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All Available Tutors:

Lily Kolman

Director Of Tutoring


Master Tutor


  • Math
  • Science
  • Test Prep
Pace University, Masters of Science in the Teaching of Mathematics, 2006, 4.0 GPA; Yale University, 2004, major in African American Studies, graduated Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in the Major; perfect scores on SAT I Verbal, SAT Writing, Math II, Physics, and French Subject Tests; recipient of the AP Scholar Award for the student with the most and highest scores on Advanced Placement Exams in Illinois; score of 5 on AP exams in Physics C, Calculus BC, English Language, English Literature, French Language, French Literature, Economics, Art History, U.S. History, and European History; National Merit Scholar.
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Lily started tutoring as a high school student, working in her school’s Math and Writing labs as the youngest-ever peer tutor and spending her summers as an assistant teacher in the K-5 summer school. At Yale, her classes ranged from Anthropology and Linguistics to Mathematics and Cosmology. As a freshman, she was selected for the Directed Studies Program, a highly rigorous interdisciplinary course of study in the Philosophy, Literature, and Political Science of the Western tradition from Herodotus to Hannah Arendt. While pursuing her diverse educational interests, she also tutored in the New Haven public schools and started Ballroom Dance Outreach, a student group conducting free dance lessons in local high schools.
After graduating from Yale, Lily was accepted into the New York City Teaching Fellows Program and began teaching at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, where she taught from the fall of 2004 until spring, 2012. She simultaneously earned her Masters in Teaching and Professional Teaching Certificate. She has eight years of classroom experience teaching Mathematics and Physics, with subject areas ranging from Algebra remediation to calculus-based Physics, and has successfully shepherded her students through NYS Regents, SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and AP exams alike.

As Director of Tutoring, Lily brings to bear her years of experience with curriculum development, group instruction, and individual tutoring in both public and private schools to the challenging task of mastering standardized assessments, approaching them from both a strategic and a content-based point of view. She has worked to amplify and maintain test-specific guides totaling over 500 pages in length which focus on critical thinking skills and thorough understanding of content as a foundation, bridging the gap between the exercise of test preparation and the goal of becoming a well-educated and well-rounded student in any context. Her curricula bolster content mastery with test-specific strategy and timed practice, and she fanatically collects data on students’ progress and results, ensuring accountability for students and their instructors and helping tutors to continuously tailor their methods to the needs of each learner. Additionally, she trains every one of CET’s test prep tutors and oversees their work with individual students, focusing on continuous improvement and expansion of CET’s teaching techniques.

Lily herself has helped scores of students improve their test results both in and out of the classroom and has become one of the most sought-after tutors at CET with her unique blend of expertise and relatability. She works with students in a wide variety of subjects and grade levels and knows that every student can and will learn with the right approach. Lily believes strongly in a conceptual, discovery-based, and student-focused approach to learning, building confidence and problem-solving skills along with academic chops. She is well acquainted with the challenges and pressures of a rigorous academic atmosphere and works to engage students through both her own passion for the subjects she teaches and her naturally enthusiastic and supportive personality.

Lily considers boredom to be a sin and spends her non-teaching time immersed in her other career as a Latin Ballroom dancer. (She also teaches, performs, and competes in the cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, and jive!)

Alice Rothman-Hicks-Profitt

Master Tutor


  • Math
  • Science
  • Test Prep
  • Humanities
Columbia University, 2011, major in English and Comparative Literature, 3.96 GPA, graduated Magna Cum Laude with English Departmental Honors, Dean’s List Fall 2007-Spring 2011; member of Phi Beta Kappa; National Merit Finalist, 2007; Recipient of the Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, 2007; Near-perfect score of 2350 on SATs, (with perfect scores on Writing and Reading sections), 770 on Chemistry SAT Subject Test, 800 on Spanish SAT Subject Test; AP Scholar with Distinction: Score of 5 on AP exams in U.S. History, Latin, Spanish, and BC Calculus.
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A lifelong academic high-achiever and extremely versatile and experienced tutor, Alice has worked with hundreds of students to help them excel in such diverse subjects as English, history, Spanish, Latin, algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, geometry, chemistry, and physics. She has tutored hundreds of students for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, SHSAT, GRE, HSPT, and TACHS, all with consistently spectacular results. She also has extensive experience supporting students through the process of writing application essays, at all levels.

As a native New Yorker and graduate of the New York City private school system, Alice is well acquainted with the stress and anxiety created by its pressure-cooker academic environment. She employs empathy, humor, and enthusiasm to help her students solidify their skill sets and develop confidence in their own academic abilities, while having as much fun as possible along the way. Her methodology consists of a systematic, step-by-step breakdown and explanation of concepts and strategies, as well as a keen attention to the details of each student’s unique personality and learning style.

When she is not tutoring, Alice may be found strolling around the streets of Astoria, reading at home with her cat, or writing/singing/recording songs with her husband in their home studio.

Alex Field

Master Tutor



  • Humanities
  • Test Prep
Georgetown University, 2014, major in International Politics with a certificate in International Law, Norms, and Ethics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; graduated Cum Laude with an advanced proficiency in Mandarin; High school valedictorian, Recipient of the Robert G. Hazo Award for the highest weighted-GPA, 2010; National Merit Finalist, 2010; Near perfect SAT score: 2320.
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Originally from Pittsburgh, Alex has always been both a political junkie and an arts enthusiast, pursuing his passion for international relations and theatre since childhood. In his senior year in high school, Alex won the 2010 Gene Kelly Award for Best Actor, the highest accolade given to a Pittsburgh high school student for musical theatre acting, and went on to become first runner-up at the 2010 National High School Musical Theatre Awards, held at the Marquis Theatre in New York City. Changing his focus in college to political science, Alex enrolled in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2010, where he majored in international politics and Mandarin, concentrating his research on China’s role in the global community.

While at Georgetown, Alex tutored for Capital Educators, a standardized-test prep company catering to the DC-Baltimore area. During his tenure, he consistently received top ratings from the more than 200 high school students he tutored. His enthusiasm, energy, and sense of humor promote strong ties with his students, transforming the way they approach standardized tests and empowering them to successfully reach their test goals. At Competitive Edge, Alex has blended his experience as an SAT tutor with Competitive Edge’s proprietary materials and methodology to become an exceptional, all-around standardized test tutor, specializing in the ISEE, SSAT, ACT, and SAT.

While in New York, Alex is pursuing a career in comedy, most recently writing and starring in his own bi-weekly show at the famous Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. You might also catch him skateboarding around the park, or teaching tap dance at an uptown studio.

Subir Trivedi

Master Tutor


  • Humanities
  • Math
  • Languages
  • Test Prep
  • Coursework
The University of Chicago, MS Ecology & Evolution (through the doctoral program of the Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science), 2005, 3.9 GPA; Stanford University, MA philosophy, 2003, 3.9 GPA; The University of Chicago, BA biological sciences, 2000, 3.7 GPA; score of 35 on the ACT; score of 5 on AP exams in biology, English literature, Latin, and U.S. History.
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Subir began his educational journey as a boarding student at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he received prizes in both classics and life sciences. Having acquired a taste for interdisciplinary learning, he then worked his way through the pre-medical curriculum at University of Chicago while simultaneously pursuing an in-depth course of study in philosophy and literature.

Although nominally a student in the philosophy graduate program at Stanford, he continued to break disciplinary boundaries by taking courses across a wide variety of departments, including geology, chemistry, religion, classics, and biology, fusing these diverse pursuits into a study on the history and character of scientific knowledge.

During this time he also began tutoring, both privately and as a graduate teaching assistant, and has gone on to work with many, many students in tests ranging from the ISEE and SSAT to the ACT and SAT as well as the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT. The breadth of his studies has allowed him to connect with students with a wide range of preferences and to employ a mix of explanatory/didactic approaches as needed.

In his free time he enjoys doing yoga as well as pretty much anything artistic or creative. Recently, he began studying Sanskrit in preparation for a deep dive into some of the foundational yogic texts.

Willis Mathewson

Master Tutor


  • Coursework
  • Test Prep
Columbia University, 2013, major in History with a Specialization in American History of the 20th Century; Dean’s List 2012–2013; Hunter College High School, 2009; 99th percentile composite score of 2280 on the SAT I; score of 5 on Spanish AP exam.
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Willis grew up in New York City, where he received a rigorous education at Hunter College High School. But it was beyond the classroom, in the city’s museums and theaters, that his curiosity was continually piqued. Also, on weekends and during the summers, he had the opportunity to study music in programs offered by the Manhattan School of Music and Harlem’s Jazzmobile.

Over the course of his time as an undergraduate, Willis conducted research throughout the city’s archives and libraries and wrote a Senior Honors Thesis on New Deal-era photography projects sponsored by the Farm Security Administration. His accomplished and dedicated professors and demanding but fulfilling classroom curriculum inspired him to teach others. It is with great enthusiasm that he attempts to equip his students with the same set of tools and insights that he has learned.

Since 2013 Willis has tutored students for the ACT, SAT, World History and U.S. History SAT Subject Tests, SHSAT, ISEE, SSAT and numerous AP tests, including US History, World History, Spanish Language and US Government and Politics. In order to provide the most effective instruction possible, he employs a strategic approach to identify patterns in students’ weaknesses and focus on the material that would be most helpful. This involves a combination of insights culled from years of experience with test preparation, and careful attention to students’ unique abilities and struggles. This sometimes requires connecting the material—which can begin to seem irrelevant beyond a single examination or standardized test—to themes and patterns in the world at large.

In recent years, Willis has also worked as a Spanish translator for the Huffington Post, and he has performed as an actor and musician at venues throughout New York City, including the Guggenheim Museum, Pianos, and Bowery Electric.

Spenser Mestel

Master Tutor



  • Admissions
  • Coursework
  • Humanities
University of Iowa, 2016, MFA in Nonfiction Writing; American University of Cairo, 2012, Masters in Arabic Language; Dartmouth College, 2011, major in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic), Phi Beta Kappa (2011)
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At Dartmouth, Spenser wrote for the school newspaper, was the social chair for his fraternity, and dove for the varsity swim team. The day after he graduated, he flew to Cairo to study Arabic in a one-year Masters program. In 2013, he enrolled in Iowa’s Creative Writing MFA program where he studied nonfiction and translation.

At Iowa, Spenser also taught undergraduates courses. His Introduction to Nonfiction course examined six aspects of the genre: personal writing, science writing, travelogue, writing about language, profiles, and political writing. For his Writing for Grants and Awards course, students learned to draft personal statements, grant proposals, Fulbright applications, resumes, and cover letters. Spenser relies on this experience to help students prepare their best college applications.

Spenser currently lives in Brooklyn, works as an independent journalist, and tutors all things ELA and writing related. His students have gone to Ivy Plus, NESCAC, Big 10, and Pac 12 schools. He believes in hard work and discipline but also thinks that tutoring can be casual and, if not exactly fun, then pleasant. In terms of style, Spenser eliminates jargon and pretension, and students who come to him for help with writing can expect to learn specific, concrete techniques to improve their organization, structure, and flow. They should also prepare to revise, revise, revise.

In 2015, Spenser competed on “American Ninja Warrior,” which he wrote about for Rolling Stone. Since then, he’s written about sports / fitness and voting rights for the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, VICE, The Intercept, ESPN, and Men’s Health.

Ruby Letang

Master Tutor


  • Languages
  • Math
  • Science
Université Capitole 1, 2010, Ph.D. in Economics and Applied Statistics; perfect score on GRE Quantitative Section; Harvard University, 2003, major in Economics, graduated Cum Laude with Departmental Honors, recipient of the Duesenberry Fellowship; National Merit Scholar, 1999; AP Scholar with Distinction: score of 5 on AP exams in U.S. History, French Language, English Language; 760 on French SAT Subject Test; 4th in State of NJ, 1998, on National Spanish Exam.
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Ruby is a lifelong academic: after graduating Harvard, she studied Multivariate Calculus and Linear Algebra in addition to pure mathematics including Sets, Groups, Topology, and Real Analysis. She has also mastered graduate level Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics, Numerical Analysis, and Stochastic Calculus.

Ruby has over 15 years of teaching experience: since completing her doctoral degree, she has taught Data Science and Computation at Harvard and graduate level microeconomics at Princeton. After graduating college, Ruby was a private tutor for both a national tutoring agency and a boutique tutoring service in the New York area. As an undergraduate at Harvard, she was a peer tutor for Economics, Calculus and French with the Bureau of Study Counsel. She also tutored low-income students in Roxbury, MA with the Philips Brooks House Association.

She helped students with Algebra, Accounting, Calculus, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Science, Finance, French, Geometry, Probability, Statistics, and Trigonometry. She has also tutored for the GRE and the GMAT.

Ruby enjoys tutoring individuals and small groups to customize the approach to the needs of the student. A unique aspect of her teaching is that she asks questions and follow-up questions to lead students to the correct reasoning or answer. She finds this active style creates links between theory and application and the students can soon implement techniques independently because they have developed confidence and become intuitive regarding their studies.

When teaching quantitative subjects, Ruby encourages students to derive theorems and relationships rather than rely on memorization. Past students have appreciated her ability to create simple, basic examples to illustrate technical concepts.

When helping students with language, she favors learning in context rather than with algorithms. Contextualizing vocabulary and grammar facilitates retention.

Outside of tutoring, Ruby writes software applications and helps companies manage tech talent. She also keeps up with foreign film.

Eli Amzallag

Master Tutor


  • Math
  • Test Prep
CUNY Graduate Center, 2018, Mathematics PhD with 4.0 GPA; CUNY Queens College, 2010, Mathematics and Economics BA; Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society; William Withers Award; Eva Jacob Paulson Memorial Award; 98th percentile on SAT Math and 99th percentile on SAT Verbal.
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With brief stints in the Philippines and Los Angeles, Eli is a lifelong New Yorker. He finished his high school math curriculum early and took college courses in multivariate calculus and differential equations during his senior year, while also serving as a TA for the single variable calculus classes his fellow high schoolers were taking. When he went off to attend UCLA for college, his passion for communicating problem solving techniques made it easy for him to develop a full SAT Math and SAT Reading and Writing curriculum for a local tutoring company. He also continued tutoring mathematics privately and, later, in the math lab at Queens College. After deciding to double major in mathematics and economics, he taught lab classes for econometrics. When he began graduate school, Eli also started teaching mathematics courses across the undergraduate spectrum, from those geared toward non-STEM majors all the way up through advanced offerings like abstract algebra. His evaluations from students and colleagues alike confirmed that his affinity for helping others understand mathematics shone through during his high-energy lectures.
In addition to working with students to improve their grasp on various mathematical concepts at all levels, Eli has also tutored chemistry, physics, and German. His background in standardized test preparation is extensive and includes the SHSAT, the NYS Regents, the ISEE, the SSAT and the ACT in addition to the SAT. Because of all this tutoring experience and because Eli fully understands how different students benefit from different approaches, he decides which methods of explanation will be most suited to a given student and modifies his approach when a student is pressed for time with a looming deadline. Moreover, Eli believes it is of paramount importance that tutors work with parents as a team, so he often solicits input and feedback from families, keeping the lines of communication as open as possible.

When he is not teaching math or developing curricula, you can likely find Eli watching a movie in a movie theater, talking about movies, reading about movies, or trying out some amateur screenwriting. He’s even dabbled in applying mathematical logic to film criticism. Until he figures out a way to bridge his two greatest passions more strongly, however, there’s always that calculus optimization problem about where one should sit in a movie theater auditorium for the best view of the screen.

Sarah Swong

Master Tutor


  • Math
  • Science
Columbia University Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate Program, 2020, GPA: 4.11. Yale University, 2015, major in History, graduated Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in the Major. Score of 2350 on SAT, 770 on Math II SAT Subject Test, 790 on Biology – M SAT Subject Test, 750 on U.S. History SAT Subject Test, scores of 5 in AP U.S. History, European History, English Language & Literature, and Spanish Language, 524 on MCAT (100th percentile).
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Originally from New Jersey, Sarah went to middle and high school at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, NY, where she was principal cellist of the orchestra and an editor on the weekly newspaper. At Yale, she immersed herself in the humanities and majored in History. Her senior thesis on the transnational politics of proletarian poetry workshops in Sandinista Nicaragua won a department prize. She played cello in the Yale Symphony Orchestra, engaged in student activism around socioeconomic inequality on campus, and performed and wrote feminist sketch comedy.

After college, she worked as a creative writing teacher in Sitka, Alaska as part of an Americorps-style service fellowship. There, she honed her ability to design and teach lessons on principles of storytelling, then help students use those structures as launching pads for their imaginations. She then worked in New York City for a nonprofit book publisher as an editorial assistant, where she completed a course in copywriting and editing and edited nonfiction books on issues of social justice.

Through her work as an editor, she felt inspired to become a psychiatrist. She enrolled in Columbia’s Post-Baccalaureate program to complete pre-medical requirements in biology, general and organic chemistry, physics, and calculus. She earned a 4.11 GPA and scored 524 on the MCAT (100th percentile). She is currently a medical student at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She is passionate about serving as a role model for all students who seek to strengthen their mathematical and scientific reasoning as well as their test-taking skills. As a lifelong self-proclaimed “humanities person,” she can especially relate to students who say they are “bad at math,” feel bored by the periodic table, or cannot picture themselves ever becoming a doctor, as she once felt all those ways, too. She has learned to love the elegance and precision of math and physics, the chaotic wonder of biology, and even the meditative attention required to solve organic chemistry problems.

Matthew Ruehlman

Master Tutor


  • Humanities
  • Test Prep
  • Homework Helpers
Northwestern University 2017, B.S communication, Computer Science sequence New York University 2020, Masters in Musical Theatre. Northwestern Performing Arts Grant winner. Homeschool elementary teacher during COVID, specializing in Reading tutoring with the Fundations method. 99th percentile ACT score, scores of 5 on AP US History, Macroeconomics, Statistics. English Literature, and US Government. Scripps Foundation award for excellence in journalism. Over 4,000 hours of tutoring experience, multiple students with perfect scores on SAT and ACT sections, ACT composite score increases as high as 14 points.
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A Cincinnati native, Matthew began tutoring 5 years ago upon graduating from Northwestern University. The highlight of that first year of tutoring? When one of his students said he “felt weird” during the test and later discovered he had mono….but still increased his composite ACT score by 6 points! The wins have only multiplied and magnified over Matthew’s years of tutoring, particular among them the acceptance of one of his students to his alma mater, Northwestern.

Since that fateful first year, Matthew has tutored students all over the country while specializing in the labyrinthine New York City school system and its associated minotaurs: the SHSAT, SSAT, ISEE, and their more obscure cousins. During 2020-2021, he taught a full curriculum to three elementary-aged students, including one child with special needs, as a full-time homeschool teacher. Highlights included teaching two of the three children to read from scratch and leaving every day with many, many Crayola stains on his hands.

For Matthew, tutoring has always been so much more than numerical results. He prides himself on his ability to help students form habits that will last beyond the tutoring tenure – he particularly loves working with students who struggle with time management. As a former disorganized teenager, he can profoundly relate to kids in this particular boat and works with students to build, often for the first time ever, a calendar including all of their assignments and weekly commitments. More than anything, he chose to tutor because he loves to celebrate the wins – when a student who says he hates math crushes an exponential equation, or when the STEM kid writes an extremely insightful literary essay for the first time.

Outside of tutoring, Matthew enjoys making sauces from scratch, continuing to explore NYC (he always loves a recommendation!), and tinkering with computer code.

Anna Winham


  • Coursework
  • Humanities
  • Math
  • Test Prep
Dartmouth College, 2014, majors in Linguistics and English; Graduated with honors; Gender Research Institute at Dartmouth Fellow, 2013; recipient of Stanley Prize, 2013; Recipient of Kaminsky Family Fund Award, 2013; near-perfect score of 2340 on SAT; perfect scores of 800 on English, Math, and Chemistry SAT Subject Tests; near-perfect scores of 780 on US History and Biology SAT Subject Tests; score of 5 on AP exams in Biology, Chemistry, Calculus BC, US History, and European History; Gold Medalist on National Latin Exam. Winner of Ninth Letter’s Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction, 2020 for a “notable” essay in Best American Essays 2021.
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At Dartmouth, Anna’s class choices were widely varied, ranging from Social Neuroscience to The Black Radical Tradition to Design Thinking. Anna’s favorite courses usually had more to do with the pedagogy of her professors than with the content of the courses, grounding her belief that the right teacher can enliven any subject material. She particularly enjoyed, for example, a course on Puritan Poetry with the professor who later became her Honors Thesis Advisor. Anna’s ability to find a student’s enthusiasm in one arena then apply it in another allows her to create excitement in any subject, even test preparation. This attention to engagement combined with 5 years of data-driven experience at CET teaching subjects from Calculus to World History as well as SSAT, ISEE, ACT, SAT, and SAT II tests is the key to her pedagogical approach.
Anna’s teaching career began at her high school in the heart of Silicon Valley, Castilleja, as she participated in a peer tutoring program for middle and high school students, a volunteer tutoring program at a nearby school, and mathematics and English instruction for elementary school students in her neighborhood. In college, she ran writing workshops and taught performance poetry.

Since graduating from Dartmouth, Anna worked as a teacher in somewhat unorthodox settings. At Everytown for Gun Safety in Las Vegas and NYG Strategic Marketing Consultants, her jobs were to train new hires and direct team-building. She focused on teaching, training, and establishing rapport with her team and clients. As well as tutoring, Anna serves as the Development Director for the Poetry Society of New York, Editor-in-Chief for Passengers Journal, and Marketing Director for EdTech startup Biblionasium. Her work has appeared in publications such as Brooklyn Magazine, Grist Journal, New York Quarterly, Oxford Public Philosophy, the Oxford Review of Books, and Meetinghouse Magazine online.

Since Anna has taught a diverse group of people in a variety of settings, she learned how to teach to different learning styles and backgrounds. Finding mutual interests and building rapport allows her to build excitement in the material she is teaching. Her fervent belief in excellence is reflected in students being motivated to their top performance, even those students who are already performing at a high level. Anna’s appreciation for both breadth and depth allows her to forge unlikely connections between subjects, learn and teach in a deep and highly contextual manner, as well as to find points of interest for almost any student in almost any subject.

When she isn’t waxing poetic about the way multiple-choice questions reveal their own answers, you might find Anna performing aerial arts or trail-running ultramarathons.

Daniel Schwartzberg


  • Languages
University of Michigan, 2017, major in Musical Theatre, minor in Latin. 3.97 GPA, graduated with 8 semester University Honors, William Branstrom Freshman Prize (2014), James B. Angell Scholar (2015, 2016, 2017), Valedictorian, Derryfield High School, Bedford, New Hampshire, Score of 5 on AP Latin Exam.
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Daniel grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire, where he spent most of his time pursuing two passions: musical theatre and academics. He performed throughout his childhood, working with professional theatre companies and taking a variety of dance and vocal classes. Simultaneously, he strove to fuel his love of learning by applying himself academically to a wide breadth of subjects throughout his middle and high school years. Latin became a second passion of Daniel’s in high school where he followed an accelerated course of study. He covered the fundamentals in a summer course so he could advance quickly and tackle more challenging material. By his junior year, he was studying AP Latin.

Daniel specifically chose to study at Michigan because the course of study for Musical Theatre, while artistically intensive and far-reaching, also gave students the flexibility to continue studying other topics outside of theatre. Daniel seized upon that flexibility to continue his study of Latin, working in college to translate a variety of different works, from poetry and histories to Roman comedies. In one course, he translated an ancient Roman play and subsequently performed the play in the original Latin!

Since graduating from Michigan, Daniel has performed in several professional productions at regional theaters in Massachusetts and South Carolina, and has been teaching Latin to a number of middle and high school students at all levels. His teaching philosophy is first and foremost to create a comfortable and personalized environment for each student, in which she or he methodically builds upon their existing knowledge base, feels encouraged to ask questions and make mistakes, and where feedback about the learning and teaching process is always welcome. He strongly believes that a solid grammatical foundation is essential for learning Latin and gaining mastery of the language, and therefore his teaching methodology is grammatically based. Daniel also finds that understanding the work being translated is of great importance since each author writes in a slightly different way, which affects the overall approach to achieve a cohesively meaningful translation. In general, he loves teaching because it is unendingly inspiring to watch students grow, and because it provides him constant opportunity to continue learning.

While not translating wonderfully dusty old transcripts, you might find Daniel humming, singing, or generally making music. He also loves to cook (Indian and Thai food are his favorite cuisines), and is always looking for new podcasts and books—and he welcomes recommendations!

Kyra Weeks


  • Coursework
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Test Prep
Harvard University, 2016, major in Sociology with an advanced citation in Spanish Language, 3.7 GPA; National Merit Scholarship Winner; National Achievement Scholarship Winner, AP Scholar with Distinction; Score of 34 on the ACT (99th percentile); Score of 780 on SAT Math; Score of 770 on SAT Writing.
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Kyra is originally from the Metro Detroit area of Michigan where she lived before moving out east for school. While at Harvard, Kyra developed a strong interest in understanding the ways in which people interact and the reasons behind these interactions, eventually deciding to study Sociology. In addition to her courses in Sociology at school, Kyra’s coursework spanned across the social sciences and included Psychology, Philosophy, History, Economics, and Statistics. Kyra has also long been interested in education– an especially memorable course for her over her four years centered on Education in the United States.
While in college, she also continued to take Spanish courses and spent time studying abroad in Leon, Spain. In Spain, she studied Spanish Language and History and had the opportunity to live with a Spanish ‘host mom’ in a homestay. Outside of classes, she was heavily involved in the theatre and a cappella scenes, starring in several plays and musicals, and serving as the Music Director of her a cappella group.

Kyra’s experience in teaching and tutoring spans various settings. In high school, she worked both as a one-on-one math tutor and as the manager of a music computer lab for students. In this lab, she was available to answer questions and assigned students programs used to further their music development. In college, she served as a committee chair for Harvard Model Congress, a group that creates government simulation conferences for high school students. In this role, she led students through discussions on several current event topics and issues. Further, as music director of her a cappella group she was often responsible for coaching the group in learning parts and improving technique. After graduating, Kyra worked as an Analyst with Legendary Entertainment. In addition to working on strategy, she gained experience in training over 30 new hires and interns over her time in that role.

Kyra enjoys bringing these past experiences together as a tutor for the ACT, SAT, ISEE, SSAT, Math, and Spanish. She understands that prepping for exams can be stressful, and aims to help students develop strategies that work best for them in order to feel confident when sitting for the tests. Kyra genuinely loves helping students improve and reaching an “a-ha!” moment on a topic that was once challenging for them. In tutoring sessions, she works to create an environment where the student is comfortable making mistakes and asking questions, as she believes that this is the best way to grow.

Outside of tutoring, Kyra works as an actor in film and television. She loves watching and then discussing the latest and greatest movies and TV shows.

Mark Mauriello


  • Coursework
  • Languages
  • Science
  • Test Prep
Harvard College, 2015, special concentration in Theater Arts & Performance, graduated Magna Cum Laude; 3.8 GPA; Henry Russell Shaw Fellowship for Postgraduate Travel; AP Score of 5 in English, European History, Biology, Chemistry, and Spanish; High School Valedictorian
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Growing up in the Boston suburbs with a lifelong schoolteacher for a mother, Mark has always been passionate about and invested in education. In high school, he advanced beyond his grade level in a number of courses and was ultimately recognized as his class Valedictorian. Outside of academics, his passion for performance led him to serve as the President of his school’s Drama Club. He also served as his Class President and founded his school’s Spanish Club. At Harvard, Mark created his own major and program of study which combined the fields of drama, contemporary art, and performance studies. In addition to his creative coursework, he enjoyed taking classes in the sciences, including psychology and environmental science, as well as English courses like 18th century French literature and the works of Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett.

Mark began tutoring after he moved to New York and loves working with students on a number of subjects, from ACT/SAT prep to Biology, Spanish, and more! He believes the most important thing a student needs to succeed is confidence and motivation. Working hard, working smart, and believing in yourself are the keys to unlocking any problem and passing any test – even the ones that continue well into adulthood! He enjoys working with students to decode challenging Math problems, revealing the operations at play behind a story being told in a word problem or a situation being described by a graph or table. His favorite thing about being a tutor is getting to know each individual student and watching them master a topic or problem that once frustrated or discouraged them.

Outside of tutoring, Mark works as an actor, singer, and performance artist in New York City and beyond. He loves talking about reality television almost as much as he loves talking about uses for a semi-colon and polynomial long division. He also listens to a lot of Fleetwood Mac.

Torrin Hallett


  • Math
  • Test Prep

Yale School of Music, M. M. A. in horn performance, Expected 2023; Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, Performance Certificate, 2021; Manhattan School of Music, 2020, M. M. in classical horn performance, 4.0 GPA; Oberlin College and Conservatory, 2016, dual degree B. A. in mathematics, B. M. in horn performance and music composition, 3.9 GPA; Member of Phi Beta Kappa; Score of 5 on AP Calculus BC Exam; AP Scholar; National Honor
Society; Score of 6 on IB Spanish SL and History of the Americas; 780 SAT II Math.

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Torrin graduated number 4 in his class from Oconomowoc High School and went on to complete a double degree at Oberlin College and Conservatory, the oldest conservatory in the country, where he triple majored in mathematics, horn performance, and music composition. During his time at Oberlin, Torrin tutored over twenty of his peers in math and German and spent a month interning as a teaching assistant for German and Spanish classes
at his former high school. Torrin was also a teaching assistant for four semesters of German 101 and 102. Torrin worked one-on-one and with groups of young musicians in an educational environment as assistant conductor of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra’s wind ensemble. Through Oberlin’s Winter Term program, Torrin travelled to Panama three times to teach brass techniques and direct the wind ensemble in a Spanish-immersive environment at
a Youth Music Camp sponsored by Panama’s National Concert Association.Torrin completed his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music studying with New York Philharmonic hornist Richard Deane and then obtained a performance certificate at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. Following that, he was accepted to the Yale School of Music as a Master of Musical Arts candidate. He took a yearlong leave of
absence from Yale from 2022-23 to perform as co-principal horn of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México in Toluca, Mexico, performing concerts throughout the State of Mexico and Mexico City. He has now returned to Yale to finish the last year of his degree.

Since graduating starting with CET in 2018, Torrin has tutored over 100 students, from elementary school to the university level, in math/statistics as well as the SAT and ACT. Drawing from the techniques of his favorite and most successful college professors, Torrin combines Competitive Edge’s approach with students’ personal needs and strengths, helping them to come to a deep understanding of their material as well as the reasons behind
their answers. Through his work in mathematics and tutoring at Oberlin, Torrin has learned that there are many ways to reach a right answer, and it is important to find one that works for each student and is fun!

In his spare time, Torrin enjoys competing professionally in lumberjack sports; he is a world
champion logroller.

Sugal Sigal Sutter


  • Math
  • Science
  • Test Prep
Columbia University, 2019, Master of Science in Applied Physics; Columbia University, 2017, major in Sustainable Development; Dean’s List 2016; Scores of 5 on AP Calculus, 5.0 on GRE Analytical Writing and 166 on GRE Quantitative Reasoning.
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Sugal’s undergraduate odyssey through the Sustainable Development track at Columbia University involved a vast breadth of coursework, from readings of medieval French poetry to studies on the effects of the 2015-2016 El Niño event on Chinook salmon to proofs of Kepler’s laws. During the fall of his junior year, Sugal immersed himself in French language, thought, and culture by spending a semester studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Upon returning to Columbia, Sugal began working on a research project to investigate the feasibility of introducing a cheap and reliable solar thermoelectric technology to rural Honduran homes. This culminated in a senior thesis and going on to design, build, and test his own solar thermoelectric generator.

After receiving his B.A. in sustainable development, Sugal continued at Columbia in pursuit of an M.S. degree in Applied Physics. His renewable and alternative energy work led him to build a device called a CIRCUlar Coil Stellarator (CIRCUS) to confine a healthy plasma, an essential component for nuclear fusion reactions.

Since graduating from Columbia, Sugal has tutored middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, and graduate students in various subjects, from high school physics, French, and algebra to statistical and classical mechanics, multivariable calculus, and partial differential equations. He taught SAT prep for Baruch College’s high school summer program and currently teaches the GRE and GMAT to aspiring graduate students.

As a tutor for Competitive Edge, Sugal’s mission is to instill both academic skills and intellectual curiosity into all of his students. He caters each lesson to the student’s needs, with the understanding that each student possesses different strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Sugal is always eager to share his personal experience and enthusiasm with his students.

When Sugal is not tutoring, you may find him running through Central Park, writing critical essays in a Columbia University library, or reading up on quantum computing on the subway.

Ava Rosenbaum


  • Languages
  • Humanities
Brown University, double major in Political Science and Hispanic Literature and Culture, graduated Magna Cum Laude (Brown’s highest honor), recipient of the William F. Fichter Prize in Hispanic Studies; member of Brown’s Politics, Philosophy and Economics Society; score of 2240 on SAT I Exam (800 Verbal); score of 790 on Spanish and 780 on U.S. History on SAT II Subjects Tests; score of 5 on AP Exams in Spanish Language and Culture, English Literature and Composition, U.S. History, Macro and Micro Economics; National Merit Finalist 2016.
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Ava grew up in Cary, North Carolina, but as a dual Spanish/American citizen, she spent all of her summers in Madrid. She attended the college-prep school Cary Academy, where she was on the Headmaster’s Honor Roll for all four years. Her senior year she was elected high school president.

At Brown, she took an array of humanities classes focusing on international relations, literature, sociology, history and foreign languages. In addition to her coursework, she was captain of the university’s mock trial team and published articles in Harvard Business Review Turkey and Brown Political Review. Her junior year she studied in Granada, Spain in the Faculty of Translation and Interpretation at the University of Granada. During this time she was selected for Brown’s Historical Memory Fellowship, which allowed her to conduct a year-long research project that was recently published by the University of Barcelona. Upon returning to Brown, she led conversation-based tutoring sessions for other university students and joined the Latin dance troupe.

Ava is now based in Madrid where she works as English teacher and tutor. She has tutored a wide range of students in foreign languages for over three years. She plans to start a master’s degree in Literary Studies at La Complutense in Madrid in September. Her ultimate goal is to move back to the United States to pursue a PhD in Hispanic Literature.

Ava fosters a growth-mindset in her tutees by encouraging them to experiment and push their boundaries. She emphasizes a deep understanding of grammatical and theoretical concepts, believing that memorization will only get you so far. She transmits her curiosity and interdisciplinary-thinking through every step of the learning process.

In addition to tutoring, Ava takes daily naps and unsuccessfully does the NYT crossword. She is warm and extroverted, and loves traveling and meeting new people.

Jennifer Gersten


  • Test Prep
Yale University, BA in English with a concentration in creative nonfiction, cum laude with distinction. Winner of the 2018 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism, a $10,000 award granted by the nation’s top music critics for “outstanding promise” in the field; the Paul J. Block Summer Journalism Fellowship; and the Richter Summer Fellowship in support of reporting in the Balkans. Stony Brook University, MM in Violin Performance, Doctor of Musical Arts (in-progress). SAT 2330; 800 on SAT Math II and US History; 5 on AP English Language and Literature, AP Psychology, AP World History, and AP US History; National Merit Finalist; National AP Scholar.
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Jennifer Gersten is an educator, writer, and violinist from Queens, New York. Having attended Townsend Harris High School and the Juilliard Pre-College Division, a Saturday program for elite young musicians, Jennifer can attest firsthand to the challenges of balancing emphatic pursuits in a competitive city. While at Yale, Jennifer served simultaneously as the editor of the Yale Daily News Magazine and as the co-concertmaster of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. On Yale fellowships, she worked as a journalist in both Toledo, Ohio and Belgrade, Serbia, and also served the Yale Daily News as science beat reporter. During her senior year, she won finalist standing in the Norman Mailer Four-Year College Writing Awards for an essay from her creative final thesis.

Since college, Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer and editor. Her reporting, profiles, essays, and classical music reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, NPR Music, Guernica, Harvard Magazine, and The Kenyon Review (online), among other publications. In February 2019, she was invited to appear on the PBS NewsHour’s “IMHO” segment hosted by Judy Woodruff as an on-air essayist and violinist.

Jennifer is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance as a full-scholarship recipient at Stony Brook University, from which she also received her master’s. She has performed across the country at prominent summer classical music programs, including Aspen and Kneisel Hall, and in collaboration with members of the Emerson, Ying, Jupiter, and other acclaimed chamber ensembles. At Stony Brook, she has served as a teaching assistant to the undergraduate orchestra program. Outside of school, she teaches violin lessons to students of all ages on the Lower East Side.

From 2015 on, Jennifer has tutored the ACT, SAT, LSAT, ISEE/SSAT, and SHSAT, as well as the college essay and academic writing, and has worked both privately and via agencies throughout New York City in a full time capacity. She delights in helping students defuse academic challenges through conscientious, empathetic collaboration. For Jennifer, the excitement of tutoring lies in helping her students realize new curiosities.

When she is not working, Jennifer enjoys solving her friends’ sartorial snafus. She also regularly impresses herself with her ability to solve a Rubik’s cube.

Lydia Jackson


  • Coursework
  • Science
  • Test Prep
Washington University in St. Louis: B.S., 2014, Chemistry Major with Dance Minor; Scholarship Recipient – Joffrey Ballet School; Scholarship Recipient – Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory; Best Dance Film – Triskelion Arts Dance Film Festival; Principal Soloist – The Rogue Dancers
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Originally from Kansas City, Lydia always had a strong interest in both science and the arts. This interest was further developed at Pembroke Hill, one of the top schools in Kansas City. During her time there, Lydia enjoyed taking several college level courses, including Biology and Chemistry. She also competed with Pembroke’s nationally ranked Science Olympiad team. In 2010 Lydia began attending Washington University in St. Louis. She explored a variety of courses in subjects ranging from Chinese Literature to economics, before deciding to pursue a degree in Chemistry with a minor in modern dance. She took extensive advanced courses in both Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry at the doctoral level. While at university, Lydia began tutoring in an afterschool program as a volunteer. She loved helping children develop their skills in English, math and science.

In 2015, Lydia moved to New York City to pursue further dance training at Joffrey Ballet School on a merit scholarship. She also learned how to produce short dance films, several of which have been featured in film festivals around the US. While dancing, she continued to work as a tutor, both independently and with a national tutoring company. Through her experience, Lydia customized instruction for each individual student. This helps ensure a student’s success, not only for their class but for the future as well. She enjoys seeing students master a concept previously thought impossible and build a love for learning.

Lydia now has 8 + years of experience in one-on-one semi-private and small group tutoring with over 1,000 students on the SAT, ACT SHSAT, ISEE, MCAT, Biology Chemistry, and Physics coursework in New York City under her belt. She’s also worked with dozens of middle school age students, and with Lydia’s help, her students have been admitted to Bronx High School of Sciences and Hunter College High School. Lydia quickly identifies and strengthens the fundamental skills students may be lacking. She continues to ensure students receive as much personal attention as needed within the group while building up their independence and self confidence with the material. As a dancer, Lydia enjoys adding a bit of creative fun to her sessions, which helps keep younger students engaged in the material and can provide new perspectives to older students. If one explanation does not work she utilizes her creativity to find one that her students can understand better.

Currently, Lydia is in a post baccalaureate program preparing for medical school. When she is not tutoring or dancing, Lydia enjoys drinking tea, taking photos, and trying to fit as many plants as possible in her apartment.

Kathy Li


  • Math
  • Science
  • Test Prep
Columbia University, Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, expected 2022; Columbia University, M.Phil. in Applied Mathematics, 2021, 4.1 GPA; Harvard University, B.A. in Applied Mathematics, 3.8 GPA; National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow; Columbia University Presidential Scholar; Illinois State Scholar; National AP Scholar; 36 on ACT; 2280 on SAT; 800 on SAT Math Subject Test; 780 on SAT Biology Subject Test.
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Kathy was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Although she still has a fond place in her heart for the Midwest, she has loved the East Coast ever since she moved here for college. At Harvard, she explored a variety of different classes, ranging from computer science to film studies, before settling on Applied Mathematics as a way to combine quantitative skills and real-world applications. Outside of classes, Kathy directed committees for Harvard Model United Nations, worked as a marketing manager for Harvard Student Agencies (a student-run business on campus), and designed pages for The Crimson (the school newspaper).

Volunteering and teaching have been a large part of Kathy’s life since high school. Since her dad was the principal of the local Chinese school growing up, she was exposed early on to the important role teaching can play not only in building an individual’s confidence but in fostering a community. She volunteered as an ESL teacher for adult and elderly students throughout high school and college, serving as the Director of the Harvard Chinatown ESL program. She also served as a teacher for the Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment program at Harvard, where she designed and taught an English curriculum for a class of immigrant high school students in the Boston area.

In addition, Kathy has tutored math and physics and was a Teaching Fellow for a differential equations course at Harvard. The common thread throughout these teaching experiences was how much Kathy enjoyed connecting with her students and watching them grow; she loves helping all kinds of students, young and old, build the skills, confidence, and excitement to learn. She believes that trust is the most important aspect of a student-teacher relationship and always strives to understand each student’s needs and how they learn best.

Currently, Kathy is a Ph.D. student at Columbia University, where she studies Applied Mathematics. Specifically, her research involves developing predictive models for mobile health data. In her free time, she enjoys fostering rescue dogs, dabbling in a variety of creative hobbies (she’s attempting to become proficient at wheel throwing at the moment), and searching for her new favorite coffee shop in the city.

John Tournas


  • Test Prep
  • Coursework
Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2020, MA of Education; Harvard Teacher Fellow, 2019-2020; Harvard College, 2016, BA in Social Anthropology; Richardson Post-Graduate Public Service Fellow, 2016. 5s on multiple AP tests including Literature, Language, Biology, and U.S. History. Outside of core academic subjects, extensive experience teaching music composition and poetry.
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Hailing from Cambridge MA, John Tournas attended Cambridge Ridge and Latin High School where he graduated in the top 10 of his class of over 1500 students. Some proud high school moments include crafting instruments to showcase sound wave behavior in local science fairs, taking college-extension writing courses, and playing at the Panama Jazz Festival with his peers. During his time at Harvard College, he studied Social Anthropology, conducting ethnographic research on music producers in the Boston community. He also joined CityStep, a student-run nonprofit that focuses on movement expression and community-bolding, which started his love of education and youth-work.

Following his college years, he continued on to teach digital music composition in schools and community centers throughout NYC and assist in arts education curricula-building. Around this time, he began general academic tutoring as well, enjoying the 1-on-1 nature of the work and the satisfaction of tailoring instruction to students’ exact needs. He also began to grow his skills tutoring STEM subjects, where he found enjoyment highlighting connections between student interests and class content (for example: incorporating physics into discussions on public transportation, or different functions modeling trends in sports). After a few years of working with students in this capacity, he went on to purse his MA in education through the Harvard Teacher Fellows program, where he taught full-time for a year at the Bronx Community Charter School. Since 2020, John has taken a break from full-time teaching to continue his tutoring work and help conduct teacher education research with Dr. Rhonda Bondie at Hunter College.

Throughout his tutoring career John has taught nearly all core academic subjects, as well as SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, SHSAT, G&T, and various AP tests. He also enjoys working on executive functioning skills with students in areas such as time-management, homework planning, and teacher communication, among others. He understands that the path towards meeting certain academic goals looks different for every student and so always take the time to speak to families and students on their history, desires, and challenges when it comes to tutoring and learning in general.

In his free time, John plays the saxophone, composes music for dance and film, and makes quilts.

Stella Perlic


  • Science
  • Test Prep
  • Math
Juilliard, 2020, Master’s degree in Music Performance (Percussion); University of Rochester, 2018, Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and Minor in mathematics; Cambridge University AICE Diploma, 2014; 800 SAT Math II Subject test, 99th percentile score on the ACT, 5 AP BC Calculus, 5 AP Physics C (Calculus-based)
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Originally from Seattle, Stella participated in Cambridge University’s international high school curriculum, taking A-level courses in math, English, and history. She founded her high school’s math club while also active in band, jazz band, and drumline. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester, Stella majored in music while taking math courses for fun, ending up with a spontaneous minor in mathematics. She also started tutoring students for the SAT, ACT, and mathematics Regents exams.

When she moved to New York City in 2018 to attend Juilliard, Stella added the ISEE, SHSAT, Hunter Exam, and GRE to her quiver. She loves teaching in all its forms and has taught 3rd grade, led percussion classes, and served as a teaching assistant besides her years of experience tutoring. She believes that each lesson needs to be catered to students’ individual learning styles, regardless of the format, situation, or drumstick. Stella particularly enjoys helping students find their love for mathematics by explaining concepts in new ways and scaffolding lessons so they feel empowered to work out any problem.

Stella is still an active performer in New York and frequently plays in orchestras and operas throughout the city and New Jersey. When not working, she loves reading, baking, and taking care of her plants.

Arthur Dashan


  • Test Prep
  • Math
University of Rochester, 2014, B.A. in Economics with Honors, minor in Legal Studies, attended with a full ride scholarship (full tuition, room & board covered); Dean’s List; Recipient of Gilman International Scholarship; 2350 SAT; 35 ACT; 800 Math II and Literature SAT Subject Tests; National AP Scholar; attended the Johns Hopkins University CTY program for 6 years.
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Arthur is an expert at preparing students for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, SSAT, and ISEE. He has over a decade of tutoring experience, and his resume of past clients includes Wall Street executives, heads of television studios, and A-List actors. Last year his students were admitted to Harvard, Penn, UCLA, USC, Princeton, Georgetown, Brown, Columbia, and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Born in Russia, Arthur moved to the United States when he was five years old. He grew up speaking Russian at home and speaks both Russian and English fluently. He attended high school in upstate New York, where he completed 11 AP courses in two years – a school record. He also ran track and cross country.

After high school, Arthur attended the University of Rochester on a full ride scholarship which covered all expenses for four years. In his third year, he earned the Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad in Italy, where, building on his Italian language classes from high school, he became proficient in Italian. During his second year at Rochester, he began teaching, first as an economics teaching assistant, then as a tutor working for the University, and finally as a volunteer tutor working with kids in the city of Rochester. Since then, he has mentored and tutored hundreds of students.

Arthur doesn’t treat any two students the same way. He understands that some students need a thorough review of content while others need to focus solely on the most difficult problems, that some students need motivation while others require inspiration. Most importantly, Arthur doesn’t just teach his students to be better test takers: he transforms them into dauntless learners. He teaches them to forge their own destinies, catapulting them onto higher tracks of success. When parents and students have an academic problem that they can’t solve, they turn to Arthur!

Ash Nanda


  • Math
  • Test Prep
  • Coursework
Columbia University, 2020, M.A. in Economics; perfect score on GRE; University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2018, BS in Electrical Engineering and BS in Econometrics, recipient of National Merit Scholarship, graduated summa cum laude with Distinguished Honors; National Merit Finalist, 2014; AP Scholar with Distinction: score of 5 on AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics B, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP US Government and Politics, AP Comparative Government and Politics; 2260 on SAT; 800 on SAT Math Subject Tests; 35 on ACT.
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A lover of learning, Ash took 18 APs across math, science, social science, history, and English in high school. His love of teaching also started in this period, during which he first had the opportunities to teach math academies and tutor competition math to local Alabama students. Ash carried this love with him into undergrad, where he tutored STEM subjects for TRIO (a federal program to support students underrepresented in university), explored regional history with local high schoolers, and facilitated for a social justice peer dialogue group.

At Columbia, Ash worked as a TA for graduate math and undergraduate economics courses, which entailed leading weekly recitations, holding weekly office hours, and supporting the professor in grading and class administration. Since graduating from Columbia at the start of 2020, Ash has been working as an educator based out of New York. He has a wide range of expertise, having taught classes ranging from computer science to the LSAT, and he has worked with students at the middle school level all the way to the graduate school level. Most often, he works with students at the pre-college (AP) and college level on standardized test preparation and quantitative subjects (calculus, economics, and statistics). He has also greatly loved teaching the Introduction to Business, Finance, and Economics course for the Columbia High School Summer Immersion Program.

Through his experience, Ash has learned how to provide patient and empathetic support to his students. He has also learned to adapt to each student’s unique learning needs. Ash has taught individuals and courses both in-person and online, so he has become familiar with many different teaching resources and modes of delivery. Finally, he has placed profound importance on maintaining positive and healthy relationships with his students and their families, which has led to many past students requesting his support for new classes.

When he’s not teaching, Ash enjoys exploring New York’s diverse food offerings, listening to jazz, and reading fiction and creative non-fiction.

Julian Miltenberger


  • Math
  • Test Prep
  • Coursework
Harvard University, 2022, concentration in Music; graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.9 GPA; Paine Fellowship awardee for postgraduate research. Berklee College of Music, 2023, Masters in Music Performance. Perfect score of 36 on the ACT, near-perfect score of 1580 on the SAT. Perfect score of 800 on SAT Physics subject test. AP Score of 5 on Calculus BC, Physics C, English Literature, French, and Psychology.
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Julian grew up in Philadelphia, PA. His father is a trumpet player and his grandmother is a retired calculus professor, so music and academics always went hand in hand during his formative years. He was admitted to several top universities but ultimately selected Harvard College, where he concentrated in Music. A year after entering Harvard, he enrolled in a dual degree program between Harvard and Berklee College of Music seeking to make the most of his educational opportunities. At Harvard, Julian wrote his senior thesis about Afro-Diasporic music traditions in Cuba; after graduating, he traveled to Cuba, Togo, and Benin to continue his research. At Berklee, Julian excelled as a drummer and traveled internationally to represent the College at various performances.

Julian is the oldest of three siblings, and has always enjoyed working with younger people as an educator (Julian’s siblings decline to comment on their degree of enjoyment). He worked at Harvard as a Teaching Assistant and he has worked for years as a private drum instructor as well as a tutor of English and various STEM subjects. He has a particular affinity for helping students with standardized test prep and essay writing and also relishes mentoring any student beginning his or her college application experience. He particularly enjoys helping students with math of any level, developing strategies to confidently and efficiently work through difficult problems. For students who feel overwhelmed with coursework and extracurriculars, he can quickly identify and demystify the subjects in which they struggle the most to help them manage their study time. He encourages his students to ask questions and puts a strong emphasis on developing academic confidence; he believes that enjoyment of the learning process is the key to long-term success in school and beyond.

Outside of tutoring, Julian lives and works as a professional musician in Brooklyn, NY. He loves cooking and discovering new dishes, as well as watching documentaries and stand up comedy.

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