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| Director/Coach |
| Dr.
Matthew Joseph, licensed school psychologist,
has been tutoring for the SATs over the last
20 years. His educational background includes an M.F.A.
in creative writing from Cornell University where he was
awarded a fellowship upon his acceptance, and subsequently
an additional scholarship based on his ongoing academic
excellence. Additionally, he recently completed his doctoral
dissertation which examines the efficacy of various approaches
of SAT coaching. |
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| For this project,
he not only conducted extensive research regarding the
effectiveness of SAT coaching, but also utilized his 20
years of coaching experience to analyze tens of thousands
of SAT problems for the purpose of devising basic and
easy to use solution skills to make taking the SAT a much
more manageable task. |
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David
Goldstein holds a B.A. in International Relations/
Political Science from Stanford University, and he holds
a Masters of Education from Temple University. David worked
in corporate America for several years before deciding
that his heart was in teaching. Leaving his job as a financial
analyst, he taught in the New York city school system,
and while there he also worked for one of the large commercial
SAT test companies. He has been teaching the SAT’s,
and other standardized tests, for over 8 years and has
been with MJ Test Prep for 4 years. He specializes in
helping students with scores in the high ranges. Dave
additionally teaches the SAT IIs for Math and World History.
David recently has been certified as a Yoga instructor
so he is quite probably the most serene and spiritually
balanced of our group. |
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| Matt
Ryan holds a B.A. in English from the College
of William and Mary, and M.A. in English Language and
Literature from Yale University, and an M.F.A. in Dramatic
Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He currently teaches Advanced Placement English at Methacton
High School. Matt is also an adjunct instructor in English
and Theatre at several of the local colleges. He earned
National Board Certification as an instructor of English
and Language Arts /Adolescence and Young Adults/ in 2004,
one of only fourteen high school English teachers to hold
that distinction. Matt has tutored for the SAT and other
standardized tests for more than six years, and has been
with MJ Test Prep for the last four years. He specializes
working with students scoring in the mid to high ranges
in the Math and the high ranges on the Critical Reading
and Writing sections. He also teaches for the SAT II Literature,
Math IC, and ACT. |
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Kayley
Laren is currently a sophomore at Harvard University.
She started as a student here in her senior year, and
barely missed the mythical “perfect score”
on her SAT. (We believe, given her work ethic and intellectual
gifts, had she started earlier she would have nailed it)
She has worked for MJ Test Prep for 2 years now. She started
off as an auxiliary reading specialist, teaching students
our specific approach to the reading comprehension. She
then worked as an auxiliary specialist for the Algebra
II problems which have recently been introduced to the
new SAT. Because of her great skill and initiative, she
subsequently began helping younger students getting ready
for the sophomore PSAT. Kayley has quickly built an impressive
reputation as an instructor and is now being used by all
levels of students for all parts of the SAT, PSAT and
SAT II Math. |
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| Emily
Allen has been working as a teacher for the last
ten years. While a student at Haverford College, she worked
as a private tutor for high school students in the area.
She helped them with both their academic courses and with
standardized tests, including preparing students for the
Spanish SAT II. Growing up with a mother who worked as
a learning specialist has given Emily a great deal of
insight into children with various processing issues.
Additionally, having siblings with ADD has given her great
compassion for students, of all levels, with obstacles
to learning, and this has contributed immeasurably to
her success as an instructor. After Haverford college
Emily attended the Universitat de Barcelona. While taking
all over her courses in Spanish there, she continued to
work as a teacher. She not only taught high school students,
but also worked in a technology firm creating and implementing
a curriculum so that executives could develop the requisite
language skill to communicate effectively with English
speaking businesses. Emily continues now to create curricula
and teach students English at the Lingual Institute in
Philadelphia. As part of her program she must assess the
level of her students and then devise strategies to prepare
them to pass their first certificate test. She has been
working for MJ Test Prep as a tutor for the last three
years. |
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Anthony
Pryor graduated with honors form the University
of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in English and Economics.
Upon graduating he was hired by a prestigious national
SAT prep company to head up their Philadelphia division.
While there Anthony was responsible for hiring and training
the instructors, implementing curriculum, and managing
the entire administrative branch of the office. Because
of his highly developed skills as an instructor he was
also called upon to work with the high-end students the
other tutors could not easily accommodate. In this capacity
he soon realized he preferred the tutoring to his managerial
duties, and so parted ways to begin tutoring on his own.
He has been a prized tutor in this area for over the last
eight years. He has recently joined MJ Test Prep and after
being trained in our system of coaching Anthony commented
‘this is the way it should be done--this was my
vision of how coaching could be organized.” Obviously
that has endeared Anthony to us all and we greatly appreciate
what he brings to this organization. To compliment his
teaching, Anthony indulges his considerable creative and
expressive talents as a musician. He is currently involved
in writing and playing music for several projects in the
Philadelphia area. We here at MJ Test Prep look forward
to his shows and will continue to support him as he makes
his meteoric rise on the music scene. |
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| Bob
Finegan holds a B.A. in English and History from
the University of Delaware where he graduated Phi Beta
Kappa. Additionally, he holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing
from the University of Pittsburgh where he was awarded
a teaching fellowship. He has been a professor of composition
and literature at Drexel University since 1993, and has
also taught in the graduate creative writing program at
the University of Pennsylvania Writers Conference and
at Rosemont College. Bob’s short stories have been
published in The Sun, River Styx, The Antietam Review
and other magazines, and he has received a literature
fellowship from The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
He has been with MJ Test Prep for the last three years,
and besides tutoring for the SAT and SAT II Literature,
he specializes in helping students with college essays
and with writing skills. |
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We are delighted
to welcome Sarah Heckscher to the staff
of MJ TESTPREP. Through Sarah we are able offer a brand
new service to you, College Counseling. Sarah has had
a long and extremely distinguished career as a prominent
guidance counselor in the Philadelphia area. She graduated
Cum Laude Harvard/ Radcliffe with a degree in Fine Arts
and History. From there she went on to Villanova to get
her MA in counseling. Sarah’s work in college admissions
includes acting as the Assistant to the Director of Admissions
as Harvard/ Radcliff for two years. Additionally, for
36 years she was the Director of Guidance at a renowned
all girls private school. She has served as president
of PACAC (Pennsylvania Association of College Admission
Counseling), and directed its Summer Institute for new
school counselors and admissions officers for 14 years.
She has sat on the Executive Board and been the Chair
of Publication and Research Committee for NACAC (National
Association of College Admission Counseling). She was
the Co-Founder of PACIS (Philadelphia Association of Counselors
of Independent Schools). She was the Founder and Director
of Blackberry River Retreat-- a retreat for college counselors
all over the country. She is a member of the Harvard Club
where she has served on the Executive Committee and does
interviews for the university. She has been both a member
and trustee of The College Board. Finally she is presently
President of the Board at the Overbrook School for the
Blind. Sarah has a spectacular understanding of the college
admissions process based on her long standing commitment
to helping her students get into wide range of schools.
Additionally she has a wealth of knowledge regarding the
nuances of colleges and what school is the right fit for
a particular student. We are thrilled to have such an
illustrious educator as part of what we are able to offer
to you. |
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| Colin
Murphy holds a B.A. in both Economics and English
from Columbia University. While there he was a Dean’s
List student, the recipient J. Wood Platt Scholarship,
and a four year varsity letter winner on the lightweight
rowing team. Upon graduating from college Colin became
a licensed security dealer while also teaching math full
time at LaSalle High School, where he taught for 3 years.
Colin then decided that he would like to become a doctor,
so for the last year has ben attending Madical School
at Temple University.two years he has been taking Post-
Baccalaureate classes at the University of Pennsylvania
to fulfill his admissions requirements for medical school.
While at LaSalle, despite his outside studies and his
role as a crew coach, Colin still found time to prepare
students for the SAT. Colin has been with MJ Test Prep
for the last three years and specializes in working with
students in the mid to high ranges of the SAT. |
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Nick
Bosh holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Cornell
University. He is right from our neighborhood growing
up in Radnor and attending The Haverford School for Boys.
Since graduating from Cornell, Nick has been actively
involved in writing, directing, producing, and acting
in films. Just out of college Nick worked for several
established production companies where he did marketing,
sales, website and print campaign designs, fund raising,
and television production. Nick recently has branched
out on his own and co-founded Departure Pictures. While
with Departure, he has produced and wrote a series of
short films and a TV pilot that he is currently shopping.
Recently Nick made his big screen debut as the Masked
Killer in Blur. Nick has been with us for almost two years
now, and specializes in working with students in the lower
to mid ranges of the SAT. |
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| Nathaniel
Drake graduated from Yale University where he
was selected into a honors English track that demanded
extra writing courses and a final project. Prior to Yale,
Nat attended The Shipley School, where he was the valedictorian
and AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Scholarship
winner. Upon graduating in 2006, Nat traveled to France
to teach English at Lycée Louis Armand. Additionally,
while there, he privately tutored students in a variety
of subjects. At MJ Test Prep, Nat teaches for the SAT,
the SAT II Math Level I and Level II, the Latin SAT II,
and the Literature SAT II. We are thrilled to have such
a distinguished, young scholar whose down-to-each style
has made him an immediate hit with the students. |
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William
Blickos earned his B.A. in Physics from the University
of Northern Colorado where he graduated with honors. While
attending, he received the Provost Freshman’s Scholarship,
twice received a Kodak Undergraduate Research Grant, and
was the only student from U.N.Co. to place on the 2001
Putnam mathematics exam. He also tutored undergraduate
math and physics throughout his stay, and was a lab assistant
and professor’s assistant his senior year. William
has an infectious enthusiasm and a remarkable ability
to make complex and abstract concepts in physics and math
comprehensible and even palatable to students who traditionally
have been struggling in these areas. Because of his rich
background in math and science, Bill has also had great
success in further encouraging advanced students who love
these disciplines as he does. Anyone who has been around
Bill knows that he, himself is a voracious learner who
is always reading and is always inquiring. Additionally,
he still passionately pursues interests in music and art.
He has been working here at MJ Test Prep for just over
one year, and specializes in coaching for any test relating
to math or physics, which includes SAT II Physics, SAT
II Level I and II Math, and the SAT. |
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| RJ
Blazejewski is one of our tutors that specializes
in helping students with high scores in both math and
critical reading sections. RJ is the most experienced
tutor on staff. She can also teach for both Level I and
Level II SAT II math. RJ graduated with honors from Miami
of Ohio with a degree in business. She began her career
as a campaign staff worker for several political candidates
with the intention of going to law school. Fortunately,
as a result of her strong performance as a LSAT preparation
student, she was asked to become an instructor. Through
this she became involved in test preparation, loved the
work, while simultaneously becoming dissatisfied with
politics. She is now an icon here at MJ Test Prep as one
of the most beloved tutors because of her kindness and
good humor. RJ, despite her impressive youth, has been
tutoring for fifteen years. |
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