What to Look for in a Tutor

By Brittany Loeffler on February 18, 2017

Taking classes in college is much different, and more difficult, than taking classes in high school. Instead of learning and reviewing material multiple times in class, you are expected to read over or learn the material beforehand and come to class with a certain understanding of the topic.

This can be a challenge for some students, which is why there are tutors available for hire to help! If you feel that you are completely lost and are falling behind, hiring a tutor can save your grade and keep you from taking the class again.

Finding a Tutor

If you’ve never used a tutor, you may not know where to start looking. Well, Uloop has a wonderful catalog of tutors located at hundreds of colleges around the country just waiting for your call or email! You can also ask your professor for a recommendation of past students or colleagues that are willing to help struggling students. You can also search agencies online for tutors if you do not care for the ones located at your school.

via Pixabay

Picking a Tutor: Experience

The most important thing to look for in a new tutor is what kind of experience they have in the field you need help in. You don’t want to waste your money on someone who understands the topic but doesn’t have a firm grasp.

Look for someone who already has a degree in the field or has successfully taken Honors and AP classes. You may even want someone who works in the field to tutor you because they have hands-on experience outside of the classroom, meaning they can relate it to the real world more.

Just remember, the more experience a tutor has, the higher their hourly charge will be. It will be all worth it in the end when you pass that class though and learn the material!

Flexible Hours

The life of a college student is nonstop running between classes, work, and student activities. It’s important to find a tutor who is flexible with their hours and who will work around your schedule.

If you have an important exam coming up next week, your tutor should be able to carve out some extra time to study with you and prepare you for the exam.

Good Relationship

You don’t want to see your tutor as another professor or teacher. A tutor should feel more like a peer, someone you are comfortable around and can look forward to seeing once or twice a week. It’s important that your tutor does not make you feel intimidated to ask questions. The whole point of getting a tutor is to ask questions about something you misunderstand or are confused about.

via Pixabay

Patience

People say “patience is a virtue” and if your tutor does not have this virtue, they are not the tutor for you! Your tutor should be able to go over the same problem with you 10 times without becoming frustrated. Their goal is to help you completely understand something, and if you leave a session without grasping at least one concept because they are moving too quickly, they are not a good tutor.

Creativity

Learning should be fun and exciting. Now in college that doesn’t mean doing arts and crafts or watching movies. However, it can mean relating concepts to the real world or something that you are interested in.

Creativity is also important because your tutor needs to be able to reword or explain something in different ways in order for you to understand it. Using metaphors and analogies are great ways to help you understand a concept.

Passion

You are more than just a paycheck. A good tutor should feel passionate about what they are doing. They need to root for your success and not just see teaching you as a part-time tutoring job. It’s important that your tutor takes the time to get to know you, learn your struggles, identify what type of learner you are, and accommodate their lessons to fit your needs. They should go out of their way to help you succeed.

Success and Reaching Your Goals

The ultimate test to tell if you have picked a great tutor is the improvement of your knowledge and test scores. If you go into class each day or each week with the feeling that you understand the material better and feel confident about passing the class, your tutor is doing something right. If your test scores are starting to improve and your homework is easier to complete, then your tutor is doing something right.

If you find that you are stuck in the same place before getting a tutor, you may want to talk to them about changing things up or finding a new tutor altogether.

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