Palmer

Tutoring Experience

From 2019 to June 2022, I was a writing tutor for the Structured Liberal Education (SLE) program at Stanford University.

As part of this role, I edited the papers of freshman students in the SLE program, working with individuals through several drafts and providing critical feedback on content, writing style, clarity, and grammar. As part of the SLE ethos, I sought to develop not only student’s writing skills, but their ability to think critically, clearly, and in a novel and engaging manner.

I worked individual with students on a variety of writing projects, including term papers and longer (twenty page or so) research papers. I also engaged with students as a mentor and guide for their time in SLE and at Stanford.

Tutoring Approach

My approach with college admissions counselling is to help students identify and develop a ‘spike’ – that is, a clear, definite interest that can serve as the basis of the narrative they put forward in their application. In other words, the spike forms the basis of the personal essay, creating a guiding narrative that explains who a student is to college admissions officers. Having a spike helps students stand out in the context of too many well-rounded, but not unique, applicants. It gives admissions officers a ‘case’ for admitting the student.

More generally, my approach to writing is dialogic: I seek to work in conversation and dialogue with the student to improve the thinking behind their writing. My goal is to help the student develop their writing as a self-reflective practice, as a way of asking questions of themselves and the world. Additionally, I seek to help the student specifically tailor their applications to the universities to which they apply. I am particularly well-versed in Stanford’s admission process, and what Stanford admissions officers look for, but I also have familiarity with the admissions processes of several other competitive universities.

My approach to the SAT involves not only tutoring students in the content of what the test covers – math and English skills, etc. – but also, critically, the correct series of heuristics – essentially, the correct time-saving strategies – for taking a timed test such as the SAT. This heuristic involves weighing time spent on each question with the need to conserve time – leading to the maxim “hit the question and move on.” To practice this heuristic, which involves getting a feel for the pace of the test, I have students perform practice SAT exams and then carefully review the tests with them. By doing this, I identify the types of questions that the student is weaker on, and we then drill those questions.

In terms of AP subject tests, I evaluate on a case-by-case basis where the student is with the material and what their AP class is and is not providing for them. I then fill in those lacunae and aid the student in developing the particular knowledge and test understanding needed to do well on that subject.