16 Jul The Hidden Risk of Hiring a Tutor
Why Smart Doesn’t Always Equal Committed
Every single year, around the same time, our team at The Coaching College receives panicked, phone calls from stressed parents. The story is always identical:
“Our tutor was great. The kids loved them. But they’re a university student, and they
just told us they have to drop tutoring because their uni workload is too heavy.”
It is a heartbreaking situation, especially when it happens right as students are staring down the barrel of Trial HSC and the final HSC exams.
If you are currently looking for a HSC tutor to guide your child through their final school years, this is the number one thing you need to be careful of.
Good Mentors but Volatile Schedules
To be fair, university students often make great tutors. They just finished high school themselves, their knowledge of the syllabus is fresh, and they are close enough in age to relate to your child.
But there is a massive catch that parents don’t always foresee: their schedules are built on shifting sand. When you hire a university student for Year 12 coaching, you run into three main risks:
Semester 1 and Semester 2. A timeslot that worked perfectly in February
might conflict with a mandatory laboratory or lecture in July.
school students need the most support – right before major assessment
blocks.
prioritise their own degree over a casual tutoring job.
The reality is that few years ago they were your child’s age, and they simply do not have the maturity of a seasoned teacher. Their timetable and stress of university studies can be overwhelming, and the casual tutoring job will be the first on the chopping block.
The HSC Pressure Cooker
The absolute worst time to lose a tutor is right before the Trials or the final HSC exams.
By the time Year 12 hits the halfway mark, a good tutor has built deep rapport with your child. They know your child’s specific weaknesses, how they handle exam anxiety, and which essay structures they struggle with.
If that tutor suddenly walks away a month before the exams because their own engineering or medicine degree got too intense, you aren’t just losing a tutor. You are losing momentum, consistency, and confidence. Trying to find a replacement tutor who can build that same rapport in a matter of weeks is incredibly difficult—and wildly stressful for a teen on the cusp of final school exams.
The Conversation You Need to Have Today
If you are interviewing a tutor—especially a university student—you need to look past their ATAR score or their subject knowledge. You need to interview them for stamina and commitment.
Before they begin teaching your child, you need to be explicitly clear on their capacity. Here are the exact questions you should ask:
lessons aren’t cancelled during those weeks”
way through to their final HSC exams?”
Secure your Child’s HSC Journey
Since 1991, our Rockdale centre has provided families with stability through our team of highly qualified, professional educators, who you can read more about here.
We design a structured curriculum aligned directly with NESA guidelines to ensure your child receives uninterrupted, expert guidance all the way across the HSC finish line and beyond.
We’re so proud of the support we give our students, and the relationship we build with them. You can watch video testimonials of past students here and contact us for more information here.