frequently asked questions

The Profs Tuition FAQs:

Can The Profs’ tutors aid with specific academic subjects?

Yes, The Profs’ tutors are proficient in a broad spectrum of academic subjects, providing support across all levels of education. From primary and secondary education to university and specialised admissions tutoring, our tutors are equipped to assist with a wide array of subjects.  Our services include but are not limited to Mathematics, Science, Humanities, and preparation for university entrance exams, ensuring tailored support for each student’s unique academic journey. Our network caters for 4,000 students annually in 15,000 obscure subjects. Our extensive network covers a wide range of subjects and admissions tests which can be viewed here.

What curriculum does The Profs cover?

The Profs offers extensive support across various curricula, catering to a diverse student base. This includes the UK National Curriculum, including all Key Stages, GCSE, IGCSE, A level and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP).  Additionally, we provide assistance for students following the American curriculum, with a special focus on the Advanced Placement (AP) programme, ensuring comprehensive academic support for students globally.

What are the rates for private online tutoring at The Profs?

The Profs offer a tiered pricing structure based on the level of study and the expertise of our tutors:
  • School tutoring: From £60/hour + £70 Registration fee. This covers professional support for students aiming to improve their school grades.
  • Undergraduate tutoring: From £75/hour + £70 Registration fee. This includes tuition from expert tutors well-versed in the university system.
  • Postgraduate tutoring: From £90/hour + £70 Registration fee. This caters to students seeking guidance from veteran tutors who are authorities in their fields.
  • Professional Qualification tutoring: From £105/hour + £70 Registration fee. This is designed for students seeking assistance from tutors leading in their respective fields, particularly for professional qualifications.
  • Specialist tutoring: From £120/hour + £70 Registration fee. These tutors have an exceptional record of helping students achieve outstanding results and hail from the world’s most prestigious universities.
  • Applications Support: From £150/hour. Our admissions tutors, often alumni from top UK universities with backgrounds in university applications, specialise in helping students secure offers from Rusell Group and Oxbridge universities.

What is the role of a tutor at The Profs?

Tutors at The Profs are dedicated to helping students master their subjects, increase their grades and even gain admission to prestigious institutions. They employ their expertise to enhance understanding and knowledge, improve in weaker areas, assist in study management, and nail revision and exam techniques. However, they do not complete students’ work for them.

What are the credentials of The Profs’ online tutors?

Our tutors are required to hold at least a Bachelor’s degree and possess significant tutoring expertise. 95% of our tutors have a postgraduate degree and 100% have at least 2 years of teaching experience along with vigorous background and DBS checks. This ensures both quality and safety in our tutoring services. We also require tutors to pass a rigorous application and interview process including an online class demo, first with our Head of Tutors and next by an experienced tutor interviewer. Our in-depth process is precisely why only 4% of our tutors who apply to our exclusive network are accepted.

What is the availability of tutors for individual classes?

The Profs have a network of 650 tutors, specialising in a wide array of subjects across all academic levels. Our network caters for 4,000 students annually in 15,000 obscure subjects. Our tutors are well-versed in GCSEs, A levels, IB, undergraduate-level, postgraduate-level and various professional qualifications, ensuring comprehensive academic support. Also, we run regular availability surveys to keep track of our tutors’ capacity to take on more work, always ensuring that there are excellent tutors available within each area and level of study.

What sets The Profs apart in private tutoring?

The Profs prides itself on an exclusive tutor selection process, with only 4% of applicants joining the platform, ensuring unparalleled teaching quality. To join our network, tutors must pass interviews; demonstrate their ability to tutor online effectively; and pass enhanced DBS and KYC identity checks. As of 2024, 5 of our best tutors on the network are helping us to onboard new top players to maintain our calibre of excellence.  All our tutors boast a minimum of two years of teaching experience, with 95% holding postgraduate qualifications and 46% possessing doctorates. Our tutors’ backgrounds include university lecturing, secondary and primary education, and professional training, ensuring all ages and levels of students can be catered for.  Tutors are graduates from prestigious universities across the globe and offer specialised tuition, including university admissions coaching, particularly for Oxbridge.

How does expert online tutoring from The Profs assist you?

At The Profs, we pride ourselves on providing a premium tuition service and life-changing results.  Firstly, we only work with the best. That’s why our acceptance rate of tutors onto our network is as little as 4%. 95% of our tutors have a postgraduate degree and 100% have at least 2 years of teaching experience along with DBS checks. Secondly, we are pros at matching students with their ideal tutors. Our AI smart-match algorithm draws on over 10 million data points to recommend a shortlist for every family which our client success team sifts through carefully before recommending best-suited tutors to prospective students. We also deliver free consultations to ensure that our team and recommended tutor can fully understand their needs. Plus, we share our revenues with all team members and tutors, with bonuses for 5* reviews, which incentivises them to focus on long-term, quality matches. Lastly, our expert tutors craft tailored learning plans and bespoke classes to achieve students’ unique goals. Sessions focus on bolstering areas of weakness and building the confidence necessary for academic success. We even track student progress to assist development every step of the way.

What are The Profs’ success rates?

Every year, we survey students and families across our tutoring and admissions programmes to better understand the impact of our support. Our latest 2025 client feedback data continues to show exceptionally strong results across school tuition, university admissions and undergraduate education:
  • 92% of students across all levels of study achieved an average +1.4 grade improvement.
  • 93% of undergraduate students achieved a grade improvement. 57% achieved a 1st in the module we assisted with (only 3% started on a 1st before working with us).
  • 68% of A-level students achieved an A* or A (2.5x the national average).
  • +95% of undergraduate applicants got into their first or second-choice university.
  • 66% of Oxbridge applicants secured offers (over 3x the national average).
  • 89% of postgraduate applicants got into their first-choice university.
Alongside strong academic outcomes, The Profs has been proudly voted the UK’s highest-rated tutoring company. We have maintained an excellent 4.9 out of 5 Trustpilot rating since 2016, based on more than 1,800 verified reviews from students and parents. Find a tutorFind a tutor

Why Do The Profs’ Students Achieve Strong Results?

There is no single formula behind academic success, but several factors consistently contribute to strong student outcomes at The Profs.

Highly Selective Tutor Recruitment

The Profs accepts fewer than 3% of tutor applicants. Our tutors include PhD specialists, university lecturers, examiners, qualified teachers, researchers and industry professionals with extensive academic experience. According to our 2024 data, 98% of tutors hold postgraduate qualifications, 41% hold PhDs and 70% have over 10 years of teaching experience. The calibre of our educators is one of the key reasons why students and families consistently choose The Profs for high-level academic support.

Personalised Tutor Matching

Every student receives two free consultations with our award-winning Client Success Team. After discussing your educational background, a dedicated contact will carefully match you with the perfect tutor based on:
  • Academic level.
  • Learning style.
  • Qualifications & experience.
  • Personality fit.
This helps ensure students receive tutoring that is genuinely tailored to their needs.

Data-Driven Academic Support

The Profs also uses over a decade of internal data and tutoring insights to help guide student support. On average, it takes around 20 hours of tutoring for students to improve by approximately 1.4 grades. These insights help families better understand realistic academic timelines and outcomes.

What are Teaching Skills?

These refer to the levels at which a tutor is comfortable teaching certain subjects, they are also how TutorCruncher helps to filter the large amount of demand which we handle from clients. When listing a job on our system, we attach labels according to the subject and level of teaching required, which are then matched with the Teaching Skills on tutors’ profiles. This determines who receives the notification email for that job, and to whom it is visible on the application board. You should take care to list all the levels at which you can teach a certain subject, not just the highest, to make sure you can view all the relevant jobs.

How can I improve my application?

Consider what the client will want to know about a potential tutor: are they experienced with my subject? Have they had success tutoring others in this field? Will they be available where and when I need them to be, and how soon can they start? Help us by answering these questions, so we can sell you to the client in a single phone call. From The Profs’ perspective, we would recommend making it clear that you have read the job description carefully, and that you have checked through the course material, where available. References to availability on days when the client is not free, or to meeting in London when the client is in Newcastle, are the best ways to ensure that you don’t get the job. Further to this, problems arising during a placement, which could have been avoided by a close reading of the job description before application, are a good way to ensure that you don’t get any more jobs with The Profs.

How can I thank my tutor?

We love to hear your success stories! Please contact the office via our email address or phone number and we’ll send you a link to leave a review, that will help your tutor get more work through us in the future.

Is my money safe?

Absolutely. We are a registered UK company; company number: 09229952. Plus, Stripe, our payment provider, has the same security systems as your bank.

What if I want a refund?

Any amendment to or withdrawal of an invoice for a tutor’s time is at their discretion, so any query or dispute should be raised with them directly.  If you believe that The Profs has failed to provide a good service, then please do let us know via email ([email protected]) or phone call (0203 905 5272), and we will do our best to address your concerns.

What if my payment fails?

Don’t worry, this usually occurs due to a problem with the designated card, or a lack of funds in the associated account. All you need to do is log into your account on our system and make the payment manually, either via your default payment method or an alternative.  If you encounter any problems, feel free to email us at [email protected], or call 0203 905 5272.

When are payments taken?

Payments are automatically processed two days after the tutor’s invoice is raised, via the default payment method on your account.

I have a question or problem with my invoice, what should I do?

If you believe that any of the charges included in your invoice are incorrect, then you should raise this directly with your tutor. If you have any questions in relation to The Profsâ„¢ fees, then you can email us at [email protected], or call 0203 905 5272.

What is the Priority Placement Fee?

If your deadline is urgent, we charge £100 to push your needs to the top of the pile and focus on finding you the right tutor, ideally within 24 hours.

What is the Placement Fee?

This is a one-off fee of £50 for new clients, for the first match with a tutor, and is intended to cover The Profs™ administrative costs. It is only payable when you have been put in touch with a tutor with whom you are happy to work, and is refundable in the event that you are not happy with your tutor and we are unable to find a suitable replacement.  More information is available in our Terms and Conditions.  The Priority Placement fee, for finding tutors at very short notice, is £100.

Are there any up-front charges?

We will ask for a deposit of £20 when you first contact us, to make sure you’re serious about finding a tutor!  We receive a huge amount of demand, and we can’t handle a storm of speculative enquiries. Once you’ve been matched with your tutor, this deposit will count towards your Registration Fee. More information is available in our Terms and Conditions.

How much will it cost?

The tutors we work with set their own rates, but we have set out a price guide based on typical rates, which you can see on our Pricing Page.  The rate will depend largely on the level of support required, but also on the experience and qualifications of the selected tutor. All rates are listed per hour, and we will always quote an exact hourly rate to be agreed upon before your tuition begins. Also, we’ve newly launched The Profs Market Place. This will allow students who’d like to stick to a smaller budget or need help immediately to match themselves with suitable tutors, as opposed to being matched with an expert by our client success team. Feel free to check this out!

Can I make payments in cash?

Unfortunately the tutors we work with will not accept payment in cash. Payment will need to be processed electronically via our payment provider, Stripe.

Do you offer any discounts?

We can usually arrange a discount for bulk packages, where payment for a certain number of hours is made in advance. Typically we can arrange a discount of 5% for an advanced payment of 10 hours or 10% for 20 hours. Please feel free to give us a call if you would like to discuss your options. Also, we’ve newly launched The Profs Market Place. This will allow students who’d like to stick to a smaller budget or need help immediately to match themselves with suitable tutors, as opposed to being matched with an expert by our client success team. Feel free to check this out!

Do you have a Code of Conduct?

Absolutely! The Profs are proud to be part of the Tutor’s Association, and we expect all our tutors to abide by the Association’s Code of Ethics, which you can find on your Profs Tutor Cruncher account, in PDF form. We have also added our own Founding Principles, which we give out in every interview, and Terms and Conditions for tutors, which you can read on this website. If ever in doubt, you can call us in the office. We want you to be the best tutor you can be!

Can I be a full-time tutor?

The Profs is proud to work with numerous, expert full-time tutors. However, one of the difficult things about Higher Education tuition is that demand is cyclical over the course of the year, and very unpredictable from week to week. While there may be periods during which a comfortable living can be made through tutoring alone, most of our tutors find that tutor is the perfect part-time occupation, committing between 5-20 hours a week. This is especially true for tutors of the Humanities, for which there is substantially less demand.

Can I get a reference?

As Profs tutors are self-employed, we are not able to provide references to potential employers.

Can I tutor online?

We have always been very keen to promote online tuition at The Profs. Whether you are an experienced online tutor or just starting out, we will be happy to give advice and guidance on improving your methods. A good place to start is Bitpaper, the purpose-built online teaching tool.

When is there most demand?

Demand for Higher Education tuition is highly cyclical, and the busiest periods are February-May and mid-July to mid-August.

Who are your students?

Typically, Profs students are undergraduates, seeking help with a variety of subjects, usually close to examinations or coursework deadlines. Often, however, we receive enquiries from postgraduate students, usually working on their dissertations, and professional clients preparing for career-development qualifications, especially the high-level Accounting exams. We are increasingly working with A-level and GCSE clients.

Do I need a minimum IELTS score to join?

Yes. We require IELTS level 7 as an absolute minimum requirement, although we expect fluency from our tutors. Your interviewer will determine whether your level of English is sufficient to tutor through The Profs.

My profile has been made ‘Dormant’, what does that mean?

There are a number of reasons why a tutor’s profile may be made dormant, and usually you will be aware of the reasons beforehand. Essentially, this means that a tutor is no longer able to apply for placements with The Profs, and is not considered to be an active tutor. You will not receive notifications of available jobs, or other broadcasts from The Profs. If you are unaware of the reasons for your profile being Dormant, then please email [email protected].

There is a problem with my student. What should I do?

Supporting the work of tutors is a big part of what we do. If any issues arise during a placement, please contact The Profs straight away, and we will be happy to discuss it in detail and go over potential solutions. Open communication, both with us and with the student is key to a successful placement, and it is much easier to assist when we are aware of problems at an early stage.

What happens when I apply for a Job?

Your application for any placement goes straight to The Profs’ office team, and will be read initially by the Client Liaison Manager dealing with the client in question. It will be used as a source of information when putting you forward to the client, so do make sure to include any particularly relevant experience you may have, and address any specific features of the job, particularly timing,location and attached course materials.

Who sees my profile?

Only the Profs’ Office team will be able to see your profile, although we will refer to it when discussing your experience with clients. It is essentially a store of information to help us sell your services to students, so please bear that in mind when setting it up.

How long will it take for me to become a tutor?

Once you have completed your profile on our system it will be reviewed by one of the senior members of the team, and hopefully we will then be able to invite you for an interview. You may be asked to improve your profile before you can be invited. We do receive plenty of applications, however, so this process can take two-three weeks. If invited for an interview, you will have the chance to choose a date and time from a list of available slots, and will be told what you will need to prepare and bring with you.

Will you check how I’m getting on?

Absolutely! We’ll call you after your first tutorial to check that everything is going well. After that you can reach us at any time by email, or by telephone from 09:00-18:00 Monday – Friday, and we will be happy to help.

Is your office open at weekends?

Sadly, we are not able to maintain a team in the office over the weekend, but if you fill in our Contact Form or send us an email over the weekend we will pick it up first thing on Monday morning. The Profs office hours are 09:00-17:00 every weekday, excluding Mondays which are 09:00-18:00.

I am unhappy with my tutor, what should I do?

If you are ever dissatisfied with your tutor or any aspect of our service then please do let us know; it is very important to take feedback from our clients so that we and our tutors can improve.  Usually, issues with a placement can be resolved in discussion between The Profs and the tutor, and the placement can then continue on the right track. Clear and open communication is the most important thing.  Where the problems are insurmountable, we are happy to arrange an alternative tutor as quickly as we can.

Can I have a trial session?

Unfortunately, we don’t offer trial sessions, but you will have a chance to speak to your tutor before your first paid session, usually for around half an hour, to discuss your requirements in more detail and to help them prepare properly for your time together.  We also have a student satisfaction policy for the first session, which you can read more about in our Terms and Conditions.

What are the benefits of online tuition?

Here are some of the main benefits we’ve identified with online tutoring:
  • Flexibility: Without the need to travel, online tutors are more flexible with their schedules. This allows us to prioritise student convenience. 
  • Quality: Many of our best tutors only teach online. The demand for their services is international. 
  • Reach: Top tutors are very hard to find and by choosing to go online you will have access to more specialist tutors. So, we can connect you with the perfect tutor for you, no matter the differences in city or even country.
  • Recording: Our tutors can record your classes and share their hand-written notes on our online whiteboard software, BitPaper.
The future of tuition is online, and The Profs are pioneers in this field. See our Online Tutoring Page for more information.

What is online tuition?

Online tuition allows students to receive expert subject-specific tutoring from the comfort of their home, no matter where in the world that might be.  Our online classes are conducted via video call and offer an in-built Bitpaper whiteboard, screen sharing, file Dropbox, graphing software, document editor and coding environment. All classes are recorded and downloadable, making them interactive, safe and replayable. Online tutoring provides additional flexibility as neither the student nor the tutor needs to travel for a teaching session. Plus it’s easier to find the perfect tutor-student match online where there’s more choice as there aren’t many top tutors, especially for specialist or niche subjects, and they’re often in extremely high demand.  The Profs is a world-leading online tuition company. We train our tutors to teach online, so our students get the very best learning experience. Our tutor network uses human-centric technology to provide truly advanced home learning. That’s why we won the National Tutoring Association’s Best Tuition Company of the Year (2023) and have maintained a 4.9 rating on TrustPilot since 2016. More information about our successes is available here.

What is your privacy policy?

You can read our Privacy Policy on the website.  All our client profiles are anonymous, to everyone except the office team, until we match a student with a tutor, when details will be shared with them alone. The Profs are registered Data Controllers with the Information Commissioner’s Office, and comply with all governmental requirements and recommendations on data protection.

Am I guaranteed a high grade?

No. We provide the best help and advice that we can, by putting you in touch with the right expert for you, who will provide support tailored to your needs and goals. However, we can never guarantee the outcome. At the end of the day, a student’s success is down to them, to their hard work and ability, and we can only provide dedicated support towards achieving that success. That said, The Profs’ tutors have a proven track record of successfully helping students achieve high grades: 
  • 93% of our undergraduate students achieved a grade increase. 
  • 45% of our undergraduate students achieved a 1st in the module we assisted with.
  • 98% of our school-aged students achieved their predicted grades.
  • 75% of our school-aged students achieved a higher grade. 
  • 35% of our A level students achieved an A*.

Have you got testimonials from your previous students?

Yes. We are extremely proud of our online reviews, available on TrustPilot and on Facebook. We also store the feedback on all our tutors’ work, so we can make sure that we are confident when we put them forward. Unfortunately, we cannot give out details of our students.

How many sessions will I need?

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve, but it’s very difficult for anyone to make good progress with any topic in less than 5 hours, total, and we don’t arrange tuition placements for anything less than that.  In 2023, we saw over 3,082 students complete 45,624 lesson hours. Our 2023 data collection revealed that with just 23 hours of tuition, students sitting on a 2:1 were able to improve to a 1st and one student even went from failing to a 1st in 138 hours. On average, 30 hours of our tutoring leads to an increase of 2 grade boundaries. We usually recommend a 2-hour session to begin with, and many students stick with that length. Weekly or twice weekly sessions are usual, but this is always open to discussion with the tutor, and depending on the time limit we can always arrange sessions more or less frequently than that.  Part of the service our tutors provide is an initial free consultation. The tutor will be able to discuss your aims with you, and based on their experience with the topics, will be able to give you an estimate of the time needed. They can also help you to structure your study, in between sessions, to ensure that you are making good progress.

Where and when can I meet my tutor?

The majority of tuition arranged through The Profs takes place online, meaning that students from all over the world can access the best tutors in the UK (and elsewhere) from the comfort of their homes.  The timing of sessions is always different and depends on your own availability and the tutor’s schedule. Let us know any preferences or restrictions on your time, and we will do our best to accommodate.

I can’t complete my work on my own. Can someone finish it for me?

Definitely not. Our tutors can only provide support which is compatible with universities’ ethical guidelines and the Tutors Association Code of Ethics. We understand how hard it can be, but we don’t believe that anyone benefits from plagiarism.  Things a tutor can do: make detailed suggestions for improvements to coursework essays; explain how to run statistical tests on practice data sets and how to choose which tests to run.  Things they can’t do: write material for essays, or tell students what to write; edit or correct written work themselves; run statistical tests or interpret the results.  See The Profs™ Terms and Conditions for more information on our plagiarism policies.

How quickly can you find someone for me?

Providing you with a long-term, quality match can’t be rushed, but we won’t be wasting any time either. It usually takes around 1-2 working days, so do get in touch as soon as you can to give yourself the best chance of success.

How is my tutor selected?

We provide free consultations to every potential client and conduct thorough interviews to understand each student’s educational background and aspirations.  We then supercharge our experienced consultants with our smart-match algorithm, which crunches over 10 million data points, to help us pair each student with the tutor who is statistically most likely to help them attain life-changing outcomes. This process considers clients’ budgets and time horizons. Our team enjoy a revenue share of all sales, with bonuses for 5* reviews, incentivising them to focus on long-term, quality matches. Lastly, we present our shortlisted tutors to you and, ultimately, the final decision is yours. Thanks to our hybrid approach of pairing smart-match technology with the personal touch of our experienced Customer Success Managers, 94% are happy with their tutor!

How do you take payments?

Payment for tuition is usually via bank card. After the first payment, the card details are saved by our payment provider, Stripe, and further payments are taken automatically.  Don’t worry, though; you’re still in full control, and you can contact your tutor to discuss a refund if you think that the invoice is incorrect. Our invoices are sent as soon as the tutor has logged the session and you have 48 hours to contact the tutor prior to payment being taken.

Who can become a tutor?

Our top tutors are lecturers and industry professionals with decades of experience, and typically all of our tutors hold at least a Master’s degree. Usually, our tutors have considerable private tuition experience before applying to The Profs. Our standards are high, and all of our tutors are subject to interview, including a mock tutorial in their preferred field. Only a fraction of the applications we receive are accepted.

Will the tutor be expert in my subject?

90% of our students work with a specialist in their field.  For original topics, like dissertations (especially at Master’s and PhD level) it’s nearly impossible to find a tutor whose research is in the exact same area; if it were, it wouldn’t be original! Instead, we find suitable tutors within the same field who are equipped to advise on the best methods, the approach, and the requirements of research at this level, and guide you towards the right results.

Are your tutors highly qualified?

Yes! We only work with the most qualified and experienced tutors in the business. Many of our tutors have been lecturing at the university level for decades, and almost all of them earned their degrees from globally renowned universities. Our tutors are required to hold at least a Bachelor’s degree and possess significant tutoring expertise. 95% of our tutors have a postgraduate degree and 100% have at least 2 years of teaching experience along with vigorous background and DBS checks. This ensures both quality and safety in our tutoring services. We also require tutors to pass a rigorous application and interview process including an online class demo, first with our Head of Tutors and next by an experienced tutor interviewer. Our in-depth process is precisely why only 4% of our tutors who apply to our exclusive network are accepted. Only the best make it through to The Profs!

Do you teach my subject?

Yes, but drop us a message to double-check! We work with around 650 tutors in London, the UK and across the world, specialising in 15,000 obscure subjects across all academic levels, catering for 4,000 students.  We are proud of our excellent contacts in the world of Academia, and if we don’t have the right person yet, we’ll be happy to go out and find them for you! We have a dedicated recruitment manager who finds tutors for any subject, no matter how rare the requirement. In 2023, one client came to us seeking a tutor with an Oxbridge PhD in History based in Naples to provide educational tours in Italian and, sure enough, our tutor recruiter located the perfect person.

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