Tell me more about your pricing.

Pricing for each package is listed here. Our pricing is very fair compared to other options for test prep and essay coaching.

I feel strongly about expanding access to educational opportunities and have collaborated with several nonprofits. I also donate at least 5% of my time to teaching lower-income children and adult refugees.

How do the online coaching and tutoring sessions work?

Our one-on-one teaching sessions are held over Zoom. We use the whiteboard and document annotation functions within Zoom to collaborate on example problems in real time. When working on writing assignments and college essays, we also often use Google documents to collaborate on a text document together in real time.

Most students these days are digital natives and well-accustomed to learning this way. Because we use an extremely active, collaborative learning style, there’s no opportunity for students to “check out” from our one-on-one sessions.

(On the rare days when students are clearly tired and need a moment away from the screen, we either practice a few stretching and breathing exercises together or take a short two-minute water break. The great thing about one-on-one sessions is that they adapt to the exact needs of the student in that moment.)

Students and families receive a detailed lesson recap after every session noting the concepts and techniques covered, that day’s breakthroughs, and any challenge areas remaining. Students and families also receive a monthly high-level progress summary, complete with data visualizations to track growth.

Do students receive homework?

It depends on the situation! I always set clear expectations from the beginning with students and families about how much additional practice they’d like assigned and what is reasonable for students to complete. Some of my students do no homework, and some of my students practice for 3 hours each day.

Homework is always carefully assigned to provide the exact type of practice that would be most beneficial to that individual student. We’ll do targeted drills, complete practice tests, and everything in between. I’ve developed my own custom exercises based on years of working with students and seeing the exact problem points.

I do see the most progress from students who are able to spend at least 2 hours per week studying and practicing, but I understand that today’s students are incredibly  busy. I’m never harsh with students but can hold them to firm deadlines as needed, depending on the expectations that we set up at the beginning of our educational journey.

Do you use test prep books?

There are some excellent test prep books out there and I use select parts of the ones I’ve found to be the most helpful. I’ll occasionally recommend books that I think would be a good fit for an individual student’s needs.

If you’ve already bought books, let us know and we’ll use them as appropriate.

What if we need to cancel or reschedule a session?

Life happens, and sometimes it’s necessary to reschedule a planned session. To notify me of a need to reschedule, please email at info@ivybloomacademics.com. We’ll work together to find the best time to reschedule.

I do ask families to provide at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule a session. I offer a one-time exception to this rule; after the first time, families will be charged for the missed session.

What kind of students do you coach? Where in the world are your students located?

I work with students of all ages, starting at age 7 and continuing through PhD students. The majority of my students are in high school (ages 13–18), aspiring to apply to competitive colleges. See more what students and parents have said about working with me here.

My students live around the globe, from New York to Paris, San Francisco to Dubai. Regardless of the time zone, we work together to find a time that works for our sessions.

My students are incredibly diverse, and I love learning from students about their own lives and backgrounds.

Get a taste for the sessions by reading anonymized real session recaps here.

I also assist professional academics with their publications, from journal articles to books and everything in between. I’ve worked as a private editor for senior professors at institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, among others.

Do you work with neurodiverse students?

I have over a decade of teaching experience, and over the years I’ve worked with many neurodiverse students, including students with ADHD or Autism. I pride myself on my patient and encouraging teaching style with students.

If you’re a parent or guardian who would like to share some additional insight about your student’s learning styles, we can have a chat prior to our first session to make sure we’re meeting your student’s needs in the best possible way.

Do you teach study skills? Can you help students to be more organized and self-directed?

Yes! I help students to develop strong skills as part of our preparation for tests. These skills set the groundwork for future success in the rest of high school, college, and beyond. If students want to focus on study skills, organization, and independent learning, we can absolutely work on that together. Many of my past students and parents have commented that after working with me, students are more motivated on their schoolwork in general.

Can you help students with test anxiety?

Yes! Many of my students have specifically commented that I’ve helped them to feel more confident, relaxed, and focused in high-pressure academic environments like college admissions tests.

We learn science-backed techniques to lower test anxiety and create a feeling of calm concentration. I’ve found this to be very effective in helping students!

Why is there a waitlist?

I only take on a limited number of students so that I can provide the highest level of attention to each individual student. That means that there is sometimes a waitlist to join my student roster. The current availability for each plan is listed on the online sign-up page.

Has the instructor passed a background check!

Yes — Emily has passed both a commercial background check with Checkr and an official FBI background check.

Can parents sit in on the sessions?

We all know that sometimes parents want to be in the background and see how things are going!

While I won’t stop parents from doing this, I do find that most students learn better when they don’t feel watched by their parents. This is especially true for the college essay coaching sessions, where we’re asking students to dig deep about their dreams, fears, and experiences.

Parents do receive a detailed lesson recap after every session noting the concepts and techniques covered, that day’s breakthroughs, and any challenge areas remaining. Once per month parents also receive a monthly high-level progress summary. We’re also happy to answer any specific questions from parents over email at info@ivybloomacademics.com.

How do you accept payment?

We accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Checkout is secure and managed by Stripe.