Harvard Educated SAT/ACT Tutor and Writing Consultant

Rexton M.

SAT Math

When I first began studying for the SAT many years ago, I shared the sentiment that many new students experience when first approaching the SAT Math: I felt rushed, out of my depth, and disappointed to score somewhere in the 500s on my first diagnostic test. Thankfully, I was able to meet a very knowledgable tutor who was able not only to break down each question in detail, but also to show me how to identify patterns and question types specific to the SAT. As a result, I scored a 780 on my next diagnostic test two weeks later, and finished each section with more than half of the time remaining. I hope to continue in the tradition of my tutor; I would like my students to feel confident when taking the SAT, with a comprehensive understanding of what to expect and how best to reach correct answers quickly and accurately.

Writing

The following is an example of the type of personal statement I hope to achieve. I felt that the student's original version was not as effective as it could have been in portraying the applicant's positive character traits and personal drive concretely and, most of all, relatably. After we worked all aspects of of the student's application related to writing, including activities, honors, short responses and an additional long essay, the student was accepted to Harvard College. (Please forgive any formatting errors; the portal does not seem consistent with indentation.) Warm applause greeted me as I took the stage, a hushed silence as I adjusted the microphone. As I looked out into the crowd, into the sea of shadowy faces illuminated with expectation, I noticed the panel of judges seated before me. I recognized one of them; he had given me a perfect score the first time I had won this poetry slam. He afforded me a small, encouraging smile as he leaned over to another judge beside him. This is the girl, I could picture him saying, the three time winner. But today, I was not going to win. I had always been a quiet person, a reserved girl whose idea of a fun Friday night was one spent poring over computer code in her room alone. But when I first entered that room and the world of slam poetry, saw those first performers take to the stage and witnessed the unwavering conviction with which they had determined to own the stage, I had been blown away, inspired to evolve my own comfortably quiet identity into one that rose to this challenge, one that was able to overcome the fear of failure and grow from the experience. I remembered the first time I had taken to that stage, how I had vainly attempted to hide my nervousness by thrusting my trembling hands deep into my pockets, how my voice had quavered as I struggled through the words of the short poem I had selected. I remembered the polite, tepid applause from the audience as I left the stage, but there was something else there as well: a feeling of accompli