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Frequently Asked Questions

There are several tutoring options in Champaign, Illinois. What sets Illini Tutoring apart? 

One-on-One and Small Group Tutoring 
Illini Tutoring offers one-on-one tutoring and small group tutoring. Unlike other centers, our tutors and students do not work in a big noisy room full of distractions -- each tutor has their own quiet, calm office where they can work with their students. All of our rooms have windows that open into the waiting area, so you can have peace of mind knowing that your student's safety and comfort is our first priority.

We are currently welcoming students back to in-person tutoring, provided they agree to wear a mask. Zoom tutoring will continue to be an option for any student, for any scheduled tutoring session. 

Excellent ACT, SAT, and PSAT Prep
We also offer second-to-none ACT, SAT, and PSAT prep services. Our Test Prep specialist, Taso Sotiropoulos, has helped thousands of students earn higher scores on the ACT, SAT, and PSAT. Our students have been accepted to the top universities and more rigorous programs in the country, and many of them have also received scholarships based on their test scores alone. 

We Hire and Train the BEST
We aren't a tutor matching service. We are a team of educators, and we work together to deliver excellent results to each and every one of our students. Because tutoring and coaching is all we do, we are experts - we do not tutor "on the side." We are constantly developing our skills so that we can continue to improve the tutoring services we offer.

​We love teaching and forming strong tutoring partnerships with our students. Our focus is entirely on tutoring and helping your child be successful in school and in life. Our ultimate goal is to help students become independent learners and problem solvers so that they go to college prepared to succeed in life. Our tutors not only pass a rigorous background check, but they must also ace an interview and training process that tests their knowledge of the subject areas they wish to tutor and their ability to effectively teach those subjects. Being a certified teacher or tutor isn't enough and even having years of experience isn't enough - we only hire the most highly qualified, compassionate tutors.

Available In-Person or Online
Currently, students can choose to attend tutoring in-person or by Zoom. In-person sessions take place at our office at 2500 Galen Drive - a convenient, quiet location in Southwest Champaign, Illinois, just minutes away from Next Generation, Centennial High School, Central High School, Uni High School, Urbana High School, St. Thomas More, and Judah Christian. 

Our online tutoring is just as strong as our in-person tutoring. We support our students by teaching them the skills they need to be successful in remote learning. Students upload their homework online (usually by taking a picture of it or sending us a PDF or a link with the homework in it) with our online program so that we explain how to do problems directly on your homework page. We also use our own materials to supplement what your child is learning in class. In some cases, our students need hands-on manipulatives that help them grasp more difficult math concepts. 

We'll Use Your Curriculum or You Can Use Ours
We meet our students' math and science learning needs through academic tutoring and academic coaching. If your child is struggling in school, we work directly with their homework and curriculum. We have years of experience helping students make sense of CPM math and Common Core math, along with every other math curriculum found in middle and high schools in Champaign County and other communities nearby. We teach students how to teach themselves, which is critical to getting an A or B in any math class from pre-algebra to advanced calculus. 

Some of our students aren't challenged enough in school, and they don't need to work on homework in tutoring. They come to us looking for a challenge, and so we help them work through a rigorous math curriculum that elite math students around the world have used for decades. 

Many of our students combine homework help tutoring with additional challenging math. We work with our students and their parents to determine what will help them most. 
We specialize in math and science help for students in middle school, high school, and college. We also offer ACT, SAT, and PSAT prep. Our most popular courses are:
  • Elementary math (4th grade math and higher)
  • Pre-algebra, Algebra I and II
  • Geometry
  • Pre-calculus and Trigonometry
  • ​Statistics and AP Statistics
  • Calculus, AP Calc AB and BC, Business Calculus
  • Chemistry and AP Chemistry
  • Physics and AP Physics
  • College-level biology classes (MCB, IB, and more)
  • College-level physics classes
  • College-level chemistry classes
  • College-level Calculus I and II
  • ...plus many other math and science courses!

​See Subjects & Courses.
To say we are familiar with CPM is an understatement! We have been helping students with CPM (College Preparatory Math, which is the curriculum used in the Champaign Unit 4 school district) since 2011. We know this curriculum inside and out, and we also know a lot of tricks for helping students get an A in math.

The philosophy behind CPM is that students learn best when they teach themselves and each other, as opposed to listening to a teacher lecture. Some students do well in this framework, but many students struggle. The spiral curriculum offers very little practice to reinforce new concepts. Students who work with a tutor each week do much better and feel more confident in math compared to students who rely only on themselves and their math groups because they can practice new concepts until they've mastered it, and they can also talk through the reasoning of a new concept with an expert. If you'd like to learn more about CPM and how we can help your child be successful, register for tutoring or sign up for a Get Started session today!
The majority of our students are college-bound students in grades 6 - 12 and college freshmen and sophomores. Our youngest students are in 4th grade. Many parents initially seek tutoring for a child who is struggling with a math or science class, or a child who needs help getting organized, staying motivated, and getting focused. Most of our students come from Uni, Central, Centennial, St. Thomas More, Mahomet-Seymour, Monticello, Judah Christian, St. Joe/Ogden, Unity, and Urbana High Schools. 
Whether you sign up for one-on-one or small group tutoring, you will be assigned to a tutor who is an expert in the subject in which you need help. You'll meet with that tutor regularly -- it's vital that you work with the same person consistently so that you can see real results. With that said, we work as a team. On the rare occasion that your tutor is sick or can't make it to tutoring, or if you have to reschedule a tutoring session to a time your regular instructor is unavailable, we make every effort to pair you with another tutor at your regular tutoring time or another time that works for you.
In-person tutoring sessions take place at 2500 Galen Drive. We're on the 2nd floor in the west building. Students can also meet their tutor by Zoom.
Yes, we offer Zoom tutoring in addition to in-person tutoring. Students can do exclusively one or the other, or they can mix in-person and Zoom tutoring. Student privacy and safety is critically important to us, so our Zoom sessions are secured with a password and a waiting room to control who is allowed into the session. 
Students can do exclusively one or the other, or they can mix in-person and Zoom tutoring. 
During the school year, our tutors see students on Sundays from 9AM-7PM and Mondays-Thursdays 1PM-8PM. During the summer, tutoring takes place Monday-Friday during daytime and very early evening hours. Each tutor has their own schedule and not all tutors work the same hours. 
As the covid-19 pandemic continues, we are asking parents and guardians to wait in their vehicle or to drop off and return to the office at the end of their child's tutoring session. Instructors need to stay on schedule because they see many students each day, so we invite parents to come in during the first 5-10 minutes to discuss their child's progress or any concerns. You can also email your child's tutor with quick questions. 
Students can register at any time during the school year, even in the middle of a semester, until our rosters are full. Students registering later in the semester commit to 3 consecutive months of tutoring that can be applied to the next semester, if needed.

​These rates are for the entire Fall Semester (August 21- December 20) for tutoring hours scheduled Sunday-Thursday. 
There is an additional charge of $10/Sunday for sessions scheduled on Sundays. That fee will be invoiced separately after registration.

There is a discount for paying for the entire semester at registration. 

Honors--1 hour per week: 17 sessions
Monthly Installments Option: $250 deposit and 4 monthly installments of $275/month. 
OR
Semester Pay in Full Option: $1275

Scholar--2 hours per week:  34 sessions
Monthly Installments Option: $250 deposit and 4 monthly installments of $575/month
OR
Semester Pay in Full Option: $2450

Elite-3 hours per week: 51 sessions 
Monthly Installments Option: $250 deposit and 4 monthly installments of $875/month
OR
Semester Pay in Full Option: $3600

Premier 4 hours per week : 68 sessions
Monthly Installments Option: $250 deposit and 4 monthly installments of $1175/month
OR
Semester Pay in Full Option: $4800
  
We've created this schedule so that there are 17 of each tutoring day, for every academic tutoring student. (17 Sundays, 17 Mondays, 17 Tuesdays, 17 Wednesdays*, 17 Thursdays*). 
 
Students who have conflicts with these dates are able to reschedule their tutoring for no additional cost if they submit a Reschedule Request form at least 24 hours in advance.
 
17 Sundays: Aug 21, 28, Sept 11, 18, 25, Oct 2, 9, 16,23, 30, Nov 6, 13, 20, 27, Dec 4, 11, 18
17 Mondays: Aug 22, 29, Sept 12, 19, 26, Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Nov 7, 14, 21, 28, Dec 5, 12, 19
17 Tuesdays: Aug 23, 30, Sept 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 29 Dec 6, 13, 20
17 Wednesdays*: Aug 24, 31 Sept 7, 14, 21, 28 Oct 5, 12, 19, 26, Nov 2, 9, 16, 30 Dec 7, 14, *final session will be scheduled on another day the week before finals
17 Thursdays*: Aug 26, Sept 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov 4, 11, 18, Dec 2, 9, 16, *final session will be scheduled on another day the week before finals
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Currently enrolled students can add additional tutoring hours as needed. Students who haven't registered for a semester of tutoring cannot schedule sessions with our tutors, so register today so that you can start working with one of Champaign-Urbana's best tutors right away!
When you register for tutoring, you can choose whether you want to pay for your semester or test prep in full at registration or in monthly installments. Families who choose to pay in monthly installments will pay by a PayPal Subscription, and their monthly payment will be automatically charged to their credit or debit card. 
All students who sign up for tutoring (which typically means getting help for a math or science class at school) must commit to tutoring for a minimum of an entire semester. If students register for tutoring in the middle of a semester, they will pay a pro-rated total but no less than 50% of the semester tuition for the program they choose at register.

Students who sign up for test prep, such as ACT, SAT, or SAT Subject Tests prep. These packages are available in 12, 18, 24, or 30 hours. These hours are scheduled as needed -- often once or twice a week, increasing to twice or three times a week (respectively) in the weeks leading up to the test. The minimum number of hours that can be purchased as a package is 12, but after students complete a test prep package, they can pay for single hours of test prep tutoring as needed. 
Currently, we do not allow students to try tutoring before registering.

Committing to new habits is the only way we can improve, so committing to tutoring is vital to getting better grades and having more confidence in school. We are ready to work with students and parents who are ready to commit to hard work, habit changes, and the success that follows. We understand that you may be afraid to commit to tutoring for the whole trimester, but please find confidence in the fact that thousands of students have come through Illini Tutoring and well over 90% of students finish the whole school year with us because our system really works.

​We work very hard to ensure our students are matched with the right tutor and are making progress because we want every student - especially your student - to succeed. In the rare case that one of our tutors isn't a good fit for your child, we will gladly reassign them to another tutor. Nobody ever completes a semester commitment with a tutor that isn't a good fit -- we work with the student and parents to make sure the first trimester is exceeds your expectations. And if you register for tutoring and we don't believe we can help your student, we will refund your registration payments and try to point you in the right direction. 
We are a family-owned and family-run company. We treat our students and their parents the way we want to be treated. That means we promise to be completely transparent about what you'll be charged, before you're charged. 

There is a $250 deposit due when you register for any of our tutoring services. That deposit will be applied toward your first semester of tutoring or your test prep package. There is an additional fee to work with Taso or Elizabeth, who are the owners of Illini Tutoring, and who are the most frequently requested tutors. 

Academic tutoring students pay a flat semester rate based on how often they come to one-on-one tutoring (once, twice, or three hours a week, or more.) Students occasionally schedule extra tutoring hours for a fee of $70-95/hour, depending on the subject and tutor. We only do this if the parent consents.

Test prep students pay for their package, which is priced according to how many hours of prep they want (either 12, 18, 24, or 30 hours of prep.) 

Students who come to us for supplementary math use the math curriculum that we have found to be successful. These books range in cost from $27-$70 set, and one set tends to last a semester to a year. We always ask for a parent's consent before ordering books and charging you for them. 

Finally, we offer consultations and assessments for prospective and new students.
We accept cash, check, and credit/debit card. Checks should be made out to Illini Tutoring LLC and your child's name must be included on the memo line. Checks must be mailed to Illini Tutoring LLC, 2500 Galen Drive Suite 2, Champaign IL 61821.
Click here! We will contact you within one business day (although we tend to respond within a few hours during the day).
When you're struggling, you don't want to wait for help - and you shouldn't have to! While we offer consultations and assessments, these are completely optional. Typically, new students skip a consultation or assessment, and they begin working with their tutor right away.

The majority of new students want to start working with their tutor within a few days of registering, and so we schedule them as fast as we can. Sometimes students see their tutor as soon as the day after registering. Once you have filled out the registration form and submitted your deposit, we will be hard at work matching you with one of our outstanding tutors. 
If students need to change their tutoring time, students must provide at least 24 hours notice prior to the start of the session by filling out a Reschedule Request form. We will reschedule your session to another time with your tutor within 7 days if at least 24 hours notice is given. 

We will not reschedule any one-on-one sessions if less than 24 hours notice is given, regardless of the reason. Students are able to make up missed and forgotten sessions at our Make-Up Tutoring hours, which are scheduled for different days and times each month. Students can alternatively make up these sessions for an additional fee.
Every student is different, but we typically recommend twice-a-week tutoring to start. The decision is ultimately up to the student and the parents, and it is dependent on factors such as budget and availability.
Students must bring whatever they need for class, including the textbook, a calculator, a notebook, pencils, notes, past homework assignments and tests, and any assignments that they need help with. Students are encouraged to spend a few minutes before each tutoring session to look over the past week's material and note which questions or topics they struggled with. This makes each tutoring session productive and beneficial. Sometimes students forget their textbooks at school - we have most of the textbooks right here at our office.
Tutoring can help busy students spend less time doing homework all while understanding the material better. There are many different times available to suit every family's busy schedule. Many busy students like to meet over the weekend so they can start the week prepared. Students can be involved in sports, clubs, band, and more, and STILL get the best grades possible!
                                                                                  ©2010-2023  Illini Tutoring LLC
                                                                                   2500 Galen Dr, Suite 2
​                                                                                   Champaign IL 61821 illini.tutoring@gmail.com   
                                                                                   Text: 217-714-8395
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We offer tutoring in-person at our office or via zoom. We are requiring all students and visitors to wear a mask/face covering when they're in our office.
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