San Diego SAT, ACT, GRE, and ISEE Tutor Reviews
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GRE tutoring reviews
Brady Worthington
Vince was fantastic in helping me build skills for the verbal text completion and reading comprehension sections of the GRE. He is an amazing tutor — always patient and encouraging. It is incredibly helpful to have someone as a tutor that really cares about your goals and is dedicated to helping you work through specific struggles. Vince certainly embodies that. I really appreciated the time he spent providing specific lessons that helped me build skills in areas where I thought I could most improve. In particular, I spent a lot of time practicing reading comprehension, and in working with Vince, I really improved in this area and ultimately excelled on test day. Many thanks, Vince!
Tina Shekari
This was the best tutoring program that I could have gotten for the GRE. I got the basic plan and 1 one on one tutoring session. Vince made sure I was on track every week, and honestly the basic plan made it seem like i had a private tutor. I sent him weekly updates and he would give me a detailed study plan based on how I was doing the previous week and it worked perfectly to get my target score. I am a pretty anxious test taker and he scheduled a call with me two days before my exam to calm my nerves. I honestly couldn’t think of a better test prep program!!!
General Atiks
Did a session with Blake Jensen. He was very helpful in breaking down techniques for approaching specific problems that had been creating challenges. Would recommend him for guidance on navigating the GRE math section.
Shyam Mukund
Vince's guidance during my preparation directly led to my score increasing a lot over the few months I spent preparing for the GRE. The GRE has a lot of material that I had not looked at since high school. Using Vince's study plan reinforced these concepts for me. On top of this Vince was able to walk me through testing strategies, that I believe maximized my score on the exam!
My experience working with Vince was extremely positive, he is a fantastic tutor and I'd recommend him to people of all ages/levels. I used Vince as a GRE tutor and was blown away by how helpful he was throughout our 3-4 months working together. He is very organized, gives clear guidance, and provides the perfect amount of structure within his study plans / follow-ups. Vince's focus on fundamentals/content first and test strategy second worked really well for me, I felt very prepared taking the test. He also helped me stay positive and remain confident in myself when practice test scores were wavering. Lastly, I appreciated his test-taking tips and mental strategies as I would probably have overlooked these details on my own. I achieved my target score on the first test I took after working with Vince and he played a big role in this! Highly recommend using him.
Guilherme Baratho
My first foray with the GRE was four years ago, but I decided to re-take the exam this past year to apply for PhD programs and hopefully, score higher to strengthen my application. Knowing I had little capacity to organize a self-directed study, I contacted Vince. We had a great initial conversation and from there, Vince created a personalized plan for me. For the next 3 months, we would meet and work on problems and troubleshoot, targeting the areas I needed to strengthen. When I would fail to adhere to that week’s plan, Vince would graciously adapt the plan so that I could catch up and correct course. If you ask me what distinguishes a good teacher from a great one, I would point to Vince Kotchian as the example. Vince is an active listener, adaptable, patient, extremely prepared and engaged. He has everything you would want and need in a great tutor. The result was that I got the ambitious score I had set out to achieve (a significant improvement from my score four years ago!!) and was admitted to my dream PhD program. If you're hesitating to work with Vince, don't!
D.W.
We enlisted Vince's services for our son's GRE prep . Since he already came from a strong mathematical background, Vince mainly focused on the Verbal part and some on the Writing section. But we appreciated that although Vince did not work on the quant part, he still recommended resources to help him acclimate to the type of questions he would face in the quant section. Vince was definitely a professional, and gave out very structured homework and personalized lesson plan. He had a lot of resources, information, and strategies to help in the verbal section. He was patient and cared about our son's progress. All in all, we were pleased with his scores and happy to have worked with Vince.
Matt McPoyle
Vince is an unbelievable resource for GRE prep. He was plenty of resources to ensure you have a good foundation. I used Vince after using Magoosh for 3-months and scoring below my goal on the GRE. After 6-weeks and only 6 hrs of 1-on-1 time, Vince was able to help me raise my score by 6 points (3 in each section).
Hank Hay
I can speak to Vince's value add in regards to the GRE. After 12-weeks of self-study on a popular GRE program, I felt that I was not going to reach my goal score of 330. I decided to give myself the edge and the multi-point bump I would need; I required one on one tutoring and a customized study plan. Over five weeks, I worked with Vince for 4 or 5 tutoring sessions and did 2-3 hours of a customized study plan every day. I took my first official GRE (at-home) at the end of the fifth week with Vince, expecting to have to retake it at least once. I got a 169V, 164Q and 5.5 AWA, blowing my goal out of the water. I give great credit to my work with Vince for this and could not be happier that I am done with this beast of a test. Highly, highly recommend Vince's test prep!
Caitlin McHugh
When I came to Vince, I had already taken the GRE twice after self-studying and leveraging gregmat. My score was not where I wanted it to be, but I felt I could still improve it with a different way of studying. With the help of the customized study plan, discord discussions, and having someone else invested in my success, I was able to raise my score 8 points in 2 months. I don't have people in my network to discuss/study with, so I really took advantage of Vince's willingness to discuss on the discord channel. It was invaluable to work with someone in this way without having to pay the high costs of private tutoring.
Shilpa G.
I went to Vince after several months of GRE preparation. My score had plateaued and I was having a hard time with RC passages. I would often find myself completely lost in some of the harder passages and not know how to quickly and confidently eliminate answer choices. I remember blowing through a couple of passages and guessing wildly. But Vince showed me how to figure out the main idea and efficiently eliminate answers. We discussed several strategies over the course of our private tutoring sessions and each time he was extremely patient with me even when I had no clue how to approach the problem. He encouraged me to attack the passage using different strategies and even when I was frustrated he didn't give up on me. He's great at identifying and zeroing in on your weakness and helping you see some ETS traps. Thanks to him, I scored a 165 in Verbal! Vince really knows his stuff, don't hesitate to reach out to him if you're struggling. Talking through RC questions at length with Vince always helps clarify your thinking and solidify your concepts.
Carlyle Angelo Foja
I first met Vince in March 2022. At that time, he was doing a Q/A in GregMat+. I was asking for his advice on whether I prepare and take the GRE in 6 weeks. He said it was doable, but I should prepare for a redo just in case.
Things did not turn out as planned, however. An unexpected myriad of issues and challenges in terms of mental health, relationships, family, and work came up. These issues, in turn, affected my GRE prep substantially. I ended up taking up to 6 months to prepare, and even so I felt that my personal issues undermined my confidence in my abilities. Sure enough, this was the case. I got 159V in October 2022. This result left me devastated.
Yet, I remembered Vince's advice: I could still do a retake. So, I reached out to him to see whether he can help me reach my goal. There was a bit of a time constraint because the application deadline was in December 15, 2022. He responded to me and took the time to diagnose my preparation prior to my first attempt. He saw that I did, in fact, have the skillsets and strategies but that I lacked the habit of character to implement them in a GRE test-taking setting. Key to this was a thorough use of official ETS material. From this, he made a custom study plan tailored to address these issues.
He recommended me to take his Verbal Reasoning Course, his Dealing with Test-Taking Anxiety course, and to be a part of Discord Server. In addition, he set up a plan for me to go through the OG Book, the Verbal Book, the free PowerPreps, and the PowerPrepPluses in a matter of four weeks.
Vince's plan and Discord has been indispensable for those 4 weeks. Engaging with ETS materials enabled me to see the kinds of patters ETS uses to trap test-takers. Also, the ability to communicate with him via discord enabled me to discuss the most difficult questions and get feedback on how to improve. I ended up asking him a lot of questions on Discord because of this. Consequently, I was able to develop test-taking habits that kept me calm and composed. I felt that I was prepared for my second retake!
And lo and behold! I was able to get 165V! Moreover, I was able to get a PhD offer from my school of choice! I would not be where I am without Vince's tutoring! I strongly recommend his service. He teaches you in such a way that you will end up having the habits and characteristics needed to rock the GRE!
Kyle Lee
If you're looking for a GRE tutor, Vince is who you want! Vince's years of experience as a GRE tutor were apparent from the beginning. I met with Vince twice between November and December 2022 after I had taken the GRE once and scored a 153 Quant 157 Verbal. I met with Vince to work on my Quant score and he was immediately able to get me on the right track to improving my score.
We did an initial 20 minute consultation where he got a feel for where I was at and answered all of my questions which then lead into scheduling two one hour private tutoring sessions about a month apart. In the first session in November Vince and I went over questions that I was having trouble with, went over strategy, and he even put together a broad study plan for me to work on for the next month before our next meeting.
Per Vince's advice, I spent the month working through his study plan and took an ETS official Power Prep test. Vince and I went over the results of the practice exam and he helped me further identify areas of improvement (specific concepts I was struggling with, what specifically it was about chart/data analysis questions was tripping me up, etc.).
In the end, I ended up improving my score by an additional 6 points on my final GRE attempt for a final score of 159 in Quant. However, I had scored as high as 165 on a practice test but seemed to have gotten unlucky on my actual test day. All of that said, Vince is 100% the reason that I was able to make such a drastic improvement in just two months. Thanks for all the help, Vince!
Jack Butler
Bumped my GRE scores from the ~160 range to the >165 range. Vince was invested in my success and taught me in such a way that did not feel in any way patronizing, contrary to some of my other test prep experiences. I would strongly recommend that anyone looking to take the GRE (and probably any other test, for that matter) work with Vince.
Frank Tirado
I started my GRE journey just shy of 4 months ago in August. Although I was super motivated and eager to start studying and preparing for the test, I didn’t have a clue where to start. I wanted to make sure I was getting the most out of my study time and dedicating it to the right resources. In researching popular test prep companies, I came across Vince. Vince’s Custom GRE study plan was a huge help with my studies. It took care of the planning aspect of studying, giving me structure and guidance week to week which is something I value a lot. This allowed me to focus my energy on studying strategically and efficiently rather than trying to figure it out independently and hoping for the best. Adding on to that, most importantly, Vince provided truly useful resources and advice that increased my confidence about the test rather than potentially wasting time on courses that do not adequately represent what you will see on exam day. Thanks to Vince, I was able to drastically improve my verbal reasoning skills by critically thinking about questions I got wrong instead of just moving on to the next one. With the help of the study plan’s guidance and feedback along with the way, I was able to score a 319 which will help me get into a doctor of physical therapy program in the near future.
Emmanuel Carrasco
I am from a Mexican small city, so the idea of standarized tests was very new to me. My first mock I remember I scored 142V in the verbal section. Which is 17th percentile (very low to any university). Then, doing my research I found Vince's method. He has a very logical and simple approach for the test. For vocab, I used his super friendly mnemonic's app along with his instagram page with daily quizes. Then, I suscribed to his verbal precision course which has a vast array of very easy to manage techniques and tools for the verbal section. Yesterday I received my official scores and now I am in 79th percentile and I scored very decent in my AWA 4, which is sufficient for getting me to grad school. My grammar is not perfect, my logical thinking is not perfect either but Vince's prep was definitely perfect for me. Thank you Vince!
Jessica Samuels
Vince was very helpful throughout the entire GRE studying process! In our first meeting, we discussed my short timeline and my score goals. Within the day he formed a detailed outline of my tasks for the week. We then met weekly to follow up on the tasks and go over specific questions. After each meeting I had a list of tasks to do for the following week. In the end I was very happy with my score! Update: I applied to JD / MPH programs for the 2021-2022 cycle. I was accepted to Columbia MPH, Johns Hopkins MPH, BU JD / MPH, and Harvard JD. I have decided to attend Harvard Law and will apply to the MPH with the same GRE score that I worked with Vince towards!
Terence Looi
I started prepping for the GRE in January 2021. Since I was starting essentially from scratch (it had been almost a decade since I last took a "real" math class or even written a full multi-page essay), I knew I wanted to spend January reviewing the essentials both on the quantitative side and on the verbal side, primarily by re-learning fundamental math concepts and building up my vocabulary.
I also knew that at some point I wanted to engage a tutor to help drive accountability and ensure I was studying efficiently. I researched two potential tutors: one that was local to the Bay Area and Vince, who I had come across through various Google searches and who I also noticed was very active on the /GRE subreddit. I initially settled on the local Bay Area tutor, since he had received a decent amount of 5-star reviews and even wrote his own textbook with strategies that seemingly "cracked" the GRE test.
Long story short, this first tutor was much too formulaic in his approach, and perhaps even rigid. And, while the test demands the test taker to "play by the rules," to achieve a high score on quant and especially to attain a 165+ on the verbal, one needs to approach the test not only with a sound methodology, but one must also be able to "finesse" the verbal section. **This is what Vince helped bring to my GRE prep.**
I started working with Vince about 4 months into my GRE prep. Prior to working with Vince, I had previously studied exclusively third party material, including going through the entire Magoosh program (not helpful). Vince tutored me remotely via Zoom. His remote setup enabled us to have fruitful exchanges as he was equipped with technology that facilitated easy learning. I'm including this in my review because my previous tutor did not have the technology to properly conduct remote learning. Vince helped to focus my GRE prep on the right materials (he will advocate strongly for ETS material, especially for the verbal, and recommend only going to third party material for quant). He also worked with me to create weekly study plans that matched the time commitment I had previously discussed with him.
During our tutoring sessions, we spent our time mostly discussing verbal topics. Especially important was how these discussions with Vince built indispensable experience that helped me understand how ETS presents the logic in the TC/SE questions types and what ETS is looking for when presenting their RC question types. As a native English speaker, I had to re-engineer how I read the passages and questions presented in the GRE. My tutoring sessions with Vince helped me acquire the test taking "finesse" in the verbal section that I needed to go from scoring in the 70th percentile (May 2021 test) to scoring in the 96th percentile (July 2021 test).
If you have the resources or know you want to engage a tutor for your GRE prep, I strongly recommend connecting with Vince. And, finally, for some general test-taking advice re: the GRE. Do not let the test take control of you. You are in control of your experience with the GRE. The GRE is a game and you're there to play its 80 little puzzles. One of the best pieces of advice I got from Vince himself: "Be patient, build experience, and take your time with the test." I took that advice to heart and got the score I wanted. So, to my fellow test taker: "Be patient, build experience, and take your time with the test."
Hina Malik
I opted for 1:1 tutoring and had a consultation with Vince who suggested Blake Jensen as the best tutor for my goal, which was to increase my quant score. I really wanted someone who could help me identify my weaknesses and mitigate them. I had taken the GRE twice before but my quant score had plateaued, despite studying and working with another tutor (who was not from VKTP). Having used another tutoring service prior, I can definitely say that Blake's explanations were much clearer and his methods much more effective. He didn't just show me how to solve individual problems, but instead taught me the broader concepts and tools that would allow me to tackle a variety of problems. He has in-depth familiarity with all of the test prep material as well, which was really beneficial when it came to crafting a study plan. After studying with Blake, I was able to increase my quant score to above a 160 and get the score I wanted for my programs. Definitely recommend!
SAT tutoring reviews
Brandon Diep
Blake was an excellent tutor who understood the nuances behind the SAT and strategies to efficiently complete the exam. He was very flexible with scheduling and a very nice person overall. He pinpointed my areas for improvement and focused our work on those areas. Any time I had a question, I could text him and he would respond in no time. After about 2 months of tutoring I was well prepared and increased my score by 240 points.
Pete Boukouzis
Blake helped two of our daughters prepare for the SAT (they are four years apart). Both had tremendous improvement in their scores. While working with Blake, our youngest improved her score by 250 points over her initial practice test! Blake assigned homework regularly and helped motivate them to do it. He was also aware of when they needed the "foot off of the gas pedal" for a week or so and dialed down the HW in those times. I highly recommend him.
Sunshine Alexis Stein
I highly recommend Vince Kotchian Test Prep - specifically Matt Sheelen for SAT tutoring. We were late to the game - reaching out to Matt well under the recommended 3+ months for preparation / tutoring. But Matt created an overall study schedule in the limited time we had which included numerous resources for her to study in between sessions. He understood her challenges (math) and was patient as she worked through difficult concepts. Matt also provided critical insight in how to prepare going into the test date as well as testing tips. Matt was beyond supportive, always available and understanding given my daughter's difficult schedule.
Kemi McKenzie
I was tutored by Matt, and it helped me tremendously on my SAT. I improved by 150 points from my PSAT to my SAT, and I really credit that to Matt. He was very engaged in every lesson, and tailored to me specifically so we could target exactly what I needed help on. He always made sure to clarify anything I needed help on, and I really recommend Matt as a tutor!
Louise Lu
Blake is an exceptional SAT prep professional and helped my son improve his score by 300 points in less than 3 months! He really understands the test and knows how to analyze where my son needed to focus his energy to study. He always had a well thought-out study plan each week using effective tools and techniques. He hosted practice tests and gave solid advice on test taking strategies. He held my son accountable and challenged him. At the same time, he was patient and motivating. My son is super excited about his score!
Holly Vesper
Both my son and daughter immediately enjoyed working with Blake in preparation for the SAT. They found him approachable, kind, positive and efficient with their time. Somehow Blake got them eagerly taking practice tests and learning steps to improve their test taking skills. My daughter’s SAT score enabled her to get accepted into one of the top colleges in the country. My son’s score increased dramatically from his pre-tutoring practice test, to his official SAT score, adding to his resume that he’ll be using to apply for acceptance into competitive universities this fall. All three of us are grateful to Blake and for our experience with his positive and effective approach to tutoring!
Hayden Kuppenheimer
Blake helped me increase my overall SAT score by 240 points! Blake was extremely flexible to my busy schedule, and his tutoring methods were both personal and engaging. I would highly recommend working with him if you are looking to greatly improve your test scores, and knowledge in general.
Jennifer Murdoch
SAT SCORE RAISED 260 POINTS!! My daughter tutored with Blake for three months to improve her SAT score . He is extremely patient, kind and understanding. He pushed her when he knew she could do better or if she got a bit lazy. She really enjoyed his style of teaching. He taught her good study habits and test taking skills. Blake was even able to ease her test anxiety. I will be recommending Blake to every parent I know. He is worth every penny!!
Alex Laughlin
Blake was a great tutor for the SAT. He helped me increase my score 100 points to a 1550 as well as achieve a perfect Reading score in just a month of tutoring. Blake's tutoring method is very effective, giving me skills and experience both in test-taking strategy and with different types of questions on the SAT. Blake provides both excellent test guidance and efficient communication.
ACT tutoring reviews
Makaylee Dahms
I received one-on-one tutoring from Matt for the ACT for a couple months. Matt was very supportive, helpful, and patient. He always supplied ample practice tests, helped me understand the errors I made, and taught me how to improve my timing on each section. Over the course of my tutoring sessions I was able to improve my score by 5 points. Additionally, I received my score goal on my first attempt at the ACT. I could not recommend Matt enough!!
Thomas Spellios
Very pleased with our son's sessions with Matt from Vince Kotchian Test Prep. Matt was flexible in coordinating with our son's schedule and worked closely and diligently with him to bring up his test score several points.
Jaden
Blake is awesome. With just a few weeks of tutoring he helped me get a 36 on the ACT on my first try. He provided me with practice exams and walked me through my mistakes and general strategies for the ACT. He was always very supportive and flexible with my busy schedule. Highly recommend.
Carolyn Whitehouse
My son had private ACT tutoring with Blake over the summer, to prepare for the Sept ACT. To summarize, after a lot of hard work, my son's score improved from a 27 to a 32. Blake taught my son the strategies he needed to improve his scores and also helped my son develop his confidence in this type of test-taking. My son found Blake to be a fun, intelligent and engaging tutor.
Andrea Clawson
Blake was an excellent ACT tutor for our sixteen year old son. Blake encouraged and supported our son consistently. Our son improved his score by five points working with Blake after only 2 months. Blake is kind, smart, understanding and reliable. He was able to identify weaknesses and construct a strategy that facilitated improvement and success. Our son also struggled with timing and I believe Blake instilled some helpful suggestions and fueled confidence in our son from his years of experience in helping other kids manage their time anxiety in that regard.
Julie Parker
Thank you so much Blake! Our daughter was looking for a little boost in her Math & Science ACT Scores. You were quick to orchestrate a plan that included Math Chops combined with your skilled instruction snd patience. In just a few weeks, we saw incredible progress and a jump In both subjects. Not only did her overall super score improve but she always felt encouraged by you and that you were rooting for her the whole time! I can’t thank you enough for your fast communication and guidance. In such a short time you made a big impression on our lives!
Karen Hallinan
We have had an excellent experience working with Blake. He worked with our son last year, and he scored a 34 on his first ACT exam. This year he has brought our daughter from a 24 to 31 after her first group of sessions. Easy to communicate with & really cares about our children’s personal as well as academic success. Very highly recommend!
Sivaraman Gounder
I wanted to write this post and thank Blake for the EXTRAORDINARY work he did with my daughter in training her, encouraging her, and giving her the tools to get a near perfect score on the ACT. I am an educator myself, training medical students, residents, and fellows to be the next generation of healthcare leaders. I will be taking a page from Blake’s book on how to be a better educator and mentor to my medical students on the medical ward. If you are a parent deciding on which test prep is the “BEST” for your child, there is no question, Vince Kotchian Test Prep is worth every penny. I have barely time to write reviews with my busy schedule, but this is a review I am blessed to write. Thank you Blake for making a difference.
Diane Mack
Our daughter worked with Matt Sheelen to prepare for the ACT, and she could not have been more pleased. Matt gave her clear strategies to improve in the areas that she needed to most, and, from her 1st practice test to the real test she raised her score 8 points! She did so well on the actual test the 1st time she took it, that she did not even need to re-take it, as many students choose to do. On top of Matt's expertise, he happens to be a really great guy that relates well to teens (and their parents :-) ). My daughter really enjoyed working with him and we highly recommend him.
Sydney Peare
I tutored with Matt Sheelen with this program and he is awesome!! Improved my ACT test score from a 19 to a 29 in a matter of 3 months. I also live in Arizona, so we use skype weekly for our tutoring sessions and it's helped tremendously. He's very flexible with busy schedules and is incredibly patient. Overall a great guy that truly cares for his students!
Susan L.
My daughter worked via Skype and Facetime with Matt Sheelen for about 6 months to prepare for taking the ACT, and she improved her scores to a high level, but equally important, I think, she developed a positive spirit toward taking the test. In a nutshell, Matt is an excellent instructor on every level. Matt identified her weaknesses and tailored their work to build skills, strategy, and confidence. He is gifted in his ability to explain or reason with students creatively. Matt -- with a rare combination of seriousness and humor -- made the process feel less overwhelming. His work and personal kindness also made my daughter (and me!) feel supported in the college application process. As a parent, I particularly appreciate the positive attitude Matt inspires.
Aashka Sheth
I worked with Matt Sheelen for both the PSAT and ACT. Matt helped me with math and science specifically for the ACT and my math score jumped by 6 points and all my other sub scores increased as well. For the PSAT, I got a qualifiying selection index as well and my overall score increased. Matt was always EXTREMELY helpful, providing me with test strategies and an endless supply of practice problems to ensure I was exposed to any type of problem that I could encounter. All of our tutoring sessions were specific to the areas that I needed the most help with. I would HIGHLY recommend Matt to anyone looking to raise their test scores.
ISEE tutoring reviews
Karina
Matt Sheelen is a fantastic ISEE tutor! He helped my daughter increase her scores significantly. She had never even taken a standardized test before. She had private tutoring with Matt on Zoom for 7 weeks. He was extremely knowledgeable, proactive, transparent, and such a kind person. We crammed in a lot of sessions in a short period of time. The strategy was always fluid depending on how my daughter was progressing. He was candid about her strengths and weaknesses, and when our strategy needed to be tweaked. I appreciated his honesty immensely. She applied to the three best private middle schools in San Diego, and got into two and is waitlisted at the other. I am certain that without his help, she wouldn’t have had strong enough ISEE scores to get into those schools. We are forever grateful to Matt!
Michelle Vanstone
Matt Sheelen was a huge help for us preparing for the ISEE. He was patient, and communicative. Our daughter really enjoyed working with him, his advice and guidance helped a great deal in building her confidence and knowledge base, and she was able to get the score she wanted.
Therese Collins
Matt Sheelen has been a fantastic tutor for our children. He worked with all three of our daughters on ISEE preparation in 2019, 2021, and 2022. As every parent knows, each child has different areas of strengths and weaknesses. Matt was able to assess this very well and has the ability to adjust his teaching style to reach the student. Matt provided in person tutoring for our eldest daughter and online zoom tutoring for our other daughters. Each modality worked very well. During the time Matt worked with our children, we saw a significant improvement in how the girls approached test questions by employing useful strategies and techniques. He also helped them have confidence in their own abilities and a great outlook on how to approach the test in general. My children were very comfortable working with Matt and felt that he would explain how to approach problems in multiple ways until he found a way that made sense to them. Matt was always on time and prepared for their sessions. I have no hesitation in recommending Matt. All three of our children were accepted into their first choice of school. We are very grateful that a friend told us about Matt as their child had a wonderful tutoring experience preparing for the ISEE with him also. Thank you Matt!
Graduate School Personal Statement tutoring reviews
Travis Sena
I had the opportunity to work with Lauren Hammond on a few Statements of Purpose for graduate school. She did an excellent job guiding me on the format that works best for this style of writing and helped me produce the best work possible. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is applying to graduate school.
I am in my senior year of college and was highly recommended to retain Lauren Hammond as an advisor when I applied to graduate school. I could not be happier with my decision to hire Lauren as she is a consummate professional and beyond skilled at providing advice and guidance throughout the entire application process. Lauren is awesome to work with and you would not believe how terrific your final product will be when she mentors you. I would not hesitate to strongly recommend Lauren to friends and family, and I am providing this review without any hesitation. Retaining Lauren was absolutely the best decision I made when selecting a higher education consultant!!
Pawan Rao
My Personal Statement guidance sessions with Lauren were extremely professional and I am 100% satisfied with the service and i recommend it to anyone applying to further education.
Victoria Rushtlion
My personal statement was a great challenge for me when applying to veterinary schools. I often feel paralyzed when it comes to writing about myself. Lauren Hammond created a structured plan to help get my ideas down on paper. She was able to guide me with what aspects of my experiences and personality I should showcase in order to become a stronger applicant. She worked with me for my personal statement and complimentary essays. Her guidance definitely played a role in my successful cycle as I got into 3 schools and will be attending my top choice.
Emily Gayton
If you are looking for help with your personal statement, you need to see Lauren Hammond! Lauren helped me with my personal statement while applying to graduate school for Occupational Therapy. She was extremely helpful, supportive, and knowledgeable! I worked with her over zoom and cannot express enough how helpful she was! I highly recommend her!
Lucy Stone
Lauren Hammond has been assisting me in refining the language/content on my MSW applications this past semester and she has been tremendously helpful. When I first started working on my applications I felt overwhelmed and confused by what the structure of my essay questions should look like. Lauren has provided me with thoughtful feedback and context for how I should display my goals in my applications to bring my writing to the next level. In addition, Lauren is extremely kind and personable and truly cares about her students success. Thanks so much for all your help Lauren!
I worked with Lauren Hammond on my personal statement and she was amazing!! I spent a couple months working with her and it was one of the best decisions that I feel elevated my grad school applications. I came into the first meeting with a draft essay that was basically my resume and was all over the place. Lauren helped me nail down my story and what I am passionate about. I ended up writing an amazing personal statement with great feedback from Lauren that I felt really showed readers who I am. She was super flexible with the times we met and I ended up getting into my TOP choice schools (Johns Hopkins, Brown, etc). I would definitely work with her again!
Zarina Rakhmanova
If you need help with your personal statement, I would highly recommend Lauren Hammond. I am so glad that I found her when I was applying to graduate schools. With Lauren's guidance, I was able to write a strong statement, which helped me get accepted to my top-choice university.
Fiona Wang
I had about 6 sessions with Lauren Hammond to go over my personal statements for PhD/PsyD Clinical Psychology applications. I had different goals for each of my statements (e.g., trim, content development, brainstorm ideas), and she tailored each session to meet my needs. An hour might seem short, but she was very productive and sometimes went over two short statements in one session. She was also available via text for any brief questions or concerns. I am very happy with her service and recommend it to anyone who wants to craft a stand-out personal statement. I thought my writing skills were already good, but the final product, including her revisions, turned out even better than I expected.
Mira Park
Lauren Hammond was so incredibly helpful with my personal statements for grad school. I really needed help with organization, staying focused on a coherent narrative and content-building, which she was phenomenal with. She's also a really sweet person and a pleasure to work with! Can't recommend her enough.
Lily Annino
Lauren helped me out SO much with my MFT graduate school essays. I've already gotten an interview from two schools, and I was incredibly happy with the essay results. 110% would recommend her! Thank you so much Lauren.
Mikayla Haas
As I was applying to PhD programs, I was struggling to write my personal statements. I searched online for hours to try and find something or someone that looked worth spending the money on and I came across Lauren Hammond at Vince Kotchian Test Prep. I was only planning on doing maybe one session to help get me started but Lauren was SO good that I continued working with her for weeks. She gave such valuable feedback and felt like she truly cared about making my work the best it can be. I even recommended her to my other colleagues who were applying to grad school and they felt the same way. I currently have 3 interviews for grad school and I couldn't have gotten those without her help!
Renee Begin
Lauren Hammond was amazing. She provided me with thoughtful feedback that structured and strengthened my graduate school application essays. She was great at asking questions to push me to be a better writer. You can tell she genuinely cares about her students and wants to see you succeed. Additionally she is flexible in scheduling and will make deadlines work with your timeline. I was accepted into my top school choice and appreciate Lauren for her help in the process. If you or someone you know is looking for an essay tutor for graduate applications, Lauren is definitely the best!