Graduate School Personal Statement Appointment with a Writing Specialist or Tutor

Key Policies for Graduate School Personal Statement Appointments

Although Specialist (STAFF) appointments could go up to 50 minutes, Tutor (PEER) appointments could go as long as 60 minutes.
Appointments are limited to 1 per day and 10 per quarter for Specialists and unlimited for Tutors
Due to the high demand for appointments, students who do not show up to their appointment will be blocked from making appointments for 48 hours. If you cancel less than an hour before your appointment, you will be blocked for 24 hours. Please contact our front desk if you had an emergency and couldn’t make your appointment. They may be able to clear the penalty from your account and allow you to make an appointment.
Students can book appointments up to 72 hours in advance (not including holidays and weekends)
If you recently graduated, you can book up to 5 appointments on the personal statement calendar for one extra quarter (based on availability). For example, if you graduated spring 2022, you may see a specialist up until the end of summer 2022. If you have trouble with accessing the calendar, please email Kevin Sitz or the writing specialist you prefer to work with directly.

If you want help on your graduate school personal statement, you can ONLY book your appointment on the Graduate School Personal Statement calendar. You may also use this calendar to book for transfer essays along with program application essays (e.g., the UC transfer application). If you book on the general writing appointment calendar, your appointment may be cancelled. Note: personal statements for UCD classes (e.g., UWP 104) should be booked on the Appointment with a Writing Specialist or Tutor calendar or the Submit Writing for Feedback calendar.

Due to AATC and University policy, you should not misrepresent yourself on the calendar (e.g., signing up for a graduate school statement on the Online Writing Appointment calendar and saying it is for a scholarship or booking an appointment for a friend using your account). Using your account in this way could result in consequences that limit your access to our system.

If none of our writing support options work for you or you have technology issues, please email Kevin Sitz at kwsitz@ucdavis.edu

Access Graduate School Personal Statement Appointments CalendarClick on each topic below to learn more about how to book an appointment. Please familiarize yourself with our policies before your first appointment.

How Do I Sign Up For Oasis Appointments?

STEP ONE. Go to tutoring.ucdavis.edu and click on “Writing.”

AATC Header

STEP TWO. Once you are on the Writing Page, click on “Appointment with a Writing Specialist or Tutor”

STEP THREE. This will lead you to this page with directions on what to expect during your scheduled appointment, what to prepare, etc.

STEP FOUR. At the bottom of these instructions is a link to book your appointment. You must sign in with your UC Davis username and password (sometimes called CAS or Kerberos).

CAS log in screen

STEP FIVE. In the appointment booking website, select “Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers” from either drop-down menu and “Online Graduate School Personal Statements" for help with personal statements or "Online Writing Appointments" for help with other kinds of writing (e.g., coursework, scholarships, OSSJA referral).

Appointment System Drop-Down Menu Screen

STEP SIX. On the next page, fill out your appointment details with your name, email, phone number, and what you need help with (e.g., UWP 22, Personal Statement, Scholarship).

In the Special Situation box, click the appointment type that applies (for Online Writing Appointments: Appeals Letter or OSSJA Referral, Job or Internship Cover Letter, Scholarship Essay, or UC Davis class paper or assignment. For Online Graduate School Personal Statements: Health Sciences, Law School, MA or PhD program, or Med School). Then in the Reasons box, indicate the specific type of writing you are working on (e.g., UWP 1, Gilman scholarship, medical school secondaries). When you’re ready, click “Next.”

Appointment System Appointment Details page

STEP SEVEN. Once you can see the calendar, you can book your appointment.

Across the top of the calendar, you can filter by appointment type. Note that AATC only offers remote appointments and may offer in-person appointments.

In the top center, you can click on the drop-down menu to select the name of the Tutor (marked with PEER on their name) or Specialist (marked with STAFF on their name) whose calendar you want to view. You can also select “Any Available Advisor” to see everyone’s calendars at once.

Click on an appointment time that works for you. If your Tutor or Specialist has multiple options available for type of appointment, choose a type that works for you. Click “Confirm.”

What Can I Expect After I Sign up?

What to Prepare before your Tutoring Session

For Online Appointments:

A shared Google Document with your essay or materials you would like to talk about (it is okay if you don’t have a draft yet; you can share readings or prompts). We recommend that you take notes during the session; you can print a copy of your essay for note taking if you like.
- Please see below if you do not know how to use Google Documents.
Any files (e.g., prompts, rubrics, etc.) that you can share with your Tutor or Specialist via Google Docs or Screen Share on Zoom.
A list of questions to potentially ask your Tutor or Specialist. Remember that you only have up to 50-60 minutes with a Tutor or Specialist.
Please familiarize yourself with Zoom in the tutorial below.

For In-Person Appointments:

A shared Google Document of your essay or materials you would like to talk about (it is okay if you don’t have a draft yet; you can share readings or prompts). We recommend that you take notes during the session; you can print a copy of your essay for note taking if you like.
- Please see below if you do not know how to use Google Documents.
Any documents (e.g., prompts, rubric, etc) that you can share with your Tutor or Specialist during the appointment.
A list of questions to potentially ask your Tutor or Specialist. Remember that you only have up to 50-60 minutes with a Tutor or Specialist.

How to Meet With A Specialist or Tutor

For Online Appointments:

After you schedule your appointment, you will receive an automatic email that has the link to your Tutor’s or Specialist’s Zoom link. You may click on the link before your Tutor or Specialist does, but your Tutor or Specialist will not arrive to the Zoom meeting until your scheduled appointment time.

Please make sure you are checking your email to have access to the Zoom link. You may have to download Zoom in order to use it on your laptop.

Start your tutoring session!

You will be asked to share a Google Doc of your essay/reading/other materials (be sure you set the documents so your Tutor or Specialist can edit) or Screen Share your documents over Zoom.

Your tutoring session is scheduled up to 50-60 minutes with a Tutor or Specialist. If you do not get all your questions answered, you can schedule another appointment.

For In-Person Appointments:

After you schedule your appointment, you will receive an automatic email that has the location of the Tutor or Specialist you are meeting with.

Please make sure you are checking your email to have access to the appointment location ahead of time

It’s important to show up promptly to your appointment but there is no need to show up early.

You will be asked to share your essay and any supporting materials (e.g., prompt, rubric, reading) with the Tutor or Specialist to review together.

How Do I Use Zoom?

Source: How Do I Join a Zoom Meeting?

Join a Zoom meeting from your computer:

If the host shared the meeting link with you:

Click the link that was shared with you from the host.
If you are prompted by your browser to open the Zoom app, click OK.
The Zoom meeting should open. Turn on/off your microphone and camera as desired.

If the host shared the Meeting ID with you:

Navigate to https://www.zoom.us/join.
Enter the Meeting ID then click Join.
If you are prompted by your browser to open the Zoom app, click OK.
The Zoom meeting should open. Turn on/off your microphone and camera as desired.

Join a Zoom meeting from your phone:

Call one of the Zoom International Dial-in Numbers:

US: (669) 900-6833
US: (646) 876-9923
Additional Countries/Regions: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/zoomconference

Enter the provided Meeting ID followed by #

If you do not know the Meeting ID, contact the host of the Zoom meeting.

You do not need to enter a Host Key, just press #

If prompted, enter the meeting password.

How do I Use Google Documents?

You all should have access to Google Docs as a UC Davis student. If you have been using another word processor, you can follow the following steps to use Google Docs with your UCD email address:

STEP 1: Go to drive.google.com and log in.

List of Google Drive Programs

STEP 2: Go to “New” and “Google Docs.”

Drive drop-down menu showing Google Docs

STEP 3: Paste your essay into the document.

STEP 4: Share your essay. Click on Share

STEP 5: Click on “Get Sharable link”

Google Docs Share box showing who is added to the document as editors

STEP 6: Under “Get Link” click “Change,” select UC Davis in the left drop-down, and select “Editor” in the right drop-down.

Google Doc sharing setting to give edit permission

STEP 7: Make sure that your Tutor or Specialist has edit permissions on your essay. Copy the link. Make sure you have this link handy to send to your Tutor or Specialist via Zoom chat.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Can a Specialist or Tutor Help Me With?

A Tutor or Specialist CAN help

Walk you through concepts
Walk you through examples to help you better understand grammar
Give you suggestions on how to better answer the prompt
Guide you through a reading assignment

A Tutor or Specialist CANNOT

Edit your essay directly
Suggest what grade the paper may earn
Write your essay for you

Essentially, a Tutor or Specialist is there to GUIDE you through the learning process; they are not an editing service or homework machine. They want to make sure you leave the tutoring session with a better understanding of the concepts.

What happens if my Tutor or Specialist is not at the Zoom link/location indicated in the email for a remote or in-person appointment?

Please wait a few minutes. It is possible your Tutor or Specialist is traveling from another location/wrapping up another meeting before your appointment. If they do not arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled appointment time, you can contact the Front Desk by calling (530) 752-2013 or visiting 2205 Dutton Hall for assistance.

What happens if I do not receive a Zoom link by the time my appointment arrives?

Check your Bulk or Junk mail folders for a message from the Advising Appointment System.

Please wait 10 minutes after booking your appointment and then contact the Front Desk by calling (530) 752-2013 so they can help troubleshoot. The Specialist or Tutor will also email you directly if they do not see you in their Zoom room 10-15 minutes after the start of the appointment.

Can my Tutor or Specialist help me with my online exam?

It is against OSSJA rules and AATC policy to help you with a writing assignment where the professor does not allow outside collaboration. In this situation, the best your Tutor or Specialist can do is to guide you through similar writing/grammar concepts so you can understand the concept. In fact, if the draft has the word “exam” on it, we encourage you to check and see if your professor will allow you to go to tutoring to get help on that specific assignment before your scheduled writing appointment.