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Ivy League Essay Coach & SAT / ACT / ISEE / SHSAT Tutor
Carol J.

5.0 (141 ratings)

1,179 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $185
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Response time: 2 hours

About Carol

Bio

Hello, and thank you for taking a look at my profile!
I'm a professional writer with proven success teaching students strategies to boost their test scores and shine in writing essays to win acceptance to their top choice schools. My students have been accepted to Harvard, U.C. Berkeley, U Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, and many more. (References available upon request.)
I also teach students strategies to boost their SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SHSAT test scores, and to improve their ELA skills to excel...

Hello, and thank you for taking a look at my profile!
I'm a professional writer with proven success teaching students strategies to boost their test scores and shine in writing essays to win acceptance to their top choice schools. My students have been accepted to Harvard, U.C. Berkeley, U Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, and many more. (References available upon request.)
I also teach students strategies to boost their SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SHSAT test scores, and to improve their ELA skills to excel in school reading and writing assignments. I believe the key to success is tailoring lessons to match each student's unique abilities and aspirations, and drawing from an array of online tools to engage and challenge them while mastering the skills they need to fulfill their dream goals. Reach out any time to ask questions or schedule a lesson!
My background:
I joined Wyzant after 5 years of tutoring for Kaplan Test Prep and Riseman Education. I earned my bachelor's degree at Smith College and a master's degree at NYU. In addition to tutoring, I write for education publishers including Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Vista Higher Learning.
Here are some comments from recent students and their families:
• "I got into Harvard!! You were such a major part of my application and I thank you so much!!" - Amber (Student accepted to Harvard )
• "We're all pretty pleased, ACT composite score of 35. English 36; Math 31; Reading 36, Science 35, writing 9 (9,8,9,9), ELA 34; STEM 33, I really give a ton of credit to the work you did with her. You really set the tone, got her doing those practice tests-/and essays. Thank you so much!!" - Adrienne (mother of Riseman ACT student accepted to Dartmouth.)
• "Thank you so much for your help with Jerry! You were so helpful to him and gave him so much confidence. He has been struggling and it really just made all the difference. His scores were much higher than the first practice test we tried before meeting you!" - Diane (mother of Kaplan ISEE student)

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Education

Smith College
Literature, Fine Art
New York University
Masters

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $185
  • Rate details: Group rates available starting at $200 per hour for 2 students in a session and up.
  • Lesson cancellation: 24 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 2/10/2019

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

ACT English

ACT English

A professional writer for education companies like Scholastic, I have 7 years experience teaching students strategies to boost their scores—and confidence— on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. I also coach students in writing outstanding college application essays. (References from the families I've worked with available upon request.) Crafting personal story with passion in an authentic voice and mastering strategies as well as the SAT content helped my students win acceptance to their first choice schools, including Harvard, U Penn, Brown, UC Berkeley and more. I'm experienced, patient, and love to help my students achieve success!
ACT Reading

ACT Reading

A professional writer for education companies like Scholastic, I have 7 years experience teaching students strategies to boost their scores—and confidence— on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. I also coach students in writing outstanding college application essays. (References from the families I've worked with available upon request.) Crafting personal story with passion in an authentic voice and mastering strategies as well as the SAT content helped my students win acceptance to their first choice schools, including Harvard, U Penn, Brown, UC Berkeley and more. I'm experienced, patient, and love to help my students achieve success!
English

English

I have been a professional writer for over 10 years, and since 2014, have been developing, writing, and editing materials for use in classrooms K-12 for companies including Scholastic and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The only thing more rewarding than creating programs and tools to help students master the use of the English language in reading and writing is to put those tools to use while tutoring one-on-one!
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

A published author of articles and scripts for PBS, Bio, and A&E among others, with an M.F.A. from NYU, I have written and edited education texts teaching ELA and writing skills for publishers, including Aptara, Vista Higher Learning, and Scholastic. As a tutor, I've helped students craft essays to win acceptance to Harvard, Brown, U Penn, U.C. Berkeley, Barnard, NYU, among many colleges, and private high schools, including Horace Mann and Riverdale. I train my students to interview themselves—the way I interview celebrities and industry leaders for biographical articles—practicing strategies that help them develop creative self-expression and an authentic voice when writing essays for applications, AP and Honors classwork, and tests.
ISEE

ISEE

In addition to college tests, I have six years of experience tutoring ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT for KAPLAN TEST PREP. My ISEE students have all accepted to their top choice schools as were many of my SHSAT students. Understanding the differences between the tests (the ISEE is generally better for students who excel in math and the SSAT for those who enjoy ELA and writing), and tailoring strategies to each student's unique challenges and abilities in reading / text analysis, writing, math, logic, reasoning, and language skills are the keys to success!
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

A published author of articles and scripts for PBS, Bio.com, and A&E among others, with an M.F.A. from NYU, I have written and edited education texts teaching ELA and writing skills for publishers, including Aptara, Vista Higher Learning, and Scholastic. As a tutor, I've helped students craft essays to win acceptance to colleges, including Harvard, Brown, U Penn, U.C. Berkeley, Barnard, and to elite private high schools, including Horace Mann and Riverdale. I train my students to interview themselves—the way I interview celebrities and industry leaders for biographical articles—practicing strategies that help them develop creative self-expression and an authentic voice when writing essays for applications, AP and Honors classwork, and tests.
Reading

Reading

A passionate believer in the power of reading to open all doors, I have been helping students learn to read (and love to read) since 2010. I started as a volunteer tutor through New York Cares at a NYC struggling school, then co-founded Read It All Up®, an in-school program for grades K-5 designed to excite students about reading through a taste experience. We launched our pilot program at Philip's Academy Charter School in Newark, N.J. in 2012. Additionally, I write and edit materials for literacy programs like Scholastic's Read 180 and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Get Curious that help millions of students nationwide learn to read. I've been tutoring high school students through Riseman Education in NY for over 5 years, and have been a Kaplan college and high school test prep tutor since 2017.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

A professional writer for education companies like Scholastic, I have 7 years experience teaching students strategies to boost their scores—and confidence— on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. I also coach students in writing outstanding college application essays. (References from the families I've worked with available upon request.) Crafting personal story with passion in an authentic voice and mastering strategies as well as the SAT content helped my students win acceptance to their first choice schools, including Harvard, U Penn, Brown, UC Berkeley and more. I'm experienced, patient, and love to help my students achieve success!
SAT Writing

SAT Writing

A professional writer for education companies like Scholastic, I have 7 years experience teaching students strategies to boost their scores—and confidence— on the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. I also coach students in writing outstanding college application essays. (References from the families I've worked with available upon request.) Crafting personal story with passion in an authentic voice and mastering strategies as well as the SAT content helped my students win acceptance to their first choice schools, including Harvard, U Penn, Brown, UC Berkeley and more. I'm experienced, patient, and love to help my students achieve success!
Writing

Writing

I earned a bachelor's degree cum laude at Smith College and a master's degree at New York University that enabled me to build a career as a writer / producer in television and education media. Mentoring emerging writers—helping them to express themselves through eloquent language, coherent essay structure, irresistible characters, and dramatic story arcs—was often the most thrilling part of any project. I began helping my friends' children write their college application essays to gain entry to top schools, and have been tutoring professionally for the past 5 years. By tailoring a lesson plan to match each individual student's strengths and challenges, I've helped middle school students improve their writing skills and boost their grades, and have coached high school students in writing essays that helped them gain entry to colleges such as U Penn Dartmouth, and Georgetown.
Grammar
Literature
Vocabulary
Carol J.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (141 ratings)
5 star
(140)
4 star
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3 star
(1)
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Reviews

Flexible and Knowledgeable Tutor

Carol has been immensely helpful with my younger brother’s college writing process. She is patient, a thoughtful editor, and really helped him flesh out his voice and express himself through his essays. I’ve already seen a tremendous improvement in his writing. Despite the very last-minute time constraints we gave her, Carol was flexible and accommodating to our needs. I highly recommend her to any student navigating the college application process.

Lora, 4 lessons with Carol

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Carol did a great job adjusting to our needs as they evolved over our few weeks together. Super supportive, helpful and we highly recommend! She helped us prepare for 7th grade ISEE test and with practice tests, we saw improvements immediately. Also, she helped review school application answers. She is great with streamlining thought processes when it comes to writing and navigating ISEE test. Thank you!

Catherine, 7 lessons with Carol

Tremendous Tutor and Excellent with Students

Carol has been a tremendous tutor for our daughter who is studying for the ISEE exam. Not only is she knowledgeable on the subject matter, but she has a special way of connecting with the student on a level that is extremely effective. Carol follows up with notes from the last session and assigns appropriate study material for the continual progress of the student. She also shares many strategies for the taking of the test. We would highly recommend Carol to any family looking for an excellent tutor and wonderful human being.

John, 6 lessons with Carol

Knowledgeable Carol

Carol had an organized plan to increase my daughter’s score on the ISEE exam. She taught her test taking skills as well as content and provided study material. Very happy with Carol!

Nicki, 4 lessons with Carol

Perfect tutor!

We have found the perfect tutor in Carol! With experience with multiple tutors in the past, we know a great one when we see it. Carol is thorough, dedicated, and attentive. She is amazing in guiding my son through his ISEE test preparation by assigning homework, providing test-taking strategies, and focusing on his weaknesses. She goes above and beyond by reviewing my son's progress, communicating with us about future plans, and outlining our strategy. I am confident that my son will excel in his ISEE test in a few months. We highly recommend Ms. Carol!

Janet, 7 lessons with Carol

Knowledgeable, Experienced and Caring Tutor/Teacher

I cannot say enough great things about Carol. My daughter is a junior in high school taking the ACTs. Her initial tutor was SO terrible that when she took her first exam she scored much lower than expected. Then, the horrible anxiety took over. We had to find a strong tutor who would help her with strategies and suggestions to improve her reading/comprehension portion of the ACT. From the first session with Carol, my daughter felt at ease and realized that she could do this unlike with her former tutor. Carol is so knowledgeable about the ACT and SAT that she was able to pinpoint exactly where my daughter went wrong and provide tips and tricks to help. Carol tutors in a caring, nurturing manner which absolutely helped my daughter’s anxiety. I strongly recommend Carol to any parent/student who needs expert help with the reading and comprehension portion of the tests. My daughter just finished taking her 2nd ACT test this weekend. She came home feeling much stronger and happier about how she did then the last time. This alone as a parent made me feel so grateful to Carol.

Terie, 11 lessons with Carol

No hesitation in recommending Carol!

I had the pleasure of having Carol tutor my son in English preparation for ISEE. He got a stanine of 7& 8 in Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension sections. All the credit goes to Carol for tutoring him and bringing out the best in him. Carol is caring, patient and follows up the session with homework. She also tutored my son on test-taking strategies and tips to improve scores. I have no hesitation in recommending Carol to someone who is looking for help and value with solid recommendations.

Rajeev, 7 lessons with Carol

Exceptional Tutor for ISEE exam prep

Carol has been an invaluable part of both my daughters' academic journey while applying to private high schools in New York City. Two years ago, Carol helped my older daughter prepare for the ISEE exam, and her guidance and expertise were instrumental in my daughter’s high scores and successful admission to the school of her choice and acceptance into 3 of the top private schools in New York. Currently, Carol is working with my younger daughter, as she prepares for her own ISEE exam. Carol’s dedication, patience, exceptional teaching skills, and organization continue to shine through. Carol has an innate ability to connect with my daughters, making them feel at ease while tutoring. She has a calm and encouraging demeanor which has helped to alleviate the stress that comes with standardized test prep. I’ve noticed that after each session, my daughter’s confidence grows, and is now studying without being told. One of Carol’s best talents is her ability to teach effective test-taking skills. She not only imparts the necessary subject matter but has also equipped my daughters with strategies to excel on the ISEE exam. Furthermore, Carol’s expertise in the essay-writing process is truly remarkable. She helped my daughter improve her writing skills and helped guide her to write essays that are compelling and stand out. Carol's dedication to her students goes beyond just the hour session. After every tutoring session, Carol sends my daughter and me an email summarizing the tutoring session, what she did well, what she needs to work on, and homework for the next session. I cannot speak highly enough of Carol. Her patience, exceptional teaching of test-taking skills and ability to nurture excellent essay writing are qualities that set her apart. We feel incredibly fortunate to have Carol guiding our daughter through exam preparations. I would highly recommend Carol to any students going through a similar process.

Jenna, 38 lessons with Carol

An Effective, Warm, and Genuine Teacher

My daughter, Claire (from California) took SAT tutoring with Carol because she wanted to improve her verbal score. Before, she seemed to have reached her limit with self prep, but Carol was able to help her break out of her bottleneck. Every lesson, Carol introduced a new strategy, gave practice for it, and in the next lesson, reviewed my daughter’s mistakes or questions. Carol’s method for active reading worked very well and it can also be applied to reading outside the SAT. In addition to that, Carol is also a very warm, genuine teacher who tries to connect with the student on a personal level. She also takes her role as a teacher very seriously, as she had an introduction session through a phone call before the first tutoring just to know and set our goals together.

Wen, 10 lessons with Carol

Great tutor!

Carol was patient, friendly, and knowledgeable! She seems to really care about my child and wants him to do well. She was great at providing other resources for us to check out as well. We really appreciate her help!!

Kelly, 1 lesson with Carol
Hourly Rate: $185
Response time: 2 hours
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