top of page

A Parent’s Guide to Improving Your Child’s Application Essay with an Online Tutor


Embarking on the college application process can overwhelm high school students and their parents. A major part of the application is the college essays, common-app essays, activity sheets, resumes, etc. These elements allow students to express their unique selves, explain experiences, and articulate aspirations. Given its prominence in the application, the essay is paramount, and ensuring that it’s well-written cannot be underestimated.

These factors are why online essay writing tutors and editors are often integral to the process. They bring with them flexible schedules and advanced skills, tools, and resources that can frequently outrun the options available in traditional in-person tutoring.


Don’t underestimate the value of convenience and variety

The huge bonus of online tutoring is its flexible scheduling and access to a range of professional tutors from different parts of the country at various price points. This is especially beneficial for students living in underserved, remote areas without many (or any!) qualified local tutors. According to the Educational Research Institute (ERI), 68% of students indicated more satisfaction with their educational experience when they had better access to online resources, especially tutoring. They appreciate the convenient scheduling options that easily fit into their busy schedules and don’t require commuting, another benefit for their families.


Staying ahead of the technology game

Today’s online tutoring platforms offer an interactive and productive learning experience via modern tools like real-time text editors, file-sharing platforms, and whiteboards. Apps like Google Docs permit the tutor and the student to collaborate on documents simultaneously, mimicking the in-person tutoring experience. According to the Learning at Scale organization, students who use online editing tools have 30% better writing than students using only standard word processing products.


Customized learning experiences

Online tutoring companies are able to provide tailored learning experiences for the student’s specific needs. As in in-person tutoring, online tutors will brainstorm, edit, assist with grammar, phrasing, and vocabulary, and adapt their teaching strategies and methods to accommodate their students’ learning styles. The Online Learning Consortium) assesses that 78% of students feel that the personalized feedback they get from private online tutoring sessions makes a marked difference in their writing skills and academic success.


More effective than in-person tutoring

For many decades, traditional in-person tutoring has been the norm, but nowadays, online tutoring formats appear to be more effective, particularly when it comes to writing. Digital collaboration speeds up the revision process substantially. Based on research conducted by the National Education Association, students who worked with online tutors revised and improved their essays by 40% compared to those who worked with in-person tutors. This data indicates that reflecting and acting on feedback is easily doable in a digital learning environment.

 

How Covid-19 impacted the world of tutoring

While online tutoring existed for years before the COVID-19 pandemic, its popularity and accessibility indeed increased due to the circumstances, and the potential of virtual learning was much easier to quantify. Some students encountered challenges in dealing with the online classroom setting; however, most students taking private lessons benefitted immensely from the personal attention of online teachers and tutors.

Particularly in the area of writing, parents and students have noted that online tutoring does a better job of providing a focused environment that is usually more conducive to concentration and learning compared to traditional classroom settings. A 2023 survey found that 65% of high schoolers who took online writing classes during the pandemic felt more confident about completing college applications than in other subjects where they had also studied remotely.


Online Tutoring Success stories

Jill, a graduating college student from New Jersey, worked with an online tutor in Texas for several weeks to write a physician assistant application essay. The tutor provided guidance on grammar and style, and also helped to brainstorm ideas. Together, they wrote a quality essay that shared her personal journey and academic aspirations and ensured her acceptance to the schools of her choice.

Mario, an adult native Spanish speaker from Colombia, hired online tutors to improve his spoken and written English. As one of the practice tasks, he wanted to produce a resume and cover letter that would be appropriate to send to admissions committees for evening study college programs. Using video calls and writing exercises, he built his confidence and enhanced skills that will be useful when he eventually applies for jobs or future studies.


Hiring an online essay tutor

The advantages of today’s technology, personalized learning, and flexible scheduling make finding talented educators, regardless of location, easier to find. As more success stories are shared, the positive reputation of working with online tutors is strengthened.

Students and parents can find professional tutors on several well-reviewed tutoring platforms like Wyzant.


For specialized help with any application essay—whether it’s a statement of purpose, personal statement, Common App essay, etc.- reach out to me, Andrea, the Application Essay Master. When considering how to support your essay writing journey best, remember that expert guidance is just a few clicks away.

0 views

Comments


bottom of page