PrepNow Tutor - Karen A.
An admissions consultant with twenty-five years of coaching experience, Karen has a proven track record of elite college admissions success. She holds a BA from Columbia University in film and media studies; she also has an MA in organization and leadership from Columbia University, Teachers College. She started her career as a tutor, working at a large, internationally-known test prep company; her formal training prepared her not only to teach the SAT math and English sections but also the GMAT, the GRE, and the LSAT. After more than five years of helping thousands of students prepare for exams, Karen went on to work for various Wall Street companies in training and organizational development, and then later transitioned to a career in entertainment-industry business management. In 2014, Karen began working with students and parents on college counseling and essay coaching. She focuses on personal, student-centered learning and believes in the importance of determining one's unique edge.
“My gift is finding and extracting every student's best qualities and helping to communicate them effectively to admissions committees,” Karen says. Karen’s goal with every student is to keep the stress low and the results high. “The college admissions process is one of the most significant rites of passage in a student's life,” she says. “So many teens spend their high school years working hard so that they will have the opportunity to attend their dream college and they do not always understand the nuances of the process. Helping families gain clarity so that they can put their best foot forward is what I love to do. Celebrating their successes is the icing on the cake.” While Karen has worked with all levels of students applying to many types of colleges, she has the most experience working with high-achieving students aiming for top-tier institutions. “STEM and engineering admissions are a specialty area of mine, as I have guided many of my students to top-tier STEM and engineering programs,” Karen says. She is also highly experienced with essay coaching and has worked with hundreds of essay clients, ensuring that every student's personal statement is memorable and shows the student in the best possible light.
When asked about a recent success story, Karen recalls working with a student whose dream school was Stanford. “He came to me as qualified as any other real contender but with schools like Stanford, that's never enough. Stellar grades, perfect or near-perfect test scores, lofty extracurriculars, and gushing recommendations are just the ‘how do you do’ of elite college admissions,” Karen says. “In the vast majority of cases, the one and only chance an applicant gets to ‘speak’ to admissions is through the essay so I knew this student's essay had to be ‘knock your socks off’ amazing.” Karen and the student brainstormed ideas and something he said about his background clicked as the essay topic. “We worked together through several drafts until it was ready to submit. It was one of the best essays I have ever read and, yes, my client did get into Stanford,” Karen shares.
Karen loves to travel, explore new places, and meet new people.“My superpower is my social-emotional connection to others as I can connect with anyone,” Karen says. “Of course spending time with family and loved ones is paramount”.
Karen is a level 9 Google Guide with over 150 million views on her content, which includes reviews of restaurants, stores, parks, colleges, museums, events, and more.
When asked to share advice to students, Karen says, “I worked so much while I was in college that I was never really present in those precious few years of college life, and I wish I had taken advantage of more opportunities that were available to me at the time. My advice to students would be to dive in and be fully present in your college years—it will go by fast!”
