"The lightbulb moment--one of the greatest moments of an educator's career. When you see someone suddenly GET IT, especially after struggling for a long time, that's the lightbulb moment, and it's one of my favorite aspects of teaching and tutoring. I've been in education for 12+ years, and it never gets old.

I have an M.A. in English, and I have a wide range of teaching and tutoring experience: I've taught first-year English courses at the college level (including working with high school students in dual credit courses), tutored in several college writing centers to help students improve their writing, and prepared high school students for the SAT/PSAT/ACT tests. I've worked with young students, old students, and non-native speakers. While these tests seem like just one more hoop to jump through, they can open doors in college admissions and scholarships to help students achieve their dreams. I myself was a first-generation college student who was able to attend college on a National Merit Scholarship, so I'm passionate about helping students do the same.

The PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests are all written with certain rules in mind. Once you know these rules and how to apply them, you can easily unlock the correct answers to any question. Many test prep companies don't actually seem to know or care these rules; their questions and practice tests don't work the same way as the real tests, making them useless for actually preparing for the tests. I cover these rules and their applications with students, working only with official practice tests to provide students with the most helpful preparation possible. As we work our way through the official materials, students will learn how to tackle challenging problems and passages with confidence. I provide instruction tailored to students' specific needs and to engage them with the material in general. Active-learning activities are very important to me; for example, in addition to going over official practice questions in detail to discuss the correct and incorrect an" less...