One-On-One Personalized HSPT Tutoring

Aastha completed her Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University. She is also set to attend the Emory School of Medicine in the fall. Aastha has years of experience tutoring elementary and high school students in a variety of subjects and has also served as an English tutor for over six years. Her tutoring journey began with a simple desire to be an educational guide for students. She finds immense joy in providing students with fresh perspectives on concepts they previously found challenging.

Aastha's passion for tutoring is driven by her desire to help students navigate challenging academic situations and reach their full potential. She specializes in ACT and SAT preparation, as well as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, history, writing, English, and math, including at the AP level.

Aastha's tutoring approach is characterized by adaptability and personalization. Her interdisciplinary thinking enables her to tailor her methods effectively. She invests time in understanding each student's unique style, character, and abilities and then coaches them accordingly. Aastha is non-judgmental and genuinely curious about her students, listening to their challenges and working collaboratively to transform weaknesses into strengths.

Aastha is adept at motivating students and guiding them through learning obstacles. She provides constructive feedback, highlighting their strengths and improvement areas, while acknowledging their hard work. She believes that with consistency, students can develop a fresh perspective on subjects. When students encounter difficulties, she encourages them to take a break to reset. For complex concepts, she breaks them down into manageable parts and uses real-life examples to enhance understanding.

In her free time, Aastha enjoys hiking, reading, and doing yoga. She also has a unique talent for wrapping dumplings quickly!

Jeannie earned a BA from Cornell University and currently serves as a Research Assistant at the University of Michigan. She has helped students get accepted to college through her work with Matriculate, an organization that helped underrepresented high schoolers succeed in college admissions. In this role, she helped students build college lists, craft essays, and apply for financial aid. Students Jeannie has coached have been admitted to top schools, including Cornell, the University of Michigan, and Georgetown.

Jeannie has also served as a teaching assistant at the Ross School of Business. While in college, she led a group of more than 120 women as vice president of her sorority and led a club called StartUM, a student-run incubator at the University of Michigan, where she helped students develop their business ideas from ideation and development to pitching.

 Jeannie excelled in the college application process by leveraging her strengths and crafting a powerful narrative showcasing her true identity. This experience ignited a fire within her—a passion to help other students achieve the same results. Jeannie wants to empower students to identify their unique potential, navigate the complexities of the application process with confidence, and overcome any hurdles they encounter.

Jeannie's coaching style is student-centered and strengths-based. She believes in meeting students where they are in terms of knowledge and motivation. The first step is building a rapport and uncovering their individual goals, strengths, and areas where they might need additional support. This personalized approach allows her to tailor her guidance and identify growth opportunities. Once she understands a student's potential, she likes to challenge and motivate them to reach high. She fosters a growth mindset and a sense of ownership over their journey by celebrating their successes, big and small. Ultimately, her goal is to guide students toward achieving their goals and priorities.

One strategy Jeannie finds particularly successful in keeping students motivated is creating a clear timeline with specific goals. This visualizes the journey, allowing students to see their progress and celebrate milestones like finishing an essay draft or securing a recommendation letter. Motivation also thrives on recognizing strengths. She can build confidence and showcase their competitiveness by highlighting what each student excels at and connecting those strengths to specific colleges or programs. Additionally, Jeannie strives to make the entire process relevant. By helping students visualize how their hard work translates into reaching their dream college and achieving future goals, they can see the bigger picture and stay focused on the end goal.

At her core, Jeannie is a highly empathetic listener who is naturally encouraging and optimistic. Having conducted hundreds of student interviews on college campuses through her series called Gen Z Mentality, she understands that every applicant comes from a unique background with their own challenges. She creates a safe space where students feel comfortable sharing their experiences and concerns.  She sees her role as a counselor not just as a guide but as a champion who motivates students to approach the application process with their best foot forward.

In her downtime, Jeannie runs Gen Z Mentality and interviews students about topics ranging from careers, passions, and relationships to money. She also loves spending time outdoors at the beach, traveling, listening to podcasts, trying new foods, and watching The Bachelor.

Branden attended Marshall University on a track-and-field scholarship before completing his graduate education at Wilmington University. At both institutions, he graduated with honors at the top of his class. Branden has eight years of tutoring and classroom experience under his belt. He began tutoring after realizing that students often need additional support to truly grasp difficult subjects. 

Branden specializes in tutoring science, math, English Language Arts (ELA), and history. Witnessing the transformative moment when students finally understand challenging concepts is the driving force behind his passion for tutoring. 

As a tutor, Branden prioritizes creating a comfortable and supportive learning environment. He creates his lessons with a light-hearted approach, fostering a safe space where students can not only learn and succeed but also share stories. Understanding the varied ways students learn, Branden provides a diverse set of tools and strategies to meet each student's unique needs.

Branden excels at actively involving students in their own learning. He seamlessly integrates their interests into the material, often incorporating pop culture references to make lessons more relatable and engaging.

In his free time, Branden enjoys surfing, fishing, beach sports, watching movies (preferably with a generous amount of popcorn), and traveling. He has set a personal goal to match the 172 countries his father has traveled to.