Dasha
premium
University of Oxford
Materials Science
4th Year
9About Me
I am Dasha, a fourth-year Materials Science student at the University of Oxford, at Trinity College. My course is a 4-year master’s in engineering (MEng) and I achieved a first class honours in Part I, and am predicted to graduate the Part II in 2024 with a first-class honours. I have extensive experience in tutoring students at a range of levels, including GCSEs, A-Levels and University admissions for both Oxbridge and other universities. Having achieved 4 A* at A-Level in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths, these are the subjects I mainly tutor at A-Level and GCSE. I also work with students who are applying to study Materials Science, and will support them during the daunting process.
I can work with students from the very start to the very end, starting with suggestions on what books to read, tips on writing a stellar personal statement, preparing for the Physics Aptitude Test and finally running mock interviews. Materials Science is unusual in that a lot of UK universities run interviews for prospective students, including Manchester, Sheffield, Imperial and Oxford. However, I have a solid understanding of what the interviewers will look for in a student, no matter what university they are applying to. Having been through the application process and helped others go through it too, I have all the skills and knowledge needed to help others maximise their chances of getting into Oxford!
I have a great passion for all the subjects I teach, and I always ensure students get the most out of every lesson. There is never such thing as a dumb question, and students I have taught always tend to enjoy how discursive lessons are, since it makes topics a lot more interesting to learn. I constantly aim to teach problem-solving skills, no matter what the lesson is. Problem-solving is an extremely important skill that everyone should have, especially those applying to Oxbridge, but it takes time to hone this skill. My main goal as a tutor is to ensure my students are always improving academically whilst also improving their way of thinking and approaching problems.
I recently completed a summer internship in product management at Mastercard, which resulted in a full-time graduate job offer. I will begin work at the firm in September 2024.
My teaching style
Rather than just teaching content, I believe that tutoring students to think a certain way, and to approach problems or questions with an improved mindset and way of thinking, is just as important as knowing the content.
I am aware that tutoring should be specific to each student and so rather than adopting a general method I find it exciting to find engaging ways for students to learn through listening, writing and reading. I can adapt very quickly, and I can see what works and what doesn’t work so well for a student in a short period of time, so that the tutoring the student receives will be best suited to their learning style.
When understanding mathematical and scientific concepts, I believe using analogies to simplify the problem can be very helpful, and can really assist students in building a solid understanding. In addition to this, reversing the role and allowing the student to ‘teach’ the tutor by explaining their thought processes around a question is an extremely effective method that I would implement. This again would result in not only a thorough understanding of the content, but also an elevated way of thinking and approaching even the difficult questions; a way of thinking that is seen everywhere at Oxford University.
My past experience
I have had over 1.5 years experience of tutoring with 5 agencies, working with over 50 students. I have extensive experience in tutoring students at a range of levels, including University admissions for both Oxbridge and other universities, GCSEs and A-Levels.
All the students I have directly mentored for the PAT have received interview offers from Oxford. My students have received offers from Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and other Russell Group Universities.
I mentor students applying to Materials Science, including supporting them with writing their personal statement, giving general advice/explaining materials science topics to them, preparing for the Physics Aptitude Test and running mock interviews for the following universities: Oxford, Sheffield, Imperial and Manchester.
I have led group and one-to-one courses on how to prepare for the PAT, and have also ran many mock interviews for Physics, Engineering and Chemical Engineering students applying to Oxford and Cambridge.
I tutor GCSE students for Maths, Chemistry and Physics, and can also offer tutoring for GCSEs in Additional Maths and Biology.
I tutor A-Level students studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics.
My Proudest Achievements
Aside from getting into Oxford, my proudest achievement is playing at the Royal Albert Hall for the Music for Youth Proms multiple times.
I teach
- Oxbridge Interview (Non-Medicine)
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Maths
- Physics
- Further Maths
- Oxbridge Interview
- PAT
- Material Science
My Results and Achievements
- First class in Oxford final exams
- Offer from Imperial College
- Offer from Sheffield
- Offer from Manchester
- 4 A*s at A-Level
- A*s 8s and 9s in 12 GCSEs