Philosophy

The best tutors aren't just brilliant and accomplished; they are patient, supportive, and down-to-earth, too. Our tutors need to connect with students from all kinds of backgrounds, so we carefully choose experienced tutors who can build a real bond with our students, sharing their skills, their successes, and their enthusiasm. We're proud of our tutors' uniquely effective blend of expertise, heart, and superb credentials.

Staff

Eva, Founder & Director

Eva earned her B.A. at Harvard University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. A Bay Area native, Eva attended Livermore High, where she was a National Merit Scholar, valedictorian, and recipient of various awards in math, science, technology, foreign language, and composition. She earned perfect scores on the SAT I and four SAT IIs.

Over the past decade, Eva has tutored and mentored students through a variety of professional and volunteer roles. With an interest in college admissions, Eva has also taught test prep since the late '90s, worked as a Harvard Admissions aide and interviewer, and served as an essay consultant for two admissions agencies. She holds a certificate in College Admissions Advising from UC Berkeley.

Anne, Director of Client Services

Anne graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, earning her BSE in Civil Engineering. She was nominated to three of the top national honor societies, Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society) and Phi Beta Kappa for her undergraduate work. Since then Anne has enjoyed working with the Princeton Alumni Association as an admissions interviewer. Before heading off to college, she graduated high school as a valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar and recipient of numerous awards.

Anne worked for a non-profit before returning to the world of academia by becoming the Director of Client Services for PrepPoint and is now serving as the liaison between PrepPoint's tutors and clients. Anne lives with her husband and two boys, one of whom has special needs. She and her family are very involved in their community and with their church. She and her husband began a special needs soccer program in their town and have thoroughly enjoyed providing such opportunities to other special needs families.

Lead Tutors

Carl

Carl is a graduate student at San Jose State University, where he is near completion of his M.S. in Chemical Engineering degree, with a semiconductor and polymer processing emphasis. While attending SJSU he has conducted research projects in nanotechnology at NASA. Carl holds a B.S. in Chemistry from U.C. Santa Barbara. As an undergraduate he has done extensive research with hydrogen fuel cells and inorganic metal complexes. Because science and mathematics are his forte, he puts careful attention and effort towards the student's complete understanding of the material. Whenever time permits, Carl likes to stay fit through sports and strenuous exercise. Upon completion of his M.S. degree, Carl is looking forward to studying patent law.

Ellen

Ellen is an experienced teacher who holds a CA multiple subject teaching credential and a single subject teaching credential in Science. She has a BA, graduating magna cum laude, in Biology and Chemistry from Hunter College, and a BS, also graduating magna cum laude, in Computer Science from City University of New York, and an MA, graduating summa cum laude, in Interdisciplinary Education from Santa Clara University. Over the last ten years she has taught at the fifth, sixth, eighth grade and associate degree college levels, and enjoys making learning meaningful for each student. She was a software engineer for IBM for eight years prior to her career as an educator. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, reading, writing, singing, gardening and baking. She lives with her husband, their two cats, and her son when he is back from college on holidays.

Joy

Joy earned a double major in May 2005 from U.C. Berkeley in Legal Studies and Political Science. She plans on attending MBA School in the future and currently works for a Fortune 500 company in the automobile industry. Prior to attending UC Berkeley, she graduated valedictorian from a private college preparatory academy and received numerous awards in English, math, science, and composition as well as passed 5 AP courses solely through self-study. She received a score of 5 in AP English & Composition. She also received a perfect score on the Chinese SAT II exam. Although English is her favorite subject to teach, in the past she has designed curriculum based upon each individual student's needs, emphasizing writing, reading, and math. She has also prepared many ESL and native students for the SATs. She is extremely passionate about working with others to help them increase their opportunities in life. She loves music, played and taught piano, played varsity volleyball, and loves traveling to foreign countries. She is extremely energetic and enthusiastic, and loves to motivate others!

Lauren

Lauren graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in Biophysical Chemistry and Math, in preparation to become a pediatric doctor. During her time at Dartmouth, Lauren participated in mentoring and tutoring programs for all ages. In particular, she served as a TA and ran a middle school mentoring program. Before college, Lauren attended Acalanes High School in Lafayette, where she was a National Merit Scholar and received perfect scores on half a dozen APs and 98th percentile SAT I and ACT scores. Lauren strives to give students a solid foundation as well as an understanding of real-world applications to make the material come to life.

Lucy

After successfully completing her freshman year at Reed College, Lucy is searching for a university that is more geared towards her passions: social action and community service. During her high school years, Lucy tutored students of all ages in various subjects, took many AP classes, maintained a perfect 4.0, and received awards in French, math, liberal arts, and science. In addition, Lucy used her extensive tutoring experience to found a free math tutoring program at her high school.

Matthew

Matthew recently graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in both Art History and Legal Studies. In high school, Matthew led his Science Bowl and Ocean's Bowl team to nationals on three separate occasions. He scored in the 99th percentile on the SATs and boasted similar marks on his SAT II and AP tests. Before turning eighteen, Matthew was the second-highest ranked minor Scrabble player in North America. Matthew believes that his knowledge in game theory allows him to create a learning environment that is both challenging and fun.

Melissa

Melissa graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Irvine, where she majored in Computer Science and minored in Education. Melissa is currently a member of Teach for America, an organization dedicated to eliminating the achievement gap that exists for students who attend inner-city and rural schools. She currently teaches Algebra and Intermediate Algebra at Oakland Technical High School. Melissa has tutored students of all ages, ranging from elementary school to college-aged. The majority of her tutoring has been in the subject of math. Melissa loves to see students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for math as they learn how to apply concepts to the real world.

Associate Tutors

Abhishek

Abhishek is an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley where he majors in computer science. He has New SAT scores in the 99th percentile, as well as similar SAT II scores. During high school where he graduated in the top 4% of his class, Abhishek had extensive teaching experience through peer tutoring and as a basketball coach. Abhishek is very enthusiastic about working with students of all ages as he feels that he can help foster academic confidence in all of them. In his spare time, Abhishek enjoys playing basketball.

Andrea

Andrea is in her final semester at UC Berkeley, where she will graduate with High Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her research focuses on value formation in western societies, primarily through Anthropology and Religious Studies, and her recently completed senior thesis was extremely successful. She intends to pursue graduate studies in Fall 2009. While at Berkeley, she taught a college-level course entitled "Food, Religion, and Hospitality in the International Community," spent Spring 2007 studying in Siena, Italy where she tutored English. She has fluency in both French and Italian. Andrea also founded and was active in Progressive Students of Faith, a student organization focused on faith-based service and leadership. High school yielded many distinctions such as Valedictorian, 98th percentile SAT I results, perfect ACT scores, and multiple AP successes (she had a 5.0 GPA as a senior). Aside from academics, Andrea enjoys competitive and social ballroom dancing, has taught horseback riding and trained horses for almost ten years, and unwinds by painting/drawing and being active in sports and the outdoors.

Cheryl

Cheryl earned two master's degrees in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University and MCP Hahnemann University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Zoology and Psychology from Connecticut College. Cheryl's work experience covers divergent poles, formerly biotechnology and research and currently preparing for the WCV MFT Licensing Exam, interning at San Mateo County Hospital, teaching figure skating, and tutoring all over the bay area in subjects as diverse as Italian and SAT Math. She was a transfer advisor at her alma mater and has experience tutoring in the middle school, high school, and college level, in addition to counseling children and adults in the community. Cheryl's clients are particularly fond of her individual attention, ability to present the lessons according to the students' individual learning styles, focus on students' strengths, encourage them to apply such learning in the real world, and turn the sessions into something memorable and enjoyable.

Christine

Christine graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor's degree in Biology, from San Francisco State University with a Master's in Cell Biology, and from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D in Microbiology. She is currently a researcher at UCSF, where she studies how bacteria are able to infect animals. Christine has received numerous awards for academic achievement and scientific research, and has published research findings in well-respected scientific journals. Although she enjoys research, she misses the excitement and challenge of teaching students. She enjoys working with students in math and science, especially chemistry and biology. In between research and teaching, Christine enjoys tennis and hiking, and, yes, the occasional video game. Eventually, she would love to do research and teach full-time at a university near you!

Devin

Devin currently attends Las Positas College in Livermore and will transfer to UCLA in the fall of 2009. Devin plans to graduate from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Business Economics. Prior to attending Las Positas, Devin attended San Diego State University for a semester. At SDSU, Devin's academic excellence placed him on the Dean's List. Devin graduated with honors from Foothill High School in 2007. While in high school, Devin received multiple awards, including the award of AP Scholar. Devin has a great deal of experience tutoring all ages of students in a variety of subjects and he is tremendously passionate about helping students achieve their full potential.

Dominic

Dominic graduated from UC Berkeley Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelors in mathematics in 2006, and came back to work on a PhD in math. He went to high school at Campolindo in Moraga. While he was there, he scored a 1600 on the SAT, a 5 on AP's including Chemistry and German, and won a Regents' and Chancellor's scholarship at Berkeley. He likes to play jazz and classical piano and is in a jazz combo at Cal. Besides math, he is interested in languages, religion, literature, history, and politics. He enjoys tutoring in a variety of subjects, and enjoys helping people learn. He is getting married this year.

Edward

Edward graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in integrative biology. He graduated in the top 10% of his class at Oxford Academy High School where he also played varsity basketball and tennis. In high school and in college Edward has tutored middle school and high school students privately and through programs like OASIS. In his free time he loves to play basketball, tennis, and golf. Edward loves tutoring and wants to share his knowledge and experiences with his fellow mentees.

Hanae

Hanae is currently an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, where she is working towards a Political Science major while maintaining a 3.88 GPA. She graduated with a 4.6 cumulative GPA from Troy High School in Orange County as a full International Baccalaureate diploma recipient. During high school Hanae scored in the 99th percentile on the new SATs, and did comparably on the SATII and AP tests. She loves competitive badminton, and recently took the title for Girls Singles at Junior Nationals this past summer. Outside of class you can find Hanae drawing, reading, or struggling to eat her own cooking.

Jeff

Jeff graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. He has spent the majority of his career in the semiconductor field as a process engineer and managing engineering groups. While maintaining responsibility for process development, he also fulfilled management roles as a Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for a semiconductor capital equipment company. Most recently he founded his own e-commerce business and is now pursuing his other life-long dream, teaching. Jeff is very familiar with the high school curriculum in his area as well as with the New SAT. Jeff has also volunteered extensively in the community as a scout leader responsible for training scouts and leaders on leadership and scouting skills.

John

John recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He was also both a National Merit Scholar and a UC Berkeley Regent's and Chancellor's Scholar. John earned 99th percentile scores in SAT II Writing and Math, as well as SAT I Math, and a 95th percentile score on the SAT I Verbal. Although math comes most naturally to him, he has demonstrated high interest and ability in many other areas of study, making him well-rounded academically. John just likes learning! He believes that personal motivation is the most important part of education, and hopes to inspire that in his students. In his spare time, he likes to exercise and play basketball.

Karen

Karen is studying neurobiology, physiology, and behavior at UC Davis for she loves neuroscience and learning how the body works. Karen also loves mathematics in which she excelled while attending Mission San Jose High School, one of the most academically challenging schools in California. During high school, she swam varsity all four years, was captain of the girls' team, volunteered at the hospital, led a local youth ministry, tutored Spanish and math and all while maintaining a weighted GPA of 4.0 and passing three AP tests. While at UC Davis, she has been on the Dean's Honor list, has tutored underclassmen at the Learning Center, and has worked in a research lab that studies prokaryotic signal transduction in hopes of finding genes resistant to environmental extremities such as cancer. Karen continues to swim on Davis' Masters Aquatics. Her seven years as a swim coach, teaching students of all ages and needs from infants to adults to those with autism and other special needs, has shown her that the best instructors are understanding, adaptive, and patient to all student's abilities, needs and goals.

Kyle

Kyle is a senior at UC Berkeley, where he is pursuing a degree in Philosophy and is currently applying to Ph.D. programs. His GPA hovers around 3.94, and as a junior, he was one of only twenty students from his class to be inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society. Before college, he was co-valedictorian of his Stuart Hall High School class, scored a 1430 composite on the SAT 1, an 800 on the SAT 2 Writing test, and 5s on three AP exams, earning an AP Scholar with Distinction award. Kyle began tutoring privately during his junior year of high school and has been working with students of widely varying ages and abilities since then. He has developed a passion for helping people learn and feels that tutoring is about triggering the student's ability to understand, rather than just giving answers.

Laurie

Laurie is currently teaching 5th grade at a local bay area elementary school and is in her third year of teaching. She received her BA degree in Political Science, Pre Law and American Sign Language and then went on to receive a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Elementary Education. She has experience tutoring ages Pre K through High School in all academic areas. Her credential contains a supplement to teach high school students and adults in Civics, Government and Law. Her on-going passion for helping people of all ages and capabilities allows her to demonstrate patience and a special love for learning. She is also an involved sports coach for the youth.

Linda

Linda is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health at UC Berkeley, where she also earned her bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2005. As an undergrad, she was a UC Berkeley Regents' and Chancellor's Scholar and a Howard Hughes Institute grant recipient for her research in immunology. Linda is originally from the Los Angeles area, graduating from Downey High School in 2001 as class valedictorian and an AP Scholar with Distinction. As a PrepPoint tutor, she hopes that her students will develop solid study skills for college and an appreciation for all subjects. In her free time Linda enjoys cooking, traveling, and Cal football.

Luke

Luke graduated from Concord High School with two back to back 5.0 GPA semesters. He was awarded the Bank of America Award for Outstanding English Composition and is an AP Scholar with Distinction for passing 9 AP tests. Luke learned the patience necessary to excel as a mentor from working with younger scouts in his Boy Scout Troop where he achieved Eagle Scout Rank. Luke will be soon be attending the College of Creative Studies at Santa Barbara as a junior where he will pursue a double major in chemistry and philosophy. Luke scored in the 95th percentile of the new SATs and the 99th percentile of the writing section. Although English is his favorite subject, he has demonstrated talent in all other core areas of study, giving him a well rounded understanding of academics. Luke believes that education equates to opportunity and enjoys helping other students reach their unrealized potential.

Margaret R

Margaret has twenty-five years of experience teaching high school and college, and is currently an English professor at Cal State East Bay, where she teaches composition, linguistics, and graduate courses for future ESL teachers. She earned her doctorate from Washington State University with an emphasis in Composition Studies, Rhetorical Theory, and American Literature. She was born and raised in San Diego, and earned her BA and MA from San Diego State University. Margaret and her two teenage daughters moved to Pleasanton five years ago when she was hired at CSU East Bay. One of the things she enjoys most about teaching is helping students discover connections between their personal interests and their academic work, so school becomes more meaningful. When she is not teaching, spending time with her family, working on the computer, listening to music, or reading, Margaret likes to hang out with her four-year-old Golden Retriever, Lilly Belle.

Maria Teresa

Maria Teresa graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies. She also holds a Master's degree from the University of London in Economics. Prior to Mount Holyoke, she graduated from The Ethel Walker School, a private college preparatory school in Connecticut. Maria Teresa currently works as an economist at a litigation consulting firm, assisting in writing testimony on various economic issues. She is also fluent in Spanish. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming, spending time with her son and in the past, working as a soccer coach with children of all ages.

Nathan

Nathan graduated from UC Berkeley with honors in Chemical Biology. He moved to the United States seven years ago with a passion for higher education. He maintained 4.3 GPA during high school and achieved high scores in all SAT II science and math tests. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he worked as a physics tutor and an undergraduate student instructor for organic chemistry. He loves tutoring and encourages tutees to think critically. While he emphasizes understanding the material, he welcomes all kinds of questions. Nathan scored above the 90th percentile in the MCATs (Medical College Admission Test) and is planning to purse a medical degree in the future.

Nick

Nick graduated with honors from UC Berkeley receiving a Bachelors Degree in Economics. Since he was a junior in high school, Nick has tutored students of all ages and subjects. He is currently working for a firm specializing in consulting for small businesses, where he enjoys using his acquired analytical skills from his economics studies to solve the challenging real world problems faced by small businesses. Nick has New SAT scores in the 99th percentile and is a motivated, patient, and passionate tutor who enjoys helping students achieve their greatest potential.

Phil

Phil is an undergraduate at Stanford University where he studies biology with an emphasis in neurobiology and a minor in economics. He is currently conducting research at Stanford's sleep laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry. He has SAT scores in the 99th percentile and was a National Merit Finalist as well as an AP Scholar with Distinction. Phil has over four years of teaching and mentoring experience and enjoys working with students of all ages. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, hiking, traveling, and music.

Tara

Tara graduated cum laude from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania with a double major in Economics and Political Science and a minor in Women's Studies. She went on to earn her MBA with a double focus in Accounting and Marketing from the University of Scranton while working full time in the finance department of Lord & Taylor, a division of May Company. Tara began mentoring students in high school as a charter member of the Valley View High School Peer Counseling Group and continued as a Resident Assistant for three years at Wilkes. She has experience tutoring both high school and college students. Tara recently relocated from the East Coast to accept the position of Finance IT Project Manager with a Fortune 500 company.

Tim

Tim is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in the Political Economy of Industrial Societies major at UC Berkeley. Before attending Berkeley, Tim graduated from Miramonte High School in Orinda where he scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT I. His first experience with tutoring was in junior high, and he continued peer tutoring throughout high school and into college. During school, Tim has also spent a considerable amount of time in the working world, balancing the time and effort needed for both. In his spare time, Tim enjoys working on cars and learning languages.

Tony

Tony recently graduated cum laude from Stanford University with a B.A. in Philosophy and a minor in Economics. While at Stanford, he wrote his undergraduate honors thesis on business ethics and plans to further his research interests by practicing law or becoming a professor. Tony thoroughly enjoys all aspects of teaching and advising; at Stanford he was a Resident Assistant, helping plan programs and events in the dorms, and a Teaching Assistant for a class on social entrepreneurship. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Tony attended California High School in San Ramon where he graduated valedictorian and received a perfect score on 11 AP tests including calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry, computer science, economics and U.S. history. Aside from academics, Tony was on the varsity swimming, water polo, and debate teams at Cal High and currently loves learning how to become a better cook, photographer, and entrepreneur.

Tyler

Tyler just completed his first year of studies at Boston College, where he is working towards an International Studies major with a concentration in Political Science while maintaining a 3.8 GPA. He graduated from Amador Valley High School in the top 3% of his class. During high school, Tyler passed 10 AP exams with 5's in Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Calculus BC, Statistics, Government, US History, and World History. He also received close to perfect scores on the Math, US History, and World History SAT II's. Coupled with his academic success, Tyler also played varsity lacrosse and received All-League recognition junior and senior year. In addition, he led his two time state champion ice hockey in points for two consecutive years. Tyler is an eager and experienced tutor who is looking to instill his acquired lifeskills on aspiring students.

Vladimir

Vladimir is a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is working towards a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with an emphasis on laser-driven Inertial confinement fusion. As part of his studies he works at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the fields of laser and plasma physics. Vladimir holds a B.S. in Physics from UC Berkeley. As an undergraduate he has done experimental ultra low temperature physics. During his college career Vladimir taught, tutored and graded college level math and science courses. Now he wants to use his expertise to help more students completely understand their material. Vladimir likes to cook, hike and play music in his off hours. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Vladimir hopes to become a staff scientist at one of the national labs.

Whitney

Whitney is an undergraduate student of sociology at UC Berkeley. After leaving high school to attend college two years early on a full-tuition two-year scholarship, Whitney has earned Dean's List distinctions every semester, as well as receiving a prize for her work in social studies upon earning her A.A. from Simon's Rock College of Bard. She is a National Merit scholar and has earned scores in the 98th percentile in the critical reading section and the 99th percentile in the writing section of the SAT I, as well as a perfect score on the SAT II Literature exam. Whitney has experience teaching in many different settings, and has worked with young children, college students, adults, English-language learners, and adults with disabilities. She loves playing piano, volunteering, creative writing, classic rock, and Tae Bo. Whitney is excited about learning, and hopes to share her passion with others.