Like the average overworked, overtly-stressed out Malaysian student, precious much of my childhood was spent attending school in the morning, co-curricular activities in the afternoon and perhaps most substantially, dreading those nightly tuition sessions. Interestingly enough, through all those hours that I spent sitting in my tuition classrooms listening to my tuition teachers with some kind of religious zeal, I never once sat down to ponder on whether tuition had actually made a real difference to my grades. If I could have somehow managed to get the same grades I had gotten without the help of any tuition at all.

Until I went to college, that is. There I was, fresh out of secondary school, buoyantly ambitious and starry-eyed with dreams of flying off to the UK in two years; hopefully gaining admission into one of the best universities that Beckham’s homeland had to offer. Like a soldier marching to war, I went to what was at that time touted as the most renowned A-level College in Malaysia. Little did I know what was in store for me. On my first day at college, I went head-to-head with some of the finest, brightest students from all over the country. Ah, the crème-de-la-crème of them all. The first thing that crossed my mind was, Hey, I’m not as smart as I thought I am! That point of abysmal misery hit me precisely at the very moment when I attended my first Math lesson in my new college.

Now, I have never before been wrongly accused of being particularly awesome at Mathematics. I managed to survive my SPM days solely by virtue of avoiding the need to take Additional Mathematics in Forms 4 and 5. However, my paranormal fears for all things Math-sy came back to haunt me during that first mathematics class in college. When I saw on the fresh clean slate of the new white board on the wall, algebraic equations that I swore would surely have required the mental capacities of a team of perhaps a-hundred-and-fifty rocket scientists to solve.

Like a panicked child I scurried over to my lecturer at the end of the class; sheepishly telling her that I had no idea what she had just taught. It took her only three seconds to come to this daunting conclusion - that I had “no Add Maths background” - and like many of her students in similar predicaments before me, was doomed to fail A-level Mathematics.

“Drop Mathematics and save yourself an E,” she said.

It was pretty much like a death sentence, really. Those words shattered my confidence into smithereens. All thoughts of doing Mathematics or even finishing my A-levels with straight A’s – they all just flew out of the window, like a fleeting dream I could not quite hold on to. I spent the next few days calling up university representatives to find out if I could somehow do without A-level mathematics and still stand a good chance of getting into the universities of my choice. I was told that it was “rather unlikely”. This time, I knew, I could no longer avoid the perils of Mathematics.

I needed the best mathematics tutor I could find, and I needed him quick.

It took me a Herculean effort to find a tutor who was willing to accept me. He belonged to another college; and in no time had convinced me to move to his college and be put under one of his best mathematics lecturers. I started my first week at my new college with renewed confidence; but history repeated itself. Even the ‘best mathematics lecturer’ told me that I was going to fail mathematics; and that I should drop it. Once again, my confidence took a severe beating; only to be revived by my tuition teacher - who was adamant that I would get an A in my A-levels.

My one and a half years of A-levels was marked by moments of arduous struggles and bouts of frustration every time my Mathematics lecturer moved into a new topic. However, on every occasion when I was on the brink of surrendering to the impossibility of Math lessons, my tuition teacher was there not only to tutor me, but also to encourage and give me a new lease of confidence; over and over again. I’m happy to conclude this little story by telling you that, I actually completed my A-levels with an A in Mathematics after all.

I am currently study Economics at University College London; which is certainly one of the universities of my choice. Studying economics at university has brought upon me even more mathematical dilemmas. This time around, however, I not only have the ability but also the confidence to face these problems - thanks to that one tuition teacher who carried me along the way during my A-levels. I know I owe it all to him; for it was under his tutelage that I have not only managed to conquer my phobia of Maths, but also because he was the one who provided me with the most inspiring tutorial sessions of my academic career.

My experience in finding such a fantastic tuition teacher has inspired me to create Tuitionhamster.com. Today, I no longer see private or class tuitions as an option but rather, as a necessity to excel. Therefore along with my team of fellow students, we build this site in the genuine hope that students who are facing similar fears and insecurities that we have experienced before, will no longer bear the burden of finding the right tuition teacher. We hope you will see Tuitionhamster.com for all that it stands for – and that is no other than assisting you in finding the right tutor; hopefully one who will create such inspirational learning moments for you.. just like how my Math tutor did for me years back.

Tim