Mark earned a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. His passion for helping students led him to become an admissions coach, aiming to make the college application process less stressful and daunting. Professionally, he has served as a consultant at IBM.
Mark finds coaching to be dynamic and exciting. He believes it's enriching for both himself and the students; he helps ease their stress while they reflect, ask tough questions, and grow through the process.
As a coach, Mark compares himself to a therapist; to help students achieve success, he aims to understand each one deeply. By doing so, he can help match them with the perfect college and enable them to build a more comprehensive application narrative. If a student is involved in a club, Mike enjoys learning about what inspired that interest. If students play sports, he determines whether that interest is driven by competitiveness or a desire for community. Mark believes every application should paint a clear picture so that the admissions board gains a sincere understanding of the student.
Marks believes that inculcating a growth mindset is incredibly important. He emphasizes that nothing is permanent and reminds students that their starting point isn't fixed; improvement is always possible with effort.
In his free time, Mark enjoys going to the gym, long-distance running, recreational tennis, reading, writing short stories, and spending time with his two pet bunnies, Luna and Benny!
Rhea completed her Bachelor of Science in Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics with honors at UC Santa Cruz and is currently completing her Master of Business and Science in Drug Discovery and Development at Rutgers University. In college, she won both the Dean's and Chancellor's Awards for her senior thesis, adding to her rich research profile. She also has six years of tutoring experience, including being a STEM tutor at the high school and college level and being an academic coach for various math and science courses. Rhea has helped students get into several prestigious schools, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Cornell, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Rhea deeply values education and understands its profound impact on shaping future success. She is dedicated to empowering all students to reach their full potential, whether it's mastering subjects or achieving top scores on the SAT for college admission. She specializes in ACT and SAT tutoring as well as math, biology, chemistry, and English at any level, including AP.
Rhea’s tutoring style is fun but focused. She avoids long lectures and creates an interactive, judgment-free learning environment where positive reinforcement and encouraging words are used to motivate students. She kicks off sessions with a thorough content overview, providing examples and walking students through problem-solving techniques, with a particular focus on efficiency. After presenting the material, she encourages students to recap what they've learned and ask questions. Practice problems follow, but Rhea ensures students prioritize understanding the problem-solving strategies rather than simply arriving at the correct answer. Once students have a solid grasp of the strategies, she shifts her focus to accuracy and timing, ensuring they're fully equipped to tackle any challenge that comes their way.
Rhea is adept at helping students tackle learning obstacles head-on. When faced with challenging material, she understands the importance of shifting perspectives or simply taking a break to reset. Rhea often asks students about their interests or weekend plans, allowing them to take a breather and return to the material with a renewed sense of focus and motivation. Rather than overwhelming students with continuous content or labeling concepts as "easy" or "hard," Rhea focuses on simplifying the material and providing relatable examples or analogies. By doing so, students can approach the content with a refreshed mindset and greater openness. Moreover, Rhea emphasizes the significance of embracing mistakes as part of the learning process. She reassures students that it's perfectly normal not to grasp concepts immediately and encourages them to view errors as opportunities for growth.
In her free time, Rhea likes to dance, take pictures, go boxing, find new hiking spots, and travel. She has been to over 15 countries!
Matthew graduated from East Stroudsburg University but was also accepted to Penn State University. He boasts over 20 years of teaching experience. He currently works for the Berwick Area School District as an AP Physics and AP Capstone teacher. As a dedicated teacher, Matthew recognized the opportunity to extend his impact beyond the classroom to help even more students, which is why he started tutoring. He has been instrumental in guiding numerous students to realize their dreams, even facilitating admissions to esteemed institutions such as MIT, Columbia, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, and more.
Matthew's passion for tutoring is fueled by his enjoyment of one-on-one engagement with students and helping them acquire new skills. He finds immense satisfaction in assisting students in reaching their academic goals more efficiently than anticipated. He specializes in tutoring AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Mechanics, AP Electromagnetism, AP Research, High School Physics, and College Physics.
As a tutor, Matthew emphasizes a hands-on learning approach. He tries to provide each student with opportunities to experience the material that is being taught. Whether it be physical demonstrations, online simulations, or discussions about their observations in the physical world, he ensures that each student can relate to and remember their lessons. He also enjoys forming relationships with students and getting to know their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations, to provide them with the most comprehensive and tailored support.
Matthew excels at keeping students engaged and interested. He views student success as a direct reflection of his own accomplishments as an instructor, which is why he incorporates innovative approaches into his lessons. He never lectures for more than 5 minutes a lesson and prioritizes student participation. Using conversation as a diagnostic tool, Matthew skillfully identifies gaps in the foundation, enabling students to build a deeper understanding. While he’s an expert in AP Physics and Capstone course content, he also possesses an in-depth understanding of their exams. Matthew even developed a specialized "recipe" to guide students toward qualifying scores and college credit.
Beyond tutoring, Matthew enjoys spending time with his twin sons, coaching tennis, and playing golf. He is a strong advocate for exercise being just as important to one’s well-being as education.
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