Tutoring for ALL year 12 subjects?

[camilla_li]

Hi everyone!

Just seeking for some advice here! So I will be in yr 12 next year; am doing chem, bio, methods, English; hoping to do probz biomed at Melb uni after high school. Right now, I am very conflicted in terms of whether I should do tutoring or not. I can confidently say that I am an A-level student for all my subjects, but without tutoring, I think it's very difficult for me to achieve A+'s; which I will need if I were to be extremely optimistic and aim for a 99+ ATAR. Also, I want to keep up with my extra-curricular activities throughout yr 12, so tutoring for all my subjects sounds like a good decision, given that my family doesn't really care about the costs or expenses that come along with it.

BUT on the other hand, it means that I am getting extra help in comparison to other students. Even if I did end up with a 99+ ATAR and got into biomed at Melb, it still probably means I am less competent. For eg. a biomed student got a 97 ATAR, I got a 99 ATAR- but with tutoring for all my subjects- it still means I am less competent, cuz that 97 student could've gotten tutored for all of their subjects and easily gotten a 99.95 (dunno if this makes sense haha)

Will I be able to keep up at uni, cuz obviously you can't get tutoring by the time you are at uni? No one will be there to help me then to stay on top of stuff? I GUESS WHAT IM TRYING TO ASK IS.. IS TUTORING REALLY SETTING ME UP FOR THE FUTURE AND UNI???

Sorry for such a long message.. and sorry if some of this doesn't make sense

[vceme]

Hey!

Firstly, to me it just sounds like you are in need of someone to keep you accountable. You can get this through posting in the accountability/motivation section of ATARnotes. Even better imo is surrounding yourself with a group of friends that are committed to achieving high scores. I have had a few tutors and with my experience, tutors don't really keep you 'on top of stuff'. They are more there to help you with work that you are unsure of. Of course, you might be able to find a tutor who can mentor you throughout the year. You might want to look into organisation/planning techniques  such as using a bullet journal/planner etc.

Hi everyone!



BUT on the other hand, it means that I am getting extra help in comparison to other students. Even if I did end up with a 99+ ATAR and got into biomed at Melb, it still probably means I am less competent. For eg. a biomed student got a 97 ATAR, I got a 99 ATAR- but with tutoring for all my subjects- it still means I am less competent, cuz that 97 student could've gotten tutored for all of their subjects and easily gotten a 99.95 (dunno if this makes sense haha)

Personally, I don't think this is something you should really worry about. Uni's don't look at whether you got tutoring or not to get into a course. Getting extra help doesn't really mean you are less competent. For example, both student A and student B are in the same class. Student A might be performing very well without the help of a tutor because she/he gets the way the teacher explains stuff. Student B might not understand the way the content is taught and might seek a tutor who presents the info in a way that he/she can understand. Different people have different ways of understanding.

Will I be able to keep up at uni, cuz obviously you can't get tutoring by the time you are at uni? No one will be there to help me then to stay on top of stuff? I GUESS WHAT IM TRYING TO ASK IS.. IS TUTORING REALLY SETTING ME UP FOR THE FUTURE AND UNI???

You can get tutored in Uni! You're right about there being no one to help you stay on top of stuff. That's why it's important to start adopting organisation habits to stay on top of stuff.

So, I think getting a tutor for each subject seems excessive. I would only get tutored for the subjects that I'm struggling in class.

It seems like you might be concerned about future prospects but honestly, just focus on getting year 12 done! One step at a time. Trust me, you are going to develop so many skills and techniques that will help you in the long term. 

[addict]

I think that "tutors will cause me to perform better" is a huge misconception. Yes, there is correlation between high performance and having tutors, since people who don't care about their studies won't employ tutors, but that does not imply causation at all. I actually got lower study scores in the subjects I had tutors for. Paying for a tutor is not equivalent to buying insurance. While it does not necessarily 'set you up' for success, it is certainly helpful for those students who learn better when they have someone there to explain difficult concepts in person and check their understanding. Just my two cents on this.

[Joseph41]

Hey Camila,

Really interesting post - thanks for sharing your situation. Will respond to each part bit-by-bit as we go. Keep in mind that I don't think there's a *correct* answer here as such.

Hi everyone!

Just seeking for some advice here! So I will be in yr 12 next year; am doing chem, bio, methods, English; hoping to do probz biomed at Melb uni after high school. Right now, I am very conflicted in terms of whether I should do tutoring or not. I can confidently say that I am an A-level student for all my subjects, but without tutoring, I think it's very difficult for me to achieve A+'s; which I will need if I were to be extremely optimistic and aim for a 99+ ATAR. Also, I want to keep up with my extra-curricular activities throughout yr 12, so tutoring for all my subjects sounds like a good decision, given that my family doesn't really care about the costs or expenses that come along with it.

Congrats on your results so far! Sounds as though you're smashing it in all subjects. What makes you think you won't be able to achieve A+s in Year 12? From personal and anecdotal experience (but obviously different for everybody), the whole "being in Year 12" thing can be the extra motivation required. And even if motivation isn't the issue, content covered in Year 12 is sometimes quite different to content covered in Year 11.

Extracurriculars - awesome, great decision. Really important to keep that balance as much as you can.

BUT on the other hand, it means that I am getting extra help in comparison to other students. Even if I did end up with a 99+ ATAR and got into biomed at Melb, it still probably means I am less competent. For eg. a biomed student got a 97 ATAR, I got a 99 ATAR- but with tutoring for all my subjects- it still means I am less competent, cuz that 97 student could've gotten tutored for all of their subjects and easily gotten a 99.95 (dunno if this makes sense haha)

Interesting perspective - never really thought of it this way - but not sure that I agree. A few quick thoughts:

(1) The ATAR does not indicate competence. The ATAR indicates relative performance across VCE subjects. They're very different things.
(2) Getting tutoring isn't like, "cheating" the system or something. If you get tutoring and then get a 99+ ATAR, great - you deserve it. The ATAR doesn't come with an asterisk if you haven't studied in exclusively independent ways.
(3) I think you're, in some sense, over-estimating the impact of tutoring. Like, you can't be a "97 student", pay for tutoring, and suddenly get a 99.95. It's not that transactional. Tutoring can be fantastic, and helps a lot of people, but only when students allow it to help. If the student doesn't care or doesn't put in the required effort, no amount of tutoring is going to increase the ATAR.
(4) When you get to uni, it's not as though you have absolutely zero assistance available to you. It's not an all-or-nothing thing.
(5) Getting an ATAR that high demonstrates that you *are* capable.

Will I be able to keep up at uni, cuz obviously you can't get tutoring by the time you are at uni? No one will be there to help me then to stay on top of stuff? I GUESS WHAT IM TRYING TO ASK IS.. IS TUTORING REALLY SETTING ME UP FOR THE FUTURE AND UNI???

I think it's great that you're concerned about what you're actually getting out of Year 12 - that is, the ability to learn independently and so on. I don't think doing that and getting tutoring are mutually exclusive, though.

Sorry for such a long message.. and sorry if some of this doesn't make sense

No stress at all - it's an important discussion to have. Random collection of thoughts in summary:

(1) You don't need tutoring in order to do well - or, in fact, very well.
(2) Getting tutoring does not guarantee you a high score.
(3) But tutoring can - and does - help a lot of people.
(4) Tutoring should not be taboo.

I work for ATAR Notes so have some sort of vested interest, but if you haven't already, I suggest checking out TuteSmart. I honestly think it's the type of tutoring that could help you, but also encourages independent learning to set you up for life after Year 12.

No matter what you decide to do, though, I think those four points above are important. Good luck.