Fiona Hu

I have 20+ years of experience teaching English and 10+ years of experience coaching students how to write an engaging personal statement.

My subject expertise includes:

University admissions, especially Oxbridge and Ivy League admissions
Graduate school admissions, especially Oxbridge and Ivy League admissions
TOEFL/IELTS test prep, especially English speaking and writing
Academic English writing

Each student is different, and each course needs to be tailored to the students' level and needs. I will give examples of some of the students I have worked with to give you an idea of my teaching style.

I am an admissions consultant specialising in guiding Chinese students to apply to universities in the US and the UK. Most of my clients are third or fourth-year undergraduates or professionals with a few years of work experience applying to graduate schools.

My teaching philosophy is to be a mentor, friend, and sometimes emotional support counsellor for my clients. The admissions process can be daunting, especially for students with little or no experience writing personal statements and academic essays. I guide my students on a journey of self-discovery as they explore what they want to study and why.

When I am working with a student on crafting their personal statement, I will first ask my student to brainstorm ideas. We will discuss what to keep and what to delete when we are structuring the essay. I will then guide them on using the STAR method to give examples and details to demonstrate their skill or experience. The final stage is polishing the essay so it reads well and still retains the student's voice.

I also coach secondary school and undergraduate students how to write academic essays. They need to first become familiar with the materials by reading extensively and writing summaries and critiques. I will then guide them on how to come up with an argument and how to structure the essay. Finally, we will add supporting details and examples to demonstrate the main points.

If you want to work with me on your English speaking and writing, I can tailor the course to suit your English level whether you are preparing for an English proficiency test like the TOEFL and IELTS or whether you just want to improve your English level. One method I have developed is pairing a speaking course with a writing course. The student can choose an article they want to work on. It can be a news article about current affairs or an article related to a science or business topic. It can even be a fun article about dogs or internet memes.

We will work on one article for each set of writing and speaking courses. For the writing course, you will write a 1000-word summary and critique of the article and send it to me. I will revise your essay, give you feedback on what you can improve, and explain why your sentences are incorrect or unidiomatic. The writing course is conducted via email.

We will then have a speaking course on Zoom or Skype. My English speaking courses are all about YOU speaking and me correcting your mistakes. English speaking skills can’t be improved through chit-chat. It is about correcting your mistakes repeatedly until you have internalised the correct usage. I am an extremely patient teacher. Language skills can only be acquired through repetition and having someone correct the same mistake multiple times.

Taking my class is not about me telling my students what the correct answers are. Academic essays, whether it is a personal statement or a history paper, are about me guiding my students to apply critical thinking as they engage with the topic. I want my students to come up with an idea, and we will fine tune it.