While Walmart charges something like a 10% markup, most major tutoring services charge a 200-400% markup over what they pay tutors. The standard approach is to hire college students and others at low pay.
One standard model is Ivy tutoring services. They charge a premium for top tutors. However, they hire current students at top schools. In any field, a college student at a top school is not a top expert and usually does not command a top salary. So they charge like $120/hour and pay the students $30/hour.
Providers of test taking software and so on, also provide tutoring at huge markups. I read on a forum about software to help pick colleges to apply to. The client bought a package that included help with college applications, and of course they got a college student to help with the essays.
Chain tutoring centers typically require their tutors to score 680 on the section of the SAT they tutor. Some of them have tutors making like $20/hour tutor the students 3 at a time. They usually admit they can’t help you if you already score 700 or above, for obvious reasons. I specialize in helping students score close to 800 on the math SAT and math subject test and equivalently on the math ACT.
Directory services like Wyzant allow you to sort by ranking, look at verified feedback, hour tutored, and so on. Some of the best tutors are pricey, but you get value. Quality tutors can also be contacted directly or through recommendations. There are also high quality tutoring services who pay fairly well, and charge high rates.
I would, however, recommend against most franchise local tutoring centers and national online tutoring services. Ask some questions about the tutors, what the qualifications are. If the tutors have academic qualifications, do they have experience?
tutoring services, math SAT, SAT tutoring, tutoring centers
