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Experienced College Application Coach (SAT/ACT/Writing/ESL)
Jill M.

4.9 (484 ratings)

2,575 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $100
Contact Jill
Response time: 9 hours

About Jill

Bio

Helping people achieve their goals is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching—and it’s what I love most about my work. As a university professor with over a decade of experience, I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of students in subjects ranging from literature and history to philosophy and writing.

I specialize in English tutoring (Pre-AP, Honors, AP, and standard levels), reading comprehension, writing, and the Russian language. I also offer targeted support for...

Helping people achieve their goals is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching—and it’s what I love most about my work. As a university professor with over a decade of experience, I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of students in subjects ranging from literature and history to philosophy and writing.

I specialize in English tutoring (Pre-AP, Honors, AP, and standard levels), reading comprehension, writing, and the Russian language. I also offer targeted support for standardized tests such as the ACT, SAT, GMAT, GED, and GRE.

One of my key areas of expertise is helping students craft standout college application essays. With experience working in college writing centers and serving on admissions committees, I know what makes an essay successful—and what keeps many from making an impact. I go beyond basic grammar and spelling corrections to focus on structure, clarity, flow, and voice. Whether you’re applying to college or graduate school, I can help you shape your ideas into a compelling and authentic personal statement.

Currently, I teach Writing and Composition at a major research university. My teaching philosophy is rooted in flexibility and personalization: I tailor each session to your unique goals, strengths, and areas for growth. No canned lessons—just focused, individualized instruction to help you succeed.

2024–2025 Application Cycle Update:
This year, my students were accepted to top-tier schools including Georgetown, Columbia, University of Michigan, Emory, Northwestern, Brown, UVA, UF, UM, University of Rochester, University of Oklahoma, UT Austin, University of Washington, and Villanova. (Please contact me for a full list.)

If you're looking for a coach who’s experienced, encouraging, and results-driven, I’d love to work with you.

Read more

Education

Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Russian Area Studies
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Masters
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
PhD
  • Licensed teacher

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $100
  • Rate details: Message me for specials Cancellation Policy: 30 mins charged under 36 hrs notice. Full rate charged if less than 12 hrs. Review billed at a per hour rate with two rounds of revision.
  • Lesson cancellation: 36 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 1/31/2017

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

ACT English

ACT English

My background in ACT English tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the reading and writing sections so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
ACT Reading

ACT Reading

My background in ACT Reading teaching and tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills--these two skills are crucial for doing well on the reading section of the ACT. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the reading and writing sections so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
College Counseling

College Counseling

As part of my service experience I have sat on numerous admission committees for colleges and university-led programs. I have over ten years of experience helping students with undergraduate (including B.S./M.D programs) and graduate applications, and I know what colleges are looking for when they read application essays. Additionally, as a writing professor I know the pitfalls of student writing, and how to write a persuasive essay that will get a university's attention. My job is to help you draft an essay that best represents you as an applicant and can help you stand out from the crowd. For the 2018-2019 application cycle I worked with over 75 students and my tutoring clients were accepted into such universities as: Cornell University (graduate and undergraduate programs), University of Florida, University of Miami, University of California-Riverside, University of California-Irvine, University of California-Santa Cruz, Brandeis University, University of Notre Dame, Texas A&M, American University, Wake Forest University, Boston College, University of Minnesota, Colorado School of Mines, Virginia Commonwealth University (undergraduate & B.S./M.D. program), Indiana University, University of Texas at Austin, and Savannah College of Art & Design. For the 2017-2018 application cycle I worked with over 60 students, and my tutoring clients were accepted into such universities as: Texas A&M (honors & engineering), UT Austin, University of Illinois-UC, Waseda University (Japan), University of Virginia, University of Pittsburgh, Drexel University, Temple University, Seton Hall, Purdue University, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Les Roches International (Switzerland) and Polimoda International Institute (Italy). Please contact me for the full list! For the 2016-2017 application cycle my tutoring clients were accepted into such universities as: Baylor University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, University of Southern California, University of Louisville, George Washington University, George Mason University, Marymount
Elementary (K-6th)

Elementary (K-6th)

I have over six years of experience tutoring elementary aged school children. Specifically, in 2016 I taught fifth and sixth grade classes, and I have experience creating lesson plans for gifted and talented students through my work with enrichment programs. As a tutor I have created individualized lesson plans for students from third grade to eighth grade, and I focus specifically on helping Texas students prepare for the STAAR exam.
English

English

I have been teaching at the high school and university levels for 10+ years. I have worked with over 80 students through Wyzant on papers, college essays, study skills and general support.
ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

My qualifications for ESL include 3 years of tutoring ESL students from all over the world. I also specialized in ESL tutoring at a university writing center where I focused on language acquisition concerns including grammar, vocabulary, structure and usage. I specialize in conversation skills, writing and the TOEFL exam.
GED

GED

My background in GED teaching and tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills--these two skills are crucial for doing well on the GED. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the reading and writing sections so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
GRE

GRE

My background in GRE teaching and tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills--these two skills are crucial for doing well on the GRE. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the test so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
Homeschool

Homeschool

My experience working with homeschool students comes from my background creating lesson plans for gifted children. I develop individual lesson plans based on your student's strengths and weaknesses. I have also worked closely with student athletes and have created lesson plans tailored to their schedule.
Literature

Literature

Not only is reading one of my favorite hobbies, it's my career. I received a PhD in literature in 2015, and I love talking and writing about books. I have over 1,000 hours of lecturing experience, and helping others understanding complicated texts and analyze documents is one of the best parts of my jobs. My goal is to make reading fun and to help others become as excited about it as I am.
Proofreading

Proofreading

I have five years of experience working at a university writing center. In this role I proofread writing from a variety of disciplines and fields. When I work with a client I carefully proofread all documents and offer tips for future assignments.
PSAT

PSAT

My background in PSAT teaching and tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills--these two skills are crucial for doing well on the PSAT. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the test so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
Reading

Reading

I have worked with a large variety of students from school age up to university students. My goal is to help you or your child develop close reading skills so that the meaning of the text becomes obvious. I help students with skills such as analysis, meaning, understanding plot, themes, character development, etc.
Russian

Russian

I earned my PhD in Slavic Languages & Literatures in 2015 from the University of Virginia. I have over eight years of experience teaching Russian literature and language courses at the university level. I've also lived in Russia for extended periods of time.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

My background in SAT Reading teaching and tutoring comes from my experience teaching at the university and high school level. I have almost 10 years of experience teaching English language and literature, and in my classroom work on close reading and analysis skills--these two skills are crucial for doing well on the reading section of the SAT. As a tutor I help my students focus on how to approach the reading and writing sections so that they learn how to tackle each question quickly and accurately.
SAT Writing

SAT Writing

Over four years of experience tutoring students on SAT writing and reading. I have worked with students at both the high school and college level to help them improve their standardized test scores. Additionally, I have experience grading standardized tests, and understand the expectations of these tests.
STAAR

STAAR

I have been working with students on STAAR and state issued standardized tests for the past four years. I work one-on-one with students to help them understand how to answer the questions, and to know how to read the questions quickly and accurately. I have brought students up to the mastery level on the STAAR exam in reading and writing.
Study Skills

Study Skills

As a university professor, I have worked with students for 10 years in the classroom and during office hours to develop study skills. I work with students to process information efficiently, and to then understand what type of response their teachers are asking for. Understanding how to interpret questions is key to studying and doing well. My background in working in a Writing Center also informs my ability to help students understand how think about the material presented to them and how to recall that information quickly and precisely.
TOEFL

TOEFL

I work with TOEFL test takers in the Houston area. I have experience helping students prepare quickly for all areas of the TOEFL exam. I offer specialized lessons in each area with a particular focus on the speaking section.
Writing

Writing

I have an advanced background in teaching writing. I taught Composition & Academic Writing for two years at the university level. I also worked for five years at a university writing center where I conducted one-on-one tutoring sessions focused on grammar, proofreading, logic, clarity & ESL concerns.
Elementary Math
European History
Grammar
Jill M.'s Photo

Questions? Contact Jill before you book.

Still have questions?

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Response time: 9 hours

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

4.9 (484 ratings)
5 star
(458)
4 star
(18)
3 star
(0)
2 star
(4)
1 star
(4)

Reviews

Satisfied

Jill helped my daughter with an important high school English paper. Jill provided great feedback and assistance. Lauren's teacher gave her high marks with the help of Jill. Would highly recommend. Thank you!

Tiffanie, 1 lesson with Jill

Wonderful Tutor!

We highly recommend Jill! She is extremely knowledgeable, well prepared and a very experienced tutor and educator! She has been working with my son to help prepare him for his SAT and ACTs and he has significantly improved his grades on both Exams.

John, 8 lessons with Jill

A friendly and knowledgeable tutor.

Our daughter needed some guidance on her college essay and supplemental questions and Jill was super helpful. She’s very easy to work with and has a lot of experience.

Tana, 2 lessons with Jill

Patient, kind and professional tutor

We hit the jack pot finding Jill @ Wyzant. She is just wonderful; so knowledgeable, professional and kind. She helped my daughter catch up with language arts and study for her SAT/ FSA! We would have been lost with out her.

Lisa, 1 lesson with Jill

Exceptional tutor

Jill is an exceptional tutor with professional approach. We appreciated her flexibility due to our personal requests. Great knowledge of SAT tests preparation and college requirments. Highly recommend this tutor!

Natalia, 4 lessons with Jill

Awesome college application support

My daughter is applying to many universities. She really needs help with all her application essays. Jill is currently helping her with an once a week session. Her effort is much more useful than the in-school college counseling. My daughter is very happy with the progress. Let's hope that the colleges like her applications. ;-)

Mike, 11 lessons with Jill

Goes Above and Beyond

Not only is Jill an excellent tutor - patient and very knowledgeable - she also goes the extra mile to ensure the success of her students. She has helped my son negotiate college prep including volunteer hours and guidance with the application process. I would highly recommend Jill!

Trish, 18 lessons with Jill

Help with college admission materials

Jill helped my son with his college admission materials including his college essay, resume and several writing supplements. She provided solid advice on several parts of these drafts; either to rewrite the whole section or certain parts of it or sometimes to expand on some themes. She was very attentive to details, advising on the use of right words and sentence construction and the final piece looked very professional. The quality of her work is evident from the fact that my son got accepted into 10 out of the 12 colleges he applied to, including one of the Ivy colleges. Jill remained professional, patient and responsive throughout the whole process.

John, 2 lessons with Jill

Excellent English tutor!!

My daughter struggles with writing and Jill wrote a clear and concise outline of the definition of the intro paragraph and body of the following paragraph which my daughter used as a guide for her paper. Jill is a high level tutor with a mastery of her subject which will benefit any child. Thank you!

Scott, 1 lesson with Jill

Very knowledgeable and prepared

Jill came to our facility and started what we hope will be a long term Spanish to English lessons for a few of our employees. She took the time to determine each persons current ability and was very prepared with exercises to start them speaking English on the first lesson. Our people were very impressed with her approach and are looking forward to learning more... Thank you so much!

Jill, 30 lessons with Jill
Hourly Rate: $100
Response time: 9 hours
Contact Jill