How are you different from other standardized testing tutors?

On top of having tutored students ranging from National Merit Scholars to 504-recipients and ESL learners for the past 8 years, I was myself a National Merit Scholar and I scored a perfect 800 on the SAT’s verbal section. Think of me as the wily old point-guard-turned-coach: because of my own success when I “played the game,” I can credibly emphasize the importance of fundamental skills. Equally, my personal experience allows me to teach the dark arts—how to maximize your efficiency within the rules.

Do you help support students with organization, time management, and/or executive functioning skills?

Yes. From my point of view, the most important characteristic for successful standardized test preparation is diligence, and my service is designed to make diligence considerably easier and more comfortable for students and their parents. I use several strategies to coach teens on how to structure study time, and I provide a 5-pocket folder (or Google Drive folder), tabbed by subtopic, in which they will organize their standardized test prep-work.

One of those pockets is dedicated to what I call my “recaps.” At the end of each session, I give students my notes for the session (I take PDF copies for my own records). These notes summarize the topics we’ve worked on that day, remark on what skills the student has improved, outline areas for continued work, and remind the student about overall deadlines and goals. This way, they understand not only what they are learning but also how their development is progressing in view of their next test.

Do you meet in person or over Zoom?

Either. We will meet over Zoom unless you’re in Eugene or Springfield, in which case I would be happy to meet with you in person! Coffeeshops and the University’s library are my preferred meeting-places, but I am available for house calls as well. Note: I will visit my family in South Carolina over the winter holiday and will also offer some in-person availability in Columbia and Charleston during that time.

Now that the SAT and ACT are optional or not considered at some schools, is it still worth it to take them?

In most cases, yes. I consult parents and students on their specific circumstances and goals before beginning to tutor for you: if your student is the rare someone who does not need to take standardized tests, I will be up front about that.

But, briefly, standardized tests are especially worth it for high achievers, students seeking to attend the most prestigious schools, and those pursuing merit aid.

For students seeking to gain admissions to highly selective schools, scores in a school’s reported top quartile substantially increase your chances of admission (statistics vary, but most admissions experts say that you’re about 50% more likely to get in if your scores clear the top quartile).

Likewise, any school that offers merit scholarships will use standardized tests as a significant factor in their formula. For example, I received scholarships worth $27,500/year from Oberlin, mostly on the strength of great test scores—my high school GPA was nothing special—and students that I’ve tutored have earned full rides with additional “enrichment stipends” worth tens of thousands of dollars at their state universities for clearing certain testing benchmarks.  

However, I’ll give one piece of (perhaps obvious) advice out for free: if you’re exclusively applying to schools that don’t consider test scores—the University of California system, for instance—standardized tests just aren’t worth your time.  

Do you tutor for both the SAT and the ACT?

Yes. I recommend students try both tests; although, in my experience, most of my peers and tutees have done better, relatively speaking, on the SAT. There are several aspects of the new digital SAT’s format that, in my opinion, make it a much easier experience for most students; moreover, if your student is pursuing a National Merit Scholarship, the SAT will be your home turf anyways. All that is to say—if you prefer that your student focus on one test, I will recommend the SAT.  

Do you tutor for both the reading/writing and math sections?

Just reading and writing.

How much of the application do I need to have completed before booking a session with you?

None. I meet your student where he/she/they are. I’m prepared to assist with any part of your process—whether that’s proofreading and editing a nearly-complete essay or brainstorming ideas with a student struggling to put pen to paper.

Do you meet in person or over Zoom?

Either. We will meet over Zoom unless you’re in Eugene or Springfield, in which case I would be happy to meet with you in person! Coffeeshops and the University’s library are my preferred meeting-places, but I am available for house calls as well. Note: I will visit my family in South Carolina over the winter holiday and will also offer some in-person availability in Columbia and Charleston during that time.

Do you help strategize what to write as well as copyedit what they come up with?

YES!

If we’ve already hired a college counselor, what value do you add, Mr. Khoury?

I’m glad you asked. Most college counselors aren’t practicing writers themselves, nor do they make a living teaching writing. What I offer is help with self-expression, with the “soft” part of the process. What college admissions committees really want from an essay is to know that the bundle of statistics that you’ve submitted is attached to a person with a deep and well-considered perspective on the world—I believe that they are smart enough to smell pandering when presented with it. Of course, I do teach students to improve the rhetorical construction and rhythm of their essays, but my process has a creative end in mind: I help young people find the cadence in which they might sing from their souls.

Will you help with parts of the application not related to essay writing?

Absolutely. The student will do their own work, but I certainly can assist in navigating the portals, writing short answers to miscellaneous prompts, and analyzing your application as a whole—particularly how your essays might complement the rest of your sumbissions.

Do you advise younger students on what coursework or extracurriculars to pursue?

I can, certainly… but, in my experience as a tutor and instructor, the students who receive the most prestigious awards and acceptances take their own paths and commit to their own interests and passions. Schools provide education—they want to see what motivates you besides getting into Harvard or Stanford.

Can you work with people with learning differences, spectrum traits, processing disorders, or ESL concerns?

With exceptions, yes—and I have lots of experience doing so. If I’m not equipped to help you out, I’ll be up front about it. Explain what your person’s got going on if there are special details that I need to know to help them succeed.

Do you help with other applications, like for scholarships or graduate school?

Yes indeed! If you know someone who is pursuing further education, or who is completing applications for merit awards, please spread the word. Not quite half of my clients ask for help with scholarship applications, and most are successful. My college-hopeful tutees have received merit scholarships and stipends at their liberal arts colleges and state schools, and my aspiring postgraduates have received full stipends to attend math and law graduate programs at Tufts and the the University of Georgia.

Will our conversations be confidential?

Of course. I maintain a HIPAA seal: neither the names nor the stories of my clients are anyone’s business but my own.  Because college essays are about emotions, I frequently hear about adult difficulties from my students—their anxiety disorders, their parents’ breakups, their favorite aunts’ addictions. That’s a considerable burden of trust, and I treat it with as much seriousness as doctors and therapists treat theirs. But on your end, feel free to discuss our sessions with whoever you please. (I do appreciate referrals!)