When to Hire a Test Prep Tutor

Jake Beckhard, Test-Prep Specialist

An experienced tutor, especially in the realm of test prep, Jake has tutored for tests including History AP Exams, the ACT, SAT, SCAT, and SHSAT, and subject tests including English Lit, U.S. History, and World History. Jake is an arts educator and teacher originally from Washington, DC, where he developed his passion for teaching as a test prep tutor and a civics buff. His connection to the nation’s capital has been a defining factor in his passion for the myriad perspectives of US history. He has half a decade in professional tutoring experience, especially in the world of test prep. Jake is committed to engendering his students with a sense of ease and confidence by cascading concepts inside and between subjects – spurring a momentum of learning for his students that they can carry with them to the test and beyond. You can find Jake in his spare time poring over the bargain books section at the Strand bookstore or watching plays and musicals in New York’s theatre scene.

Benjamin Gordon Chase

Benjamin has taught the SAT, SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, and ACT tests for many years.  He is comfortable and experienced supporting a variety of age groups from Middle School to Upper School.  He worked for several years at a private company in Los Angeles before returning to his native New York.  Ben attended the Collegiate School before going to Tufts University where he majored in Political Science.  Following Tufts he received his Masters from Brown University.  He is also a published poet and writer.  Ben loves New York sports and is just as happy talking about the Knicks, Yankees and Rangers as he is reading comprehension and math.  He volunteers with the Battery Park Conservancy and GrowNYC.

Caitlin Cassidy, Test-Prep Specialist

Caitlin specializes in test prep including the SAT, ACT, AP’s, SAT II’s, and ISEE/SSAT. Caitlin is a highly experienced tutor who has worked with hundreds of students over the past ten years in New York, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C. In addition to private tutoring, Caitlin has taught at Georgetown University and Northwestern University of Qatar, and offered workshops in theatre to students in Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia. A graduate of Georgetown University, she holds an M.F.A. from the University of Essex, London.

Matt Christian, Test-Prep Specialist

Matt graduated cum laude from Harvard University where he was a teaching assistant at Harvard Summer School.  As a tutor, Matt’s primary focus is ACT and SAT prep and he enjoys helping students discover new test-taking strategies and witnessing his students arrive at “aha!” moments.  Additionally, he has worked with students on a multitude of subjects from math and physics to English.  Matt encourages his students to embrace their intellectual curiosity and develop a passion for learning.

John DiResta, Test-Prep Specialist

John holds a B.A. in English from Columbia University in New York City and an M.F.A in theater directing from Northwestern University. John has 10+ years experience teaching at the high school and middle school level, and worked as a classroom teacher, teaching artist, and director of education for several New York City not-for-profits. His experience as an educator ranges from some of New York City’s most prestigious private and public schools to some of its most underperforming. In addition, John has taught undergraduates theater at Northwestern, Harvard, and Yale. John teaches the verbal, writing and math sections of all standardized tests including the SSAT, ISEE, SHSAT, SAT and ACT, as well as the SAT II in Literature and US History, the AP English and US History exam, as well as college essay writing. Subject tutoring: humanities, math through Algebra 2, elementary Spanish and Latin.

Madeleine Joyce, Test-Prep Specialist

Madeleine Joyce has tutored for over a decade in a range of subjects and for students ages 8-18. She tutors Writing, Reading, Social Studies, Math and Spanish and particularly loves to work on grammar with her pupils. She has helped students improve their standardized test scores by leaps and bounds on the SAT, ACT, and ISEE. Madeleine delights in each students’ unique learning style, centers their talents and goals, and cheers them on throughout the whole process. She is creative, inspiring, and warm.

Geoff Kanick, Test-Prep Specialist

Geoff is an experienced tutor who has worked with students in New York City and Boston since 2013. He has supported many students with ISEE/SSAT and ACT/SAT preparation, and also tutors in English, history, and math through the high school level. A native of Seattle, Geoff holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Gonzaga University and a Master’s degree from the University of Essex, London. Geoff has worked extensively with students over the last nine years, serving as a program director at Queens College summer program and interim teacher at Gonzaga University, as well as frequently leading master classes in Shakespeare and physical theatre across the Northeast. In his spare time, Geoff enjoys cooking, painting, museum visiting, and rooting for Seattle sports teams.

Vibhu Krishna, Test-Prep Specialist

Vibhu has been tutoring for over a decade across a range of subjects and levels, including English, Spanish, visual arts, the sciences, SAT / ACT and MCAT prep, as well as providing writing and essay support to students. She graduated with Highest Honors from the Vanderbilt University College of Arts & Sciences in 2016, where she founded an after-school program teaching humanities to middle and high schoolers. Currently, Vibhu is a fourth-year M.D. candidate at Columbia University after a two year stint in public health consulting. Throughout her medical education, she has peer-tutored fellow medical students and continued to teach elementary, middle, and high schoolers both test-taking and college application strategies as well as content in the sciences and humanities. She is no stranger to the unique pressures of standardized testing: Vibhu has successfully taken 15 AP exams, the SAT / ACT, 7 SAT subject tests, the MCAT, and the USMLE Step 1 and 2. Accordingly, Vibhu takes a highly individualized approach to each learner, striving to understand specific needs and empower each student to feel confident applying known material to address new problems. When not on the clinical wards, Vibhu is an avid runner, yogi, and painter who enjoys opining on Manhattan’s espressos, reading in Sheep Meadow, and writing for medical humanities blogs and journals.

Asher Lack, Test-Prep Specialist

Asher works as the dedicated substitute teacher for the English department of Stuyvesant High School, where he has taught since 2009. He has tutored privately for nine years and worked with students across all levels of writing from simple composition to term papers and college essays, as well as math from basic arithmetic to pre-calculus. Asher trained for years with Kaplan and has extensive test prep experience tutoring students for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. Growing up in New York, he attended Stuyvesant High School and received his BFA in screenwriting from NYU’s Tisch School. When not teaching, he enjoys playing music.

Hayward Leach, Test-Prep Specialist

Hayward has excelled for over four years as a tutor for students in middle school, high school, college, and beyond. He tutors for the SAT, SSAT, ISEE, SAT II, ACT, and AP test prep in US History, World History, and Spanish, as well as English tutoring. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Hayward graduated from Stuyvesant High School and earned a B.A. with Honors in Comparative Literature from Brown University. Hayward is currently pursuing his MFA at The Juilliard School, Drama Division and has taught aspiring young actors and singers across the country. Hayward enjoys working with students to develop their talents, independence, and confidence with focus and fun.

Emily Maretsky, Test-Prep Specialist

Emily is the engineering department chair at Energy Tech High School in Long Island City, and has almost a decade of experience teaching math, technology, and ENL classes in schools across NYC, California, Thailand, Italy, and Micronesia. She has hundreds of hours of test prep experience through Kaplan and the Nantucket Learning Group, and has prepared students for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SSAT. Emily’s goals as a tutor are to identify students’ strengths/areas for growth and apply targeted practice, as well as help students develop the skills and confidence to teach themselves. Emily holds a BS in Human Factors Engineering and Journalism from Tufts University, and received her MAT in Adolescent Math from the Relay Graduate School of Education. When she’s not in the classroom, she’s usually surfing, playing the ukulele, or hanging with her cats, Max and Jack.

David Rosenberg, Test-Prep Specialist

David has been tutoring students of all ages in the New York City metropolitan area since 2013. He began tutoring as a standardized test specialist, but now also works with middle and high school students on subject tutoring, executive functioning, and homework help across subjects. David tutors the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, SHSAT, and CCLS tests, as well as the SAT II Subject Tests in Literature, US History, and Math I/II. He also guides students through the college admissions process and teaches college essay writing. He’s led Classroom programs for Harlem RBI, A+ Academy, and Futures & Options, where he tutored the SAT, and at TECCS charter school for the Common Core elementary exams. He also has experience working with students with learning disabilities, and numerous testing accommodations, including Extra Time, Computer Assistance, and Scribes. A native of Miami, Florida, David holds an MFA from The Juilliard School, where he received the St. Denis Prize, and a BFA from NYU, where he double majored in Political Science and Drama.

Ash Nanda, Test-Prep Specialist

Ash is a professional educator based in NYC who has been tutoring and teaching since 2019. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with majors in Electrical Engineering and Economics, Ash completed his MA in Economics at Columbia University. There, he had the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate level economics and math courses. Ash has tutored students in physics up to the AP Physics 1, 2, and C level for the past several years. He has also taught Intro to Business, Finance, and Economics at the Columbia Summer High School Immersion Program. While Ash has taught a wide range of students and subjects, he specializes in quantitative subjects at the AP or undergraduate level. When he’s not teaching, Ash enjoys experiencing great stories through music, literature, or movies.

Tim Abrahamsen, Test-Prep Specialist

Tim has over a decade of experience tutoring test prep, math, science, and writing.  He studied aerospace engineering at MIT (yes, he is a rocket scientist!), where he worked on autonomous aerial vehicles and a Mars rover. He also has a master’s in computer science from UT Austin, with a focus on machine learning and AI.  Tim has written software for web apps, robots, and self-driving cars.  In his free time, he loves sharing his passion for all things math, science, and tech!

Alex Shaw, Test-Prep Specialist

Alex Shaw, Testing Specialist, specializes in SAT, ACT, SSAT, SHSAT, and SAT II preparation. For the past seven years, Alex has worked extensively with hundreds of students both one-on-one and in New York City classrooms through Academic Approach’s programs at George Jackson, The Lycée Francais, and Spence. A native of St. Louis, MO, Alex received a BA from Columbia University in 2011, and is currently pursuing his MFA in acting at Juilliard.