All of
Sam’s current tutoring subjects are listed at the left. You
can read more about
Sam’s qualifications in specific subjects below.
ACT English
I specialize in verbal preparation for both the SAT and ACT exams, and have worked for elite test prep companies charging as much as $150 per hour for my services.
For the SAT, I tutor students in the Reading and Writing sections and, for the ACT, in the Reading, English, and Writing sections. Since I do not tutor the Math section on the SAT, or the Math/Science sections on the ACT, the students who stand to benefit the most from tutoring with me are those who either have a separate Math (and Science, if taking the ACT) tutor, or who are already strong in Math/Science, but who possess incommensurate verbal skills.
I have tutored many students for the SAT and ACT for over a year now, and many of my students have increased their scores dramatically (by 100 points or more in a single section), often even after having a previous tutor or after taking classes with a major test prep company. Throughout the tutoring, our sessions are customized to address both the student's strengths and weaknesses. My preparation method for the SAT is heavily practice-oriented, so every 1-2 sessions, students complete either a previously administered SAT or an official practice test created by the actual test maker.
Latin
I have several years of experience tutoring students in various levels of Latin, from middle school through Latin III. I am available to instruct students in the aforementioned levels, as well as for the SAT Subject Test in Latin.
My personal background in Latin includes three full years of high school Latin taken while attending Fordham Preparatory School, as follows:
-Latin I
-Latin II Honors
-Latin III Advanced
In addition, I had one semester of college-level Latin (Latin III), completed at the University of Southern California, in order to fulfill the university language requirement. I earned an "A" in every course of Latin taken from high school through college.
Upon the completion of my third year of Latin study in high school, I was admitted to an upper-division Latin course at Fordham University--the only prep student ever permitted to take a college-level course in Latin at the university.
For each year of high school Latin, I received the following award for my participation in the National Latin Examination:
Freshman-Magna Cum Laude
Sophomore-Summa Cum Laude
Junior-Summa Cum Laude
My score on the SAT Subject Test in Latin was a 760/800.
Finally, for more advanced students, I have extensive experience reading the original works of the following Latin authors:
-Julius Caesar ("The Gallic Wars")
-Catullus (Various "Carmina," or poems)
-Virgil ("The Aeneid")
-Ammianus Marcellinus ("Roman History")
-Suetonius ("The Lives of the Twelve Caesars")
Philosophy
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Southern California (currently ranked 11th nationally for study in Philosophy).
My cumulative GPA in the Philosophy major (total of 10 classes taken) was a 3.83. My studies were diverse and included courses in Ethics, Metaphysics, Formal Logic, the History of Philosophy (Ancient Greek Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, and 19th- and 20th- Century Philosophy), Philosophy of Religion, and Philosophy of Language.
SAT Writing
Besides helping students more generally with English and Writing, I am also available to tutor students in the parts of the ACT and SAT relating to these subjects--namely, the ACT English, ACT Writing, and SAT Writing sections. Several of my students have increased their English/Writing scores on the SAT & ACT dramatically.
Writing
I have experience tutoring students aged 10 to 40 in English, particularly writing. As mentioned above, I worked in the Writing Center at Pace University, assisting college
students in English writing, especially in the context of specific essays and other
written assignments given as undergraduate or graduate coursework across various disciplines.
While an undergraduate, I took three courses in writing and was editor of the Journal
of Law and Society at the University of Southern California.
College Admissions Essays:
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I am also available to help high school juniors and seniors with their college admissions essays. I have worked with many students (often applying to highly competitive colleges and universities) to create stellar essays that accentuate the
student's key attributes and complement the more objective criteria (GPA, SAT scores, etc.) that colleges see elsewhere in the applications. Several of my own
admission essays have been purchased by websites in order to be published for prospective students to use as guides.
The process for developing excellent admissions essays typically involves three stages:
(1) an outlining/brainstorming session, in which the student and I choose what the student will be writing about and the general organization of the essay; (2) a review/revision of a rough draft the student creates; and (3) one or more follow-up sessions to perfect subsequent drafts, ensuring that the organization and writing is
clear, and there are no grammatical/spelling errors.