How do adcoms view "freelance tutoring"?

[hope24718]

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So I have strong ECs and such, but would like to pick up some extra cash. I would charge about $10 an hour to tutor and probably work about 5 hours a week. My question is, how will adcoms view this? Will they discredit it because it's not tutoring job within a college/organization? I've done this in the past using word of mouth and Craigslist to advertise my tutoring services. However, I don't want to start it if it's going to take time from my schedule and will seem frowned upon.

The reason I don't tutor with my university or other organization is because my schedule is already packed (18 credits + 20-25 hours of ECs/week) and I can't work the 15-20 hours my university requires. Also, I can make my own schedule doing this which is a big plus!

 

[Jepstein30]

So I have strong ECs and such, but would like to pick up some extra cash. I would charge about $10 an hour to tutor and probably work about 5 hours a week. My question is, how will adcoms view this? Will they discredit it because it's not tutoring job within a college/organization? I've done this in the past using word of mouth and Craigslist to advertise my tutoring services. However, I don't want to start it if it's going to take time from my schedule and will seem frowned upon.

The reason I don't tutor with my university or other organization is because my schedule is already packed (18 credits + 20-25 hours of ECs/week) and I can't work the 15-20 hours my university requires. Also, I can make my own schedule doing this which is a big plus!

For the love of god, why are you only charging $10 an hour... value yourself a little!

And I'm sure they view it as a positive.. not sure how else they could possibly perceive it.

 

[nabilesmail]

Dude, I charged 20/hr to tutor because I was new to it and that was super cheap. People usually charge 50/hr at my university

 

[Jennyfishy]

I used to tutor for free (writing, ochem, gen chem, bio) to my friends just because I preferred doing that than working for my uni's tutoring program (did it for about a year beforehand). But after a while, I was getting paid on avg like...$30 an hour for my writing tutoring help and $100 to go over an entire paper by some people.

$10 an hour is really generous, if they're getting awesome results out of it 😛

 

[jeghaber]

Dude, I charged 20/hr to tutor because I was new to it and that was super cheap. People usually charge 50/hr at my university

I charged $20/hr because I felt that was how much my time was worth, but parents were always shocked at how "affordable" I was 😛 You can definitely easily get away with $30+ depending on the age of your student and subjects you end up teaching.

 

[hope24718]

I only charge $10 an hour because my university offers FREE tutoring for almost any subject- from stats to ochem to writing. But some people specifically want my help with their classes so I charge $10/hour. In the past, I tutored a few college students (since most places where I live offer free tutoring), but I got a lot of high school students and started charging $15/hour.

I mostly charge that much though because I get more people to tutor, and often times I end up tutoring them multiple times. Also, I don't offer to tutor at anyone's house, so I require them to meet me in a public place like a school or library.



SO, overall it's seen as a plus??

 

[Mr Avante]

Please, value your knowledge! Scout the tutor market at your institution and come to an agreement. I believe 25$ is a fair rate; exploit their need and bring the price to 30$!

 

[Jennyfishy]

If you had a consistent "clientele," you could just call it private tutoring if "freelancing" sounds to technical/negative to you. 😀

My uni also offers free tutoring since we technically pay for it through our tuition, but a lot of people complained that they would have some great tutors, and a lot of really bad ones. For me, my only "policy" was that they weren't required to pay unless they felt compelled to (lunch was fine), and I refused to accept payment unless they received a B+ or higher on their work 😛.

 

[Jepstein30]

I only charge $10 an hour because my university offers FREE tutoring for almost any subject- from stats to ochem to writing. But some people specifically want my help with their classes so I charge $10/hour. In the past, I tutored a few college students (since most places where I live offer free tutoring), but I got a lot of high school students and started charging $15/hour.

I mostly charge that much though because I get more people to tutor, and often times I end up tutoring them multiple times. Also, I don't offer to tutor at anyone's house, so I require them to meet me in a public place like a school or library.



SO, overall it's seen as a plus??

Obviously a plus.. again, do you think ADCOMs are going to view it as a negative?

I still disagree with how much you charge, though. Even $15 is extraordinary low.. even with free tutoring available. It does depend on which subjects you are qualified to tutor as test prep tends to bring in more money.. but yea, charge more.

Also can look into some companies that send you tutoring clients as an independent contractor (i.e. Varsity Tutors).. which also pay significantly better an hour (and charge the student even more).

 

[Jepstein30]

Please, value your knowledge! Scout the tutor market at your institution and come to an agreement. I believe 25$ is a fair rate; exploit their need and bring the price to 30$!

This thread makes me feel like a terrible person for charging what I charge for freelance tutoring

obviously varies by subject, qualification and tutoring experience but yea..

the days of freelance tutoring are behind me now though! Decided to work for Kaplan even though the pay is significantly worse because of the opportunities + perks.

 

[hope24718]

Freelance tutoring vs. private tutoring isn't the issue. I was more of asking because how can I prove that I did this tutoring? There really isn't a way to verify this. And if there is no way to verify, can't any applicant add it to their application? If that's the case, I can see how it can be discredited.

I think I will go ahead and do it and up the charge for sure. The tutors at my university make $9/hour, but I know some people charge $30/hour, if not more.

 

[Jepstein30]

Freelance tutoring vs. private tutoring isn't the issue. I was more of asking because how can I prove that I did this tutoring? There really isn't a way to verify this. And if there is no way to verify, can't any applicant add it to their application? If that's the case, I can see how it can be discredited.

I think I will go ahead and do it and up the charge for sure. The tutors at my university make $9/hour, but I know some people charge $30/hour, if not more.

Well, you can lie about basically anything really. They aren't going to check up on anything. You can include a client as a reference if you like.

Catch is, when they ask you about it during your interviews.. it'll be obvious if you are lying about it.

Setting a price is all about your reputation as a tutor. Do you have results you can point to? Do you have something that stands out that qualifies you as a tutor (prestigious school, high SAT/MCAT scores, perfect GPA, etc.)? How much tutoring experience do you have?

End of the day, people like numbers and if they see the guy who scored a 1600 on his SATs is offering SAT prep.. they're going to value that more than the guy who scored a 1100 charging 1/10 the price. Of course, you don't want to price yourself out of the market but depending on your other commitments, you may only be able to hold 2-3 clients at a time anyways..

I'd really consider a company like Varsity Tutors if I were you. Easy access to clients and can give you that verification if you feel it is necessary.

 

[TheShaker]

Freelance tutoring vs. private tutoring isn't the issue. I was more of asking because how can I prove that I did this tutoring? There really isn't a way to verify this. And if there is no way to verify, can't any applicant add it to their application? If that's the case, I can see how it can be discredited.

I think I will go ahead and do it and up the charge for sure. The tutors at my university make $9/hour, but I know some people charge $30/hour, if not more.

I think the general wisdom is to put one of your long time clients or yourself. I personally chose to do neither and kept my tutoring experience off of my application. 😀

 

[hope24718]

Well, you can lie about basically anything really. They aren't going to check up on anything. You can include a client as a reference if you like.

Catch is, when they ask you about it during your interviews.. it'll be obvious if you are lying about it.

Setting a price is all about your reputation as a tutor. Do you have results you can point to? Do you have something that stands out that qualifies you as a tutor (prestigious school, high SAT/MCAT scores, perfect GPA, etc.)? How much tutoring experience do you have?

End of the day, people like numbers and if they see the guy who scored a 1600 on his SATs is offering SAT prep.. they're going to value that more than the guy who scored a 1100 charging 1/10 the price. Of course, you don't want to price yourself out of the market but depending on your other commitments, you may only be able to hold 2-3 clients at a time anyways..

I'd really consider a company like Varsity Tutors if I were you. Easy access to clients and can give you that verification if you feel it is necessary.

Thanks, I will check it out! Also, from your last post----how much did you charge an hour?



Thank you all for your input, I guess the real issue is that I don't charge enough!

 

[Jepstein30]

Thanks, I will check it out! Also, from your last post----how much did you charge an hour?



Thank you all for your input, I guess the real issue is that I don't charge enough!

PM'ed ya.