Hi parents.
I have been asked to online tutor a high school upperclassman in college level writing/essay editing. I graduated from a HYP undergrad this year, and am wondering what would be a reasonable price to charge. What would you pay as a parent?
I have a lot of tutoring experience, but they are usually through volunteering or family so the prices are extremely variable and not set. Thanks - looking forward to your help!
(cross posted in careers/employment because I thought the question would be valid in both forums)
I’m on Long Island. I’ve been teaching for 30+ years. I charge between $75 and $100 per hours. In many other parts of the country I would get far less.
And, as a PS-- in your shoes, I would choose ONE-- Harvard OR Yale OR Princeton as the school from which I said I graduated.
Is this tutoring for the essays for college applications or just normal writing ability?
My D19(HS) is charging $25 per hour for ACT/SAT tutoring this Summer.
D19 also does private swim lessons at people’s homes. One client is paying $20 per half hour lesson. The client has two kids. We have been amazed at what people will pay for things like this. As I say it somewhat depends on the size of the house. The bigger the house the more you can charge. That is an old contractor saying.
Aside from geography, it would also depends on experience. Have you done this before, and have you had success? If it’s the first time, you would need to start on the lower end of the range. In all honesty, if I were hiring a tutor for my kid, I wouldn’t care much whether you graduated from Harvard or from Rutgers, or from a small comprehensive four year college in the Midwest. I would care A, what your major is, B, whether you can write, and C, whether you can teach.
Well, if you graduated from a top creative writing program, it would matter.
I hope you are aware beforehand of ethical dilemmas that might arise. Years ago I was trained in “non-directive” tutoring in a university writing program. And with a college essay, if that is part of what you are working on, beware of interfering with the authenticity of what, for a lack of a better term, I will call the student’s “voice.”
My kid was charging $75 as a high school senior/college student for few years. The local certified teachers were charging $100+. She was tutoring on all subjects, and most of the time was just time management with those students. She started with one student because the mom really liked D1, and it worked out so well the mom recommended D1 to many of her friends.
Location, location, location. Even in my state of MA, the further away from Boston and the clusters of rich communities, the price goes diown. A tutor can get $60-70 an hour tutoring in Wayland, Weston. one would be lucky getting paid $30 an hour tutoring in Worcester.
Personally, I would start low and use this as practice once you do that see what the area will pay. There are many sites to hire tutors. Look at those in the zip code where you will be and see what the going rates are.
Don’t undercharge and don’t undervalue yourself. You are not a HS student or even a college student, you have a degree, you have tutoring experience, and an hour of tutoring takes more than an hour of your time and energy. My guess is $75.
I agree with sorghum. When my kid was tutoring. She would spend time to prep for one hour of tutoring. She was tutoring students from her high school, so she would even meet with teachers sometimes to go over the curriculum.
Around here $65/hour for an experienced tutor is fairly common, especially for high school level math or math SAT prep. Reading tutors at the elementary level, get about half that, however.
Don’t forget to build in your prep costs. You’re only getting paid for the hours you are tutoring, but there is a lot of prep that goes with it. My daughter is a French tutor/teacher, and she spends a lot of time creating and correcting assignments to prepare for her Skype sessions with her students. Her fees vary depending on yes, location, but also on how good her students are. When she was tutoring English, history and the SAT, she would occasionally jack up her fees if the student was unmotivated and the parents were just pushing the kid. It was a misery tax. She decided to focus solely on French because the clients tend to be more motivated, since it is an elective.
I think you need to look at costs in your area to set your price.
My opinion…that you graduated from an Ivy League school is terrific…congratulations. But that alone won’t be something most folks will pay more for. Your track record as a tutor is what will get you any additional pay over others doing this job well.
I think by stating he/she is a HYP graduate should mean something to a lot of paying parents, after that it will be OP’s track record. It’s a pretty good calling card.
Initially, i would charge less per hour but raise your hourly rate as you get more experience and a larger book of business. Word of mouth referrals are the best way to get more clients.