When Jen joined a successful, well-known test prep company in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago, she was impressed with the broad scope of the company’s material but disappointed by the lack of curriculum personalization: regardless of a student’s strengths or weaknesses, there was one, and only one, method demonstrated to attack a problem. She quickly found that tailoring her approach to each student’s unique means of problem-solving led to score improvements nearly double that of the company average — and so began Great Expectations College Prep.
Jen tutored students in a wide variety of academic subjects for nearly two decades, but she now focuses solely on test prep. She delights in pulling back the curtain on these intimidating standardized tests to reveal predictable, manageable patterns; while she ensures that students have a strong foundation in the material at hand, she challenges them to think differently and approach questions more like they would a puzzle than a test at school. Additionally, improving organizational and study skills by harnessing students’ unique learning styles and skills enables Jen to incorporate methods and systems that will serve them long after their time with her comes to an end.
Jen’s ability to make the process fun for students while still inspiring them to push themselves and take pride in their work yields incredible score improvements (an average of nearly 10 points on the ACT), evidence that she consistently gets the best out of each student she works with.
- In high school, Jen wrote a 465-page historical fiction novel and was offered a book deal at age 17.
- She completed a 2-year sommelier course for the heck of it.
- She has tried more than 100 macaroni and cheese recipes and is always looking for more. (Got a winner? Send it her way!)
- Her travel time is spent exploring tiny off-the-beaten-path villages in Europe, good food (even beyond mac and cheese), and great wine.
