Meet Vince, Blake, Matt, & Lauren
Hello! Vince here. Welcome to our little test prep company.
Below, you'll find bios for me, Blake, Matt, and Lauren. Feel free to contact any of us directly with questions.
Meet Vince Kotchian
Vince: I grew up in Connecticut and completed the honors program at Boston College. I moved to San Diego in 2007, and I’ve been working full-time as a test-prep tutor ever since. I've scored a perfect 170 in verbal (three times) and a 167 in quant (twice) on the real GRE.
GRE prep is literally all I do. I've co-authored GRE prep books and created GRE courses and apps, but I spend most of my days working with people one-on-one. I enjoy tutoring since it's a conversation, and discussion is actually what makes the process so valuable.
It lets me follow what you're thinking and focus on what you need most, whether that's content (like understanding math concepts), strategy (like figuring out if a reading comprehension answer choice is right or wrong), timing, or even something like study skills, test anxiety, or test-taking skills.
My goal is to help you both master the GRE and be efficient and productive with your study time. If you're applying to a competitive program and want to give yourself every possible chance to score well, I'm your guy. If you want a sample of my opinions first, here is my take on what most GRE advice gets wrong.
Vince is a true GRE specialist - he's one of the very few tutors out there who ONLY teaches GRE prep. His publications include Barron's 6 GRE Practice Tests, LinkedIn Learning's GRE prep course, and the apps "GRE Math Knight" and "GRE Vocab Cartoons". He also teaches for GregMAT+ and is a moderator of the GRE subreddit.
Meet Blake Jensen
Blake: I’m a native San Diegan, father, and an aficionado of basketball, vintage video games, pitchy karaoke, and lecturing my son on how much better Star Wars was "back in the day." I played college basketball at St. Mary’s College and Whittier College, where I earned my B.A. in Psychology in 2002.
I’m an SAT and ACT specialist with nearly 20 years of experience guiding elite students to top college admissions and scholarships. As a former Division 1 college basketball player, I understand the pressure of high-stakes performance and the demands of being a competitive student-athlete.
Test-taking tricks only go so far. I teach students to see what each question is actually asking and to spot the patterns the test repeats, which makes them faster and more accurate under pressure.
This is especially valuable for recruited athletes, where hitting Academic Index targets can make or break a scholarship offer, even for blue-chip recruits. I recently helped a fencing athlete earn a perfect 36 on the ACT, which led to his recruitment at Johns Hopkins.
My students have earned perfect scores and big improvements and gone on to Ivy League and other top universities, and several of my students’ families have received over $200,000 in scholarships.
I specialize in scholar-athletes, especially recruits in sports like fencing, golf, and squash, where admissions still require top academic credentials. But I still enjoy working with any student who has ambitious goals and the motivation to reach them.
Blake offers SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT tutoring, and works with both students in the US and in the UK / Europe.
Meet Matt Sheelen
Matt: I am originally from Hopkinton, Massachusetts - the start of the historic Boston Marathon. I went to college at Northwestern University, where I graduated with a degree in Theatre. After college, I wised up and moved to the warmer coast. I worked in Los Angeles for many years as a full-time SAT / ACT tutor and part-time arts educator.
I have been tutoring for nearly 20 years and have spent thousands of hours helping students improve their scores. Recently, I moved to San Diego after getting a M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and I currently work as a credentialed classroom teacher.
When I’m not working, I enjoy good books, performing improv comedy, surfing, watching Game of Thrones, and enjoying the charms of San Diego. I live in North Park, where I love to get out and take advantage of all the delicious food in the area.
I am also a huge Boston sports fan - the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics are my favorite teams. I usually have something in common with every student - my interests are really diverse!
Matt offers ISEE tutoring.
Meet Lauren Hammond
Lauren: I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and Writing, with a concentration in Writing, at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and my Master’s Degree in English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University (SDSU).
I completed my PhD in English at the University of California Riverside (UCR) in September 2023 and then worked as UCR's Graduate Writing Center Specialist and graduate Fulbright Program Advisor. I now teach at Azusa Pacific University, where I'm an Assistant Professor and Lead Faculty in the Writing Program.
I have been a writing consultant for more than 10 years, and I've helped people with research writing, thesis/dissertation projects, rhetorical and literary analyses, writing in the humanities, grammar/sentence mechanics, and more. My work for VKTP includes thesis and dissertation editing and coaching, especially in the humanities and social sciences, as well as graduate school application materials such as personal statements, diversity statements and research statements, and job market materials for academic and alt-academic positions, including resumes, CVs and cover letters.
During my downtime, I love hanging out with my husband, our daughter, and our two dogs, Link and Leia! My favorite activities are going on the boat, cruising on the golf cart, and making our way through all of the local eateries. When we aren’t out and about, I typically enjoy reading and watching movies.
Lauren can help with:
- MBA personal statements
- PsyD personal statements
- Physician Assistant personal statements
- Physical Therapy personal statements
- Speech-Language Pathology personal statements
- Occupational Therapy personal statements
- Marriage and Family Therapy personal statements
- Master's degree personal statements
- Master of Public Health personal statements
- Medical residency personal statements
- Nursing school personal statements
- Veterinary School personal statements
- PhD personal statements
- Post doc personal statements
- Fellowships and grants personal statements
She is, of course, happy to work with people applying to any type of graduate program.