How To Find an Online Tutor?

The first step in finding a tutor is to be clear in your own mind what the options are and what your, or your child’s, specific needs are. Are you looking for catch-up tuition? Do you want extra help with a subject that you or your child struggles with? Does your child need homework help and supervision? Or is your need to find a tutor geared towards achieving a specific goal, such as excelling in an entrance exam or SAT test?

You will also need to think about the kind of service you want. Online tutoring is a popular and often economical option, because the provider’s overheads are likely to be lower than with private tuition conducted in your own home. Which is most suitable for you? A bonus of online tutoring is that, because you are not restricted to educators in your area, in most subject areas you will be able to find a tutor who fits your specifications closely.

Your first port of call when trying to find a tutor is likely to be the internet, where you will discover a huge variety of services available. Some online tutors offer specialist services, including test preparation for particular examinations (such as GRE) or online tutoring for young students with learning difficulties. You may want to find a tutor who offers a specialist service of this kind, or you may want more broad-spectrum tutoring help.

Cost is always a consideration, especially in tough economic times and online tutoring puts educational help within most people’s financial reach. Price may be important but you also want to make sure you get the best help. A good online tutor will post full details of what you will be getting for your money. When finding a tutor who will deliver what you need, it may only partly be a matter of getting what you pay for. Though you will want to find a tutor with appropriate qualifications and certification and/or experience, you won’t need a tutor with a doctorate to help schoolchildren. Conversely, if you need economics tutoring for your MBA studies, you will have to be prepared to pay for that specialized expertise for best results.

Testimonials from former students will always be of help to you when you are making your decision. Their feedback will also give you further information about a particular person’s tutoring style and the methods they favor. A good tutor will also be open and communicative about these issues. When you go about finding a tutor, don’t hesitate to contact people with your queries (and note that it’s worth spending a bit of time formulating your questions so that you get all the information you need). The way people respond to your inquiries will tell you something about the way they conduct their tutoring services.

Effective and productive learning depends on a good relationship between learner and tutor, especially since it typically involves one-to-one interaction. Finding a tutor who fits the bill will require some thoughtful effort on your part, but the educational benefits that online tutoring and private tuition can give you will be well worth it.