jess@firstclassprep.com

Jessica graduated Georgetown where she majored in Japanese Studies and received the department’s highest honor for academic achievement. An Associate at the Corporate Executive Board, Jessica works with Global 4200 corp’s on executing executive education in areas such as corporate strategy, operations and management.

CEB’s client-base is comprised of more than seventy-five percent of the Fortune 500. While studying at Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan), she tutored advanced-level English to Chinese and Japanese students and translated for Jiji Press, a Japanese News Wire Service.“I had an interest in foreign cultures from a very young age,” says Cobin who began taking courses in Japanese language and culture while in elementary school. Today, Cobin speaks Japanese, Spanish and French.

A life-long teacher and learner, Jessica’s current passion is Mandarin Chinese. “It will be interesting to see the cultural changes that occur in post-communist China in our lifetime,” says Cobin who draws on her past collegiate and cultural experiences to help First Class students articulate their own passion and strengths on their college applications.

luke@firstclassprep.com

Luke graduated Dickinson College with an English major and an extensive background in writing. While in college, he was hired as a freelance columnist and amassed a readership of 300,000, including media subscribers: The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, CNBC and Bloomberg.

Many of Luke’s students have achieved perfect scores on the Reading and Writing sections of the SAT. In addition to SAT and ACT tutoring, Luke helps students with their college essays and academic classes. “The SAT and ACT are both predictable tests. Whether it’s Reading or Math, students need quick solutions and repetition. We make sure our students are learning the tricks they need while simultaneously building important problem solving skills. Kids appreciate our teaching style and passion, and you can see the results when test scores come back.” At Dickinson, Luke’s senior thesis juxtaposed the post-traumatic effects of war on the personal lives of authors Ernest Hemingway and J.D. Salinger and the stylistic and symptomatic results of this trauma exhibited in each author’s short story prose.

For college applications, Luke draws on his extensive writing experience to help First Class students overcome the fears and false-starts associated with writing. “Quality writing has never been an easy task for anyone, including the world’s best writers. It’s an arduous and meticulous process. We help instill the confidence and strategy students need in order to do well, and we’re with them every step of the way.”

margaret@firstclassprep.com

Margaret graduated Boston College cum laude with an English major and concentration in writing. An award-winning Assistant Editor at Disney’s Hyperion Books imprint (NYC), Margaret’s recent acquisitions include the novel “Home” by Jessica Blank and “Spoon” by acclaimed children’s book author Amy Krause Rosenthal.

“I’ve always been a voracious reader,” says Cardillo, who reads up to two hundred manuscripts in a given year for Disney. Her passion for reading and writing, as well as her expertise in the admissions process make Margaret a vital member of the First Class team. Aside from her talents as writer and editor, Margaret’s experience spans volunteer-work for the admissions office at Boston College. “I loved my time at Boston College.

It seemed a natural extension to work for the admissions department.” While pursuing a degree at the highly prestigious and competitive college, Margaret took time out to meet with prospective students and their parents. “It’s something I’ll never forget,” she says. Recalling her own quest to college, Margaret says “Filling out college applications can be daunting and tedious. But I had a strategy and clear goals and I got into my top choices.” Today, Margaret spends her time helping high schoolers reach similar levels of success. “Working with First Class, I’m able to help high school students find their way. Ultimately, students want t

julio@firstclassprep.com

Julio graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in History and Literature. After graduating in 2003, he returned to the Miami-Dade County school system, this time as an AP teacher and SAT coach, establishing and teaching classes for a nationally competitive math honor society.

Several of Julio’s students have scored in the highest percentile on the SAT, ACT, AP and SAT II math sections. Leveraging his vast teaching and tutoring experience, Julio is able to simplify questions for both students who struggle and students who excel in math. “We help students maximize their potential in math. Besides teaching tricks, we teach the underlying principles tested in the SAT.

This way students are prepared to answer every question they face on the test. It’s a winning strategy that other test prep companies and tutors cannot replicate because of the skill and patience required.We take tremendous pride in our results.” In addition to the SAT and ACT, Julio tutors academic subjects, including Algebra and Algebra II, Geometry, Trig, Pre-Calc and Calc.

He is currently planning a summer math tutoring program to help middle school and high school students prepare for next year’s math classes. This program will identify a student’s particular strengths and weaknesses, thoroughly review the most important concepts from the previous year, and cover every major topic from the upcoming school year–all before the first day of class.

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