Avoiding Regrets: Reasons to Enlist a Tutor
Another concerned parent phoned in the previous week to relay a message that was very similar to the one above: "I shouldn't have let my son study for the SAT on his own." This is a scenario that plays out far too frequently: the parent is aware that it is in their child's best interest to have a coach, but the student is adamant about not needing one, and the parent gives in to the student's demand.
Then comes one (or more) of the following:
Child buys books but hardly uses them.
Child starts online study but soon tires of it.
Child promises to "really crank" over winter break, but something intervenes.
Why Enlist a Tutor?
A parent will feel regretful when their child receives an unsatisfactory score on either the SAT or the ACT. Fewer scholarship opportunities, a smaller total amount of money available for awards, and the realization that "we could have prevented this." We estimate that only about five percent of teenagers who decide to go it alone are able to help themselves as much as they would if they had chosen to work with a tutor. They possess that extremely rare combination of intrinsic drive, exceptional absorption, and the ability to effectively schedule their activities. If your adolescent is one of the 95 percent of students who are missing any one of these three, it is in your best interest to have them work with a private tutor or enroll in a SAT or ACT preparation course.
The following is a good litmus test to use if you are unsure as to whether or not your adolescent belongs to the elite 5%: Has he or she already successfully completed a number of significant non-academic endeavors on their own, without the involvement of their parents? This requirement could be satisfied by securing and working at two summer jobs. establishing not one but two organizations that were successful in reaching their objectives. If your child has that level of autonomy, you might be able to put your faith in them when they insist on studying for the SAT "on my own."
If this isn't the case, you shouldn't entrust such a significant responsibility to your child. Remember that they are frequently influenced by other children who claim to be studying independently but actually have or get the assistance of tutors. Children do, in fact, tell fibs to their peers. Many are additionally swayed by guidance counselors, who minimize the significance of the SAT in terms of the scholarship and admissions processes. It's true that counselors tend to sugarcoat things in order to make their students feel better.
Hiring a tutor is never going to do you any harm. Spending time with a tutor who can answer your questions is more productive than spending time searching for an explanation on your own or attempting to come up with a solution to a challenging SAT question on your own. Spending time with a tutor almost always results in improved abilities. The time spent with a tutor will cost money, but that investment will pay off many times over if a family is serious about exploring their options for higher education. Students who apply for scholarships report an average of twenty-fold awards, which means the average savings are equivalent to two thousand times the cost of SAT coaching. It would be difficult to find an investment with a better return on your money.
To the independent-minded student, "we got you a coach" is less welcome than "we got you a puppy" or "we’re getting you a car," but in the long run, it will almost certainly be more valuable.
