I have long been an aficionado of English literature and writing, as my educational background will reflect (BA from Northwestern University and MA from New York University); I am also rather intrigued by topics in theoretical mathematics, particle physics, and foreign language.
After serving as the founder and chairperson of a high school English department in Egypt, I returned to the States to simultaneously pursue my careers in teaching and writing. With a solid record of standardized test scores--99th percentile on the GRE, 97th percentile on the GMAT, and "5"s on six high school AP tests--I taught at Powerscore for two years, where I taught GRE crash courses at several prestigious universities (MIT, UPenn, Boston University) and in various cities (NYC, Chicago, Orlando, Denver, Charleston, Columbia, Phoenix). I also have experience writing standardized test questions: I worked on the content development team as a writer and editor for Knewton's GMAT, SAT, and LSAT products and have contributed evaluations for Barron's upcoming (3rd edition) SSAT/ISEE book. Currently, I teach PSAT/SHSAT/SAT/SSAT/ISEE courses in Brooklyn and Queens.
I believe strongly in an individualized and rigorous approach to personal tutoring. I begin any set of sessions with a new client with a thorough diagnostic process in which we work together to lay out a mutually agreeable plan to which we can both contribute - I, as a tutor, with my experience and instruction, and the client, with his/her promise of diligent effort and self-driven motivation. Given these parameters, I generally devise a personalized plan for the duration of our tutoring experience (based on expected number of lessons), taking care to focus on problem areas specific to the client. Session time is precious, and I aim to use the hour as fruitfully as possible. I have found, additionally, that at least 20 minutes of proctored test examination time per session is invaluable; it is necessarily important that the skills conveyed in a tutoring session be transferable to a test-like experience, and this cannot be replicated in a "homework" setting - the tutor's presence is pivotal in this moment. All prep materials will be tailored to the student's particular needs.
I have assisted several students in getting perfect scores and have successfully helped them to matriculate at schools such as Harvard, Emory, Brown, Columbia, and NYU.
back to top