AB, Social Studies, cum laude, Harvard College
Test Prep Guru training high achievers to maximize their SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, and ERB scores.
Areas of focus
SAT, Math and Reading/Writing
ACT, all sections
ISEE, all levels and sections, including essay
SSAT, all levels and sections
ERB, all sections and grade levels
HSPT, all sections
High school math through precalculus
English grammar and essay writing
Background
AB cum laude, Social Studies, Harvard College
Former SAT Program Director, The Princeton Review, Los Angeles
Over 30 years experience tutoring SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, ERB and other standardized tests
Professional animation writer who leans on comedy and nerd culture to make learning fun and kid-relatable
Recent outcomes
ISEE Middle Level | 6th grade | Le Lycée Français | Stanines 8,6,6,7 → 9,9,8,9
ACT | Westridge Student | 27 → 35
SAT | Geffen Academy Student | 1300 → 1510
HSPT | Notre Dame Applicant | 89th percentile → 95th percentile
Approach
I flip the process of test-taking on its head. I don’t just teach students how to find the right answers; I want them to learn how the testmakers write the wrong answers. I want them to see the traps coming so they don’t fall into them. Whether it’s an answer that repeats recognizable words from a passage, but twists them around to say the opposite of what the passage said; or one that anticipates you mistakenly thinking that 1 is a prime number; or one that uses semicolons in a list because the items themselves contain commas, the testmakers are always trying to trick you into thinking that what’s right is wrong and what’s wrong is right. Once you see the patterns they inevitably fall into, though, you can start to turn the game to your advantage.
Q&A
A resource you’d hand a curious student?
Go to the College Board SAT question bank, try some grammar questions and look for patterns in the answers. For example, you’ll see that if one answer contains a semicolon and one contains a period, they’re both wrong, but if you only see one of the two, it’s correct.
The mistake you see most often?
Choosing the right answer to the wrong question: for example, solving for the area instead of the perimeter, or solving for the amount of a discount rather than the price after the discount.
What you look for in a good-fit student?
A student who doesn’t just want to know how to solve a problem, but wants to know why the method works.
What parents or students get wrong about prep?
Many parents want to help their students correct their homework, but it’s very important for me to go over it with them. That’s how I learn what topics are giving the student difficulty, and I can also show them test-specific techniques that may be different from the way they’re taught to solve problems in school.