Personable English PhD Tutor with Test Prep Panache

Holly S.

Outstanding tutor for top HS students studying English/Literature

I highly recommend Holly as a tutor for advanced high school students seeking to become great writers as they prepare for admission to a top college. Holly has tutored my daughter since her freshman year in advanced English/Literature courses (Honors, IB, AP). Holly creates a friendly and positive learning environment. She teaches by asking insightful questions to help students develop their writing skills and become more critical thinkers. As a parent I appreciate how Holly uses humor to keep it fun, always nice to hear laughter during the sessions. She is also flexible and has made herself available when needed during tight deadlines. My daughter plans to continue to use Holly as a thought partner when she heads to college in the Fall 2025. Thank you Holly for helping my daughter elevate her writing and become more confident interpreting and analyzing all types of Literature!

Andrew, 22 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Andrew, Thank you for taking the time to write this amazing review. Partnering with your family in your daughter's expansive and diverse essay topics for history, art theory, literature, psychology, and more has been an absolute delight and a privilege. I sincerely look forward to helping her hone her truly unique voice as she writes her college admissions essays and shadowing her as she transitions into college. Thank you so much for this continued opportunity.

Very knowledgeable and detail-oriented

Holly was very helpful in my daughters prep for AP Lang. she was very detail oriented and sent comprehensive notes on foliwups my daughter should do between sessions. She also reviewed content offline to provide input. My daughter really enjoyed the tutoring sessions with her and felt more confident taking her exam. Thank you Holly!

Sejal, 4 lessons with Holly

Amazing English Tutor

Our daughter started working with Holly and 9th grade and her writing improved significantly. Holly did a wonderful job supporting her yet challenging her and helping her build her skills and independence. Now she is in 10th grade and taking AP English. As our daughter’s writing has improved a lot, she has become very independent and needs to meet with Holly only occasionally.

Marina, 29 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Marina, Thank you so much for taking time to write this wonderful review. While your daughter has caught on with ease and enthusiasm to the tricks and tools I've shared, the whole point of my work is to make myself obsolete -- in my students' independence, control in their writing process, and understanding of literature. It is thrilling to see your daughter grow so quickly as a gifted writer and to play a small part in her academic and professional development. Thank you sincerely for that trust.

Turning HighSchoolers Grades Around in Honors Euro Lit @Highly Competitive School

Holly has put an incredible amount of care and effort into preparing lessons that target exactly what my son needs. He’s in a very challenging high school program program that actually teaching at college level, without the AP designation. His school has a writing handbook that defines the schools very specific methodology, and creating a thesis and topic sentences. She took the time to understand their expectations and grading methods in order to tailor her lessons. Her understanding of my sons gaps are at a deep level, causing every lesson to result in incredible changes in his growth. His teacher has been surprised by the improvements coming on so fast. His grades are rising back up. We expect an A, and have our fingers crossed.

Preya, 12 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Preya, Thank you for taking the time to write this very thoughtful, generous review. Schools at times can demand an incredible rigor of their students. While I am unable to guarantee certain scores, as such, I have cherished the opportunity to learn about how your son excels best in English literature, literary analysis, and argument, and help him communicate that understanding in formal writing. Thank you.

Phenomenal Tutor!

Holly is not only incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to outstanding writing -- she also possesses unparalleled passion and dedication with which she comes to know each student individually and bring out the unique perspectives, experiences, and strengths of each student. We highly recommend her for all English writing and language courses and college application essays, as well as ACT and SAT test prep!

Heather, 31 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Heather, Thank you for taking time to write this humbling review. Helping your children step into their potential with ACT and AP Language and Composition, as well as develop their voices in their writing and college essays specifically, has been a tremendous privilege.

Patient and thorough tutor

Holly is so thorough in her review of information with my son. He has improved tremendously with her guidance in this short time and is more confident moving towards his first ACT!

Angela, 35 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Angela, Thank you so much for taking the time to write this encouraging review. It was a joy to coach your son toward terrific gains in his ACT goals.

Patient and interested

Went out of her way to help my son understand his book he had to read for 10th grade English . Read with my son , went over and mist of all made my son more interested in reading . Thank you

Rick, 3 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Rick, Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. Working briefly with your son to help him enjoy and interpret the literature for his sophomore English class was fun and helped me in what I do, too!

Student-Focused Diligent Doctorate Level Tutoring

Dr. Holly diligently tutored my son for a very challenging cumulative English exam. My son’s exam covered Romeo & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Literary/Poetry/Dramatic terms, a compare and contrast essay on Southern Gothic Literature including an obscure short story, and various types of grammar. Dr. Holly took the time to review my son’s old assessments, study guides, writing style, etc., to better help him prepare specifically for the nuances of his class dynamics and expectations. She also took the time to learn about his learning style and created games to break up their intensive work sessions. Customized homework and direction were created for my son to complete in-between sessions. She made herself highly available to our family during this crunch time and truly cared about my son’s overall well-being as we kept in touch if he was getting tired or didn’t have time to complete items due to his other studies. This tutoring request came just weeks before my son’s final exam and covered an ambitious study load. Dr. Holly dove right in and truly seemed to enjoy her work. My son was motivated to do his best for her and himself during and between sessions and learned skills that will outlast just one exam. We plan to partner with Dr. Holly long-term if she’ll have us! My observation is that Dr. Holly is a serious and passionate scholar with a temperament and skill set to work with students at many levels. Thank you!

Caroline O'Connell, 46 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Caroline, Thank you for your generous, beautiful review. Partnering with your precious family really is an ongoing honor and a delight, as is seeing your children reach their lofty, varied, and exciting goals.

Student-Focused Diligent Doctorate Level Tutoring

Dr. Holly diligently tutored my son for a very challenging cumulative English exam. My son’s exam covered Romeo & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Literary/Poetry/Dramatic terms, a compare and contrast essay on Southern Gothic Literature including an obscure short story, and various types of grammar. Dr. Holly took the time to review my son’s old assessments, study guides, writing style, etc., to better help him prepare specifically for the nuances of his class dynamics and expectations. She also took the time to learn about his learning style and created games to break up their intensive work sessions. Customized homework and direction were created for my son to complete in-between sessions. She made herself highly available to our family during this crunch time and truly cared about my son’s overall well-being as we kept in touch if he was getting tired or didn’t have time to complete items due to his other studies. This tutoring request came just weeks before my son’s final exam and covered an ambitious study load. Dr. Holly dove right in and truly seemed to enjoy her work. My son was motivated to do his best for her and himself during and between sessions and learned skills that will outlast just one exam. We plan to partner with Dr. Holly long-term if she’ll have us! My observation is that Dr. Holly is a serious and passionate scholar with a temperament and skill set to work with students at many levels. Thank you!

Caroline O'Connell, 46 lessons with Holly

Knowledgeable, prepared tutor

Holly is a very knowledgeable teacher and make learning very fun. She is very prepared with the lessons each time. I had a good time with her and would like to keep going with her after the intro lesson and first official lesson so far.

Lena, 9 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Thank you for taking the time to write this review, Lena. I am so glad you found our lessons engaging and instructive. The opportunity to partner with you for a short time in your AP Language success was a privilege and a joy.