Academic And Professional Support Services

Alan

Graduate with JD from Georgetown Law. Had taught multiple law courses. Knows his stuff. But even more, he is able to assist you in learning any concepts that you may encounter in law school, and he will affectively draft outlines with you for individual courses that will enable you to study for exams effectively. He also provides extensive exercises and mimic exams to prepare you for finals, and reviews them thoroughly with you. Based on his assistance, I excelled in my first year courses. Fantastic. No one better.

2021-12-30

Paul P

Just finished my three months and change with Dan. First, we did the intensive prep for the November SAT, specifically focusing on the Reading Section and the Writing and Language Section. Dan knows the exactly how to coach you through the Reading Section passages. His suggestions for what to specifically look for, even circle, underline, or jot a note next to, in each passage is o-the-money. He also acknowledges the time limit however, he still encourages you, after finishing each paragraph, especially the never-ending ones, to take a deep breath, and think about what you just read, summing it up in a few simple words. Following this simple advice, on top of a number of other invaluable tips he imparted on me, allowed me to still read at a quick pace, but mostly still understand what I was reading, for the most part. And as he constantly said, you don't need to know every detail of everything that occurred in the passage. If for some reason, I would find myself confused by several consecutive lines, I'd tried reading them one more time, and, if nothing, I used his old trick: pick up the last sentence you understood before the mess and the first sentence you understood following the mess, read them both, and use "the bad connection" approach to try to tie the two sentences somewhat together. It's like losing reception for 15 seconds in a tunnel. I heard you before, you continued speaking, and I heard you after, but nothing, a bad connection while in the tunnel. Wha should I do? Use common sense and my intuitions to piece together, as close as I possibly can, the general idea of what you said while I was in the tunnel, rather than have you repeat it. Believe it or not, I always sort of overlooked this one. But a few weeks ago, when I took the actual SAT, I got one really nasty reading passage, and I had no idea what it was saying for a whole bunch of sentences. I thought back. The approach came to my head. I used it. And it worked. Another reminder I'd always get, most all the questions direct you to the lines or section of the passage you should be reviewing, as the answer is somewhere nearby. So, of course, I got a question on that section. However, between having the very basic idea using the bad connection, then letting the context of the question guide me to that section, illuminated what was going on there even more. Lastly, Dan taught me all the College Board's tricks with how they deliberately make, usually, at least one, sometimes even two, answer choices, very close to being accurate. However, Dan unveiled to me the simple tricks behind each wrong answer choice for the Reading. When you keep that in mind, combined with reading the passage as effectively as possible, all three wrong answers tend to stick out like soar thumbs, and you can explain why for each. As the Writing & Language, Dan's a master of grammar. He assembled an SAT Grammar Packet Guide, with select topics and simple explanations, just for me. He then created a separate exercise manual with tons of practice for each of the topics. He walked me through each topic, added more useful information that I noted, and I rocked the section on the exam. Finally, Dan helped me write my college application essay -- my main personal statement. Damn. Does he know how to get the best out of you. No joke, and he told me upfront, the process will be tedious and frustrating, and he was so right. We spent over a week (with a day or so off here and there) from brainstorming an effective and powerful story about myself that made me come across in an excellent, different way, probably from many others. Dan has actually been briefly involved in admissions, so he's read hundreds of these essays. He knew what it would take both story-wise and how I structured the piece to make it pop and come alive when picked up in the middle of the pile. At first, he scared me because he encouraged me to write a bit informally. However, doing so made the story real, and it's a personal narrative, it's my story. If anything, the way I organized it, how and when I wrote informally, and my ability to still clearly state my, I suppose, theme without explicitly stating it, though it's clear if you read it, made this best piece of writing I think I've ever been a part of. I say a part of because, damn, you conscript Dan for help on this essay, and he don't just sit back. He'll type pieces or fragments of it along with you in a Google Doc, then we'll discuss. DAN = BEST

2021-11-23

Karan

Had him for GED exam. We began with Math! My nightmare! Yet, somehow, Dan drew stuff from a bunch of different books, created stuff on his own (just for me!!), and, despite ALL the math we had to cover, managed to break it all down into six pretty short (well, as short as you can get it) packets covering basic number operations & decimals and fractions (EVERYTHING with FRACTIONS -- adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing not just regular fractions but also mixed numbers and improper, while also integrating negatives). Then a straight-up unit on rates, ratios, proportions, and percents. The a unit on basic statistics (including data and stuff), then he split algebra into two easy-to-follow units, one that was more introductory and basic, the other a little bit more advanced, and then we wrapped up with Geometry. Dan's key to success. And how you won't fail math if you follow him. He puts a lot of damn time making up materials specifically for you. He don't just reuse what worked for someone else. His packets for each math unit are quite fantastic. He provides brief explanations for each key concept tested, followed by walk-through practice problems, then he leaves tons of room for you to practice on your own. Generally, he'll first start of with basic exercises, then once he sees you;ve got the hand of it, a page or two later will be a bunch of problems on the same topic, but they look like they straight from the GED. Great practice! Dan walked me through everything, step by step. He explains everything so clearly, thoughtfully, and articulately, and if he even feels he's being unclear, he'll repeat the same concept except using different words. (I later learned this is a tick of his. He does this not just to "be clear" but also because he wants you to hear the same concept described using different words because it's better to internalize it rather than just blindly memorize a definition. You ain't gonna pass the exam that way. As he says, you need to be flexibible in how you understand, so that you can adapt to what they throw at you on the test and not freeze because you just memorized one stinking definition. Brilliant teaching! The section I dreaded most -- again, Math -- Dan got me through in less than 2 months. Granted, I worked with him 3 hours each week, and I practiced every single thing he gave me almost never missing a day. BTW: He puts together review packets with exercises from earlier units in the Math, when you're way past that unit, so that you can complete it on the side of your current topic to keep it all fresh. We end by taking about a billion practice Math GED tests that he has. And, we review most of them very thoroughly. PS...He also used to write for the SAT. So, he knows a bit or two about standardized tests. While the GED is different, he still did teach me a few test-taking, backdoor strategies for the Math Section that really saved me tons of time, and for some of the questions, due to these easy-to-learn maneuvers, I barely even had to solve some of the problems. Literally, some of these problems, doing it the long way, would take 2-3, maybe even more minutes, especially if you have to think about. Dan's tricks -- which, granted, do only work for certain types of problems, as he explains -- turned many of those problems into 15-30 second nothings, and I was sure, due to the method, that I got the right answer. Overall. I decided to take the Math Section of the GED first and separate from the other second. Because of Dan's kindness, brilliance, dedication, and phenomenal approach to organizing everything logically, taking a step back when I felt confused (AND EVEN MAKING ME MORE ADDITIONAL MATERIALS TARGETTED TO ME ALONE that he just kept feeding me, explaining to me, and working his butt off until he found the best way to quickly make the concept click -- where I knew it inside out -- I destroyed the Math Section!!!!!! Me....A high school dropout who couldn't have done 10% of the Math I learned from him in 2 months. My hard work paid off. If you meet him in the middle, and you do as he says, you will succeed. I guarantee it. As for the remaining sections of the GED, Dan has it all covered in much a similar way. The guy double majored in English -- with like the highest of honors -- and Math; he also double minored! In Political Science and Spanish! All that and he graduated top of his class NYU. He then decided to do an expedited one-year MA in History from Columbia, writing a final, like 200+ page thesis on something in the U.S. in the 1960s. and, of course, earning honors there too. He then taught for Teach for America, worked I think, part-time for the College Board, of whoever drafts the SAT questions, finds the reading passages, and basically submits a bunch of material much of which has appeared on SATs in the last five years and he is the author! He took a few years, then went to Georgetown Law!!! And, after graduating a few years ago, he's been a professor since then. I know!!!! I don't need to repeat his biography. But, he does tutoring part-time, outside of his regular job obligations, and he is absolutely perfect in every way. GED. He's got. SAT. You'd be stupid not to work with him. Virtually every other standardized exam -- he tutors. And if he's unfamiliar with it, and you need help with it, he'll dive head-first into it, learn everything he needs to learn, and then find a way to make it easy for you to understand, remember, and pass on test day. Finally, best writing instructor I've ever had. For the GED, there's an essay section, as well as some testing on conventional grammar rules in multiple choice. Dan practiced with me -- a pretty short, not so good writer -- in learning how to respond to the prompt on the GED Language Section: analyze what you have in front of you -- it's not a research paper. Read the evidence, and as you drift toward one position on the prompt, even if it could really go either way, stick to your position, as time is short. Then, LIKE A LAWYER (as is Dan), ask the pieces of evidence that you are trying to discredit a whole bunch of questions, like an interrogation. Why didn't Piece A elaborate on x and y? Piece B, for its part, provides reasonable explanations for x and y, such as....You get the drift. He taught me how to analyze simple material I never would've thought twice about to get it to bend in my direction without, of course, falsifying or lying. From there, organize the key, most critical points that support my overall point, develop them as far as possible....keep asking why/how until you can't anymore...while incorporating as much of the texual evidence they give in that long, long prompt as possible. We practiced over and over and over again. He must've ran out of prompts from books he had. But, by the end, he had my grammar and reading comp zoned in, and he just kept editing each essay draft I would submit, pushing me to do better. And I finally did. Killed the Language Arts Section. Though will admit, this took another good two months, with consistent practice based on what Dan had me do between meetings. But he never led me astray. Those were my two biggest challenges, which is why I took each separately. I spent another 6-8 weeks with Dan after passing Language Arts, and we literally just cranked through Social Studies and Science, which I think I was a bit better at. Easier because most of it, if Dan presents it to you, you can just memorize this stuff. And, weirdly, there was a bunch of graph reading on the Social Studies. But, we already really covered that in Math. So, as per usual, Dan finished off my GED studies in absolute perfect fashion. Passed all parts of the exam on my first attempt, and I felt like I was cruising through it the entire time. Sorry for the rant. Whatever the case, Dan is well worth every penny you may spend on him, especially considering that he's consistently working for YOU specifically, trying to come up with the best materials for YOU, for hours each week when you're not in session. And he doesn't ask a nickel for it. Take him for anything....GED, SAT, and my sister is trying to become a teacher in NJ, so she needs to pass the Praxis Core (all three -- Math, Reading, and Writing), and Dan is the master of that, somehow, too. She started working with him on I think the Math like two weeks ago, and she loves him.

2021-11-22

Aria

Dan is an excellent tutor. He is so smart, so well-educated, possesses so much unique experience that, essentially, he can tutor you on any topic in any subject. And if he is unfamiliar with the material, he's so eager to assist that he will immediately learn it himself just so he can teach you. Amazing. That aside, I worked with Dan twice. First, I used him for two of my high school Math courses: Geometry and Algebra II. Dan refused to simply work me through the homework assignments just to "get me by." Instead, he created a tremendous set of resources from which we worked and which he selected and designed to fit my individual needs to work through the struggles I was first having, then continue along with me to bring me many, many units ahead of where my class was. He even created review packets for each chapter in my textbook that I could consult when we would get the material in school so that it would be fresh on my mind. I then decided to get a head-start on Algebra II, and we did a two-month, intensive overview of Algebra II during the entire summer before I took it. The review was pretty much spot-on. It put me at an advantage going into the school-year, as I was way ahead of all my peers, and throughout the year, we had a few touch-up sessions here and there, just to keep me on track. Earned an A+ in both courses. Now, for the SAT, who else would I turn to? I decided that I wanted to work from the bottom-up, working my way through all sections of the SAT, methodically and carefully, leaving no stone unturned. And the guy actually worked for a little bit designing SAT test material!!!! He knows the inside game, and he presents it extraordinarily well during sessions. Anyway, I made a firm commitment, and, of course, I was lucky because my parents invested in the long-term tutoring plan. We spent a considerable amount of time on each section. Dan prepared me to understand, with utmost clarity, the ins and outs, of all the concepts the SAT can or will, I believe, conceivably test. His verbal explanations -- Phenomenal! His self-made study guides with explanations and exercises -- priceless. His unique insight, which you won't get from basically any other tutor as to how to attack the SAT as an exam -- meaning he lifted back the curtain, showed how so many of the questions across all sections are designed and the way they are designed to induce doubt and confusion -- and he prepared me regarding how to see directly through these tactics, enabling me, with laser focus, to zone in on and strike at the heart of the question, know exactly what it's asking from me, and, based on the section of exam, the most efficient way to respond correctly. 1550 score!

2021-10-23

Emily

He's the best SAT tutor you're going to find. And, he has the experience -- he was actually an SAT test-maker for a few years. So, he's able to show you the ins-and-outs of how to approach each question-type you'll see on the exam and the best and most efficient way to approach them. His explanations of concepts are crystal clear, and he continuously finds different materials and constructs materials on his own that are literally geared toward you. In addition, he's super friendly, lively, and funny. He keeps the sessions, no matter their length, from ever being boring. Most importantly, I worked with him for three months or so, covering all sections of the SAT, and my score shot up like a rocket. Don't bother with anyone else! He's worth every penny.

2021-05-03

Marlena

Best LSAT tutor. Three months with him, and my score went up almost 25 points!

2020-12-06

Angelina

Awesome SAT prep. Works his curriculum toward you and will always go the extra yard for you. Took my verbal from a 560 to a 690 and math from a 620 to 750 after about a three month program.

2020-12-03

Mackenzie Johannsen

He is the best writing tutor you will find. I mean that sincerely. He worked with me on a variety of essays across different college courses I took, and he turned each essay into a masterpiece. He is so dedicated that he even did a bunch of research for me to further strengthen my understanding of concepts and for materials to incorporate into papers. Also, the best personal statement person for admissions applications. I truly believe that his work with me on my personal statement for graduate school tipped the scales and got me into my top choice of Columbia. I can’t say enough wonderful things about him.

2020-11-28

Eric

Best SAT tutor. Master of the test. Scored a 1560 after 3 months with Dan. Put in the time and the work with him, and he’ll guide you to success.

2020-11-06

Alan

A former high school Math teacher for Teach for America. Worked w/ me in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. Has a way of even making what’s difficult easy to understand. He’s the only reason I got an A in all these courses. Definitely recommend!

2020-08-11

Shakema

Master of the SAT. Knows everything about it. Uses a variety of resources from the best commercial prep books and makes tons of his own materials just for you. Best explanations ever provided as well. Don’t drop tons of money on a prep course. Work with him consistently and you’ll succeed on the test. In addition, always takes the extra step for you, makes you feel comfortable, and keeps it lively with his casual sense of humor. Highly recommend!

2020-08-11

Melanie

Best English and Writing tutor ever! Takes your essay writing to a whole new level and uses short stories to teach about literary things like symbolism and more that will prepare you for high school and beyond.

2020-08-11

Jeremy

I’m terrible at Spanish. But, then I connected with Dan. He worked with me for 3 years in Spanish 1, 2, and 3. Taught and reinforced confusing grammar topics and taught me how to write in Spanish. Also improved my speaking skills. He’s not a native speaker, so his accent isn’t perfect. But it made no difference. He made explanatory materials specifically for me and they were extraordinary helpful. To avoid confusion, he explains in English then works with applying concepts in grammar. Despite my lack of Spanish ability, got me an A in all 3 courses. Can’t thank him enough and highly recommend.

2020-08-11

Max

Incredible SAT tutor! Worked with Dan for 2 months before exam, and he brought my score from the first time I took it from a 1210 to a 1460! Master of all sections of SAT, knows how to explain every concept clearly, and has tons of simple study materials that explain difficult concepts which he works with you through, step by step. He also uses tons of SAT practice questions to reinforce concepts, train you for all the questions you may possibly see, and teaches techniques to approach questions. Super organized in how he presents the material and by the time the exam comes you feel totally comfortable with everything. A true expert SAT tutor and always goes above and beyond for you. I honestly can’t recommend him enough. No one is better. Worth every penny. Don’t waste time with others. Use him!!!

2020-08-09

Alexandra

Dan is the best tutor I have ever had. He has an amazing educational background and years of experience tutoring virtually everything. For me, he worked me through preparing for the GED. Dan knew everything about all of the subjects on the exam. He gave me easy to understand study guides, that he made SPECIFICALLY FOR ME(!), for each subject that were super helpful and he walked me through each of them. In addition, he continuously used practice questions and exams to reinforce my knowledge, explaining all answers to me in very simple terms. He knows exactly how to ensure that you're 100% prepared and he is always aware of any weaknesses you may have and he addresses them immediately. After working with Dan for about 2 months, I took the GED and I passed each section with flying colors. Work with him! You won't regret it! Also, he's super friendly, casual, and easy to get along with.

2020-08-08

Erin

I’m the parent of a 7th grader middle schooler who was struggling immensely with his writing skills. After connecting my son with Dan for two sessions per week over the course of a few months, my son became a completely different and far better writer, even earning praise from his teacher. Dan took my son, step by step, through the writing process. He showed my son how to properly structure a paragraph and build off of a topic sentence effectively. He improved my son’s grammar and word choice. Within a few weeks, Dan enables my son to master the structure of the argumentative or persuasive essay and worked with my son, pushing him to think critically and come up with strong ideas and developed ideas that supported his essay’s argument. Dan fluidly moved into having my son draft the actually essay, which Dan edited. Dan explained all the edits and encouraged my son for what he did well. After another draft, that essay came out really well. Dan built off of this momentum assigning other persuade essays and my son continued to make major improvements in each essay as Dan would still always create open discussion about what to write, guiding my son, never directing him, with certain suggestions, enabling my son to be more independently thoughtful and analytical. Anyway, I can go in and on because Dan covered so much more. But what I described here is what Dan is all about. He knows how to teach, communicate, guide, and eventually make students and student writers very independent, which is ultimately the end goal. Overall, you should find any way you can to have your child work with him. He’s absolutely phenomenal.

2020-07-18

Michelle Lowell

Dan is beyond fantastic! He tutored me for all sections of the SAT exam last year, and I ultimately received a score of 720, up 130 points from the first time I had taken it before working with Dan for a few months. He had command of everything that was on the exam. He put together amazing handouts that explained things and also were short enough to allow me to memorize key concepts. In addition, he goes over all the material with you, inside-out. He's so well-spoken and clear that you can't help but easily understand his explanations. Even more, Dan went completely out his way to make up multiple additional worksheets for specifically for me whenever I would feel uncomfortable with something in particular. His worksheets would both break down the information more and provide many practice drills that he pushed me through until I completely understood. I was least confident with the Math and Writing sections. But, he's a former high school Math and English teacher! And his knowledge was evident. He really showed me how to master the Writing section by refining my grammar, showing me how to edit passages to be concise, and also how to best incorporate information into the passages. With Math, he worked with me basically by subject, covering all the Algebra material that's on the exam, all the Geometry on the exam, and so on. He had a wonderfully organized learning packet, filled with explanations and exercises that was super helpful. And, throughout my entire time with him, he repeatedly used so many sample SAT questions related to the topics we were covering that I knew I could apply my knowledge to them. In the end, he had access to so many full-length practice tests, all of which he allowed me to take and all of which we went through, focusing on any errors I made, ensuring I understood the idea the question was asking and that I would not repeat the mistake. He also used the questions that I got right to continually encourage me and also had me still focus on them so they would remain fresh on my mind come test day, I'm sorry I rambled. It's just, I couldn't have asked for anyone better to help me with the SAT. And he is almost the sole reason, given my score, that I got into Stanford -- my first choice!

2020-07-18

Carlos Hernandez

Dan is one of the best tutors I have found. With a reasonable price rate, and expendable hours to work with my child. His attitude is one of both professionalism for dealing with the practices and exams, to entertaining and making lessons easier to understand. I highly recommend him for tutoring for SAT or regular classes, such as English Language Arts or Mathematics.

2020-07-14

Sasha Lynch

Dan worked with my four-year-old daughter for six months. His experience working with little kids really shows. He's patient, knows how to interact with them, and keeps them smiling, all while they learn. During the six months, Dan brought my daughter from only being able to count up to 10, to subtraction, and from having no phonetic awareness to sounding out words in simple sentences in conjunction with a whole language approach! He's great! Use him up, and talk to him, his experience is so valuable!

2020-05-27

Byron Kessler

Worked with me to dominate the math section of the SAT -- 770! I owe it to him.

2020-05-27

Krish Thakkar

AMAZING writing teacher. Use him to work with you on your high school English or college papers. He'll pull ideas out of you you can't believe you had. Then, he'll guide you on structuring the essay, which upon completion of as many drafts it takes to make the essay exceptional, he'll review and edit. While we focused on English when papers or exams were due, we weekly met for math. I was struggling in Algebra I in 9th grade. That's when Dan started working with me. Raised my first quarter grade to all As for the remainder of the school year. I was so confident that I took Geometry over the summer of 9th grade to catch up with other people in my grade. Dan helped me here, as well, and I got an A in the course. Also, he's really funny and ALWAYS available to help.

2020-03-30

Phil McDonough

Knows about AP Spanish and minored in Spanish in college. I worked with him for my first two years in high school in Spanish I and Spanish II. Spanish was difficult for me, but Dan broke it down very well, and we advanced far past what my class was studying, which was a relief for me when doing schoolwork.

2020-03-30

AJ McNamara

Brought my LSAT from a 150 to a 166. He really works with you and puts in so much effort to make sure that his program of study -- the materials we work with -- follow a logical pattern. He's worth every penny.

2020-03-30

Rebecca

Dan tutored my son in high school English. He worked very hard with my son and was passionate about seeing him succeed. Dan went out and bought the books my son was reading in school, so that he could follow along and be super-prepared for their lessons. He also elevated my son's writing to a whole new level. I highly recommend him.

2020-03-21

Pritha Patel

Very passionate. Never gives up on student. And a great person.

2020-03-20

Todd Goldman

I worked with Dan 5 years ago as part of his summer writing program when I was going into my freshman year in high school. We had two classes each week and he truly prepared me for high school writing and college writing. I'm currently a sophomore in college and I still look rely on what he taught me years ago. He's the great with any form of writing - formal or creative.

2020-03-20

Katie Tabor

He was my freshman political theory professor at William Paterson! Best professor I've ever had! Never learned so much in one class! He is funny and entertaining and keeps the material -- which is difficult -- easy to understand. Make him your tutor!!!

2020-03-20

Jack Logan

Dan pushed me hard and made me want to learn. I'm terrible with languages. But he was excellent in working on Spanish 1 with me and getting me through the course, somehow with an A- average. Dan is also a really nice guy.

2020-03-20

Angie Marks

Got me through Geometry. Brought my first quarter grade from a C to an A for the rest of the year. I also worked on writing with him, and he helped me with many of my high school essays. He can pretty much do anything.

2020-03-20

Mike Becker

Dan is super kind and knowledgeable. He worked with me on my writing for English class as a high school sophomore. My grades soared and it was all because of him.

2020-03-20

Andrea Gozin

Best experience I've ever had with a tutor or a teacher. Work with him if you get the chance!

2020-03-17

Maggie Smith

He is incredibly knowledgeable and is able to make complex material accessible to students. He is patient, always well-prepared, and pushes students, in a positive way, to achieve success. I learned an enormous amount from him. He is the best tutor/teacher I've ever had. Also, very friendly.

2020-03-17