Top Line Tutoring
About
Here is the classic story of a tutor-student relationship gone wrong, and what I've (unfortunately) seen for the last 7 years of tutoring. Maybe this sounds familiar to you. A student comes home and tells their parents that school is too hard and they can't understand the material. OR, the student gets poor grades and the parent decides to hire their child a tutor and says, "work with the tutor, or else." None of this is very fun for either party!
Then a tutor enters the picture. The tutor is either much older than the student and is out of touch with how students learn today, or the tutor just speaks to the parent to learn what the student is struggling with without speaking to the student to learn from them directly! In both cases, the tutor is unikely to meaningfully connect with the student, and cannot help them. There's a better way to help students, and that's where I come in.
Since I'm only a few years older than most of the students I tutor I know the challenges they face inside and outside the classroom since I was just there myself. AND, I take the time to sit with them and learn about their goals, pain points, and motivations. As a result, the parents are aware of the tutoring process and the student feels equally involved as well. Both parties are on the same page and can work together to get better!
I started tutoring students because everyone deserves the tools to succeed at school, and EARN the confidence that comes from getting high grades. I've tutored students since I was a sophomore in high school and what I've learned over time is that every student is capable of succeeding with material they struggle with. I've also worked with students to teach them Spanish, English, Writing, and how to become a better test-taker for the ACT, SAT, and GRE.
More about my background: I graduated with a 4.2 GPA from Brea Olinda High School, and then I attended the University of California, Irvine. I was fortunate enough to study in the Campuswide Honors Program, which put me in the top 3% of the UCI student body. I graduated with degrees in Philosophy and Political Science in 2018 and was also admitted to UCI's Humanities Honors Program and Political Science Honors Program. So I will never claim to be the best student in STEM fields, but I am proudly skilled at English, Writing, and other liberal arts fields of study.
Before graduating from UCI I took the GRE for post-graduate study and was accepted into graduate programs at USC, Northwestern, Boston University, and the University of Michigan for Marketing, PR, and other business programs.
Helping my students simply comes down to learning about them and how they learn, creating an end goal that they want to achieve, and then working backwards to map out the strategy.
If at any point you or your student haven't benefitted from our tutoring sessions, I offer a 110% money-back guarantee. I will actually pay you more than the money I charge for the sessions to compensate you for the hassle!
Reach out to me with any other questions you have or challenges you're facing to see if I'm the right fit to help.
What I enjoy most about the work I do is knowing that every student I meet is capable of succeeding in their academics, and then helping them realize those capabilities. When I help students overcome their challenges I can literally see a new wave of confidence wash over them that translates to the rest of their lives; they're more willing to walk up to that boy or girl and introduce themselves, they're more willing to try out for a new position on their sports team, and they're more willing to help their family succeed because they know they are capable of bringing value to the table.
Tutoring isn't just helping students get better in school, it's building self-confidence that translates to the rest of their lives.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Whenever I meet a new student I take time to learn about them. I ask a lot of questions, including: what do you do for fun, what do you think of school, how do you learn best, was getting a tutor your idea, do you think it's important to become a better student, what happens if you don't become a better student, tell me about a time you successfully overcame a challenge, etc. My main goal is to learn about who I'm working with and how they're wired so that I know how to treat them the way they are best treated.
While I learn about the student I also learn about the parents, if they're involved. I ask more questions like: what prompted you to reach out for a tutor, what is important for you in hiring a tutor, what do you want to get out of these sessions, what is at stake if we don't achieve your desired outcomes, have you worked with a tutor before, etc. The first session is mostly dedicated to learning about the people who are hiring me, I have no business teaching students until I know who I am working with and how I can be the most help.
After learning about the student and/or the parents, I sit down with them to see if they have any desired teaching methods. Do they prefer that I help the student write papers, edit papers, go over grammar exercises together, evaluate other papers for improvements or strengths, etc. If they have specific actions they want to take, I include that in the study plan and curriculum. If they are unsure about how they want to proceed, I create a custom curriculum for each student that lays out study plans, opportunities we will work on together and work the student can do independently of when we meet.
I also pass along helpful materials, links, websites to the student and their family so they can learn from other experts.
From there we meet 1-3 times per week to get continually better, and we set milestones we want to achieve so that we know what success will look like. We meet for as long as the student and their family feel are necessary, and I've found that it takes at least a few months of sustained practice to see success that lasts over time.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I graduated from high school with a 4.2 GPA, and then I had the privilege of attending the University of California, Irvine in the Campuswide Honors Program. Since the Honors program only had a few hundred students in it, I was in the top 3% of students on campus during my time at UCI.
I studied Philosophy and Political Science and graduated with a double major in the studies. I was accepted to the Humanities Honors Program and the Political Science Honors Program, on top of my Campuswide Honors Program affiliation.
In my senior year I studied for the GRE in preparation of graduate studies. With the high score I earned on the test and my admissions applications I was accepted into graduate programs at USC, Northwestern, Boston University, and the University of Michigan for Public Relations, Marketing, and other business related programs.
In short, my entire academic experience has centered around writing and communicating effectively. I can't wait to help you express yourself better too!
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Here is the pricing breakdown, you can purchase hourly tutoring or if you purchase more hours in advance then the hourly rate goes down:
$75 per hour if I travel to your home for tutoring.
$60 per hour if we work together via an online platform like Skype.
If you purchase 10 hours of tutoring the rates reduce to:
$70 per hour if I travel to you, or $700 for 10 hours of tutoring.
$55 per hour if we meet online, or $550 for 5 hours of tutoring.
If you purchase 15 hours of tutoring the rates reduce to:
$65 per hour if I travel to you, or $975 for 10 hours of tutoring.
$50 per hour if we meet online, or $750 for 10 hours of tutoring.
(Most popular package) If you purchase 20 hours of tutoring the rates reduce to:
$60 per hour if I travel to you, or $1200 for 15 hours of tutoring.
$45 per hour if we meet online, or $900 for 15 hours of tutoring.
If you purchase 25 hours of tutoring the rates reduce to:
$55 per hour if I travel to you, or $1375 for 20 hours of tutoring.
$40 per hour if we meet online, or $1000 for 20 hours of tutoring.
In the past when students purchase more than 25 hours of tutoring upfront, we work together to decide on fair pricing for both parties. If you want more than 25 hours of tutoring let me know and we can work out pricing.
Referrals: if you refer another student to work with me then you will get one session for free, and so will the student you referred.
I offer a 110% money back guarantee. What that means is that if your student has not shown meaningful improvemen since we've worked together I will refund 100% of your investment and then an extra 10% for the hastle and wasted time. I challenge you to find another tutor who believes in their abilities enough to offer a refund policy like that!
How did you get started teaching?
I started teaching in high school. I was always an entrepreneur at heart and I loved the idea of helping others. When I found that I had an aptitude for learning Spanish and teaching it to other students I started reaching out to friends, family, and fellow students to see if I could help them. Over time as I posted to our high school message board, networked with other students and families and posted to other tutoring websites, I built up a healthy side hustle that I sustained into college.
What types of students have you worked with?
I've worked with middle school students, high school students, and college students on subjects ranging from Spanish to creative writing, essay writing, philosophy writing, college writing, expositional writing, fiction writing, ACT, SAT, GRE, college applications, graduate school applications, and general test-taking principles.
I believe in my writing abilities and my ability to teach others, but I also know my core competencies. STEM fields are not my core competencies so I don't offer tutoring services to students in those fields.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
Although I've had dozens of students send me updates on how their Spanish grades or English grades have improved, a recent event I'm most fond of was when I worked with a high school junior before their senior year to develop their college applications. The experience was infinitely fulfilling to help someone get their story on to paper and then use that story to help them get into the college of their dreams! I could literally see the student experience the value of believing in themselves and what they bring to the table. And I knew they would carry that belief throughout the rest of their life, I loved seeing it!
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
I would recommend to the student that they hire a specialist tutor, not a generalist tutor who teaches every field in academcia. Here's why: When you go to the doctor with a broken foot, would you rather work with a podiatrist (foot doctor) or with a general doctor who doesn't specialize in treating foot injuries? You're going to want the podiatrist, of course!
Your education is no different. You need to work with someone who knows your challenges and pain points, not someone who is a jack of all trades. Jacks of all trades have their place and it's important to have a breadth of experience, but ultimately it's the depth of knowledge and experience that produces success.
Go with a specialist, not someone who teaches everything under the sun.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
First, the student should have a vision of what success will look like for them after working with a tutor so they know what they are chasing. Will success look like an A+ on your report card, a 4.0+ GPA, or the ability to express yourself in writing and tell your story clearly and concisely? Will it mean being able to write a story that is emotionally rousing and can move others? Think about what you want to become after the tutoring.
Second, the student should know what their challenges are. That way the tutor and the student spend time focusing on what they really need to improve instead of not working with the core issue. Too often people don't take the time to introspectively evaluate what they struggle with, and we spend more time finding what's wrong than working to fix what is wrong.