NU|Tutors - Evanston, Illinois

Kristin C.

FIVE STARS for the tutors. ZERO STARS for the administration.

My daughter was taking IB classes (not the full Diploma Program) from September 2020 to May 2021. Unfortunately, that coincided with the COVID Pandemic.

NU Tutors prices include virtual or on campus. My daughter had her first meeting on campus March 10, 2021 trying to prep for the IB Biology exam in May. She was also going to get tutors for Calculus and Spanish. However, when the schools went remote starting Friday, March 13 my daughter was able to get one-on-one tutoring from her instructors during asynchronous time.

We never used NU Tutors again. My daughter graduated and I had no more use for NU Tutors. This is where the problem with their administration lies...

In order to get the most cost effective price it was suggested I buy a package of 20 hours to get the $58.50 per hour price vs. the $60-$68 per hour in the other packages. When I bought this package on March 10, 2021 I had no idea that three days later the world was going to be shut down. I waited quite a while wondering if maybe my daughter might need tutoring for her college classes. By September 2022 I knew we'd never use that $1070 still left in my account so I emailed for a refund.

It took six weeks for the first response where they told me NO REFUNDS. I replied asking where on the website this is written. Two months later they replied that it's "policy".

I scoured the website and all my receipts for any small print that might have this in writing. This "Policy" is not shared with the consumers of their services. I replied back saying that unless they could provide me with something in writing about this policy they would have to refund my money. They never replied.

In January 2023 I contact the State of Illinois Office of the Attorney General. In February 2023 the AG sent a letter to NU Tutors asking them to respond with a reason they weren't refunding me.

NU Tutors stonewalled Attorney General!!! In May 2023 the AG sent this email to NU Tutors, "I have turned the matter over to our Senior Assistant Attorney General since your refusal to do as was requested. Any communication will be via them and/or the Consumer." Then they privately notified me to file a civil lawsuit if I wanted this refund faster.

In October 2023 I notified NU Tutors I was filing a lawsuit. They responded saying they had been "waiting for the Attorney General to "reach out" to them (even though multiple emails from the AG office to NU Tutors had told them they needed to submit a response to my complaint in writing) and really wanted to work this out without going to court". NU Tutors told me they were having an annual Board Meeting in December where they'd bring up this issue and ask the Board for recommendation on how to proceed.

As of February 8 2024 I still have not heard back and I've emailed twice since January asking for an update. I will have to proceed with a lawsuit to get my $1070 back.

My advice. Pay the $68 per hour and DO NOT buy their packages. The tutors are wonderful but the people running this nonprofit are incapable of running a business. They and all the board members should be fired. I've alerted the City of Evanston and the State of Illinois about their business practices.

As a note...NU Tutors is NOT affiliated with Northwestern University although many of their tutors attend NU.

Kimberly C.

My daughter took an ACT practice exam in early May 2017. We, my daughter and I, tried multiple times, using various communication methods (phone and email), to reach a representative from NU tutors for her results. As of today, we have yet to receive a reply from anyone. I would NOT recommend their services.

Rohan G.

Jay P.

Harrison C.

Sofia M.

Arya M.

Zachary L.