THE MG CIRCULAR – NOV 2022

What are you thankful for?

We’re thankful for each other!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happiness for all!

Although Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday shared by everyone, we at MG think that the sentiment behind it is beautiful: afterall, being thankful for those around you is something we should be aware of everyday!

We staff are thankful for you students and parents because without you, who would we teach and pass our knowledge onto?

And simultaneously, we hope that you’re thankful for your tutors because without them…well, we can only hope your coursework goes ok! 😂

But in all seriousness, MG is a family and no one person can do without the other. We’re thankful for all the years that we’ve spent teaching the next generation of experts, and we can only hope that we’ve done a good job!

And with that out of the way, here’s our usual set of advice!

TSA? No problem

Oxbridge is hard. That’s not a secret. We didn’t need to tell you that.

But did you know that Oxbridge has a thinking exam? That’s right. The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) is a core part of the entrance exams for most Oxbridge courses. Most people who apply need to do it, and it’s a pain in everyone’s backs.

There are no textbooks; no ‘cheat code’; no true markschemes. Every year is different and there’s no syllabus.

You’re literally tested on the way you think.

Sound scary? It should!

The TSA has two parts:

Multiple Choice: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. This section is primarily numerical with some word problems. It aims to test a candidate’s critical thinking and ability to think with numbers on the spot. Tested only through multiple choice, you have to be really quick to get a good mark.
Essay question This section tests your ability to form an logical argument on a difficult topic. Often the questions will be based on topical issues – racism was asked about during the Black Lives Matters Protests, and recently COVID-19 was on the list. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to know a lot about the topic (ironically) it means you have to know how to make a justifiable argument.

All this must seem pretty stressful for the normal person. But rest assured that we’re able to help. Our tutors are experts at the application process, and equipped with past papers and incredible teaching techniques, we’re able to make sure you do the best you can.

Only our head tutors lecture TSA, so have no worries – we’ll make sure you do the best you can!

UPGs are finalized now!

Although exams aren’t quite here yet, your UPGs are fast approaching.

Now some of your schools might have told you that your UPGs were finalised before summer, but the truth is that as long as the Unviersities haven’t gotten your grades they can still be changed.

But in full disclosure, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to change your grades. What it does mean is that you need to be tactful with your school tests – everything that you do between now and your University applications (anywhere from weeks to no more than New Year’s) is core to whether to you’re able to apply to your chosen universities!

Now some of you may have already done a couple of exams once you’ve been back at school. If your marks are much higher than your current predicted grade, but your grades won’t budge, we recommend talking to your teacher about the grades and seeing what else you could do.

If you need more advice on the matter, make sure you speak with your MG tutors. We’re more than happy to share our experiences with you!

MG SPOTLIGHT

This month’s spotlight is a our very quickly growing bio and chem tutor:
Hayley Ng

Hayley graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Anthropology and has returned to Hong Kong to study a postgrad in Medicine at HKU.

Even though anthropology – the study of human society and culture – and medicine might seem like polar opposites, Hayley’s combined them both in her academic interests. She researches into medical anthropology with particular focus on illness experiences in developing countries.

Truly passionate about her work, before COVID-19, Hayley would volunteer in Cambodia every summer. She worked with HIV-positive and disabled orphans which ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in global health and education. Now, outside of MG, Hayley is also a research assistant at the Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit at HKU.

In her spare time, she hikes, plays tennis and recently started bouldering. She enjoys playing music as well – she teaches clarinet and sang in a Korean-English Acappella group in University.