Meet Our Staff

...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.F.A. in Film/Video from CalArts; earned a M.F.A, in Film/Video from Bard College
Hobbies	Spending time at the New Beverly Cinema, concerts at Disney Hall, hiking the secret stairs, Scandinavian design, waiting/hoping for Philip Glass to come to Los Angeles for live performances, reading Fran Lebowitz, binging on television shows, operating my air fryer, and keeping the spirit of Jonathan Gold alive by trying to eat at every single restaurant on Pico Blvd!
General Strengths	Nursing programs, academic writing, organizational skills, creative writing, technical writing, standardized test advisement, literary analysis, international student application process, major advisement/selection, editing and proofreading college essays, social science programs, financial aid (need-based aid), resume review/evaluation, pre-college summer programs, course selection for high school, college audition preparation for performance tracks, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, UC specialization, International Baccalaureate (IB), non-traditional student application process, course selection for undergraduate programs, journalism programs, humanities programs, business school applications, Cal State specialization, foreign college/university application process, college list building, film programs, public health programs, highly selective colleges/universities specialization, high school selection, transcript analysis, extracurricular/resume development, application review, personal statement brainstorming and composition, business programs, scholarship search (merit-based aid), liberal arts school specialization, interview skills, art portfolio building and review, dance programs, visual arts programs, performing arts programs, musical theatre programs, classical performance and composition music programs, contemporary music programs, music industry programs, design and media arts programs, film, television, and digital media, acting programs, studio art programs, career assessment tools
Related Experience	Several years as a Director of College Counseling in high schools for students enrolling in top colleges; 15 years in leadership positions in selective Liberal Arts and Visual/Performing Arts colleges; over 20 years of essay editing and guidance experience; skilled at encouraging resilience and strength of character in students; coach students to be admitted to highly selective colleges

Education	Earned a B.A. in English and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania
Hobbies	Creative writing, tap dancing, cross-stitching, community involvement, swimming, online word games, consuming way too much licorice, and crushing the competition in charades
General Strengths	Organizational skills, creative writing, study skills, literary analysis, summer enrichment planning, major advisement/selection, editing and proofreading college essays, social science programs, resume review/evaluation, pre-college summer programs, course selection for high school, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, UC specialization, college research and advisement, course selection for undergraduate programs, journalism programs, humanities programs, Cal State specialization, college list building, film programs, highly selective colleges/universities specialization, high school selection, transcript analysis, extracurricular/resume development, application review, personal statement brainstorming and composition, business programs, scholarship search (merit-based aid), liberal arts school specialization, interview skills, visual arts programs, film, television, and digital media, career assessment tools, gap years, architecture programs
Related Experience	Accomplished college counselor and professional writer with valuable expertise in creative marketing to help students define their interests and differentiate themselves authentically; provides student-focused mentorship and individualized tools to successfully strengthen college readiness, sharpen critical thinking skills, and develop best-fit school lists; essay specialist known for encouraging and effective guidance in aiding students to find their unique voice and ideas for stand-out writing; 7 years college counseling experience for non-profit and private clients; alumni interviewer for the University of Pennsylvania; 10+ years as a senior creative director/marketing executive at film studios; children’s book author; marketing copywriter; personal biographer; creative writing instructor; Vanderbilt parent

Libby H.

Lynelle K.