Top-Tier Tutoring’s Founders Featured
August 31, 2010
“Entrepreneur in Making – Breaking the 9 to 5 Jail” is a blog dedicated to helping workers transform into successful business owners. A while back, Top-Tier Tutoring’s founders, Mike and Rhonda Rivera, were interviewed for the blog’s “Our Heroes” column.
“While starting a company from the ground up in this economy is challenging, the benefits far outweigh the negatives,” says Mike. “We are very excited to share our knowledge about starting a new business to those in the planning stages!”
A big thank you to Devesh Dwivedi for featuring us on his blog! Click here to read the entire interview.
We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
Ear on Careers – Gwyn Novak, Personal Chef
August 23, 2010
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Gwyn Novak, Personal Chef
In this episode of “Ear on Careers,” we are pleased to welcome Gwyn Novak, founder and personal chef with No Thyme To Cook, based in Prince Frederick, Maryland, (443) 624-5048.
Gwyn came to her profession as a personal chef via a very indirect route. Her mother was a home economics teacher in high school, and always was trying to instill an appreciation for cooking in Gwyn – to no avail. She went to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History, thinking that she wanted to become a museum curator. Toward that end, Gwyn went on to graduate school to pursue a Master’s Degree. However, along the way, she began cooking as a way to relax and soon discovered her true passion: food. She then graduated from Baltimore International Culinary College with a degree in professional cooking, intending to become a food journalist. Life had other plans, and in the podcast Gwyn describes how she discovered her niche as a personal chef.
Listen as Gwyn describes a “typical day” for her, cooking in the morning and working with clients in the afternoon, with some business issues thrown in. She shares some “war stories” including when she had to sneak out the back as her client took credit for the amazing food. In addition, Gwyn offers tips for those listeners who want to be their own form of Iron Chef, cautioning that cooking is part of what she does, but she is also a business owner. We hope this podcast offers you some food for thought about becoming a personal chef!
Top-Tier Tutoring is very excited to bring you the web’s premiere “career day” podcast series – what we call “Ear on Careers.” This series of podcasts is designed to introduce our listeners to successful leaders in a variety of different fields, including business, industry, medicine, the arts, and so much more.
We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
Standardized Test Guarantees
August 11, 2010
Recently, the Princeton Review backed away from its claim that by taking its “Ultimate Classroom” course, students can boost their SAT scores by 255 points. This change came as a result of a challenge brought to the guarantee by Kaplan Inc.
While this seems to be more of a political or business decision, the issue of a guarantee of increase in scores is very touchy. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, on average, SAT test courses improve about 30 points after taking a test preparation course. While this increase may seem low, a 30-point improvement can make a significant difference if your scores are just on the “cusp.” Or, that increase could mean that you now qualify for a scholarship.
At Top-Tier Tutoring, our students receive one-on-one instruction with the same tutor for the entire tutoring package. Our tutors tailor their instruction to your specific needs. As a result, your individualized attention results in much more accountability for your doing your homework and understanding the material. (For more information about the benefits of one-on-one tutoring, check out our podcast on this topic.)
We have had students who have studied with us improve their SAT scores 50 points, 70 points, and much, much higher. Our students’ scores improve because they are comfortable with the tests, understand the scoring system and have a solid knowledge base.
However, we have never guaranteed a specific point increase. When prospective clients call and ask that question, we answer that their improvement depends upon their dedication to working with the tutor and putting in the hard effort required. We guarantee that for students who take a package of 10 hours or more, if the student attends every session, completes all assignments, and takes all practice exams without improving, we will offer 8 additional hours of tutoring at no extra cost. We believe this guarantee is appropriate and not misleading – and provides peace of mind that your investment of time and money is well-worth the results.
We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
Strategies for Student Success
August 4, 2010
Mike and Rhonda Rivera, co-founders of Top-Tier Tutoring, are featured in “Navigating College Admissions” – a guide put together by StudentAdvisor.com. The article (which is on pages 20-21) offers 10 strategies for high school students to apply with an eye toward college admissions. Tips include start early, volunteer, take challenging courses and don’t shortchange the essays. Click here to go to this online guide.
Common App Online TODAY!
August 1, 2010
Attention all high school Seniors “to be” – the Common Application (a/k/a the Common App) is now online and ready for you! Anyone who is going to be applying to college for admission in the Fall or Spring 2011 should go to the Common App site and start working on the forms.
While application deadlines are months away, now is the time to get a head start on the forms. After all, high school hasn’t started up yet, so there’s no time like the present!
If you need help creating a school list, finding a topic for your college essay, drafting your academic resume, preparing for college interviews or anything else related to the college application process, feel free to contact us. We offer college counseling to students in our West Orange, NJ center — or to anyone over the internet via Skype. We’d love to help you achieve your dreams!
Don’t procrastinate – start working on the Common App today!
