Aviral
University of Cambridge
Medicine
4th Year
DBS
13About Me
Hi, my name is Aviral! I’m a 4th year medical student at the University of Cambridge. Back when I completed my A levels and GCSEs I attained A\*s across the board. However, now that I have completed my bachelor’s degree (BA Cantab) and have 3 years of tutoring under my belt, experience has matured my knowledge and teaching style.
I have a passion for helping students learn to learn themselves – tutoring should prepare a student to learn rather than just how to regurgitate information! I also know how gruelling the medical application process can be. It is challenging to integrate applications for several separate universities into 1 PS while preparing for an onslaught of interviews. I am experienced in helping students prepare for all parts of the application process, including the UCAT, in which I scored in the top 0.1%.
Aside from my focus on the sciences, I also have experience in programming. I gained formal experience in this as part of my bioinformatics component of my degree, in which I attained a high first-class mark (78%). Otherwise, I use coding in statistical analysis in research and for designing productivity tools to assist note taking. I am happy to help beginners wanting to get to grips with coding!
In other words, I want to help students gain skills for their higher education and beyond not just prepare for exams. Yet all the same, I help students learn the realism of targeted learning. Many things in secondary school to university applications and even higher education are based on some sort of mark scheme!
My teaching style
I focus on learning techniques, including note taking and memorisation. Homework includes taking notes as well as practice questions. This means we can effectively spend time difficult topics while developing learning skills. Yet still at the core, my approach to tutoring involves powerpoints, annotated notes and regular in-lesson questioning in to check retention.
Furthermore, it is important to target the syllabus as each board has a different style. I have experience tutoring across a range of GCSE/A level boards, including Eduqas/WJEC, OCR, AQA, and Edexcel. On the medical application side, each university is looking for overlapping yet often specific features, which are important to tailor to in both interview and PS. A targeted yet integrated approach is important!
My past experience
(See above)
My Proudest Achievements
Perhaps my proudest academic achievement is achieving an offer for Cambridge Medicine (and the achievements along the way e.g., a score of 3200 in the UCAT). Attaining my BA is next on the list, though I am especially excited to get my medical degree.
Yet it was quite satisfying to successfully apply for my first jobs, including as a play worker at a children’s center for developmental difficulties. It gave me a sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency for the first time, before I achieved Cambridge offer.
Other smaller achievements from when I was younger include music grades (e.g., grade 8 in violin) and performance in academic competitions (e.g., 1st in the Brain Bee neuroscience competition across England and Wales).
I teach
- Oxbridge Interview
- UCAT
- Med Personal Statement
- Science
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Maths
- Python
- Programming
- Typescript
- Bioinformatics
- Special Needs
My Results and Achievements
- UCAT Top 1% Overall (3200) (also BMAT top 5%)
- 5 A*s at A level
- 11A*s + Distinction + 9 at GCSE
- 4th Year Cambridge Medical Student
- BA (Cambridge)
- 3 years tutoring experience
- Worked at a centre for developmental difficulties