Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I close my account? Login to your account and click the "Settings" tab. Then look for a link at the bottom of the page which says "Permanently close my account".
- The activation email didn't show up! First step: check that it isn't in your spam folder.
Second step: you can get it re-sent by using this form.
Third step: try waiting for up to an hour. Some email servers get backed up.
Fourth step: if it's still not working feel free to send us an email support request.
- How can students leave me a review? How do I get reviews? After working with a student, they can login to their account and write you a review. We also send out automated emails to remind them a few weeks after they contact you.
If the student forgets or chooses not to leave you a positive review, it never hurts to ask. They can login at any time to post reviews for tutors they have worked with in the past. - What is my username or password? How do I retrieve my lost username or password? Your email address can also be used for your username, so if you don't remember your username, just login with your email address instead.
To retrieve your password you can click here. - Why isn't my profile showing up when I search for it? There are a few steps to check:
1. Make sure your profile is set to "public". Only public profiles appear in search results. You will need to complete at least the first four sections of your profile (on the "My Profile" tab) when you login before you can set your profile to public.
2. If you just recently set it to "public", wait at least 5 minutes. It takes this long to get indexed and appear in our search results.
3. Try a search from the homepage of UniversityTutor.com by entering your zip code and one of the subjects you included in your profile. If your profile shows up you are all set. If it's showing in the wrong geographic location, try reading this for more information.
4. If it still isn't working, feel free to send us an email request. - How long does it take to get contacted? It varies a lot. Some tutors get numerous contacts within the first week and some never get a single one. Sorry, we wish we had a better answer for you here, but the best way to find out is to just try it. After all, it is free!
If you are not getting enough contacts, you may want to try marketing your tutor profile. We offer some easy ways to market your profile. Just login to your tutor account and click the "Marketing" tab, then "find more examples here" near the bottom. - Is travel required? What if I don't have a car? You don't have to have a car to sign up as a tutor. Students can meet you anywhere you'd like (a nearby coffee shop, library, bookstore, your residence, etc). Just indicate this on your profile in the "availability" section. That being said, tutors who are available to travel may get more contacts and work.
- What should I do if the student refuses to pay? While the vast majority of tutoring sessions work out well for both parties, occasional non-payment is an unfortunate risk of the tutoring business (as with many other businesses).
Follow up at least once by phone and once by email to politely request payment. Many people simply get busy and bills have a way of being forgotten unless you remind them.
Perhaps the best way to avoid non-payment is to never do more than one hour of tutoring with a new client before getting paid. This will cut your losses if you do end up working with a student who is not honest.
Many tutors have an unofficial money back guarantee on the first hour of tutoring anyway. In effect, the first session is about seeing if it is a good match for both the student and the tutor. If the student decides to disappear and not pay after the first session, then it would not have worked out anyway. At least your time has now been freed up to find quality students who will value your tutoring services and compensate you for them.
As a general rule, be more cautious with students who contact you asking for "last minute" help before their test tomorrow, or students who email you their assignment, essentially asking you to do it for them. In our experience, these students are less likely to pay because they were just looking for a quick fix and didn't truly want to learn the material. This is especially true if you never actually meet the student in person and only converse with them online or by phone.
The most profitable students that you can find as a tutor are the ones who will meet with you on a regular basis, week after week. These "regular customers" will contribute much more to your bottom line and you can be sure they will pay on time (otherwise you wouldn't keep working with them). A tutor who is welcome around the house and practically a friend of the family is much less likely to be cheated out of money. These are the sort of students who you should ideally seek out.
Finally, if you have a complaint about any specific student on our site, you can email support and describe the problem you are having. We do take action against specific students who are not using the site honestly. - I'm an international student, can I be a tutor with my F1/J1/M1 student visa? UniversityTutor.com does not actually hire tutors as employees, independent contractors, or otherwise so we can't answer this question. We simply provide a website where people can find each other so how you use the service is up to you as long as you do so within the law.
- How do I get paid? You get paid directly by the student. UniversityTutor.com is not involved in any transactions between tutors and students. This means that you can get paid however is most convenient for you and (unlike most tutoring companies) we will never take a percentage of your earnings.
Most tutors accept cash or check. Some tutors also send invoices to students via Paypal. This allows the student to pay by credit card and for you to deposit funds directly to your bank account.
Also note that since you are not being paid by UniversityTutor.com, you are not an employee or independent contractor of UniversityTutor.com and we will not withhold or report any taxes for you. It's up to you to track this as a self-employed person. - My location doesn't show correctly on the map, how can I fix it? The map location is based on what address you entered into your profile on the "Basic Info" section. We use Google Maps to help place the marker on the map, and sometimes it's not 100% accurate. You can try playing with different values for the street, city, state, zip code, country, etc until it places the marker correctly (and of course make sure you don't have any typos). It should place it just as if you had typed that address into http://maps.google.com so feel free to experiment there if it's easier. When you're ready just enter the new address into your tutor profile and save the changes. When you reload your tutor profile it should show that location.
Also, there is no requirement to enter your exact street address if you don't want to (for privacy reasons). You can approximate your location on the map with a nearby intersection or entering only a zip code if you'd like. - Someone already has my username/password. How did this happen?
If you've contacted any tutors on the site then a client account was created for you.
You can recover access to the account using this forgotten password page.
If you'd like to switch to a tutor account instead of a client account, you'll need to delete your client account and then re-register as a tutor. To delete your current account you can login, visit the settings tab, and click "close my account" at the bottom. This will free up your email address to register as a tutor.
- Do I have to have a profile photo? No, you do not. However, your profile may appear incomplete or otherwise negative to clients if it is missing a photo or any information.
- I’m having trouble uploading or changing my profile photo. For best results, your photo should be a square, with the same width and height. In addition, your photo must be under 5 MB and be in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format. If you’re having trouble uploading or changing the image, try refreshing the page or waiting a few minutes. Remember, only upload photos of you. Don't include pictures with friends, pets, or inappropriate content.
- Am I old enough or qualified enough to tutor? UniversityTutor.com does not actually hire tutors as employees, independent contractors, or otherwise, so we can't answer this question. We simply provide a website where people can find each other, so how you use the service is up to you as long as you do so within the law.
- This client is difficult. With UniversityTutor.com, you’re running your own business, so you can choose how to do so! UniversityTutor.com is in no position to tell you who to work with.
- Why do some tutors have a star on their photo? Tutors with a green star on their photo are a UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassador.
- What is a UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassador? UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassadors are tutors from around the United States who serve as advocates for the website and local contact points for press opportunities. These tutors undergo screening and an application process before earning their Local Ambassador badge. Currently, UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassadors are hand selected.
- How can I promote my tutoring profile on UniversityTutor.com? At this time, we do not offer any sort of featured or promoted status to tutors on UniversityTutor.com.
To help your profile stand out to clients, make sure you have a complete, public profile with a professional photograph and clear language throughout. Additionally, try marketing your profile using our free resources. Visit My Account, then Marketing. - Why does my profile appear at the end of the results? With tens of thousands of tutors using our platform, not all profiles can make it to the front page. Our algorithm for tutor order changes over time to best serve our users’ needs, so your spot in the results may fluctuate.
To help your profile stand out to clients, make sure you have a complete, public profile with a professional photograph and clear language throughout. Additionally, try marketing your profile using our free resources. Visit My Account, then Marketing.
- How should I select a tutor? You can narrow your search for a tutor by a number of criteria including location, price, student rating, and subject. Once you view the tutor's profile you can also see their experience, education background, availability, etc.
- What age groups or grades do you tutor? UniversityTutor.com provides tutoring for all age groups. This includes current students all the way from elementary school up through various graduates programs. It also includes some people who aren't currently in school, such as with computer help or music tutoring. It all depends on the subject matter.
It is a common misconception (given the name of the website) that tutoring here is only provided for college students, or that all the tutors are themselves college students. Neither one is true.
While some tutors are college students, others are professional teachers. They provide tutoring and mentorship to all age groups. When selecting a tutor you can view their experience and background to decide which might be a good match for you. - What are the hourly rates for tutoring sessions? Each tutor sets their own rate (usually between $10 and $60 per hour) so shop around! More experienced tutors will typically charge a higher rate.
Also, UniversityTutor.com does not take a percentage of what you pay the tutor like most tutoring companies. You pay the tutor directly and they keep 100% of it. - Where are tutoring sessions held? Most tutoring sessions are held online, allowing you the flexibility to receive instruction anywhere. Tutors will help select the online platform that works best for the material they will be instructing. Tutors may also meet in person, at a place that is convenient for you. This could be your residence, a coffee shop, a bookstore, or a library. Check the tutor's policy on driving times and how far they are willing to travel on their profile page.
- What if I don't like the tutor? If you didn't get any value out of the tutoring session, you can discuss a refund with your tutor (it is up to them). Many tutors also offer a money back guarantee on the first session. The good news is that there are no long term contracts or blocks of hours that you need to buy, so you can stop working with a tutor at any time. The best way to proceed is to try it for an hour and if it's not a good match then simply part ways. There are a wide variety of tutors so feel free to shop around before deciding. By interviewing the tutor on the phone before meeting you can usually determine if it will be a good fit.
- What if I'm looking for a tutor in another city or specific location? You can find tutors in other cities by clicking here. Just enter a subject and location (could be street address, zip code, city name, etc).
- Do you provide standardized testing tutors? Yes, we have helped a number of people preparing for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, ISEE, and other types of exams.
- Do you have tutors that specialize in helping children with learning disabilities? Yes. We have tutors with experience in ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia to name a few. You can try searching for tutors using these keywords in the subject field.
- Do you have tutors that teach organization and study skills? Yes! Many students see the biggest improvement by studying smarter, not harder. Enter "Study skills" or "Organization" in the subjects field when searching for a tutor.
- Can two students share a tutor?
- How do I pay the tutor? What forms of payment do you accept? We stay out of the billing process and let you deal directly with the tutor for payment, so whatever the tutor is willing to accept is okay with us. Usually this means cash or check are perfectly fine. Many tutors also accept Paypal payments (which allows you to use a credit or debit card). You can always check with your tutor if you are not sure.
- How does this work? On this site you can find an exceptional one-on-one tutor near you. It takes just seconds and it's free to contact them. Select a tutor you like by location, subject, experience, price, and rating. Then contact the tutor directly by filling out the form on their profile page.
You may want to contact several tutors to find the right one for you. You can handle all scheduling and payment directly with the tutor, we'll stay out of your way. You can login to your account at any time to view the tutors you've worked with and rate them. An account will be created for your automatically after you contact your first tutor. - How do I login? How do I retrieve a lost username or password? An account is auto-generated for you the first time you contact a tutor.
We use your email address as the username and generate a random password for you. If you don't still have the email with this random password, you can retrieve it by clicking this: retrieve lost password.
It's a good idea to change the random password to something that's easier to remember the first time you login. - The tutor never responded, what should I do? Sorry to hear that! We know it can be frustrating to not get a response.
We notify each tutor by email when you contact them and (assuming the email actually reaches their inbox) most will respond, even if they are unavailable for tutoring.
When they don't respond, we routinely take down the tutor's profile based on your feedback. If you never received a response from a tutor, please indicate this in your rating of the tutor. You can rate tutors by logging in to your account or by filling out the survey email we send out several weeks after your first contact with them.
As for finding another tutor, the best course of action is usually to contact multiple tutors on the site who may be a good match. Like any job, it can take interviewing several people to find the right person. Your chances of finding the right tutor (and getting a response) will greatly increase the more tutors you contact.
Apologies for the difficulty here and thanks for bearing with us as we try to improve this area of the site. We are aware this is currently a source of frustration with the site and it's something we are actively working on. - How do I rate or review a tutor? You can leave a tutor a review by logging into your account and going to the "Your Tutors" tab. Note that an account was automatically created for you when you first contacted a tutor, so you probably have one even if you don't remember creating it. If you need to retrieve the auto-generated password you can use this link: Retrieve Password
You can also change the password to make it easier to remember after logging in.
Another way to leave a review is using the email we automatically send out two weeks after you've contacted a tutor. Just fill out the form in that email or click the link in it. There is no login required to use this method.
You can only leave reviews for tutors you have contacted through the website. - Do you perform background checks on the tutors? No. Our website is free for parents and students and unfortunately we don't have the resources to run background checks on every tutor. It's a good idea to interview all potential tutors by phone and meet in a public place the first time as a safety measure. By exercising caution and using good judgement, you should be able to avoid any problems. For more information you can refer to our Terms and Conditions.
- Someone already has my username or email. How did this happen?
If you've contacted any tutors on the site then a client account was created for you.
You can recover access to the account using this forgotten password page.
If you'd like to switch to a tutor account instead of a client account, you'll need to delete your client account and then re-register as a tutor. To delete your current account you can login, visit the settings tab, and click "close my account" at the bottom. This will free up your email address to register as a tutor.
- I have a client account. How can I register as a tutor? If you already have a client account (from contacting a tutor on the site) you will see a message that your email address has already been taken if you try to register as a tutor.
To remedy this you have two options:
- Register as a tutor using a different email address.
- Delete your client account to free up the email address and then re-register as a tutor. You can do this by logging in to your client account, visiting the "settings" tab, and clicking "close my account" at the bottom. After confirming, you will immediately be able to register as a tutor.
- Can you find a tutor for me? We do not match students with tutors. Please try searching by subject or location to browse tutors.
- I can’t find my old tutor on your site anymore. Will you contact them? It’s possible that your old tutor has removed his or her profile or has become inactive on the site. If this has happened, please contact a new tutor. Thousands upon thousands of tutors have active profiles!
- I’m not sure I trust this tutor – it might be a scam. If you’re concerned about a tutor, feel free to utilize a different tutor. While the vast majority of our users are honest people, people have occasionally tried to use our site for scams, much like happens on other websites such as Craigslist or Facebook. Learn more about scams here.
- Why do some tutors have a star on their photo? Tutors with a green star on their photo are a UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassador.
- What is a UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassador? UniversityTutor.com Local Ambassadors are tutors that have been individually selected as representations of our tutoring marketplace. Currently located across the country, these tutors showcase the spirit of UniversityTutor.com and can be spotted by the badge on their profiles.
Is your answer not here?
Send Us an EmailBeware Of Scams
The vast majority of our users are honest people. But as with many sites on the internet (like Craigslist or
Facebook) people have occasionally tried to use our site for scams.