Pamela has earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a PhD from Stanford University, where she served in admissions as an Application Reader. In this role, Pamela made admissions decisions and was part of a 40-person committee. This experience gave Pamela a profound understanding of institutional priorities, class balance, and the nuanced factors influencing admission decisions. Professionally, Pamela is an Admissions Interviewer at Stanford University School of Medicine.
As a first-generation international student, Pamela understands the challenges applicants face without access to resources. This personal history fuels her passion for ensuring that aspiring students are well-informed about the expectations of college admissions officers, recognizing the often opaque nature of the process.
With a background deeply rooted in education and academia, Pamela has witnessed the transformative power of learning throughout her professional life. She strategically emphasizes the importance of working hard and smart, instilling a holistic approach to the application process in her students. She navigates the complexities of the admissions process, acknowledging that merit is not the sole determinant.
Pamela's impressive track record speaks volumes, as applicants she has coached have gained admission to prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, UCLA, Berkeley, Emory, Vanderbilt, and many others.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Pamela leads an active lifestyle immersed in nature, residing in the woods and engaging in hiking, rock climbing, running, and various outdoor pursuits. Complementing her coaching role, she dedicates time to teaching in prisons and volunteering as a Search and Rescue aid.
Jada earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, followed by a Master’s degree from the University of Maryland. She served as a Graduate Advisor for two years while earning her Master's degree, providing support to more than 50 student leaders and directors and planning campus-wide activities, including the management of over 600 student clubs and 10,000 attendees.
Prior to this, she held a role in UCLA's residence life, overseeing a community of 1,200 students. She also contributed as a facilitator at the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center and offered counseling support at campus protests and major events for the Black Campus Committee. Beyond academia, Jada also has experience working at Disney, Warner Bros., and FOX Sports.
As a first-generation college graduate, Jada empathizes with the challenges of navigating the admissions process. She strives to be the counselor she wished she had and is passionate about simplifying the process and removing barriers to higher education for all students. She believes it is a true privilege to empower students to confidently navigate this exciting chapter of their lives. Her coaching style is influenced by her background as an athlete and educator and her preference for the "challenge and support" student personnel model.
In her coaching role, Jada excels at helping students recognize their autonomy and capabilities. She believes in collaborative work, valuing both counselor and student expertise. She approaches students holistically, recognizing their diverse identities and life circumstances. She uses a variety of teaching strategies, including auditory, visual, and kinesthetic methods, tailoring her approach to each student’s needs and motivations.
By identifying whether students struggle with extrinsic or intrinsic motivation or both, she helps them rediscover their goals and address underlying factors affecting their drive. Jada aims to empower students through support and belief in their potential, providing both affirmation and honest feedback. Students Jada has mentored have been accepted to some of the nation’s top schools, particularly in the UC school system.
In her free time, Jada enjoys going on nature walks with her dog, reading, going to comic book stores, hosting TV show watch parties with friends, drawing and making digital art, making playlists for friends, and going to drag shows! She is also a huge sports fan and loves going to college women's basketball, WNBA, and soccer games. In fact, Jada played soccer competitively for 15 years and managed the Maryland Women's Basketball Team, which allowed her to travel to the NCAA March Madness Tournament until the Elite 8 round!
Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania before obtaining a Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University. With extensive experience in student guidance, including five years as a high school mathematics teacher and tutor and teaching college bridge courses to high school graduates, Hannah brings a wealth of knowledge to her coaching role.
As a classroom teacher, Hannah built interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills while providing high-quality support to students, their families, and colleagues. After constantly answering college and financial aid questions, she realized her passion for counseling students toward their higher education goals.
As a coach, Hannah loves getting to know students holistically to understand their interests and passions and help uplift those skills. She is a cheerleader and motivator, believing in students even when they don't believe in themselves. Recognizing the anxiety and overwhelm that can accompany the admissions process, she aims to alleviate stress and always lends a listening ear when students need to vent. One of her go-to mentoring methods for helping students manage tasks is the Pomodoro Technique: 25 minutes of focused work, followed by a 5-minute break, with a longer 30-minute break every 90 minutes. This approach allows her to help students break down large tasks into manageable, bite-sized chunks.
Hannah is excited to support students in the admissions process and ensure they submit compelling applications to schools where they can thrive and contribute to a diverse school community!
In her free time, Hannah enjoys being outdoors as much as possible, where she rock climbs, runs, skateboards, hikes, and surfs. She lived in Hawaii for three and a half years and learned how to surf there. Now, she surfs in a wetsuit in the freezing cold water of New York City at Rockaways Beach! She is also an avid reader, puzzle-solver, and cook.
While we help students learn and retain knowledge to navigate ISEE content with ease, our assistance doesn’t stop there. We also teach valuable test-taking strategies, such as time management, the process of elimination, and more, to ensure students can confidently walk into test day.
We welcome parent involvement and always strive to keep students, families, and tutors in the loop with our detailed progress tracker. The tracker allows families to check student progress, tutor comments, and next steps at any time.
Our matching process ensures students are paired with their best-fit ISEE tutor based on student/family preferences, goals, and needs. We glean much of this information from our initial call and the intake form you provide us with.
Students can be registered for the ISEE using the ERB website.
Using stanines, scoring a 1-3 is typically considered “below average,” 4-6 is “average,” and 7-8 are “above average.” However, remember that your stanine scores are relative and based on the scores of all other test-takers! Since there are many students applying to all types of private schools, it can be difficult to pinpoint what makes an ISEE score “good” – it depends on your aspirations, school choices, and profile strength.
The ISEE is run by the Education Record Bureau (ERB). You can learn more about the ISEE here.
You can equate stanines to percentile rankings in the following ways:
Excluding the five-paragraph essay prompt, the Lower Level ISEE has four timed sections:
The format of the Upper Level ISEE is similar to the Lower Level. Excluding the essay prompt section, the four timed sections are:
The best plan for your child depends on what you’re looking for from our programs. If you’re unsure which program works best for your child, our expert team is ready to guide you – set up a call with us today to learn more!