Meet Our Staff | Great Expectations College Prep

...I couldn't be happier with Great Expectations...My son feels very fortunate to be attending the perfect school for him, a school that was actually recommended by Nicole in one of their first online meetings. Everyone at Great Expectations was knowledgeable, and on top of their game, and I feel very fortunate that my son was matched with Nicole throughout this process.

Brooks R. (parent), Los Angeles, CA

A huge thank you to Ryan S, my son's ACT test prep tutor. He was kind, patient, extremely helpful, and very attentive to helping my son prepare for the ACT. He challenged him and was always available to answer any questions or concerns that either of us had. I have used GE test prep in the past for my daughter and highly recommended them. Jen and her team are outstanding and I couldn’t be more happy.

Kelly M. (parent), Garden Grove

Great Expectations College Prep is an amazing, hands on company. They care so much about their clients, offering services of general tutoring, ACT and SAT prep, as well as guiding students all the way through the college admissions process in a professional and experienced manner. Their owner, Jen, is a caring, intelligent, wonderful role model! Her staff is the best of the best, namely Chelese who works with transfer students, and helped me to achieve admission to my dream school. Highly recommend!

Isabella M. (student), Pacific Palisades

I had Jeannie as a tutor, and she was great! With her help, my ACT score when up 6 points. She tailored our sessions to spend the perfect amount of time on both review and practice, and she was super reasonable with how much homework/practice I had to do on my own time. Her explanations were always very concise, and she would give me testing strategies that were fitting to my own strengths/weaknesses. I struggled with timing on the reading section, and she helped me plan the order of the passages and which ones I should skim to save the most amount of time. My reading score improved by 12 points! I had a super good experience with Great Expectations, and as you can tell, my tutor too!

Elle M. (student), Hermosa Beach

Worked with Nicole with both of my daughters - I can't speak highly enough. She is thoughtful, consistent, diligent. Great access, great relationship with our daughters -- great results!

Joan K. (parent), Santa Monica

Meghan made the process infinitely easier! The sense of calm. The creativity. The sense of humor. The knowledge of the schools. Her valuable suggestions vis-à-vis the essays. I cannot begin to do Meghan justice in my words. Thank you! Thank you!

Karin O. (parent), Pacific Palisades

Our tutor really understood how to help my daughter prepare for the SAT. He was able to identify early on the specific areas where she needed to improve, and most importantly, what type of preparation she needed to do in order to make those gains. Thanks to a 510-point improvement, my daughter will be attending Stanford University in the fall. Thank you!

Susan H. (parent), Santa Monica

Great Expectations matched me with the best tutor I’ve ever worked with. For someone who cannot take a standardized test to save my life, my tutor helped me truly grasp the concepts and different approaches to each section. Not only did my score improve more than 300 points, but the time flew and it never felt like tutoring. She was a joy to be around and an amazing motivator.

Clara C. (student), Santa Monica

Knowledgable, caring counselors who are dedicated to helping your children with the college submission process. Jennifer and her team can help set manageable expectations and take the scary out of the college admission process.

Shirley B. (parent), Pacific Palisades

Between the SAT/ACT prep and the college planning process sending my two daughters off to college was pretty easy and stress free. Jen and her handpicked staff are excellent! I've always been contacted to make sure that the tutor and my child are a good fit and the progress being made (I love the follow-up emails after each tutor session keeping me updated). Most importantly I feel Jen and her tutors communicate very well with my kids, which in turn gave confidence to my girls to take ownership of their own college process. I'll have daughter number 3 for them to guide in 2 more years!

Hanna O. (parent), Manhattan Beach

Education	Earned a B.A. in Psychology (pre-med) with a minor in Global Health from Northwestern University
Hobbies	Improv, dance (Bollywood, salsa, jazz), cooking, writing funny songs, making silly videos for my nieces, non-dairy gelato, co-op board games, Survivor, watching League of Legends with my husband and being shocked that I actually understand what’s happening, and obviously...DA BEARS!
Test Prep	ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing)
Academic Subjects	Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, American Literature, British Literature, World Literature, Biology, AP Biology, Molecular Biology, Physiology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Physics, French I, French II, French III, French IV, Psychology, AP Psychology, World Religions, Parenting & Child Development
General Strengths	Breaking down complex scientific concepts, grammar rules, essay writing, breaking through creative blocks, design thinking, public speaking, story analysis, storytelling, making academic work fun, elementary education, academic writing, organizational skills, managing test anxiety, speed reading skills, creative writing, study skills, reading comprehension, technical writing, standardized test advisement, literary analysis, students with learning differences, test-taking psychology, college-level coursework, students with ASD, elementary education, academic writing, organizational skills, managing test anxiety, speed reading skills, creative writing, study skills, reading comprehension, technical writing, standardized test advisement, literary analysis, students with learning differences, test-taking psychology, college-level coursework, students with ASD
Related Experience	Worked as a “standardized patient” - helping medical students prepare for high stress clinical exams; served as a teaching artist in Chicago Public Schools - teaching math and literacy with dance; worked with gifted students as a teaching assistant at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development; was a peer-tutor for Biology students in undergrad; studied the role of Performance in Public Health in Uganda; received the America India Foundation’s Clinton Fellowship to do research on the effects of domestic violence on public health in South India; wrote, edited, and hosted a show for NDTV-HINDU; assisted in new play development workshops at The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis; served as a primary French translator for three weeks en Provence; individual coaching experience; career track switches

Elyse D.