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.

Passionate, Flexible, and Dedicated AP English Tutor

I highly recommend Dr. Holly as an AP English tutor. My son recently took the AP Literature and Composition exam and will take the AP Language and Composition exam next week, and she has been extremely helpful throughout the year for his preparation. She masters the material and is able to explain difficult concepts clearly. What I especially appreciate is how much effort she puts into preparing for each one-hour lesson. She is willing to spend her own time reviewing materials and planning the class so that the session is focused and effective. She is also very flexible and supportive. For high school students who are often very busy with classes, activities, and exams, she is very adaptive to her students’ schedules. She has been available even on short notice and is always willing to help when my son needs extra guidance. Her passion for teaching is very visible, and it is clear that she truly has her students’ best interests in mind. I only wish I had had the opportunity to learn English from a teacher like her myself. We are very grateful for her help and strongly recommend her to any student preparing for AP English.

Julie, 13 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Julie, Thank you for your detailed review and generous remarks! It has been a true pleasure partnering with Justin on his numerous assignments for AP Literature and Composition. The variety of assignments, such as a developing a live interview and a collage / graphic -- in addition to traditional essays -- were also impressive for me as an educator for their exploring a rich cross section of texts, such as the Magical Realist novel Like Water for Chocolate, recent historical fiction Atonement, and classic drama like Othello and The Importance of Being Earnest, etc. However, Justin's commitment to understanding the literature, mastering the assignments, and developing his craft in literary argument is not a feature an tutor can manufacture and qualities Justin himself brought generously to the equation. For those, Justin has been such a joy with whom to work and guide into a maturing intellect and in collegiate-level writing. Thank you for your partnership and trust. I am excited to learn the results of his AP Lit exam!

Great tutor

Holly understands the students strength and weakness and trains them accordingly. She gives a detailed notes after the session which is easy for parents to understand more on what had happened during the session. Excellent tutor overall.

Ramya, 7 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Thank you, Ramya! I appreciate your taking time to share these encouraging words. Manassa is such a bright student who puts in incredible care and detail into her mastery of the SAT reading and writing test; she really made it easy to fine-tune her strengths for top percentile work on the exam.

Excellent writing tutor

Holly is an excellent writing tutor! She gives thoughtful feedback, explains clearly, and really helps strengthen argument and structure. Highly recommend!

Kristina, 1 lesson with Holly

Great prep!

Worked on preparing for the PSAT. She did great review, helped to make sure my knowledge on English-related PSAT topics is where it needs to be, and identified what I should work on individually.

Sophie, 4 lessons with Holly

Tutor responded:

Dear Sophie, Working with Nicolas was delightful. Even though he did not profess to feeling Language Arts was his strong suit, he quickly grasped PSAT 8/9 concepts. His impressive jump from just one practice test to the official one demonstrates not only strong test-taking skills, but how easily he applied the tips and tricks I shared. Thank you taking time to write this encouraging review and your brief partnership!

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

Tutor responded:

Dear Sejal, Thank you so much for offering this insightful review. I'm so glad Aryaa found our brief sessions for some last-minute preparation for the AP Language and Composition exam. Your sharing her past writing helped me to see what skills she already possesses on which to capitalize for good effect, especially the FRQs of the exam. This partnership was so helpful in strategizing my feedback just a few weeks leading up to the test. I look forward to learning her results and the chance to collaborate again in the future.

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, 35 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.