Hisham

Tutoring Experience

I began tutoring informally when I was in secondary school; I would help family members and peers with their work, and I volunteered to tutor refugee students who were unable to speak English. This introduction to tutoring truly inspired me; not only did I witness my tutees confidence growing, but their grades rapidly improved and within 6 months they were achieving B’s and C’s. I continued tutoring through Sixth Form, where I began mentoring peers in preparation for the TSA- I found that teaching others was the best method of revision, and this was undoubtedly important in achieving my score of 79.5 on the TSA. Reverse teaching is something I incorporate into my lessons- ensuring a student knows how to get to an answer and why it is right.

I have worked with Tutorchase since getting to Oxford, and I thoroughly enjoy supporting students in achieving their potential. Nothing is more rewarding than finding out a student’s application is successful following the many hours of hard work we put in together- that is what motivates me as a tutor. Two thirds of my students have been successful in their applications to PPE, a marked improvement on the ~15% admissions rate in recent years.

Tutoring Approach

Personal Statement

The personal statement is an applicant’s main opportunity to demonstrate their motivations, achievements, and knowledge. I like to begin by discussing this verbally, from there I begin to piece together the student’s background and achievements to build a framework for their statement that meets admissions tutors’ high expectations.
Then, the approach I take depends on the level of support a student requires- either we write the whole statement together on a live document, or the student writes a draft, and we make improvements together. I relish the opportunity to tell each student’s unique story and motivation.

TSA

My TSA preparation is methodical and comprehensive. Students will cover all of the available past papers and a bank of additional appropriate practice questions; we review errors together and track which type of questions a student gets wrong on a spreadsheet. I share all of my tips and tricks, and offer insight into various test strategies deployed.

Interview

Interview preparation is intended to ensure my student is confident, concise, and clear when it comes to the real thing. Interview preparation mainly consists of mock interviews, discussions around academic topic, and preparing for the nuances of a student’s chosen college. We’ll discuss current events, questions around a student’s personal statement, and ideas on how to answer the most common questions. I have honed strategies to prepare a student without them seeming ‘over-rehearsed’ or robotic in their answers.