Varsity Tutors Reviews 

Varsity Tutors has acknowledged receipt of my first review, and they have chosen to respond by asking that I remove that review and sign a document in order to receive a refund for an unauthorized and inappropriate charges to my account. I have notified Varsity tutors that asking for reviews to be removed is against Trustpilot policies, yet they continue to reinforce that I will need to cancel my review and sign a document to have my refund honored. As I mentioned to Varsity tutors, I feel that this exemplifies some of the unprofessionalism of their practices and their excessive willingness to perform as if they are a company that treats consumers with dignity without actually putting in the work to ensure that individuals are treated fairly and with respect. I would encourage others who are considering working with Varsity Tutors to research other companies and avoid the potential issues of working through problems with VT customer service departments. Again, while their tutors are excellent, the automated billing with a lack of accountability for reported issues, consumer disrespect, and manipulative practices are not worth the concern whn alternative provider options exist.

I am wrapping up the first month of tutoring sessions for my daughter for PSAT math help. The first few weeks were up and down with this company. It took a few tries to find a math tutor for her that was a good fit, but VT really worked with us. I did have to call them several times until they finally assigned us a consistent rep to help us navigate the system. AJ has been fantastic. He actually followed through with helping us get the right tutor, he called to check in to make sure the appointments were scheduled correctly and he made sure we could access the extra hours. I had almost given up on VT until he stepped in. Now my daughter has a math tutor that is clear in his explanations and whom she really likes. If her scores increase in October, we will definitely use them again next summer.

I’m sharing this because I wish I had understood Varsity Tutors’ membership practices before signing up.

I enrolled over the phone and, based on that sales conversation, was led to believe that unused tutoring credits would accumulate and that I could pause my membership if needed and resume later. Those were important factors in my decision to sign up.

When I tried to pause for a few months over the summer, I learned that this was not the case. I had four unused sessions worth $314 that would expire. I was then offered the option of paying an additional $49/month for six months to extend access to credits I had already paid for.

I explained the situation and kindly asked Varsity Tutors to refund the $314 for my four unused sessions, but they refused. I then asked them to show me when and how these restrictions were disclosed during enrollment, how I had agreed to them, and whether the original sales call could be reviewed. They did not answer those questions. Instead, they directed me to a “Signed Agreements” section in my account that does not appear to exist and said calls may be recorded for internal purposes.

My issue isn’t with the tutors — it’s with the sales and membership practices. I signed up based on what I was led to believe during the sales call, only to discover very different rules when I tried to pause. I’m now out $314 for four unused sessions.

If you’re considering Varsity Tutors, get everything about accumulating credits, expiration, pausing, and cancellation in writing before you pay. Do not rely solely on what you’re told during the sales call.

Dishonest business practices and refusal to refund unauthorized charges
Do not trust Varsity Tutors with your payment information. This company uses deceptive practices to overcharge customers and then hides behind system limitations to keep money they were never authorized to take.
I originally purchased eight tutoring sessions per month at full price. Before the month ended, I called to cancel my subscription to avoid being auto-billed for the next cycle. During that call, the representative convinced me to stay by offering a discounted rate for a four-session monthly plan. They canceled my original eight-session contract, set up a new agreement for four sessions at the discounted rate, and helped me schedule those exact four sessions while I was still on the phone.
A month later, I checked my account and discovered they had billed me for six sessions instead of the agreed-upon four.
Over the past few weeks, I have emailed and called five separate times, speaking with five different representatives and managers. I even provided written email documentation explicitly proving the terms we agreed upon and what they committed to sell me. Despite clear proof that they charged me for two extra hours I never authorized or used, Varsity Tutors refuses to issue a refund. Their sole excuse is that "the system does not allow a refund." I gave up the escalation and they said they will honor the 2 extra sessions anytime I need, which they know I don't need as my exam was done.
Once Varsity Tutors has your credit card on file, they will find ways to bill you beyond your agreement, and their customer service will completely block you from getting your money back. This is not a trustworthy educational organization—it is a predatory service that steals money from customers through deceptive billing practices. Save yourself the stress and financial loss, and use tutoring service elsewhere.

Be very careful before signing up with Varsity Tutors, especially with prepaid sessions.

I prepaid for 8 tutoring sessions and only used 3. I needed to take a break and wanted to wait for my tutor to return, but I was told that I could only pause my account for a maximum of 30 days.

When I explained that I wanted to cancel instead, I was told that they would not prorate or refund me for the 5 unused sessions that I had already paid for.

This is extremely disappointing. Life happens. What if a customer becomes seriously ill, has a family emergency, needs to travel unexpectedly, or simply needs to stop tutoring for a period longer than 30 days? In my experience, the choices were essentially to resume within their allowed timeframe or lose the money I had already paid for unused sessions.

I understand paying for the 3 sessions I actually used. I have no issue with that. My complaint is that I paid in advance for 8 sessions, used only 3, and they would not refund the unused portion after I canceled.

Please be very careful before signing up and paying in advance. Make sure you fully understand their cancellation, pause, and refund policies before giving them your money.

I would not recommend prepaying for multiple sessions based on my experience.

Loved my tutor, but Varsity Tutors overcharged me for overtime that never occurred and refused to provide a refund. The price was already expensive, but have almost $1000 pulled from my account randomly was not appropriate or respectful of myself as a consumer. The overtime was assessed after I had cancelled with my tutor. Customer service was rude and unhelpful, so I took the loss. I will never use them again. They reached out to me today for a restart of my tutoring with no acknowledgement of the prior harms.

Good customer service. Accountability by the company.

They told me 900$ for the tutoring then without informing me changed me double. Pay attention to the hours and how much they charged. They are very slick and do t budge even though there was a signed agreement.

BEWARE When we signed up we agreed to purchase a block of hours. We were told that the platform was free and comes with that block. I was unexpectedly billed for a $332.30 membership fee the following month. This is a monthly fee just to use the platform. I called to cancel the same day I was charged and was told that they would determine at a later date if they would credit back the fee.

Exploitation

The only good thing about varsity tutor was the tutor we had. Danny was awesome! knew his SAT information and really cared about if my kids passed the SAT or not. This was the only good thing about varsity tutors. They're very money-oriented, only caring about the money. No one in the office can speak decent English. You can't understand what they are saying . Trying to have a conversation with them is impossible because they don't understand what you're saying and they keep repeating what you're saying so you can never get them to answer a simple question. Their billing department is very disorganized and inconsistent. They quit billing for my kids for literally 30 sessions and then stop my kids tutoring saying I was behind when the truth was they didn't know how to bill and was charging the wrong scholarship ( which was in a totally different state than we are in). Once the problem was located, which by the way; I am the one that caught the billing mistake, they never went about and re billed to get paid. My children couldn't even finish this diagnostic testing because their hardware never works and you can stay online for hours with I keep trying to fix it and it never can figure out what's wrong with their system. My kids left varsity tutors scared to even take the SAT. If it wasn't for their tutor pushing them forward and encouraging them,my kids would have never passed. Do not waste your money timer effort there are way better tutor companies .

The person I was assigned was exceptionally helpful in meeting my needs for assistance!

Awesome! The tutors they provided to assist my grandson is high level math and science were fantastic. Highly recommend.

If you are a nursing student or preparing to become one, please be cautious about Varsity Tutor. I believe they are fraudulent and do not have a proper program in place to help you succeed in passing the NCLEX. Additionally, their money-back guarantee is misleading, as their system seems designed for you to fail or to spend more money without gaining any real benefit. I have attached an email discussion I had with this program when I requested a refund, as their program did not adequately prepare me for the NCLEX at all. I have a very detailed review in Yep with email discussions.

Pass Guarantee is a lie. They won’t refund me my money after failing to provide me w a tutor. They don’t have MRI tutors. They advertise them but literally don’t have any after the last one got sick. No supervisor. I have proof!!! She said you can take another course if you want? Why am I taking another course if my exam is for MRI arrt? Take your money elsewhere.

Their ACT English Practice Tests are completely confusing, to say the least.
Some questions are mixed up with other numbered questions, and some of the underlined parts are not even related to the question that it is asking.
Also, the incorrect Reading questions are marked as Math questions, WTF?!

The company is a scam in that they are in it for the money and procedures, not the human customer experience. I was on auto bill when I had a medical emergency hit my family. The autobill went on for 4 months until I caught it, focused on my family of origin. I had one session at that point and paid 375 a month for 4 months. Upon notifying them, their compassion was non existent and they insisted on their policies. They refused to refund me for missed months and their staff had no recourse nor care for the situation. As for the one session, the tutor was making it up mostly, had a dog and child in the background, and was not professional.

I am writing this to warn others about the predatory subscription practices at Varsity Tutors. While they are quick to sign you up, they make it intentionally difficult to leave. There is no way to cancel your subscription online; you are forced to call a customer care line where representatives are try retention tactics to keep you paying.

In my experience, I was kept on hold for over 30 minutes just to speak to someone. Furthermore, I was given explicit assurances by representatives that I would receive a callback before my renewal date to discuss my options—that call never came.

Beyond the billing headaches, the platform relies heavily on AI features that I found to be completely useless. You are much better off finding a direct-hire tutor or utilizing the wealth of free, high-quality coaching available on YouTube.

Got everything as promised. Discontinuing is a cumbersome process is only knock.