Classes Provided
Tutoring that wants you to learn how to never need tutoring again.
College Essay
My classes draw on my background as a creative writer to offer continuous creative feedback. My students write essays that go beyond the student’s conviction that “nothing interesting ever happened to me” to find the original, creative stories. These stories form a continuous thread of narrative that explain why that student deserves to go to their dream school, and why that school would benefit from having such an engaging, exciting student be part of their community.
College Counseling
The college list—either as it changes or stays the same— is integral to the college essay process, and therefore I also offer college counseling courses. I advise students in crafting their college list and in standing out to colleges throughout the college application process. Beyond the basic categorization of “reach, target, and safety” schools, I use the student’s own enthusiasm from our sessions to create a taxonomy of ideal academic environments.
SAT/ACT Prep
SAT/ACT prep with East Bay College Prep focuses on both short term “tricks” to get higher scores and long-term skills building such as reading comprehension and double-checking complex problems. This unique approach means that your student will both see results in his or her score very quickly and see improvement in more complex academic skills over time.
AP Prep
The AP Test is difficult for students mainly because most students rely on their teacher to prepare them, and a classroom is not the ideal environment for test prep. Test prep relies on quick thinking, weighing your options, timing a difficult sections of the test, and looking at questions from the perspective of a test writer. Classroom work should ideally involve deep, creative thinking, which is antithetical to test thinking. We prepare the student to get their best score by being transparent and thorough in introducing the student to what the test entails, and training them in “test thinking.”
GPA Executives
Getting your best grades involves more than hard work. It involves organization of materials, planning of study times, communication with teachers and other administrators, and in becoming the boss of your future. At East Bay College Prep, raising your grades means raising your executive functioning. Raising your executive functioning means thinking like an executive: taking control, taking responsibility, and knowing when and who to ask for help.
Essay Writing
Essay writing is a skill that is increasingly not taught in the average freshman or sophomore high school class thoroughly. And yet, by the time a student gets to his or her junior year, the student is expected to be essay-writing experts. Furthermore, this skill is expected on the ACT, in college applications, and in any college environment. Catch up or get a jump on this skill by taking a general essay writing class, and learn how to write an essay that is creative, academic, and exceeds the instructor’s expectations.