It is Thursday night and you are grading homework when your phone buzzes. It is Tomas's mom: "Teacher, the math test is next Tuesday and he needs an extra lesson. When can you do it?" Before you finish reading, another one arrives: Valeria's mom, same question. Then another. In an hour you have seven messages and only four free hours all week. Sharing tutoring slots during exam season is a nice problem, because it means people want you. But if you do not put it in order, you end up teaching at 10 at night or saying no to a family that has stayed with you all year.
Before the season starts
It is best to think about this a month ahead. Look at your students' school calendar and mark the exam weeks. Then you can ask early:
Hi Paola. Tomas's exams start in three weeks. If he wants extra lessons, write me this week and I'll hold a time before they fill up.
One early message is worth more than fifteen rushed replies later.
How many extra hours you can really give
Count your hours honestly. A tutor who gives six extra lessons a day for two weeks ends up worn out and teaches worse. Set a cap:
- How many extra hours per week.
- Until what time at night.
- Whether you can teach on weekends.
When you have the number, you can say "I have four slots left" and not fall short later.
Who gets a slot first
This is the most awkward part. A way that usually looks fair:
- Students who already have a standing lesson with you.
- Whoever has the closest exam.
- Whoever asked first.
If you explain it that way, families understand. What bothers people is not waiting, but feeling that it was decided at random.
Tutoring slots during exam season: the priority message
When many requests come in together, answer everyone clearly without promising what you do not have:
Hi Paola. For Tuesday's test I have Sunday at 4:00 PM and Monday at 6:00 PM open. Which do you prefer? I'll hold it once you send payment, because few are left.
Notice three things: two concrete options, a reason for paying ahead, and a real reason to decide soon.
Charge before holding, in this season too
During exams, paying ahead matters more than ever. If you hold a scarce slot for someone who then does not show, another student could have used it. A simple rule:
The extra slot is confirmed when I receive payment. If I do not have it by tonight, I offer it to the next family.
It is not a threat. It is a way to be fair to everyone.
Ricardo's week, a physics tutor
Ricardo teaches physics and math to high school students in Houston. A week before midterms he received twenty messages. He answered all of them with "let me check and I'll get back to you." Two days later, three families wrote him angrily because they had already hired someone else.
The next semester he did something different. He posted on his WhatsApp status: "6 extra slots left for midterm week. Text me to hold one." All six filled in a day and everyone else knew to look elsewhere. Nobody felt ignored.
What to do with the list that runs out of slots
Some families will come late. Instead of saying "no more," offer a list:
I have no more times this week. I'll put you on a list in case someone cancels. If a slot opens, I'll write you first.
When someone cancels, offer that slot right away.
Small groups as a way out
If many students in the same class are preparing for the same exam, you can offer a small group lesson:
- Four students at most.
- Same topic and same level.
- A lower price per student than an individual lesson.
That way you teach more people in one hour, and a family that cannot afford an individual lesson can also join.
After the exam, close the loop
A week after the exams, write to each family that had extra lessons:
Hi Paola. How did Tomas do on the test? Whenever you want, we'll go back to the regular Thursday time.
It is a short message that feels caring and brings you back to your usual schedule.
Want this for your tutoring?
If during exam season your WhatsApp overflows and your calendar falls apart, see how Wawnia works for private tutors: your assistant shows only your free hours and holds each extra lesson when payment arrives.