Here’s what some of our clients have to say.

Before coaching, my daughter Mary was completely disorganized with her schoolwork.  She was doing homework every night, but by the time she got to school she had lost it or misplaced it. She was constantly doing work over and over again … Then I got in touch with Anna, and it made a huge difference. She was instrumental in helping Mary develop strategies to keep her on track. This prevented the nightly arguments between Mary and me about schoolwork. She now uses her planner to write down assignments, has all of her papers organized, and is less stressed about her schoolwork. By the end of 7th grade, she was getting A’s again. If your son or daughter is disorganized at school, it is not a matter of discipline; they truly can benefit from Anna’s services to help them get on track. It has made a huge difference in our family.

—Linda McIntosh, parent of 8th grade student in Framingham

 

Prior to receiving help from Anna, I struggled with managing schoolwork. I would miss sleep and fun activities because it took me a long time to finish homework that met my high standards. However, after coaching from Anna, I utilize new strategies that train my brain to be flexible and efficient with time. Now, school is less stressful since I know I have the time management skills to finish everything and still get a good night’s sleep!

—Lauren, Newton North High School, Newton, MA

 

Anna started to work with our son during his 9th grade year, and from the start, she made a great connection with him. She was able to quickly tune in to the organizational challenges he faced managing a very demanding workload … She has taught him to take better notes and mark up his texts, to review and improve drafts of papers, and to pay attention to the small details that often trip him up. After each session he has a clear action plan for allocating his time and tackling his work for the days ahead. Anna is patient, articulate and positive in her work with our son … and her thorough reports have been very helpful to us.

—Parent, Commonwealth School, Boston

 

Anna has been terrific with our son, helping him navigate through some pretty tough writing challenges. She has a unique way of approaching an assignment that opens up new avenues of thought, creativity, and literacy. Impressive!

—Parent, Cambridge, MA

 

Anna’s tutoring was instrumental in helping me to improve my grades, SAT scores, and most importantly, my writing skills. Moreover, Anna knows about different learning styles and will adapt to your needs. I definitely recommend her as a tutor!

—Ridhima, Belmont High School, Belmont, MA

 

Anna Portnoy worked with my daughter on her common application essay over the summer before her senior year of high school. These one-on-one sessions helped my daughter to conceptualize different ideas for her personal essay,as well as to draft, revise, and polish a final piece. A writing professor myself, I was impressed by Anna’s ability to inspire and support my daughter without interfering with her own voice, or over-managing the process in any way. Best of all, my daughter truly enjoyed working with Anna and felt terrific about her essay. This was truly one of the best parts of the application process for my daughter, and I credit Anna for her ability to focus on process over product, and to help young writers to look beyond the stringencies of the common app in finding and shaping a writerly voice.

—Amy B., parent at Milton Academy

 

Anna was a HUGE help during the process of drafting my daughter’s essay, helping her to develop her idea, shape the narrative, and keep moving in the right direction.

—Ellen G., Belmont, MA

 

I definitely felt that the tutoring was extremely effective. While taking the test I felt much more confident and approached problems, especially in the math section, very differently, which helped me to be efficient and correct while solving problems. After the practice and specific advice I was given during my tutoring I was able to improve my score by 210 points!

—Talia Aronson, Cambridge, MA

 

Hi Anna, I just wanted to let you know that I got into Duke yesterday! Of course, this was my first choice, so I’m done with applications and I’m so so happy! Thank you so much for helping me perfect my Common Application and for sticking by my side even though I was a lazy, distracted senior! I loved working with you and I know you helped me bring out my best qualities through my writing. I hope you’re still doing this when my brother is going through the application process. He’s even more lazy and distracted than I am! Again, thank you so so much!

—Hilary Greenberg, Weston, MA

 

Hi Anna, I heard back from Yale this weekend- and I got in!! I’m really excited, and wanted to thank you again for all the work you did on helping me with my essays (and ACT), and applications as a whole it definitely made a lot of difference.

—Graduate of Concord Academy, Concord, MA

 

I am amazed at the progress Jacob has made with his writing, primarily due to your coaching and direction. I sincerely appreciate all of your efforts. From a child who was daunted by a blank page to a kid who can get started and has the tools to complete an essay, this change has been compelling. Thank you so much!

—Parent of 8th grade student, Newton, MA

 

During orientation today, John talked about SAT Prep and how amazing it was and how helpful Katie was! He said he felt like he did 200pts better because of it (I think he’s just smart but that’s me!). He also talked about how amazing you are during the college prep process and how ahead of the game he knows he is. Just wanted to send along the kind words we don’t get to hear everyday!

—Edlyn Thompson-Mettle, SSJP Scholars Coordinator, Brigham & Women’s Hospital

 


My daughter got her SAT scores today and she received a 640 on the Critical Reading, and a 680 on both the Math and Writing. That’s an increase of over 200 points!!! I hope this wave of confidence and pride sustains her. Yippee! And thank you so much!—Parent of 12th grade student, Arlington, MA