I will be a college freshman this fall, and I’m looking to make decent money this summer. I’m going to be traveling for all of June which is why I haven’t been able to find a traditional job. I think tutoring would be good because I could manage my own hours/schedule. I want to tutor for the SAT and also elementary/middle school subjects.
For my credentials, I made a perfect score on the SAT and I’m also salutatorian of my senior class with a 4.0 GPA (I’m not trying to brag at all, but I think those things are relevant). How much do you think I would be able to charge? I was thinking $25 per hour but I’m not sure if that’s too much, or if I could make even more. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have. 
This really depends on your geographic area. My DS18, high schooler, charger $30 an hour for comp sci and physics tutoring to fellow high school students. Here’s a link to the rates our local tutoring company charges:
https://www.morethanateacher.com/tutoring/
I’m a rising college sophomore at UCLA majoring in electrical engineering. I charge $20 an hour solely because I do not have a teaching credential and I am a student without a degree.
In Los Angeles, my daughter had a college student tutor and he charged $40/hour (quite a bargain compared to other tutors- not college students- who charged $85 or more).
Research rates and qualifications of private tutoring services in the area, and then charge something less. $25/hour sounds very reasonable, in some areas you could probably charge up to $45 even though you are only a high school grad. You could also have a set rate and then offer an introductory discount for the first few hours, so that both parents & students have an opportunity to get to know you.
Keep in mind that your high ability does not necessarily translate into teaching skills or an ability to help others. Unless you have already done some tutoring, you might find that your GPA and high test scores aren’t all that helpful when it comes to guiding students who may be struggling with concepts that you found easy.
How much you can charge depends completely on the normal rates in your area, and on the market in your area. Around here, it seems that it is dominated by teachers and other adults with teaching credentials. Doing this during the summer adds another layer of uncertainty.
Some people on CC report levels of compensation far high than is the norm here.
I suggest that you look at the ads in Craigslist first.
My son is a musician who has been giving private lessons since HS. When in HS, he charged $20 an hour. In college, he charged $25 an hour…because as noted above…he had no degree.
Once he got his bachelors, he charged $35-40 an hour.
After his masters…$50-75 an hour.
As a recent HS grad…I would say $20 an hour would be good.
But as noted…a lot depends on what your area charges for these types of services. I worked in a suburban community…and the parents there would.NOT have hired a HS grad to tutor. OTOH! They paid a fortune for babysitters!
As long as there are people willing to pay charge as much as you can. See this 14 year old girl charges $200 per hour: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/30/national-spelling-bee-coaches/.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is your competition. Back home most tutors are teachers or grad students so that forces those without those credentials to charge lower rates. 40+ is the adult going rate. It all depends too especially if your clients are people you know. Just make sure the higher you charge the higher the expectations. And easy subjects are sometimes harder. I couldn’t tell you where to put a comma or how to do geometry but I can teach you double integrals and calculation electric flux of Gaussian surfaces. Feel it out and good luck!
These, and being young enough to relate easily to the students, are more valuable credentials, in my opinion, than just being a certificated teacher. I suggest not undercutting ‘adult’ fees, but emphasizing what you can bring to the table.
I have enjoyed reading all the free-market opinions above.
Don’t do what my daughter did. She’s fluent in French and a naturally gifted teacher, but has no head for business, so a woman pays her $15 an hour to tutor her in French. Her therapist actually swore at her when he found out, and told her the going rate for someone with her skills (she just graduated from college a few days ago) was at least $60/hour. So find out what the market in your area will bear and charge that!
Sorry if I missed it…but did the college you’re attending get mentioned? That could also be worth some money.
I would suggest you might want to see if you can latch on to a larger organization to start. Teach under someone else’s umbrella, build some credibility as an SAT tutor, and then go out on your own if you like it.
As for free market @Younghoss - We have a tutor that charges $325/hour for individual sessions, or $125/hour for each of the (up to 5) students in the class. Classes are organized by ability (assessed by the tutor), and often run over without any additional charge. When asked by my wife why she was so expensive, the answer was simple. I’ve got more work than I can handle. No advertising…all word of mouth. We found her via friends who were convinced she was worth 200+ points for both their son and daughter.
In speaking with her, she works with anyone who says they can’t afford the rate, and often volunteers her time with students in financially struggling / depressed areas.
5 classes with her for D2 were much more valuable than a “packaged” solution that was offered through our school (which D1 attended).
I think there is a lot of over-confidence here about what people are “worth” and about the availability of clients willing to pay, especially for students tutoring over the summer.
People who really do well tutoring build up a clientele with a track record and recommendations/word of mouth. Tutoring agencies will typically pay the tutor half of what they charge the client. Students looking for tutoring gigs usually depend on teachers to recommend them.
At least around here, it isn’t that easy to get a sufficient # of clients.
Not sure what geographic area you are in, but around here I would say the going rate is around $20-25 for a good tutor who is a high school or college student and around $40 for a professional tutor/teacher.
Good luck!
I am a tutor in Australia and charge a rate of of $70-$100 AUD an hour. (exchange rate wise thats about 3/4 of the US currency)
The going rate here for a college student providing tutoring is $30/hr.
I will add, that since you are planning on tutoring this summer, you will need to make sure you have an actual plan or curriculum for tutoring subjects, since the kids won’t have a current chapter they are working on.
Same for SAT (congrats on your perfect score!). You will need to have some program to follow to tutor for the SAT. Some plan or book you will be using that you can actually explain to the parents. Does that make sense?
D18 charges $20/hour as a junior in HS tutoring freshmen. She has all the work she can handle … probably should have charged more.
Setting a rate and finding students aren’t always easy. The high dollar tutors are getting that money because they are specializing in something that others aren’t able to offer and oftentimes have been doing it for a long time and have built up a good reputation. They may also be available year round and not just over the summer. You will be competing with many elementary and middle school teachers offering elementary and middle school tutoring over the summer, and might find it very difficult to get students even at a low rate. You’ll also be competing with Kaplan, etc. for SAT tutoring. I wish you well, but know that it may not be as lucrative as you’d hoped.
Alot matters where you are from and how you and the student click. Turnover is high much of the time.
We went through 4 tutors before finding a graduate from Cornell who ROCKS, they laugh, click, there is no question in any SAT or ACT book we have found she couldnt break down and describe perfectly.
The other tutors could figure “most” of them out, but were slow, made mistakes, you always second guessed their ability, and no laughter, no fun.
We pay $40/hr in the South worth every penny she is AWESOME!
I think your best bet is to undercut the market plenty of tutors out there. Depending on locale just charge less!! You wont make near 20$ at a normal job anyway (most likely).