Tony Di Giacomo, Ph.D., and Novella Prep he founded are insightful academic coaches. Having…read morepreviously worked with other academic consultants, it is our family's experience that Dr. Di Giacomo creates unique value and benefit for the student. He is an exceptional educator and motivational coach. He has served as catalyst for our high school-age son's study habits, skills development, and academic progress. Dr. Di Giacomo left no stone unturned in understanding our son's playing field: his academic performance, notes taking in class, focus and knowledge retention at school, study habits at home, and underlying beliefs and motivation. It is this all-encompassing understanding that enabled Dr. Di Giacomo to define a breakthrough path for our son to a higher plateau, one where his academic performance reflects his full cognitive abilities and potential. Dr. Di Giacomo and Novella Prep are not only holistic in their approach to enabling the student with a keen understanding of child and teen psychology. They are proactive, caring, flexible, and responsive to the parent. We have been impressed by Dr. Di Giacomo's insight as he delved into our son's mind and psyche, uncovering and removing defense mechanisms and converting negative self-fulfilling prophecies into winning student habits and outcomes. Dr. Di Giacomo instantly earned our son's trust and cooperation in cooperating fully with assigned tasks that have led to effective habits and behaviors as student. There have been many academic and college advisors that present their expertise at our local library from time to time. Dr. Di Giacomo has stood out for his ability, efficiency, and effectiveness in coaching our son to success. He has our appreciation for his keen insight and pivotal contributions to our son's high school academic performance and college readiness.

Tony is fantastic. He understood my son and his needs pretty quickly. All kids I'm sure have…read moredifferent situations and goals and I think Tony and his team are able to move on that and come up with a workable plan. We have definitely seen results from the support he's getting.

I met Sharon and I was blown away at how smart she is. From our conversation I could tell she is…read morevery passionate about getting her students to a level where they can pick the Ivy league school of their choice. She values quality and she is very thorough. Her experience, kindness and the love of her craft make her an obvious top contender for SAT training.

From the owner: Shark Tutor LLC provides Fairfield County and Westchester County high…read moreschool students with premier SAT tutoring, ACT tutoring, and academic tutoring that is individualized for proven, results-oriented performance. As Business Owner and principle tutor, I have a breadth of experience with top-scoring students, those with ADD and other learning disabilities, and every type of student in between. For those students outside of the local geographic area or wanting virtual sessions, I also provide tutoring via Zoom. In addition, I provide tutoring for SSAT, ISEE, and GRE exams as well as college application essays.

If only I could give 10 STARS! After falling through the cracks in public schools and only knowing…read morefailure, I reached out to Fusion Academy Westchester Campus. Enrolling my child in this school was the best decision I have ever made. The atmosphere is supportive, rewarding, challenging and caring. My child walked into Fusion with no motivation, lack of confidence and walked out the complete opposite. The staff, Gina, Karla, Ryan, Bill, Veronica are no like any other. The Fusion teachers focus on the way your child learns in a one on one setting. I have never been prouder and have no plans on ever sending my child back to the public school system.

From the owner: Fusion Academy Westchester is a fully accredited 1-to-1 private school for grades 4-12, where…read morepersonalized education unlocks the potential of students with learning, social, or emotional differences. Our White Plains, New York campus offers a full-time program, classes for credit, tutoring, college counseling, and more - all tailored to fit your student's needs. With rolling enrollment and customized scheduling, students can start at any time of the year and build school around their life, not the other way around. It's hard to give a general explanation of a completely personalized school. We'd love to meet you and show you around our unique campus. Connect with us today to learn what makes Fusion Academy the school that changes everything.

I have now had two of my kids at Advantage for SAT/ACT prep. My first one has already completed…read morethe process and will be off to college in the fall of '14. Her experience was truly transformative in terms of her college applications. Her score increased by such a large amount that she was able to gain Early Admission to one of the country's top liberal arts colleges. That would have been a tough prospect without the high scores she got with much work and the care of her tutor. And my daughter really really liked her tutor-- more of a mentor than a teacher. My second child is currently in the process of preparation for college entrance exams and hopefully she'll have as good an outcome as our first one. But based on our experience so far, I can wholeheartedly recommend Advantage Westchester. The price is rather high but if you can afford it, the results will likely justify the cost.

One star for the business and billing practices. The tutoring itself was okay, and my son liked his…read moretutor, but the billing experience was completely unacceptable. Beware: Rates are quoted in 50-minute units, yet sessions were repeatedly treated or billed as longer without the parent's clear, separate advance approval. In some communications, a longer duration was inserted into a message focused primarily on scheduling a date, without separately highlighting the increased charge. In my experience, sessions could also continue beyond the regular length unless I actively intervened. I eventually had to ask my minor son to set an alarm and monitor the lesson time himself to prevent sessions from running over. This placed an inappropriate and unnecessary layer of stress and billing responsibility on the student. Additionally, beware: they do not routinely send billing information or information about charges unless you request it in writing. They simply charge your credit card. In summary, this may be an acceptable service for a family with an unlimited tutoring budget that does not mind sessions being extended. It is not acceptable for families who need predictable costs and reasonably expect the quoted 50-minute session to remain 50 minutes. Any longer session and its total price should be clearly disclosed and expressly approved by the parent beforehand. Unfortunately, these practices have undermined my trust in the company. I would not recommend them at all.

We had an excellent experience with Bareena for both SAT and ACT preparation. She tutored my…read moredaughter for the SAT in 2021 and my son for the ACT in 2026. She is highly knowledgeable, organized, and exceptionally skilled at identifying areas for improvement while building confidence. Each session was engaging, productive, and tailored to my children's individual needs. Bareena has a remarkable ability to know when to push students to reach their potential and when to step back and let them build confidence on their own. Most importantly, both of my children felt well-prepared and significantly more confident going into their exams. I highly recommend Bareena to anyone looking for outstanding SAT or ACT preparation.

We worked with Bareena to help my son prepare for the ACT, and the results exceeded our…read moreexpectations. He improved his score by 4 points. Beyond the results, what stood out most was how much he genuinely enjoyed the sessions. Bareena took the time to understand how he learns best and tailored her approach accordingly, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all method. That personalized attention made a real difference in both his confidence and his performance. We'd highly recommend her to any family looking for a tutor who combines real results with a teaching style that actually clicks with their student.