The parents spending tens of thousands of dollars on tutoring, in addition to private school tuition, desperately want their children to go to the "best" colleges. A comment on the NYT site explains the disadvantages of doing this.
http://community.nytimes.com/commen...lessons-of-tutoring/?permid=24#comment24Phoebe
New York
June 8th, 2011
7:05 am
My parents lined me up with tutors in practically every subject when I was in high school ten years ago (private school in NYC). I remember that the prices were astronomically high, but my parents were afraid not to give me the same advantages that many of my classmates were getting. I have mixed feelings about tutoring. While it was helpful to have one-on-one assistance in math, for example, all of the extra help made me feel as though I wasn't able to do it on my own. I'm still dealing with these insecurities a decade later. I have trouble believing that I would have gotten into a top college without the tutoring. When I was at college, I avoided courses similar to those I struggled with in high school because I was afraid how I'd do without tutoring. I don't regret all of the tutoring, but it certainly didn't boost my self-confidence and made me doubt many of my academic accomplishments. A note to parents--instead of signing up for tutoring with the expensive services out there, try to find a grad student who wants to make some extra money. You won't pay more than $50 an hour for a fabulous PhD student.
