Booking policies

Our pilot: pay your mentor directly

While Alongside is in its pilot, you book through the site but pay your mentor directly (for example by Venmo or Zelle) after your session. Your mentor’s payment details appear on your home page once you book (for students under 18, they go only to the parent or guardian, by email). Alongside doesn’t charge students or mentors anything during the pilot, and doesn’t hold, process or refund payments. If something goes wrong with a payment, tell us with “Get help” and we’ll help sort it out.

One session. One clear price.

Sessions are 60 minutes, online inside Alongside. The mentor’s listed rate is the session price. No subscription is required.

Booking

Book at least 12 hours before the start. Students can reschedule up to 12 hours ahead too; a mentor who can’t make a time cancels. You can have up to 3 upcoming sessions with one mentor and 8 in total, intro calls included.

Free intro calls

Each student can book one free 10-minute intro call with each mentor, up to three a month, to see if it’s a good fit. Cancelling or rescheduling an intro call is free, and a cancelled intro call doesn’t count.

Cancellations

During the pilot nothing is paid until after the session, so you can cancel or reschedule from your home page at no cost. Please give your mentor as much notice as you can.

Session recordings

Sessions are not recorded at the moment. If Alongside starts recording sessions privately for safety, this page and the Terms will say so first.

Rescheduling

Reschedule from your home page at least 12 hours before the original start time, subject to the mentor’s availability. Closer than that, cancel (it’s free during the pilot) and book a new time.

Late arrivals and no-shows

• Wait 15 minutes. If the other person hasn’t joined 15 minutes after the start, you can leave, and it counts as a no-show.
• Running late? Join as soon as you can. The session still ends at its booked time.
• If your mentor doesn’t show up, tell us with “Get help” within 30 days. We’ll help you rebook, and you never pay for a session that didn’t happen.
• If the student doesn’t show up without cancelling, the session counts: the family pays the mentor as booked, because they kept that hour free.
• For a 10-minute free intro call, wait 5 minutes instead. Intros cost nothing either way, but please cancel if you can’t make it.
• Mentors who miss two sessions or intro calls within 90 days are paused automatically: hidden from students and unable to take new bookings until the Alongside team talks with them.
• Video trouble isn’t a no-show. Try rejoining from the home page; if it still won’t connect, choose “Get help” on the session and we’ll help you set a new time.
• Can’t make it? Students can cancel or reschedule; mentors cancel. Do it as early as you can.

Something went wrong?

Choose “Get help” next to the session on your home page, up to 30 days after it. The Alongside team reviews every report, technical failures and attendance problems included, and follows up with you.

After your session

When students leave the call, we ask how it went: a rating from 1 to 5 stars, with an optional written review shown on the mentor’s profile, and whether the session happened. A session is marked complete one hour after it ends unless a problem has been reported.

Mentor payments

During the pilot, families pay mentors directly and Alongside takes no commission.