“Mrs. H, I did it! With your help, I got into 5 schools so far in engineering. You really helped me focus on what was important to tell the schools about myself. Thank you! I’ll let you know where I decide to go.”
Stevenson Student
“We can’t thank you enough for your patience with [our son]. He was so nervous about this whole essay process and he had a lot of essays to write. You gave him the confidence and the structure to meet all the deadlines and the essays really captured his fun personality and his serious work ethic. This took the stress out of his senior year. We are so impressed with what he learned with you!”
Carmel Catholic High School Parent
“Our son got excellent support from Ellyn while preparing for the ACT and writing his college essays. He enjoyed working with her and found her to be very knowledgeable and helpful. She relates well to her students; especially ones who need to be drawn out, like our son. Her ACT coaching helped him gain the confidence he needed to succeed at the test and her thoughtful guidance helped shape his essays, while still allowing them to be his. I highly recommend Ellyn!”
Highland Park Parent
“My daughter loved working with Ellyn Hoffman. It is hard to get a teenager to connect with a tutor, but Ellyn really spoke to her and they connected from the start. Ellyn helped my daughter work through a paper, study for ACT/SAT tests and gave her guidance in writing her college essays. Ellyn was terrific and we would highly recommend her to everyone!”
Glenbrook North Parent
“Mrs. Hoffman is one of the best tutors anyone can ask for. She is someone who won’t let anyone settle for good enough. She gave me so much help, that my improved test score can be solely addressed to her. The work done never felt like a chore because she gave off a very motivating attitude. The advice she gave was very useful that it was in the back of my head as I sat down for four hours and took the test. I thank her for everything and would recommend her to anyone who seeks ACT tutoring.”
Waukegan High School Senior
“Absolute pleasure working with Ellyn. Would highly recommend to any high schoolers looking to get assistance for their college essays!”
Highland Park High School Senior
“My daughter worked with Ellyn last year for the ACT. She really enjoyed working with her. Ellyn is patient and sweet and extremely knowledge in her field. Ellyn taught her strategies she used that helped her raise her English score several points. We both would highly recommend her!”
Deerfield High School Parent
“My son was very pleased with his ACT results after working with Ellyn…my son used another well known tutor first and there was no comparison as to how much more he learned with Ellyn. He improved his ACT scores considerably.”
Parent of Highland Park Junior
“I wanted to thank you so much for all the essay help. Your editing was immensely helpful. You helped me get my thoughts across and really sell myself to colleges. I enjoyed our sessions because not only were they productive, they were very relaxed and stress-free. Ultimately, I also learned much about the editing process and how to approach a daunting essay. I cannot express how grateful I am to you and how much I appreciated all your advice.”
Deerfield Senior
“Before she met with Ellyn, my daughter was anxious and frustrated as she attempted to write her common application for review by her English teacher. The feedback she got from her teacher did little to inspire her or encourage her to keep trying. Then we employed Ellyn. I was listening in another room while Ellyn interviewed my daughter for what to write for her college essays. Ellyn got her to talk about things that I didn’t know she thought about! My husband and I couldn’t believe the final result – it was in our daughter’s voice, and it really got “her”. We are so grateful. Our daughter got accepted into a school that she’s really excited about. I would be happy to talk with anyone about our experience.”
Parent of Lake Forest Senior
“We are so grateful for your guidance for [our son]. You took the stress out of the college application process and got [him] to open up about so many things that are important to him. This essay really captures [him] and really helps set him apart and explain why it took him a while to mature and buckle down to improve his grades. He really liked working with you and learned a lot about writing.”
Parents of a New Trier Senior
“Thank you so much for your patience, guidance and support….your prep was so well researched and it’s very impressive to see the way you customize it for each student….you took the riptide out of the waves of stress that go with the ACTs and essays. And, on the toughest days when she was teetering, you helped bolster her confidence and challenge her to do more.”
Parent of Maine East Senior
“Thank you so very much for all the help you have given [my son]. It’s not just the help, but the fabulous way that you interact with [him] that makes such a difference.”
Parent of Evanston Senior
“My daughters have very different learning styles and Ellyn recognized their needs immediately and took an individualized approach to working with each of them. We couldn’t have gotten through the ACT testing or college application process without her dedication and personal touch!”
Parent of York Seniors
“It is my pleasure to recommend Ellyn Hoffman. She is dedicated, energetic and kind. Her lesson plans are so creative, organized and complete that I have shared them with new teachers and with colleagues for their respective schools. I have been an educator for 32 years and only rarely during my tenure have I seen a teacher as well organized and good humored as is Ellyn.”
Education Director
“Ellyn Hoffman helped our son reach his full potential on the ACT. Her tutoring sessions with him were always focused and tailored to his specific needs, and she made every session fun and interesting. The guidance and preparation Ellyn provided in these sessions helped our son feel less anxious taking the test. The end result was that his ACT score exceeded the predicted range based on his sophomore year PLAN test. We can’t thank her enough for her valuable help!”
Parent of Highland Park Junior
“Ellyn Hoffman’s methods were concrete and enforced in a simplistic, but effective way. Without this helpful instructional session, I would not have gotten the score that I did.”
Highland Park Junior
“We hired a well known Chicago/ North Shore based service who came highly recommended by several experienced Highland Park and private school parents. In checking in with our daughter and reviewing her practice exams, we realized there were only negligible increases in her English scores. We felt, after having consulted with her tutor and their supervisor that we had spent sufficient time and money and the results just weren’t there. We decided that the most expensive is not obviously the best. Another friend told us that Ellyn was tutoring English for the ACT. It was then only 3 weeks until the exam. My daughter learned more in 4 sessions than she had in an almost year of consistent tutoring with the other company. My daughter loved working with Ellyn and her increase in her English scores proved to us that her style and clear expectations really make a difference!”
Parent of Highland Park Junior