Matt Joseph, PhD

Dr. Matthew Joseph, a licensed school psychologist, has been tutoring for the SATs for over 25 years. His educational background includes an M.F.A. in creative writing from Cornell University, where he was awarded a fellowship upon his acceptance. He subsequently won an additional scholarship based on his ongoing academic excellence, and completed his doctoral dissertation, which examines the efficacy of various approaches of SAT coaching.

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For this dissertation, he not only conducted extensive research regarding the effectiveness of SAT coaching, but also utilized his many 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.

Matt Ryan

Matt holds a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary; an 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 12th grade AP English at Methacton High School. Matt has tutored for the SAT, the ACT, the AP and subject tests for more than ten years. 

Scott Seiderman

Scott has an extensive background in test prep including working for the Princeton Review as a premier tutor for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. He has been teaching preparation for standardized tests for the last ten years and has also run several high school programs designed to help students in school and assist them in the college selection and admissions process. Scott has an MBA from University of Southern California and has worked in both management and business strategy consulting. After working in the corporate world, Scott realized that teaching is his true passion and has been doing that ever since. In addition to test prep, he also teaches scuba-diving and yoga.​

Scott’s central tenet in teaching test prep is that the biggest score increases come from students’ seeing the repetitive nature of the test, learning how to recognize every question type on the test, and having a clear and systematic method to quickly and efficiently answer each question type. He believes that given this framework, along with a lot of hard work… sprinkled with some good humor, every student can gain large score increases.

Jake Pearlstein

Jake Pearlstein is a Georgetown University graduate who double-majored in Finance and Accounting with a minor in classical theology. A former student of Matthew Joseph, Jake began teaching at MJ while still in high school and has since taught over five hundred hours of ACT and SAT instruction in both individual sessions and group classes. Jake is dedicated to helping his students reach their goals and draws upon his own experience to craft the most effective study plan for each individual student. 

Jake encourages his students to do more than just what is expected and has found that his most successful students are able to self-motivate and take full advantage of MJ’s expansive resources. 

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RJ Blazejewski

RJ is the most experienced tutor on staff and specializes in helping students with high scores in both math and critical reading sections.

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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. As a result of her strong performance as an LSAT preparation student, she was asked to become an instructor. Through this she became involved in test preparation and loved the work, while simultaneously becoming dissatisfied with politics.

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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 youthful energy, has been tutoring for over fifteen years. 

Eric Borowsky

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in English and Cinema Studies, Eric headed out to Los Angeles to work in the film industry and write his own (supposedly) comedic screenplays. Since returning to the Philadelphia area, Eric has transitioned to a career in education.

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In 2012, he instructed students of all ages as a part of Penn State’s Summer Reading Program and soon after began teaching at Folkshul, a Jewish Children’s School in Chestnut Hill. His newfound passion for education led him to MJ Test Prep in September of that year.

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Eric is our lead camp tutor for the summer and tutors students in one-on-one sessions. He believes that MJ’s rigorous curriculum provides students with not only the skills but also the self-confidence required to increase their standardized test scores. 

Matt Tausch

Matt earned his B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. He was consistently awarded Dean's list honors for his academic performance. After graduating, he taught English at a small school in northern China. Upon his return to America, Matt worked in the restaurant industry in Washington D.C. He returned to Philadelphia to be closer to family and to enjoy a career in standardized test prep. Matt has spent the last four years devoted to test preparation.

Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, Matt has firsthand experience navigating the highly competitive high school landscape. The expectations colleges now have of applicants have never been higher, and the pressures students feel to perform well on tests can be overwhelming. Matt takes pride in serving as a guiding force through this process and assisting students in gaining knowledge, improving organization, and fostering confidence. 

Sonia Joseph

Sonia Joseph is a Chemistry and Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering dual major at the university of Pennsylvania, where she is part of the Vagelos Integrated Program of Energy Research (VIPER), a program that each year selects 25 highly qualified students from around the world. In high school she was a national merit finalist, and a Cum laude on the National Latin Exam. Sonia scored a perfect 800 on the Math SAT, an 800 on the subject test math level II, and an 800 on the Subject Chemistry test.  Additionally, she scored a 5 on Calculus BC AP test and a 5 on the Chemistry AP test.   She graduated High School a year early because by then she completed all math and science courses available. She is an avid environmentalist constantly researching current environmental issues and sharing that information with others.  She particularly enjoys teaching math and science and, because of her family’s business, any tests related to college admissions.  She has been helping students at MJ test prep for the last 3 years.  Outside of academics she enjoys designing and sewing her own clothing, running, and cooking vegan dishes.

Anthony Pryor

Anthony graduated with honors from 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 who the other tutors could not easily accommodate. Anthony  soon realized he preferred the tutoring to his managerial duties, and so parted ways and came to us in 2008 where he has been a stalwart ever since.  He teaches for the SAT, ACT, and Subject Tests Math Level I, Math Level II, and Literature.  He also helps students with essay writing, including the college personal statement.

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Besides music, Anthony’s main pursuits include in literature & Philly sports. #TTP

Andy Snover

Andrew is a graduate of the Schreyer Honors College of Penn State University, where he received his BA in English, with a Creative Writing Emphasis. He also received a Minor in History, assisted by the head start of 21 credits he earned from his success on Advanced Placement tests in high school.  Originally from the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Andrew attended Central High School where he excelled at academics and was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.  Whether he’s working with an underprivileged high school student trying to master algebra or an elite NCAA athlete struggling to write a term paper, Andrew’s approach is to show the student that the subject at hand isn’t nearly as hard as it looks once it is unraveled piece by piece. He focuses on building a student’s confidence and is quick to apply positive reinforcement to continually engage and motivate the student. 

Matt Hamm

Matt earned his BA in History and BBA in Finance and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame and his JD from the New York University School of Law.

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From the SAT and AP exams through the LSAT and three different state bar exams, Matt has gained skills and strategies that he’s excited to share with his students.

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He’s been a practicing lawyer for more than a decade, and prior to that, tutored student-athletes and taught prep classes to prepare students for both the SAT and the LSAT. 

Olivia Joseph

Olivia Joseph is an MIT student and currently works with our SAT Level 1 and 2 classes. Additionally, she does one on one instruction for the SAT and ACT.  Olivia is the daughter of our owners and began her own SAT training at the early age of 7th grade. She received a perfect score on the math and writing/language section of the exam. Training with MJ not only helped her master all the material on admissions tests, but also helped her find her passion for teaching using the strategies and techniques she learned as an MJ student. . 

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Olivia is a junior tutor, which means she can be a valuable resource for students going into ninth and tenth grade as a primary instructor. She is also our most recommended supplemental tutor for our rising juniors and seniors.

A supplemental tutor can provide valuable  additional support for students working with our senior instructors.