When we don’t understand something at school, or when we want to improve but don’t know how, we consider getting a tutor – and the same goes for the
UCAT Exam.
Some people will go through their entire schooling without ever having a tutor, but some people may need tutoring from primary school all the way through to high school. When we’re not reaching the level of achievement we want, we want to be able to do something to change it, and occasionally we will need help with this.
A tutor is someone who can help you reach that level, key word being HELP. They are not there to do the work for you, because that’s up to you. So, there is no hard fast rule that in order to do well you have to get a tutor. If you feel perfectly competent in all areas of the UMAT® Exam, then a tutor may not be able to offer you anything, and you might just be wasting your time. On the other hand, if you are struggling with a particular section, or all sections, a tutor might be someone who can help you change the way you see the questions and how you work through to the solution. Here are some of the reasons why you would consider getting a tutor and also some reasons that you might not.
Advantages
- Gain knowledge from someone who has had success in that area – there is no point getting tutoring from someone that knows less than you.
- Confidence booster - A good tutor will never give up on you, because they know the content well enough to teach it, they know what is important to understand and what is not. Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in one small concept that really won’t have much bearing on how you perform. A tutor will be able to tell you if you are wasting time and will help you get through concepts that are important, even if it takes multiple lessons!
- Someone to bounce your ideas off and give you another perspective on the question - In the UMAT® Exam, the questions are tricky and often ambiguous - perhaps you are not understanding the questions the way that ACER wants you to think about it. Having a tutor means that you can bridge the gap in your understanding.
- Increased Motivation – You may find yourself walking away from a tutoring session inspired to continue working.
Although tutoring does provide an overall advantage if you are struggling in a particular area, sometimes it is not for everyone.
Disadvantages
- Having a tutor may make you lazy in your independent study – Just because you have a tutor, doesn’t mean you should stop doing your own study outside of that time. Sometimes you can come away from a session with a tutor feeling really good about the content, and you might think that because you’re doing so well, you don’t need to do any extra work. The tutor is there to help you with problems you are having in the UMAT® Exam. If you don’t practice on your own, you won’t know if you’re improving and you won’t have questions to take with you to your next session. A tutor is only worth it if you are putting in the extra hours away from them also.
- If you’re finding the work ‘easy’, it will be a waste of money and time – If you are not struggling at all, then a tutor may not be of any benefit to you. In saying this though, the UMAT® Exam is not ‘easy’ – even to someone who has done well in it. So before you go thinking you know as much as you can, make sure you check out the entire scope of the examinable content – then judge your confidence levels.
- One-on- one tutoring isn’t for everyone – Maybe you’re a student who benefits learning in groups. If this is you, having a tutor may not be the right way to improve your UMAT® Exam score. Consider looking at preparation courses where you learn in a group environment.
Overall, whether you decide to invest in a tutor or not, it is a case-by- case decision and there is no right or wrong answer. If you are someone who thinks you might benefit from tutoring, you should give it a go and if it doesn’t work out then you can try something else. In school there can often be stigma around having a tutor, but when you’re competing against thousands of other students to gain entry into medicine, does it matter? No. In fact, it shows that you have identified issues in your study and you have acted to solve these issues.
Good Luck and Happy Study (with or without a tutor)!
