At Oxford and Cambridge, by far the biggest determinant of who gets an offer for mathematics is performance at interview. Nevertheless, every year even very good students fail to shine in exactly this area.
The problem is not usually work ethic or intelligence, but a lack of practice with the format of an interview and a lack of familiarity with the specific flavour of problem-solving required.
This is why many students find interview tutoring to be transformative for their preparation.
I am a current undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge reading mathematics. I achieved 4 A*s at A-level, an 8.5 on the TMUA and S, S on STEP II and III. I have experience tutoring at a range of levels as well as recent familiarity with the admissions cycle.
Mathematics interviews consist of very little 'chit-chat'; almost all of the time is spent solving problems.
Sessions are therefore structured around those problems: they consist of presenting the student with unfamiliar problems and watching how they approach them, providing a hint or asking them to justify a step at various points.
The problems are ones I have collected from a variety of sources, which the student is very unlikely to have seen before and each of which highlights an interesting idea or technique.
Much of the benefit of a problem can be derived after it has been solved. As such, after the student has solved a problem, we will review it together, going over how they approached it – including what worked well and what they should change, both about their maths and their communication – as well as the key ideas of the problem and how these might apply to other contexts. For example, I will often ask them to consider extensions of a problem, or how the result might be changed by altering a condition used in the solution.
My intention is to ensure the student improves their problem-solving skills with each session, as well as understanding interview-relevant ideas and techniques that they can then deploy in other contexts.
Sessions are 60 minutes long and cost £45 each.
Includes
Email georgeadamstutoring@gmail.com if interested to arrange a short free introductory call to answer any questions you may have or to book sessions.
Email GeorgeSessions occur online via Zoom, as well as using a virtual whiteboard called Miro for the problems.
While most students will have basically the same interview format regardless of college – with some small differences between Oxford and Cambridge – some colleges have slightly different formats, and so I will alter session plans to reflect these.
For example, a handful of Cambridge colleges make their applicants sit a written test before their interview, and they will subsequently have to discuss and justify their answers, as well as solving those problems they didn't manage before. For these applicants, I have some mock tests prepared and, when the interviews get nearer, some sessions will involve them working on a test beforehand then discussing it in session to give them familiarity with this format.
No. At least, not on its own. Regular and thorough practice solving problems on your own is essential to preparation and cannot be replaced by tutoring.
Rather, tutoring complements and enhances your own practice, by giving you guidance on which problems to prepare with and how to get the most out of them, while also building communication skills and composure under pressure that solitary work can't provide. Both are needed for a successful application.