experience with this?

By Marite (Marite) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 08:13 pm: Edit

In the Boston area, undergraduates charge about $20 an hour, professional tutors probably $50-65 an hour. But I would urge students to exhaust all the free academic advice and support available in their college: the writing center, math center, the TA and the prof (talk to them after lecture, go to their office hours, email them); study groups, academic advisor, etc...
My S is taking a couple of college classes and he is finding the study groups not only very helpful academically but also a lot of fun.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 09:02 pm: Edit

Usually, students use the tutoring services offered through the colleges' academic departments or counseling centers. Students usually find these tutors themselves. Their academic advisors can help them. Parents usually aren't involved.

When I had a tutor when I was in college, I paid for it out of my own money. I don't know if I even bothered to tell my parents. I figured I was a big girl and could handle things like that myself.

By Fendergirl (Fendergirl) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 09:21 pm: Edit

check out on campus and see if they have a tutor available there. I know my roommate is a math tutor here on campus, and she loves it. she tutors for the kids in classes such as calc 3, discrete math, differential equations, etc stuff like that.. so she definatley knows what she's doing. check and see if you have any services such as that, because, well, they're free

By August (August) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:45 am: Edit

Thanks for the responses. My younger sister who is still in college was thinking of hiring a tutor for a physics class. It seems that there is free tutoring on campus for the lower-level physics classes but not for ones that are a little more advanced like the one she is in. It sounds like private tutoring could be pretty expensive for a student, although the rates Marite mentioned don't sound unreasonable for tutors who are good at what they do. I hope my sister can get some help from the professor or TA or work with other students to get some more motivation before she gets too much further into the semester. I know that so far she has put very little effort into the class and that's probably why she has fallen behind!

By Marite (Marite) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:58 am: Edit

Last year, when my S was in a math class, I found that students frequently e-mailed the prof about problems. The message might be: "I've tried to solve the problem using.... but I'm stuck. Can you give us a hint?" The prof would respond with an email to all students so they would all benefit. Your sister should not be shy about emailing her prof with requests for help. As I said earlier, my S is finding study groups very helpful. Even when he thinks he has solved a problem, he can sometimes learn a more elegant way of doing so.
If your sister is in a university with a graduate department, she might also ask a graduate student for help. The fee--if any-- would be lower than if she went outside for tutoring.