Varsity Tutors Releases Mobile Tutoring App

Varsity Tutors, a St. Louis-based tutoring and test prep company, is launching a mobile app today that offers one-on-one video-chat tutoring and live instruction, screen shot capabilities, a “Workboard” (whiteboard) and the ability to seamlessly switch between streaming video and written messages.

The Varsity Tutors Mobile Tutoring App provides access to more than 20,000 tutors through smartphones and tablets, as well as thousands of professionally written practice problems across more than 150 subjects and standardized tests. It is available on iOS at the Apple App Store.

“To the best of our knowledge, it’s the first of its kind in mobile technology,” said Chuck Cohn, CEO and founder of Varsity Tutors. “It’s a combination of Facetime with features and functions that are specific to tutors and live learning. Many features that you’ve seen in other formats are all combined into one comprehensive app, creating a seamless experience.”

While the app itself is free, users will have to pay for the tutor’s time, which varies depending on where the user lives. The average price is about $55 an hour, Cohn said.

Varsity Tutors is making about 150,000 practice problems available for free through the app.

“We want (users) to self-study and get really high-quality content and advice they might not be able to afford,” Cohn said. “When they need expert help, they’ll think of us first. We want to get our name out there and build trust with consumers.”

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 98 percent of adults ages 18-29 own cell phones, while only 78 percent of them own computers. Computer ownership has decreased 10 percentage points since 2011.

“The web experience is great, but mobile is the future,” Cohn said. “We’re shifting from an online to a mobile environment.”

Varsity Tutors started in 2011 as a startup between Cohn and his two best friends from Washington University in St. Louis. This video demonstrates how the mobile tutoring app works.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • stacks of glowing digital documents with circuit patterns and data streams

    Mistral AI Intros Advanced AI-Powered OCR

    French AI startup Mistral AI has announced Mistral OCR, an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) API designed to convert printed and scanned documents into digital files with "unprecedented accuracy."

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.