Knowing how to find a good tutor can be really difficult; there are a whole range of  websites and tutoring services available with just one quick Google search. But, how can you find the best one for you? 

Looking for a tutor is always a good idea, whether you’re preparing for exams and want some revision support, or just need some extra help with a subject, putting time and effort into a tutor means investing in yourself. A tutor can help you to feel more confident in your academic ability which is really important when going through school and university - you have to believe in yourself! 

If you’re unsure of what subject to pursue at A-levels, college or university, a tutor can also be a really good way to get an idea of the subject from an expert and decide if this is the right path for you. 

It can also help when looking for a good tutor to have an idea in your head of goals you want to achieve. Whether it’s getting through your GCSE mock exams or getting ready to apply to university, they can be there to support you through some of the most important changes of your academic journey. 

Finding a tutor who is going to support you while also challenging you, who is going to teach in a style that you best learn in as well as inspiring and motivating you seems like an impossible task. That’s why we’ve come up with our top tips and recommendations for how to find a good tutor; key things to look out for that makes a good tutor, and how you can use your tutoring sessions to best benefit your learning.

What makes a good tutor?

There are many different aspects to tutoring that makes someone  a ‘good tutor’, and this may vary from person to person as everyone learns differently and responds best to different styles of teaching. However, the fundamental aspects to a good tutor remain the same and these should definitely form the groundwork of your tutor search.

Flexible Learning Style

This is probably one of the most important elements of a good tutor; they have to have a flexible teaching  style to complement your specific learning wants and needs - and help you gain the most out of your learning sessions. 

For example, if you learn best through visual cues, seeing things written down and mapped out in front of you, then it’s not going to be beneficial to you at all to have a tutor who primarily teaches you in an auditory way, speaking to you about the subject when you prefer to see it written.  

Similarly, if you’re someone that prefers learning through discussion, debate, and literally ‘talking’ through new ideas, then you’re not going to gain much from a tutor who prefers to set you independent reading followed by independent study assignments to test your knowledge. It’s all about finding someone that talks the same learning style as you.

If you don’t know what learning style suits you best then it’s even more important that your tutor can adjust to your needs as they come up. A great tutor understands their students and can adapt their teaching methods based on what seems to be working - or not working - for the student.

Finding a tutor who will be able to teach you in a way that is tailored to your needs is something you can discuss with them beforehand so you can get the most out of your time with them. 

Kind but Challenging  

This is something that you probably won't enjoy in your tutor but is a necessity for getting the most out of your sessions. Trust me.

To really help you grow as a young academic, you need a tutor who is kind and friendly, but also who challenges and pushes you to improve. It would definitely be easier to have a tutor who holds your hand throughout the process and gives you homework that is easy, going over topics you already know pretty well. But this isn’t going to help you grow or get much better at the subject! 

A good tutor will understand your level of knowledge, then help guide you and make you feel supported while slowly pushing you to the more difficult areas of the subject so you can thrive. 

Understanding

One of the best traits that your tutor should have is to be understanding. This includes understanding your level of knowledge, the speed at which you learn and understand new things (because everyone learns at different paces), and your ability to retain information. While your tutor definitely should challenge you, this shouldn’t be in a way that makes you feel stressed - at the forefront of your tutoring should always be support. 

This also means that your tutor should be understanding of your other commitments too. It’s fair enough that you won’t always have time to spend hours each week focusing on the homework they give you. After all, making time for additional learning on top of your school work can be challenging enough. Instead, a tutor who understands you have other things you need to put time and effort into (sports, socialising, school work, generally finding time to relax) and supports that will help you ease pressure in your learning and make the whole process far more enjoyable.

A key element that your tutor should be understanding about is the stage of the education process that you are at and how they can best support that. It will be a huge benefit to have a tutor who knows the university application process if you’re about to apply, or, is clued up to the AQA exam board marking criteria if you’re preparing for exam season. Again, these are things you can discuss with potential tutors before deciding on the best person for you. 

How to Find a Good Tutor

There are many different ways to define a ‘good’ tutor and a lot of these are subjective depending on your individual needs and what you want to gain from your learning sessions. 

However, as we’ve previously mentioned, there are a number of preliminary steps you can take to find a good tutor for you. These can be done through requesting the information directly from the person, or searching online for the information you need. However you do it, we would always recommend taking these initial steps to find the right tutor for you. 

• Tip #1 - Check credentials

The first tip you should remember when thinking “how do I find a good tutor?” is that you should always check their credentials. With the rise in tutoring websites, especially as online learning has become so popular, it seems like anyone with the desired qualifications can sign up and become a tutor. 

An important aspect to consider when looking at a tutors credentials is their experience in teaching. A tutor who has a Bachelors, Masters and even Doctorate degree in the subject is obviously going to know their stuff, but not everyone can teach and transfer their knowledge to someone else in a helpful and productive way. 

Make sure your tutor has experience in teaching pupils, especially of your age range. If you are looking for a tutor to help you through your GCSEs, it’s probably a good idea to choose someone who has helped previous students through their exams - but that’s a no-brainer, right?

Looking at your potential tutor’s credentials will include their educational background which you should pay attention to as well. We all know from the annual university league tables that there are ‘better’ courses to go on for specific subjects. Therefore, it would make sense that you chose a tutor who attended one of those universities to help you with your studies - especially if you’re aiming to apply to one of those courses. Have a look through the league tables to see which universities rank best in your subject and keep an eye out for tutors who have studied there.

This idea can also be applied to specific universities; if you’re looking to apply to Oxbridge, having a tutor who attended Oxford or Cambridge would be a huge bonus for you as not only will they teach in a style you will get used to at these universities, but they can also give you unique insights into the application process. 

• Tip #2 - Check teaching methods align with the way you like to learn

This has been mentioned before but is definitely something you should consider when finding a good tutor for you - make sure their teaching methods suit the way you like to learn. There are endless ways people prefer to learn, and everyone is different.

If you prefer to learn kinaesthetically, this means you learn by doing and favour a more tactile approach to studying. Your tutor can support this by relating learning to personal experiences, practice, examples or simulations, as kinaesthetic learners are more likely to retain information this way. 

Through discussing what type of learner you are with your tutor, you can ensure that they will teach the content in a way that you best respond to. If you’re not sure of what type of learner you are, have a look at some of the different types here. 

Equally important is that your tutor not only teaches in a way that best resonates with you, but also includes a suitable break in between sessions and an appropriate amount of homework depending on your capability. Some learners will find that doing intense tutoring over a short period of time helps them to better get a grasp of the subject material, however others (my hand is up) find that a slow and steady approach to a difficult topic is the best way to learn. Make sure that your tutor understands these elements to your learning style and is able to take these into consideration. 

• Tip #3 - Check their subject specialism - are they specialists in what you want to learn?

Each tutor will tend to have a specialist subject, this is the one they studied at university or have pursued in their career. This might seem like an obvious tip, but make sure their specialism is in the subject you want to learn. You will absolutely get the best tutoring experience from a tutor who advertises themselves as a Physics specialist, rather than choosing a generic ‘Sciences’ tutor and asking them for Physics help.

You may find that tutors have a number of different specialisms, and that’s great, but it’s important to make sure the tutor you choose has expertise in the subject you want to study. If you’re unsure of a tutors specialist subjects, or even more specifically, their specialist topics within the subject - especially the higher the learning level is that you’re at (Physics is pretty broad) - don’t be afraid to get in touch with them or the company they work for and ask! 

As well as this, and this goes hand-in-hand with looking at their credentials, but a key tell of a ‘good’ tutor is one who has studied the subject all the way up the ladder - undergrad, postgrad and all the way through to their career. Finding a tutor who has 10 years of experience in the specific field behind them will be specialist in areas more so than an undergraduate who is in their second term. But also don’t underestimate this - undergraduates are often at the forefront of cutting-edge research and developments - their knowledge of the subject will definitely be up-to-date with the latest trends and developments.

• Tip #4 - Read reviews about them

This next tip is really easy to do when finding a good tutor for you - read their reviews. Tutors or the learning organisations they work for will often publish student reviews on their website for you to see, but if you want to get a more detailed testimonial, then reach out to them to ask. I’m sure they would love to share with you their shining star reviews. 

Not only are reviews a good way of seeing what the experience will be like before you commit to it, but students are notoriously honest about their reviewing. There’s no better way to find out how good a product is than reading the reviews of it. I can’t be the only one who reads reviews of everything before I commit to it (restaurants on Deliveroo, movies on Netflix, the Oodie that’s been sitting in my basket for weeks...)

Reading reviews on specific tutors will also give you great insight into their way of teaching and what previous students enjoyed about their methods to see if this would match up with your learning style. 

Tip #5 - Check their schedule

Once you have found a tutor who fits all your learning requirements, it’s important to know what their schedule is. Are they able to do Thursdays between 6-7pm because that’s the only time you have free during the week?

Having a tutor who can fit around your schedule, rather than taking up your schedule is imperative to making your educational experience a positive one. You don’t want to cancel all your extracurricular activities or your weekend plans to fit around your tutor’s schedule, so make sure they have capacity to fit you in theirs. 

It’s also a good idea when finding a tutor to determine with them how long you want your sessions to go on for. Whether this is just for the month before exams season, or you want a tutor over the full 6 weeks of summer to really help you get a head-start on your peers, this is something you should discuss right at the very beginning. It might be that their summer plans involve going away for 3 weeks, so it’s best to plan ahead and make sure your schedules can match up.

Tip #6 - Find your tutor today!

You can find all of these traits in tutors (and more) by visiting a trusted online learning provider, like Melio. Instead of spending days searching for the best tutor for you, let us do the work. 

At Melio, we match you to a tutor who is best suited to your learning style, an expert in your desired subject and who is flexible to fit around your busy schedule. Our tutorials are not only bespoke and designed for you, but are a complete one-on-one experience to make sure you get the most out of your sessions with us. 

Learning should not be something that causes you anxiety or any added stress, choosing a tutor through an online learning provider ensures you don’t have to worry about any of that. With Melio, you are able to pick how many sessions you would like with your tutor and can arrange the timetable to fit around you, because we know better than anyone how fast the weeks can fill up!

What is the best online tutoring website?

With this in mind, and the ease that comes with using an online website to help you find the best tutor, you might be wondering what the best online tutoring website is? As I touched upon before, there are so many different online tutoring platforms available now, so it’s important to make sure you choose the best one!

Melio tutorials allow you to get one-on-one tutoring from a leading academic. All our tutors are experts in their field, and most have studied through the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. They have been hand selected by us to make sure they are motivated to inspire our students and have experience in teaching so you get the best possible experience. 

Not only will you be able to choose how many sessions you complete and when you have them so you don’t need to worry about scheduling, but your first tutor session will be free of charge and act as a meet-and-greet with your tutor. It is in this session when you can go over the things we have mentioned in this blog; your particular style of learning, questions about the tutors teaching history and their specialities. 

Finding your tutor through Melio allows us to do the searching for you, from our catalogue of expert tutors we match the best one to you based on your academic needs. Why give yourself more work than necessary? All you have to focus on is learning. 

For more information on our unrivalled tutorials, visit our website or get in contact with our academic team.