Zahra

Tutoring Experience

I am currently an admissions tutor for students wishing to apply for medicine at university. I have been doing paid tutoring work for the past 5 years where I have provided tutoring sessions on personal statements, UCAT, BMAT and interviews. All my students so far have gained interviews at the universities they applied for e.g., Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, Kings, Cardiff etc., with the majority of them then receiving offers.

When I was in Sixth Form, I was a volunteer tutor and helped teach GCSE Maths, English and Sciences to secondary school students. I also have experience tutoring primary school students with learning disabilities to help them improve their basic reading, writing and mathematics skills. These roles have been valuable in enhancing my teaching and communication skills which have allowed me to tailor my approach based on the individual student to ensure each student receives the style of teaching that is best suited for them.

Tutoring Approach

UCAT/BMAT: Typically, I go through each section and break down the different things that the student will need to know/be able to do for that section. Most of my teaching is based around going through practice questions and getting to grips with the types of questions before practicing under time constraints. I can therefore focus extra sessions on any specific topics that the student is unsure about. Technique is extremely important in UCAT and BMAT and learning to move on from questions that may waste too much time is also an important skill that is needed.

Personal statements: These sessions involve brainstorming different ideas and experiences the student can use in their personal statement and then teaching them how to structure and reflect on their experiences well. I then ask the students to write drafts which I can read and give advice on any potential improvements.

Interviews: I have many resources for general Medicine and Oxbridge-specific medicine interviews. During each session, we go through different categories of interview questions (e.g., motivation questions, medical ethics, scientific questions etc.) and talk about how best to answer them. I also give the student a few mock interviews so that they can receive feedback and continuously improve.

As a tutor, I believe it is important to make the content of the course as interesting as possible since this makes it easier for information to be understood. Breaking ideas down to its simplest form and teaching from the basics ensures that students can fully grasp any concept their faced with which is particularly important for subjects like Maths and Science that rely on the application of knowledge to different scenarios. Practice makes perfect, so with the right help and hard work, any student can do well and reach their full potential.