There may come a time when you need extra help in a class and need to seek out a tutor. There are several questions you should ask yourself before you look for a tutor.

• Is the help something I need likely to continue throughout the semester?
• What help do I need from the tutor?How much can I afford to pay?
  • Re-teach me the subject
  • Help me doing homework
  • Help me when I get stuck
• How much can I afford to pay?
• Am I prepared to take advantage of a tutor?

Next think of your options for tutoring

• Someone who you meet with on a regular basis
• A learning center
• An on-line support service such as Cramsters.com

If you need someone to re-teach the material to you and to help you do the homework, you’ll need to find a specific person to tutor you. Most campuses have a list of available tutors. You’ll also find tutoring services posted on bulletin boards. The cost and quality of tutors can vary. In many cases, tutors aren’t that reliable. You’ll probably want to enter into a signed agreement that spells out hours per week needed, scheduled time for tutoring, and pay rate.

If you don’t need this level of support a learning center or on-line support may be sufficient. Both of these options are generally free.

The final issue is cost. Private tutoring can be expensive. There are ways you can manage this cost.

• See if your university offers support for tutoring. Often students with learning disabilities or other issues can qualify for tutoring support.
• Find one or two other students who have the same needs. Maybe you can split the cost.

Don’t use tutoring as a crutch. The issue may not be your lack of understanding of the material, but rather your lack of commitment of the time needed to do well. If you aren’t committed to doing what’s needed to do well, no amount of tutoring will help..