29th January 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
The UCAS deadline has now passed, and sixth form students have now submitted all their applications for university this year. The wait to hear back from universities can be agonizing, and more so if universities make offers that are dependent on excellent exam results. In the past students would apply to a range of universities from which they could expect to get a range of offers in order to ensure that they had a good choice when their results came in. However, with the rise in the award of top grades, many students find themselves in a position where all their choices rely on them achieving very high results.
For this reason, requests for tuition tend to increase in January, in part because some students will have already received offers, and in part because students are now getting their heads down post- Christmas to prepare for exams. Hiring a tutor for the purposes of preparing for exams is very different from having a tutor long term. In the months coming up to exams, tutors have very little time to build up their teaching and expand their students’ learning. Instead, tutors will be focussed on exams and results, helping students to plug any gaps in their knowledge, learn exam technique and revise effectively.
Even in the short term tuition can be very beneficial, especially when it comes to preparing for exams. However, it is far more effective if students are able to work well with their tutor, being clear about their needs and weak spots in their knowledge. In order to make the most of their tutor and the time they have, students should be honest and focussed. Armed with the right information, tutors can prepare a tailored exam revision plan that will suit the needs of their students, ensuring that they are familiar with the necessary material in addition to being practiced in responding under exam conditions.