Chemistry is a weighty subject. It’s loaded with compounds and formulae and more detail about the invisible world than you ever thought possible. Chemistry students have a lot to learn and much to remember. Is it any wonder that so many call on a tutor to help them understand it all?
But how do you know which tutor to choose? Should you go for convenience or is the lowest price the best determiner? You should consider four factors before making a decision.
By Location
Maybe, as you commute between home and school, you pass by a tutoring centre. You note that they advertise tutors for all academic subjects. Surely, that would include chemistry, right?
For some people, goods and services available within their immediate geographical location matter the most. They want to support their local economy so that’s where they choose to spend their money.
But they may not want to visit a tutoring agency once or more per week. Maybe their schedule is a bit full. Or they worry they won’t be able to focus on their lessons in an unfamiliar, possibly crowded environment. They would rather have lessons at home.
In-person tutoring at home has long been the preferred format for supplemental learning. In this model, the tutor does all the heavy lifting. They bring the study materials and commute from pupil to pupil. These sessions don’t cut into students’ revision time. Tutoring at home allows learners to study in the comfort of familiar surroundings.
If learning with a tutor at home is your preferred option, you might consider receiving tuition online. Over the last decade, since the technology first became available, tutors of all types have moved their lessons online. Now, all of the web-based learning tools make tutoring in all disciplines easy and convenient.
There’s still some debate over whether online or in-person lesson delivery is better. But there’s no arguing that remote instruction is fast overtaking in-person tutelage as the preferred system for lesson delivery.
By Reputation
Popular consensus is the easiest way to figure out if anything is worth your time and money. That’s the whole reason for product reviews and customer rating sites like Yelp. Fake reviews aside, people are more likely to try something with lots of stars and comments attached.
Dedicated tutoring platforms offer students a chance to leave feedback and testimonials about the tutors they learned with. If you need to find a good tutor quickly, you might turn to such a service. Reading through what past students have to say about their educator could help sway your decision.
You might also ask friends and family if they know anyone who tutors in chemistry. You’ll be more likely to trust a personal recommendation from someone you know than strangers (and spambots) online. Word-of-mouth promotion works well for the tutor, too. It proves they’ve done such a good job that they’ve earned trust, recognition, and recommendations.
If your immediate circle can’t offer up any leads, ask your teachers and school administrators. Some schools keep a roster of pre-qualified tutors, or they may have partnered with a trusted tutoring agency. Many schoolteachers tutor in the evenings and over the weekend, too. Should your chemistry teacher have an opening in their tutoring schedule, you may luck out by revising with a tutor you already know.
If you’re at university, you could check with your student union. Many campuses have a peer tutoring program in place that connects junior learners with upperclassmen. A peer tutor would be a particularly good choice because you will likely relate better to them than someone you don’t know. Also, they understand your struggles better; they’ve been through the same ordeals you now face.
By Availability
Finding a tutor that checks all your boxes matters not at all if your schedules are incompatible. Let’s say you’re active in many student programs and work part-time besides. You’re only available on Wednesday evenings, from 7:00 to 9:00. Unfortunately, your chosen mentor is booked solid during those time slots. Sigh! It’s time to begin your search anew.
As you search for chemistry tutors, be sure to pick more than one to interview. Not just because your schedules aren’t in sync, even though that is a good reason to vary your selection. You also need to make sure you will work well with them and that their teaching style complements your learning style.
It can seem like a tall order to search for a chemistry tutor who knows all about your chemistry studies. One who has a complementary pedagogy and a schedule with the same blocks of time open as you do. So marking around five tutor profiles to investigate further will save you a lot of time. Also Read – Everything you need to know about Marketing Degree
By Price
In the best of all worlds, your chemistry tutor will know everything about your chemistry studies. They will bring a flexible teaching style and adjust it to your preferences. Their schedule will be wide open and they will charge no more than what you can afford.
For many students, tutoring fees form an insurmountable barrier. No matter how badly they need the lessons, they simply don’t have the bank to pay for them. Often, they look at the tutor’s posted rate and move on before reading any profiles. By doing that, they may dismiss a gem of a mentor.
Often, tutors offer flexible pricing. For instance, they may offer a discount for a bundle of lessons. Or they might reduce their per-hour fee for online lessons. As they won’t have to travel to your home, they don’t have to cover their travel expenses. They may even tutor small groups of students, which translates into a lower rate for each student.
Paying for lessons with a private tutor is an investment in your future. Like any investment, the most expensive won’t necessarily be the best. The one that matters is the mentor that’s worth your money. So you should choose your chemistry tutor based on these four factors.
