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

5.0 (158 ratings)

1,323 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $185
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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 (158 ratings)
5 star
(157)
4 star
(0)
3 star
(1)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)

Reviews

Results-oriented ISEE tutor

Carol is an exceptional tutor who not only markedly improved my daughter’s ISEE verbal scores in short three weeks, but also provided full-process guidance— test dates suggestions, targeted homework, and precise and constructive feedback. She set realistic expectations, kept us informed, and provided encouragement for my daughter at every step of the process. We recommend her wholeheartedly.

Vitaly, 5 lessons with Carol

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Carol has been working with my daughter on her SAT English. She is making progress in her pace. Carol is incredibly patient, encouraging and energetic. My daughter has a very demanding schedule balancing school and club sports practice. Carol is always understanding and highly accommodating with scheduling conflicts. She is good at explaining complex problems clearly and ensure my daughter understands it. Remarkably, Carol always keeps my daughter engaged and focused even when she is exhausted after the tough competition or practices. We truly appreciate the experience working with Carol. Thank you very much for all the support, Carol!

Allison, 8 lessons with Carol

Truly Invested in Her Students’ Success

Carol has been an incredible support for our kids this spring with ISEE test prep. She has gone above and beyond to make sure every student is caught up, confident, and fully prepared before moving on to the next lesson. Her patience, organization, and ability to connect with students really stand out. We’ve seen a noticeable improvement not only in academic performance, but also in confidence and overall attitude toward learning. We’re extremely grateful for her dedication and highly recommend her to any family looking for a knowledgeable, reliable, and caring tutor.

Daniel , 8 lessons with Carol

Knowledgeable and helpful tutor!

Carol came prepared and provided the exact tutoring needed. She is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher. She has experience and the technique to make the session worthwhile. More importantly, she is more flexible for scheduling lessons especially any last minute changes. Will definitely use Carol as our regular tutor.

Mano, 16 lessons with Carol

ISEE Success Thanks to an Exceptional Tutor

We cannot thank Carol enough for all of her help preparing Alejandra for the ISEE Lower Level exam. We are more than happy to write a glowing review so others know just how wonderful she is to work with! Our daughter can be shy when first interacting with adults, but she quickly came alive with Carol and looked forward to every session. Carol carefully outlined new test-taking strategies before and after each call, which gave Alejandra both confidence and excitement about learning. In a very short amount of time, we saw both her confidence and her scores improve dramatically, increasing by 3–4 stanine points. It was truly a gift to see Alejandra’s joy of learning paired with Carol’s joy of teaching; it was a perfect match!

Tammy, 7 lessons with Carol

Caring, Knowledgeable and Dedicated!

Carol is one of the BEST tutors for Wyzant. We have tried out many Wyzant tutors, and hands down, my son and I agree that Carol is one of the few tutors who goes ABOVE and BEYOND in helping my son with his SAT English and writing. We have dealt with a couple tutors (also from Wyzant) who were super condescending and rude (and we eventually cut ties with them), but Carol took over with grace, patience and knowledge. My son and I love and appreciate her thorough summary after each session. Whenever my son has a question, she is always available, and she never makes him feel like he is a bother. If you are looking for a tutor who listens and work productively with your child, we highly recommend Carol. The SAT process is super stressful in itself, but Carol WILL get your child through the ordeal with confidence and gusto. Thank you, Carol, for everything!

Li Yin, 31 lessons with Carol

Incredibly knowledgeable and kind tutor

Working with Carol was one of the greatest blessings of the application cycle. She didn’t just edit my writing; she helped me discover my voice and express it with authenticity. I came to her with ideas and drafts, and she helped me turn them into a personal statement that I am genuinely proud of. What stood out most was her heart. She consistently went above and beyond, reviewing drafts late at night before deadlines, jumping on calls to talk through ideas, and offering thoughtful feedback with patience and kindness. She never made me feel rushed or like an obligation. Instead, she believed in me and supported every breakthrough along the way. Her insight into storytelling and structure is unmatched. She taught me how to elevate my narrative and write with purpose. I am beyond grateful for her generosity, her professionalism, and her unwavering support. If you have the chance to work with her, consider yourself incredibly fortunate. She is not just a tutor, but a mentor and an advocate who truly cares about her students and their success.

Sarah, 2 lessons with Carol

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
Hourly Rate: $185
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