SAT Tutoring - Do it Yourself or Join a Company?

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>I'm applying to colleges this year and I'd like to become an SAT Tutor. As my thread title suggest, there are two approaches to tutoring - doing it yourself and joining a company. Until recently, I was dead set on joining a company because you don't have to come up with most of the material yourself, you don't have to attract clients yourself, its less work to set-up and operate, and some companies let you do online tutoring (Kaplan, Sylvan) if you've been with them for a while. I was talking to one of my friends however and he said there are a lot of benefits to doing it yourself: (1) You'll probably get paid more, (2) you might be able to write about your experience in a college essay, (3) it shows motivation, ambition, and drive, and (4) it looks better to colleges.</p>

<p>I agree that it'd be interesting to set up my own tutoring service, but I feel like I don't have the time because I need to finish my college apps. What do you think? Is the opportunity cost of setting up my own company worth the boost on my application? Is making your own company really that much more impressive than working as a paid tutor?</p>

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<p>I think doing it yourself looks a lot better and is better. You wont have to work for these big companies. You can design how you want to tutor and if you help someone ahcieve a high score, he or she can write a testimony saying that it was only because of you that he got a high score.</p>

<p>If you are qualified (high SAT score and good teaching abilities), then you should definitely do it yourself, in my opinion.</p>

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<p>Also, here are my test scores:</p>

<p>[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2320/2400 (only took it once)
[</em>] SAT II: 800’s on two exams, including Math II
[li] AP’s: Have taken 14 AP exams. Earned 5’s on almost all of them[/li][/ul]</p>

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<p>Hardest part of doing it yourself is getting the clients and convincing them to pay you what tutoring companies charge them (50-100/hr). Doing anything from scratch by yourself is always more impressive as long as it is successful.</p>

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<p>Is there anyone here who has made their own tutoring company? If so, can I PM you with some questions?</p>

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<p>I am not sure those companies will hire a hs student. Check first.</p>

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<p>Are you trying to do this so you can put it on your apps to look more impressive?</p>

<p>You could always wait until after you’re in college to become a tutor. I think being already in college communicates that you were “successful” in getting into the colleges you wanted and there would be more people willing to take up your offers.</p>

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<p>@CalDud, I want to start tutoring this year so I can put it on my college apps. However, I still want to keep tutoring when I’m in college.</p>