Advantage Testing | Long Island Tutors

VAIRAM ALAGAPPAN
Director
Advantage Testing of Long Island

Vairam Alagappan is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Vairam was a member of the Mathematics Honor Society and President of the Mortar Board National Honor Society whose membership is based on leadership, community service, and scholarship. After having received a B.A. in Mathematics, he pursued graduate studies in Computer Science at the University of Illinois and graduated in the top 1% of his class. His honors at Illinois include membership in the Engineering Honor Society and the Scholastic Honor Society. While in graduate school, Vairam worked in the General Products and National Accounts divisions of IBM. In 1987, he joined the Artificial Intelligence group of what is now known as Accenture and eventually went on to its Center for Strategic Technology Research.

Vairam has always had a personal and professional interest in teaching. At both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois, he received teaching awards. At the University of Pennsylvania, he was a University tutor and a University liaison to the public school system in Philadelphia. At the University of Illinois, he taught numerous classes in the engineering school and lectured frequently in the business school. Vairam has also taught seminars and made presentations to several Fortune 500 senior executives.

Vairam's teaching experience with Advantage Testing includes tutoring for standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests in Math, Chemistry, and Physics, SSAT, ISEE, LSAT, GRE, and GMAT. He has also taught high school and college subjects including Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, and English. Vairam has received enthusiastic reviews from students he has taught privately and in the classroom. This past year Advantage Testing of Long Island has enrolled several hundred students from numerous schools.

Chris Anderson
Graduate of Williams College. B.A. in English. Princeton University School of Architecture. Former teacher in New York City for AmeriCorps and Embassy CES, an international English-language school. Tutor of SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests in Math Levels 1 and 2.

Joseph Avellone
M.B.A. with Distinction, Stern School of Business, New York University. M.A. in International Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. Graduate of Columbia University. A.B. in History. Thesis Award at Stern School of Business. Author of online courses in finance and economics. Tutor of SAT , SAT Subject Tests in Math, American History, and World History, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, and academic Economics and Statistics.

Alyssa Bowlby
Alyssa has been working in education in a variety of forms since 2002. She has designed curriculae around state standards at the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, taught test preparation classes with New York City test prep firms, prepared materials, and worked with ESL students at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked with students from kindergarten to college, and frequently works as an editor/advisor for college students' papers. She currently works as a tutor with developmentally delayed students in the Bronx and teaches one-on-one test preparation for Advantage Testing of Long Island. She received a BA (Magna cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Departmental High Honors) from Haverford College and a masters from Johns Hopkins University (Pi Kappa Lambda).

Alyssa tutors exams such as the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and the SAT Subject Test in Math Level 1. She also tutors academic subjects, Spanish, and basic literacy.

Peter Brendler
Peter graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music in 2001. He then went on to receive a Masters from the Manhattan School of Music. Peter is an accomplished jazz bassist and is active as a performer throughout the New York area.

While in college Peter discovered that he was not only passionate about music but also about teaching. He volunteered his time tutoring students in several different areas including essay writing, literature and U.S. history. Peter is a thoroughly accomplished tutor, having aided dozens of students over the last several years in achieving their goals on the SAT and ACT. He prides himself on his ability to present material in a clear and stimulating manner. In addition to tutoring for the SAT and ACT, Peter also works with students on the PSAT and the SAT Subject Test in Math Level 1.

Jacob Feldman
Jake graduated with High Distinction from McGill University, one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious universities, with a Bachelor's of Music in Voice Performance/Opera. Prior to obtaining his degree, he also completed two years of pre-medical studies. Jake has always had a passion for teaching and has worked with many students in academic subjects as well as in voice and theater training.

Jake's teaching experience with Advantage Testing includes tutoring for the SAT I, ACT, LSAT, GRE, PSAT, SSAT/ISEE and SAT Subject Tests in Math Levels 1 and 2, Physics, Chemistry, French, and Literature. He has also done extensive work with students preparing college applications and essays.

Rebecca Gordon
Graduate Diploma (Dean's List) from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. B.Mus. from Kennesaw State University, Georgia. Worked with A-One Tutoring, in Baltimore, teaching dyslexic and discalculic high school students. Five years experience in Human Resources and Recruiting at International Corporations. Accomplished Opera Singer. Tutor of the PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject tests in Literature and French.

Nikita Japra
Graduate of Johns Hopkins University. B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Writing Seminars. Bloomberg Scholar. Research assistant on South Asian Sub-Altern and Diaspora studies in the Johns Hopkins Department of Anthropology. Served as a mentor and tutor to middle school students in the East Baltimore public school system. Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Symposium on Foreign Affairs. Worked as a research assistant for the Superintendent of a public school district on Long Island. Tutor of the SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Test in Math Level 1.

Ruchita Japra
Graduate of SUNY Stony Brook. B.A. in Political Science and Issues in Health and Society. Successfully completed all pre-medical course requirements. Worked for three years for the Department of Special Education of a Long Island school district. Tutor of the PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests in Biology, Chemistry, American History and World History, ACT, and SSAT.

Josiah Madigan
Honors graduate of Harvard University. A.B. in Computer Science. Computer Science Head Teaching Fellow, Harvard University Summer School. English instructor and Kids Program leader at one of the fastest-growing branches of the Nova Group in Japan. Arts Editor of the Harvard Crimson. Studied screenwriting at the European Film College in Denmark. Short films of his scripts have been screened at various European festivals. Tutor of SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests in Math.

Casey Maphet
Casey Maphet graduated from Princeton University where she majored in Philosophy. She received a Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is an original member of Advantage Testing, Inc. in New York where she wrote instructional material, trained new tutors and taught students privately. In addition, Casey worked in special education in the Stowe, Vermont public school system for six years. She has been the director of Advantage Testing of Vermont since 1994 and is now joining our Advantage Testing of Long Island office on a full time basis. Casey tutors the SSAT, ISEE, ACTs, the GRE, SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject tests in Biology, American History, World History, Literature, and Math Level 1 and a wide range of academic subjects at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Fred Reiter
Graduate of Princeton University. A.B. in Science and Human Affairs. Researched the placement of mentally ill children in the New Jersey Health Care system. Studied music at the Eastman School of Music and at the Julliard School. Served on the Faculty of Stanford University and the Princeton Day School. Cofounder and leader of the internationally acclaimed New York Ska Jazz Ensemble. Has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Far East. Tutor of SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Test in Math Level 1.

Ripal Shah
Graduate of Duke University. B.S. in Economics and B.A. in Chemistry and Biology. Co-authored half a dozen publications on signal transduction in the heart and researched pharmaceutical sector expansion in developing nations. Has spent six years working in the nation's top hospitals, including Duke University Medical Center, Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Trained Emergency Medical Technician. Founder of two non-profit organizations and has taught in 17 countries. Tutor of SAT, ACT, MCAT, GMAT, SAT Subject Tests in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math Level I and Level 2. Academic tutor of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, and Math.

Adam Weisler
M. A., M.Phil, and Ph.D.. Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Columbia University. Recipient of Goldsmith Research Award from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Ed.M. Teachers College, Columbia University. Honors Graduate of George Washington University. B.A. Examiner: History and Geography, French Baccalaureate Exam for French Ministry of Education. Has Taught Advanced, Intermediate, and Remedial Government, Economics, and History Courses for Eleven Years at Scarsdale High School. Scarsdale, New York. Tutor of SAT Subject Test in American History.

Malik Zaidi
Graduate of Columbia University. A.B. in African-American Studies. Worked in the Advertising department of The New York Times and managed a premier New York City graphic design firm. Has prepared hundreds of students for college and graduate school entrance exams. Tutor of SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests in Math Levels 1 and 2, ISEE, SSAT, GRE, and GMAT.