Students With ‘Great Expectations’ Succeed

The SAT, the ACT, applications and those all-important personal essays – students have to ace them all to get into college. The process can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Great Expectations College Prep, a business specializing in high school and college planning, acts as a sort of one-stop shop for students, offering standardized test prep, academic tutoring, college essay guidance and more.

The majority of Great Expectations’ students hail from Pacific Palisades, according to Jennifer Kaifesh, who started the business in 2006.

College prep may be in its name, but it is only one aspect of what Great Expectations offers. The company caters to students in elementary through high school with academic tutoring in a wide array of subjects.

Tutors work one-on-one with students at home to help them identify their strengths as learners, stay on track with assignments and generally become students with focus, accountability and a vested interest in their own education.

The company also offers standardized test prep and practice proctored exams, where a maximum of five students at a time will take a practice SAT (for example) and the proctor will observe each student’s test-taking behaviors to identify what test-taking skills can be improved.

On average, students experience a 340-point improvement on the SAT and a 4- or 5-point improvement on the ACT with Great Expectations, according to Kaifesh.

And since most college sports teams begin recruiting kids as soon as their sophomore years in high school, student athletes greatly benefit from the help of Great Expectations athletic recruitment counselors.

Kaifesh said the tutors and counselors keep in close contact with students and their parents via email summaries after each session.

Great Expectations will seek out highly-qualified tutors in specific subjects when a client presents the need, and the entire staff is committed to helping students from K-12 prepare for the academic years ahead.

“It’s fulfilling, and I don’t stress because the stress is worthwhile,” said Kaifesh, who graduated from the prestigious Northwestern University in Chicago with a double major in creative writing and European history.

And even with a bachelor’s degree, Kaifesh said she is one of the “least-educated” at Great Expectations, claiming that most of the company’s 50 tutors and counselors have PhDs and master’s degrees, some are former college athletes and coaches and all have an unmatched passion for education.

In addition to being the company’s founder, Kaifesh also does college counseling and test prep, focusing on helping students make their college essays “interesting and authentic” and helping them throughout high school in preparation for college.

“You want to challenge yourself, but you don’t want to crack,” said Kaifesh, encouraging high school students to find an academic balance and not put too much on their plates. “It’s important to still enjoy your childhood.”

Visit www.gecollegeprep.com. (888) 917-PREP (7737), info@gecollegeprep.com.