About
Welcome! My name is Karoline, and I graduated cum laude from Harvard College with a BA in English and an additional focus in applied mathematics. I grew up in Sweden and Texas and have extensive experience teaching everything from PSAT/SAT/ACT/ISEE to nonprofit organization building to improvisational theater games. I scored a 2340 on the 2400 SAT, 236 on the old PSAT, 800 on three SAT subject tests, and 5 on more than 6 AP exams.
I have tutored for over 7 years (please reference my LinkedIn for more information), working in a variety of disciplines and formats, including one-on-one, small class, large classes, and online. In addition to test prep, I am comfortable teaching general math, English (writing, editing, college level, etc), history, and other subjects by request.
My main strength, however, is TEST PREP. I am an EXCELLENT SAT / PSAT / ACT tutor, and I do not say that lightly. In high school, I tutored myself from a 2000 to a 2340 within a few months, and along the way, took every Collegeboard, Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron's test on the market. I know these entrance exams, and their weaknesses, inside out. I developed my own highly effective strategies that you will not find in any class or book that will ABSOLUTELY raise your score. My approach is very practical, specific to the test, will reduce test anxiety, and completely unparalleled.
I equip my students with not only the technical skills necessary for their academic potential, but also with lifelong intuition and curiosity. I infuse humor, practicality, and a clear structure into my lessons. My students almost always exceed expectations after working with me.
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Frequently asked questions
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I graduated from Harvard College with a BA English cum laude, additional focus in Applied Mathematics. I have been tutoring for more than 7 years in a variety of settings and to a various range of students. See my introduction for more information.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Because of my academic background, credentials, and extensive teaching experience, I have a competitive rate for my lessons. It's less than what you would pay for elite test prep / general academic help companies, but the same quality of tutoring, which is a bargain. However, I know the price can be prohibitive to some, so I am open to negotiating a different rate, especially if you are looking for ongoing mentorship. I believe that any student who is truly committed to their education deserves the chance to reach their intellectual potential!
What types of students have you worked with?
I have worked with low-income inner city students with little exposure to test prep and classes that promote critical analysis, very elite students who have multiple tutors helping them around the clock, students with ADHD, students who do well in school but are not as proficient in test taking, international students, and everyone in between. Most of my students are 13 - 24 years old, but I happily teach all ages!
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
When hiring a test prep teacher, do these two things:
First, write down your goals and needs. What is your goal score or goal improvement amount? When do you hope to take the test? How does getting this particular score or taking this particular test translate into your college goals? What are your top colleges? What does your ideal school year look like? What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses? For SAT / PSAT / ACT, especially, are your mistakes coming from not knowing the content, not enough exposure to the format, careless mistakes, or something else? What do you hope to gain out of a tutoring session that you couldn't do on your own?
By clarifiying the answers to these questions, you will gain a better understanding of what exactly you are looking for, which narrows down your tutor search and maximizes the utility of your tutoring sessions. For example, in my sessions, I use both your assessment of yourself and my own observations to craft a study and prep approach that is technical and psychological. This way, each session is unique and we work on your UNIQUE set of test taking challenges, be it test anxiety, trouble with data analysis and probability, or difficulty summarizing long passages.
Second, do your research! You will see that truly effective, truly experienced test prep tutors charge anywhere from $200 - $1000/hr (this is true! Google this $1000/hr tutor!). This is because getting a high test score, and thus, boosting your chances of getting into a great college, is highly coveted. So the market reflects that. My personal philosophy is that education should be affordable. Test prep is its own animal, so while I can't tutor at $30/hr, I CAN give you a quality tutoring experience at a reasonable price. I will also work with families who may need a slighly lower rate, so send me a message and I'd be happy to chat about it!