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Do you struggle in school and often find yourself behind in your classes? Is your homework always submitted late or are you unable to complete it at all? If so, then it might be time to consider hiring a tutor to help you out.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, there will always be some concepts that are difficult to learn on your own. This can lead to feelings of frustration, especially if the subject isn’t particularly interesting to you. That can distract you from other subjects that might be more exciting to you, but still require concentration and effort.
Tutoring can be a great way to make sure that you’re learning everything that you need to know about a certain subject and mastering it quickly. However, there are several steps you should take before making such an important decision. Here are five ways to tell if you need a tutor.
Are you struggling with your classes?
If you feel like you're barely keeping your head above water in a class or every class, it might be time to consider an outside source of help. If you're consistently underperforming on homework or tests—scoring well below where you think you should be, given how much time and effort you're putting into studying—it's likely that your current strategy isn't working.
Homework doesn’t always have to feel like a chore. Many students find help by working with tutors who can keep them motivated while they make improvements and improve their grades. Whether you need homework help or test prep, studying under an expert can make all of the difference when it comes time for exam day.
After all, not everyone is great at organizing their time, planning out their schedule, and coming up with study strategies on their own. If your grades aren't where they need to be and self-help doesn't seem to work for you, talk with your parents about whether professional help might make sense for where your needs are now.
Is it possible to catch up?
If you fall behind in class, you can still catch up. Deciding whether or not you need help is really about asking two questions: 1.) Can I do it? and 2.) Do I want to do it? To decide, talk with your teachers. They should be able to tell you how far behind you are and what resources are available.
If that's not possible, consider these other questions: Do I know why I'm having problems? Does my schedule make it hard for me to get work done? What kind of grades am I getting on tests and homework? Am I understanding course concepts but making mistakes on certain assignments? Or is every assignment a struggle for me?
If your answer is yes more than once, then tutoring might be helpful.
If you want to pass with high grades
Students who need tutoring often lack skills in critical areas such as reading comprehension, math, and writing. If you’re concerned that your grades are suffering because of deficiencies in these skill sets, then it might be time to bring in some outside help.
When evaluating whether or not you should seek out a tutor, consider how much homework you receive each night, how many hours per week you spend studying and taking notes on lectures, and how well your grades have been lately.
If you find yourself doing poorly on quizzes or exams more than once per semester and think that poor skills are making it difficult for you to understand class content, then it’s possible that tutoring could help improve your understanding of concepts and increase your academic performance.
If you would benefit from personalized learning plans
Consider working with a tutor, who can help you set and meet your academic goals, identify what’s getting in your way, and create plans for how to improve if you benefit more from personalized tutoring.
The benefit of personalized tutoring is that it meets your needs precisely when you need it—you get extra support as needed. The thing about learning new things (especially math concepts) is that sometimes no matter how hard we try or practice, we still don’t get it. But with a tutor around, you know someone's got your back.
If you want to be ready for tests
If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed by all of your upcoming tests, it might be time for some outside help. Some questions you should ask yourself include: Are there certain topics in which you always struggle? Do you get too nervous before tests and fail because of it? Is test-taking your biggest source of stress at school?
If any of these describe your situation, then perhaps a tutor is right for you. Or, if you’re looking for something more specific, try having students or teachers watch you take tests so they can make suggestions about how to improve your performance.
The bottom line is that no matter what type of tutoring—or coaching—you need, seeking help as soon as possible will pay off in less stress and better grades.
At Good Hope Tutoring, we provide personalized tutoring services that take learning styles and preferences into account. That means we offer more than just one-size-fits-all solutions; we also offer options tailored to fit your specific needs as an individual student.
We’ve helped thousands of students across multiple states reach their full potential in school by identifying what works best for them while helping them gain critical test preparation skills along the way.
Contact us today to discuss your particular situation with our team!