A previous student from St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, Amanda was born in America and was very frustrated with ACT and college applications and decided to go to a local community college while having a fairly good GPA. ivyGoal was able to help her improve her ACT score from 24 to 28 and completed the entire college applications in two months. 

Improving ACT from 24 to 28 seemed an impossible mission to Amanda, especially in math and reading. ivyGoal was able to pinpoint her weakness and accomplish the goal while she had little time to practice due to heavy school homework load. 

Amanda wanted to apply to multiple top colleges; however, the application essays seemed a daunting task because she was ill for a while and did not have much time to prepare. ivyGoal counselor motivated her and designed an application plan with her. In the end, she was accepted by multiple top colleges with scholarships. 

"Nick was a lifesaver. Literally. I've never written a review for anyone in my life before, but for Nick, I just had to share not how amazing not only a tutor he was but also a person as well.

My first meeting with Nick I was near tears because of how poorly I scored on the SAT and how overwhelmed I was with applying to college. He sat me down and calmly told me to calm down. He also asked if I wanted to see if the ACT interested me more. After deciding I was going to focus on the ACT, we didn't hesitate. He got me to focus on learning the test and how to beat the test. At the end of our first meeting, he asked me more about why I was worried about college and I told him that I was scared I was going to end up in a community college and miss out on all the college opportunities and experiences at an actual University.

Meeting Nick about early-mid September, we had about 5 weeks to prepare me to take the ACT for the first time. We focused in on my math abilities and simple ways to beat the ACT exam. I took about 7 practice exams and each one he took time to help me review what I had missed, even if it took a few exams to really drill the idea into my head. The week before my ACT was coming up and Nick had planned for me to take a practice exam a day, every day that week to be super prepared for the test. The Tuesday of the week of the October ACT, I ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with appendicitis, I remember telling my nurses, "I have to get out to take the ACT on Saturday." They told me that they'd do the best they could with the infection that they also found, as promised though they released me before the exam, at about 4 pm on the Friday before the exam. I took the exam and thanks to Nick's assistance, I scored a lot higher than I ever would've thought I could've.

After our work with the ACT I confided in Nick about how I was nervous about applying to colleges and had no idea where to start, he told me he could help me write my essays and that was some of his favorite work to do. He took weeks and weeks with me to complete each and every essay until I was finished with my applications. Without Nick and IvyGoal there is no way I would've been where I am today in terms of being accepted to colleges and there's no way I would've been as excited and confident I am about my abilities if it weren't for Nick!"