Could you introduce yourself? Your major, interests, anything you’d like to share?

My name is Zaid, and I’m a junior in the College majoring in Mathematical Economics, which sounds like a fake major. I’m a rising senior, which is sad to say out loud, but yeah, that’s about it.

Do you want to share a little bit about your experience at Penn and the clubs or roles you’ve been involved in?

My experience has been a bit like that law student stereotype where you’re crammed up in the library all day, sort of like a hermit who doesn’t go outside. Thankfully, I touched grass this past year. Outside of tutoring, I joined TEDx Penn, which was really fun and where I met a lot of cool people. I also write for the student newspaper. I have no idea why any of them took me in, but it’s been a blast, and I’ve learned a lot from being more involved in the community.

Which courses are you tutoring right now? And do you have any study tips?

I’m tutoring quite a bit right now: all of the Calculus classes except 1400, plus STAT 4300, STAT 4310, ECON 100, and ECON 2100. So, a lot of stuff.

In terms of study tips, I have three. The first is that practice doesn’t make perfect, so prioritize quality over quantity. I tested this myself in a math class this term. The professor gave us 50 practice problems per exam. For the first exam, I did about 10 problems and performed better than expected. For the second, I tried to get through all 50 and performed a lot worse. I hope that’s a lesson to people.

The second tip is: don’t use AI to solve problems. It’s great for understanding concepts, but I’ve noticed people are so quick to use it to get solutions when they’re frustrated. In the moment, you think you’ll remember it and that you know what you’re doing, but much like glancing at an answer key the day of the exam, you sit down and think, “wait, what was that problem even asking?”

The third is that I’d push back on the idea that someone is naturally good or bad at math. I don’t think that’s true, especially at Penn. No one ever says, “I’m particularly gifted at reading novels.” Reading is treated more like a hobby or a skill. Math is the same. It’s a skill you practice, not something you’re born with. People should keep that in mind.

Do you have any experiences you’d like to share about tutoring?

One that comes to mind: I was tutoring a student in ECON 100, which is intro microeconomics, and we were going over opportunity cost and demand curves. Like in a lot of intro math classes, students get used to the mechanics, the “use this equation here” approach. What I like to do is draw things out. I was an art kid back in the day and was never particularly gifted at math, so I leaned into that. When you press students on the intuition, you notice they get lost, and I think it’s because they don’t have an understanding beyond the mechanical. I asked her, “How do you get this demand curve?” She said it was a good question. So I asked, “Okay, what does opportunity cost actually mean?” Those simple questions are the ones we never stop to consider. We just internalize them without thinking. So I gave her an example: imagine one guy sells hot dogs and another guy sells carpets. Are you more of a hot dog person or a carpet person?” It’s a strange thing to ask someone, I’ve noticed. She said, “I’m more of a hot dog person.” I said, “Okay, so you’d be willing to pay more for hot dogs than carpets?” She said yes. I said, “That’s basically what demand is.” And she got it. It wasn’t some novel approach. It was just, for once, instead of focusing on solving a problem through the mechanics taught in class, using logic and a little bit of fun to figure out what we’re supposed to know.

Any advice for new tutors?

Two big pieces. First, be patient. Especially when you’re new to the game, a student not getting something immediately can be frustrating. Recognize that you were once in that spot, too. Even if you were a genius kid who cruised through the class, in which case I applaud you because that wasn’t me, you’re providing a public service, and that comes with a responsibility to be humble about it. Second, let your students take over more. When I first started, I was very quick to jump in: “Oh, I know how to solve this,” and then I’d just solve it for them. But that’s not really what students are coming to sessions for. TAs and professors already do that. Students are coming to you as an additional resource for intuition and the more basic concepts they can’t really ask about in office hours. Let them take over and direct the conversation more.

Do you have any career plans you’d like to share?

If all goes well, and hopefully I don’t touch too much grass, I’ll be pursuing a PhD in economics. Fingers crossed. I might be tutoring in graduate school, too.

Do you have any advice for first-year students?

A lot of people have a lot of different pieces of advice, but the one thing I’d say is universal: take it easy on yourself. I wasn’t the most social person when I started. Between academics and social pressure, everyone has this idea that they have to make the most of it. You’re not perfect. You’re going to mess up whether you want to or not, and academics and people at Penn will humble you. No matter how low you get, there are always people here who will support you, whether at Weingarten or the many centers across campus. It’s just a matter of finding the right people and giving yourself grace.

Could you introduce yourself? Your major, interests, anything you’d like to share?

My name is Rohan. I’m currently a junior in the college, studying neuroscience with two minors in chemistry and biology. I’m from Seattle, Washington.

Do you want to share a little bit about your experience at Penn and the clubs or roles you’ve been involved in?

For sure. At Penn, I’m on the pre-med track, so I’m taking a lot of STEM courses, and I’m involved in a lot of different organizations. For example, I’m the Vice President of Marketing of SHARC, which is the Student Harm Reduction Coalition. I’m also in a few performing arts groups, including the Glee Club and Penn Shions Acapella. I also volunteer with Penn Benjamins Peer Counseling. And then, obviously, I do Weingarten tutoring. At Weingarten, I tutor a bunch of subjects, including neuroscience, abnormal psychology, organic chemistry one and two, and general chemistry one and two.

Which courses are you tutoring right now? And do you have any study tips?

What really helps me with studying is using Anki. I use Anki religiously, and I love Anki so much. I try to make my flashcards about a week and a half in advance so I can spread out my studying and avoid cramming. In neuroscience courses, the best way to keep information in your mind is through spaced repetition. If you try to cram everything even two days before, it’s kind of too late, and even though it works for some people, it doesn’t work as well. You’re not really “brain maxing,” or “study maxing,” I guess. But yeah, starting ahead and spacing out your workload helps a lot. That’s why I’m super glad when I have a tutee come in and say, “I have a test about a week or more out, and I just want to go over my weak spots.” That’s great, I know they’re set up for success.

Do you have any experiences you’d like to share about tutoring?

I’ve done all three kinds of tutoring: direct, drop-in, and assigned weekly. I really like the assigned weekly tutor role because you see the same person every week, which helps you develop a relationship with them. The student I’ve been working with this semester does a great job of taking my advice and trying to look ahead. We’re able to communicate a lot, and I feel like developing a good, strong tutor-tutee relationship means, hopefully, that she’s doing well in her classes. Also, since we see each other every week, she consistently has to review the subject material, which is really good for keeping it in your brain.

Any advice for new tutors?

For new tutors, my advice would be to make sure you’re confident in the course content before you go into your shift. For chemistry, I get an email every week from the chemistry lead tutor that tells me everything they’re learning in Gen Chem and Orgo. I’m not sure if it’s like that for other subjects, but I imagine it is. The worst thing you can do as a tutor is have a student come to you with a question and you say, “I forget.” Obviously, we shouldn’t have the whole course memorized since we might have taken it one, two, or three years ago, but you should at least put in the work to look it over before your session. That way, they don’t come in thinking you don’t know anything, and you can be the best tutor you can be and hit the ground running with your tutee. So definitely review, but don’t be too hard on yourself trying to memorize everything. Just pay attention to those emails and try to come prepared to your sessions.

Do you have any career plans you’d like to share?

I want to be a psychiatrist. Through SHARC, I do a lot of work around addiction. I also volunteer at HUP (the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) and at Penn Presbyterian, where I run the addiction care program. Through SHARC, I go into the streets and meet people where they’re at, and at HUP and Presby, I meet people who are hospitalized for addiction or addiction-related causes. So, I think I want to work in addiction psychiatry, specifically helping people go into recovery and turn their lives around. That’s my career goal as of now.

Do you have any advice for the first-year students?

I would say time management is the best advice I can give. It feels really overwhelming because there’s so much going on, but when you get to Penn, I don’t want people to feel like they have to sacrifice their social life, their academics, or their ability to have fun or be involved. Penn is a work-hard, play-hard school, and you don’t have to lose yourself to keep up with everything. You just have to figure out your schedule, create a routine, and start setting aside time to work ahead. It’s kind of freeing, it’s really freeing.

Could you introduce yourself? Your major, interests, anything you’d like to share?

I’m David. I’m a junior in the College. I major in Economics, and I minor in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy. I was born and raised in LA, and now I’m at Penn.

Do you want to share a little bit about your experience at Penn and the clubs or roles you’ve been involved in?

I’m very much a people person. I love engaging with people. I love giving tours for Penn, and I do that every week. I also love tutoring with Weingarten because I get to sit down and help students really think through and go through the material for class in an intuitive way, which I really like. I’m also involved with Under the Button, which is our school satire paper, so I get to write satire, which I think is fun. I’m involved in the Wharton Alliance, which is our queer club on campus for representation in corporate spaces. We put on a big consulting case every year. We just had ours a few weeks ago, which was successful. I’m also involved in various communities. I’m Persian Jewish, so I’m involved with the Penn Persian society. It was just our Persian New Year, so we had a big event, which was great. I’m also involved with a lot of the Jewish spaces. We host events for Jewish holidays. Passover is coming up, and we’re hosting some events for it. I live in a Jewish house, so we host events there as well.

Which courses are you tutoring right now? And do you have any study tips?

Great question. I currently tutor corporate finance and introductory corporate finance. Some tips I would give to other tutors: it’s most helpful to give really intuitive, real-world examples that can help students reapply what they’re learning to the real world and make it very conceptual. Once that’s established, understanding how that’s applied through the formulas being learned in class. I’m very much an intuitive visual learner. I like to imagine the scenario and then understand how the formula we’re learning maps onto that.

Do you have any experiences you’d like to share about tutoring?

One student came to me, and he was really struggling. It was really meaningful hearing him tell me how helpful it was to have this one-on-one with me. He had so many great questions, but felt a little intimidated to ask them in his large lecture class, and he felt much more confident in the material once he was able to go over them with me. That was during our first session. Since then, he’s booked me every week, and we routinely go over that week’s material. It was really moving because he has such a great mind and is really good at understanding the material. He just needed a more one-on-one learning experience, and I was really grateful I could provide it for him.

Do you have any advice for first-year students?

I would say, do not be shy about asking for help. It can seem intimidating, and if there’s a moment where you feel like you could use additional support, it exists, and you should use it. It’s there for your benefit and to help you succeed. That’s what Penn wants. Penn wants its students to do well. So if you’re a freshman and you feel like you need some additional support system, please seek it out, because it’s there and we’re here to help.

Can you tell us about your major and a bit about yourself?

I’m a bioengineering major from the Philly suburbs, about 30 minutes from Penn. I’m hoping to go to medical school one day, which is how I got into teaching organic chemistry workshops.

What are some of your interests outside of academics?

I’m a creative writing minor, so I really like to write in my free time. I’m also really into arts and crafts. I crochet and knit a lot.

Do you participate in research or any summer projects?

Yes. Over the summers, I do full-time research in the Mariko Bennett Lab at CHOP, and I continue that research during the school year as well. It’s something I definitely want to continue in my future career.

What clubs or organizations are you involved in at Penn?

I’m the president of the Asian Pacific American Pre-Med Student Association, which is a social and networking club for Asian American pre-meds. I’m also part of Alzheimer’s Studies, and we visit nursing homes every weekend and talk to patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

What course do you tutor, and what are your main study tips for students?

I’m a workshop leader for Organic Chemistry 2410, the first semester of Orgo. My biggest study tip is to use flashcards. You really need to know all the concepts, mechanisms, and reactions well before you can apply them, so building that strong foundation is essential.

What tutoring advice would you give to new tutors?

Always check in with your students about what they covered in class and how comfortable they feel with the topic. Understanding their comfort level helps build rapport and guides how you run your session. Personal interaction and creating a supportive space are really important.

Do you have general advice for Penn students?

Say yes to a lot of things—even things you wouldn’t expect to do. Many of the things I’m passionate about now are things I never imagined joining before coming to Penn. Meeting new people and trying new opportunities helps more than just focusing on academics.

What are your future career plans?

I’m deciding between an MD and an MD-PhD. I want to treat neurological diseases and am still considering how much research I want to incorporate. I’m especially interested in medical care and research related to Alzheimer’s disease.

Could you introduce yourself? Your major, interests, anything you’d like to share?

Hi, my name is Ljuben and I’m from Skopje, North Macedonia. I’m currently a senior, expected to graduate in December 2026. I am majoring in Economics, minoring in Data Science and Analytics, and Sustainability and Environmental Management. I really want to help out my community. I like to volunteer a lot. I like to tutor and teach. I really enjoy traveling, and I really love watching TV shows.

Do you want to share a little bit about your experience at Penn and the clubs or roles you’ve been involved in?

I am primarily involved with Weingarten, where I have tutored since the Fall of 24. I have also been engaged as a teaching assistant, where I TA’d a course for Physics, Physics 1100, Foundations of Data Science.

I’m part of Alpha Phi Omega, which is a national service fraternity where I do a lot of community service and have formed some of my closest friends. I am also part of the Assembly of International Students and the OCF Orthodox Christian Fellowship, where we go to church together and have a lot of fun.

Which courses are you tutoring right now? Do you have any study tips?

I’m tutoring Math 1400 in drop-ins, but I also tutor direct schedule for some of the other courses like Econ 200, 2100, so a lot of different courses. In terms of tips, I would say starting early is one of the important tips. Identifying what the material is and how you can essentially conquer the material, like what concepts the professors are looking to test, is something really important. Creating study groups is also a great way to study with friends. Coming to tutoring also helps. Going to office hours is something that I personally found really helpful. And most importantly, especially for math, practice problems are probably one of the best ways to prepare.

Do you have any experiences you’d like to share about tutoring?

What I really love about the tutoring experience is having the chance to get closer to the students. It’s really good when you start having students who show up regularly, and you can form that connection and understand their learning patterns. Seeing the way that students progress throughout the semester is really rewarding. It’s also a great way to get acquainted with other tutors. Everyone is so excited and welcoming on the team. It’s a really good environment to be in.

Any advice for new tutors?

Understanding what the student is looking to do, how they’re approaching the problems, and what their studying strategy is, just to deep dive into what the problem or issue is. I would say the Socratic method is really nice, where you prompt them with specific questions to get them to uncover topics themselves.

Also, having fun, connecting with the students on a personal level, and creating a collaborative environment where you’re tackling the problems together is a good tip that I have.

Do you have any career plans you’d like to share?

I’m interested in going into consulting afterwards. I have an internship for next summer in economic consulting, where I’m going to be working in Boston for the Analysis Group. I just got that a few days ago, so I’m super excited about that.

Do you have any advice for the first-year students?

Using all the resources that Penn has to offer is really helpful, whether that is professional resources like Weingarten, student clubs, or college houses. Having a strong connection with your advisor is also really nice. And asking for help – professors and TAs are humans at the end. Being vocal about problems and seeking help from friends, resources, professors, or TAs is very helpful.