We think these results speak for themselves, but we’re happy to provide additional references from our amazing parents and students.
SAT TEST PREP & College Essay Guidance
Accepted to Yale Early Action
"No matter what type of student you are, applying to college is a daunting process that Valerie makes easier in every way. She is the “real deal.” I know this because my son, a rising sophomore at Yale, was fortunate to work with her as he prepped for the verbal portions of the SAT and needed objective feedback on his college essays. Valerie helped him improve significantly on both. His SAT verbal score rose from a 720 to an 800. She helped him hone his essays’ main ideas and express his thoughts more succinctly, persuasively, and grammatically! Any student would be fortunate to have Valerie in their corner. She is inexhaustibly patient, crystalline clear, and deeply knowledgeable.”
— Nancy G., Ossining, NY (private NYC HS)
ACT test prep - Siblings
Older sibling accepted to Harvard, Yale, Columbia. Attending Harvard.
Younger sibling accepted ED to Brown PLME (8-year BA/Pre-Med)
“Hi, E. got his scores today: 36 English, 36 Reading, 35 Math, 34 Science, for a total of 35! He is completely thrilled. Thank you again!”
— Karen P., Stamford, CT (The Masters School)
PSAT/SAT/ACT test prep, college essay & supplement guidance
Older sibling: Perfect 36 ACT! Accepted EA Yale (RD: Columbia, U. Penn, Boston University, Fordham)
Younger sibling: Accepted EA Princeton. (RD to Columbia, Duke, Yale et. al.)
“Thanks so much! I appreciate all your help and feedback. I am very grateful for your support and guidance throughout the entire college process from when we began working with you for PSAT and SAT prep, to your patience and additional tutoring when we decided to switch to the ACT, to the great insights you provided into the college process and for G’s Common App essay - plus all those supplements. But in addition to all the tutoring and writing help, your parental wisdom - like the suggestion of taking the dog for a walk to de-stress - was exactly what G. needed most at times!”
- M. Browne, Centerport, NY (public HS, Long Island)
ACAdemic Math Tutoring, ACT Math/Verbal prep
Older Sibling: Accepted ED, Colby College
Younger Sibling: Accepted ED, Boston University
“Valerie and Vickie were able to demystify the ACT test-taking prep hysteria. Various versions of how to study, how many hours to prep, and how many practice tests to take were passed on to us from other parents and professional companies. These notions of a grueling, never ending studying process made us and our child even more uneasy and very overwhelmed. Once we began working with Vickie and Valerie, they became not only our son's tutors, but also his coaches. They made a very manageable plan for him to improve his academic math and English performance and succeed on the ACT. The idea of studying as one practices an instrument was a really user-friendly way for my son to relate to the process as he’s a musician. Through Valerie and Vickie's positive guidance and support, my son has gained confidence to take control of the test rather than the test controlling him. He gained a solid sense of empowerment in all his academic subjects from the strongest to the weakest. We feel that this positive experience has and will serve him in his current and future academic studies.”
— Elisabeth W., Greenwich, CT (Greenwich High School & Greenwich Country Day School, CT)
ACT test prep for older & Younger SiblingS,college essay & supplement guidance for Younger SibLING
Older sibling accepted to multiple schools, attended NYU.
Younger sibling accepted to and attends Washington, University of St. Louis.
Also accepted to: Boston University, Fordham (w/scholarship), Notre Dame, Purdue, Rochester (w/scholarship), UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz (w/scholarship), University of Washington, Wesleyan.
“We are so grateful for your tremendous support throughout A’s application process. She so much improved her test scores (is still so proud of her 36 ACT Reading score!) which was our primary goal, but also learned how to write a good essay in general. A_ had some great of ideas, but didn’t know how to put them together into an essay. Your advice and comments were all very helpful for her to make a good start in improving her writing skills. ”
— Noriko Y., Tokyo, Japan (Canadian boarding & Japanese private high schools)
Personalized academic math tutoring
Rising high school junior. (2022 Update Accepted ED, Emory University)
“It has been an absolute gift to have Vickie! Since working with Vickie, our son has gotten an A on his last three math exams.”
— Julia Samton, MD, NEW YORK, NY (Columbia Prep, NYC)
ACT Reading & English test prep
Accepted to Boston College, McGill, Northeastern, St. Andrews. Attends Boston College.
“Hi Valerie! She did it! She has a composite score of 34. English 36, Reading 35, Math 32, and Science 33. Thank you so much for your help!”
— S. Family, Westport, CT (Hopkins School, CT)
College essays & supplements
Accepted to Columbia University, Duke, Georgetown, Northwestern, and Boston University. Attending Columbia University
"Thank you so much! As an international family, we were somewhat unfamiliar with the U.S. college application process and were really worried about how our son was going to write so many college essays in English. Valerie helped him brainstorm ideas by asking a lot of questions about his life, our family, and his experiences. She seemed really interested in getting to know our son as a person which made him feel very comfortable to work with her. She was very honest and direct, but also very friendly and supportive and he felt really good about his essays."
— David C., Hong Kong, China (American International School, Hong Kong)
ACT & SAT test prep, Common App essay, supplements, and scholarship application essays
Read about how raising Savitha’s SAT score helped her land a full scholarship + stipend to UT Dallas.
“Good Evening Ms. Valerie,
I MADE IT FOR THE AES [Academic Excellence Scholarship] FULL TUITION! I just got an email from the AES Award Department from UT Dallas, and they just finished reviewing my admission packet! They approved me for the full tuition with a $1,000 dollar stipend per semester! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!”
— Savitha Venkatesh, Huntsville, AL (Public HS)
SAT verbal test prep
Accepted to Duke University, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and NYU
“Merci pour ton enseignement à la fois encourageant et pratique. Tu m’as donné beaucoup de suggestions et strategies très utiles pour améliorer mon SAT score et tu as transmis tout cela de façon consistente, claire, et incisive, tout en étant constamment positive.”
— Marine B., Paris, France (Ecole Jeannine Manuel, Paris, France)
ACT Prep
Accepted to NYU, Tufts, UCLA, USC, University of Virginia, Vassar.
"Thank you so much Valerie for the excellent job helping Hannah! Last summer, we paid over $1,200 for a local test prep class which ended up being mostly a waste of time. Thank god we found you and you were able to quickly figure out what a was going on and correct it! She thought she was just going to remain unable to break out of her 28 ACT reading, but your belief in her abilities and your diligence and know-how in correcting what they had told her to do in that class brought the results she needed a 32 in Reading for an overall 33 composite! We can’t thank you enough!"
— Susan and Howard G., Washington D.C. (Public HS, Alexandria, VA)
SAT test prep and college essay/supplements guidance
Accepted to Bates, Boston College, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, University of Vermont (honors program + merit scholarship). Attends Boston College.
“I wanted to let you know that M. received a 750 for the SAT Verbal and 780 for Math. He is very grateful for all your help! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are such an amazing teacher! My only regret is I wish M. had met you earlier in his high school years. We will definitely recommend you to any relatives and friends for their college application process.”
— Jenny S., Lebanon, NH (Public HS)
SAT Prep
Accepted ED2 to NYU Stern School of Business
“I am writing once again to thank you for your help in tutoring Isabella. She took the SAT again this past August and received her score today. Her verbal score rose quite nicely to a 750 and her overall score now stands at 1500. I believe her work with you earlier this year and her brush up over the summer were key to her success”
— Len S., Hampton Bays, NY (Our Lady Of Hamptons Roman Catholic HS, Southampton, NY)
SAT Reading & Writing test prep
Accepted to Dartmouth, NYU
“Thanks bunches for the kind wishes!! You have always encouraged me to push myself and I am really grateful for it! I am 80% sure I will be attending Dartmouth in the fall. I will definitely keep in touch! Without your help, I don’t think I would have made it. Wishing you a year full of happiness and blessings!”
— Seher Ali, BROOKLYN, NY (Bensonhurst HS, Brooklyn)
SAT Verbal Prep
Rising HS senior
“Right from the first session, Valerie really connected with my son Nikhil and was able to quickly assess what his strengths and gaps were and what was needed for him to improve his ACT score. She was able to see that Nik was a much stronger reader than he had thought and his SAT reading/writing score jumped from a 550 to an unimaginable 700! What a great confidence boost!”
- Laurie B, Los Angeles, CA. (Harvard-Westlake School, Lost Angeles, CA)