I'm incredibly thankful to Nena from Custom Academic Coaching. College applications have long been something that brought me extreme anxiety. Since middle school, I've absolutely dreaded having to figure out how to present the best version of myself to the colleges I wanted to apply. I especially didn't know where to start on the seemingly endless essays when it seemed like I had nothing to talk about. However, I reached out to Nena and she changed my life. Upon first meeting, she took a genuine interest in me, my interests, and my life. She helped me realize that I have so much more to say than I ever thought I did. With her guidance and assistance, we figured out what to write about and knocked out my essays efficiently, which made the college essay writing process so much easier and less stressful than it would have been otherwise. I'm super proud of these college application essays, as I was able to convey the best version of myself in writing, which helped me get into my dream colleges. Furthermore, she helped me develop my passion project, a fashion history blog. I love reading about fashion history and now I find so much joy in writing about it, something that I never would have thought about if it wasn't for her. Moreover, I received over $53,000 in scholarships and I was accepted into the University of San Francisco's Honors College. Additionally, I received the J. Paul Getty Fellowship, awarding $5,000 a year to support research, internships, and study abroad opportunities. Throughout the whole time I worked with Nena, she has been incredibly caring, patient, and thoughtful. She's friendly and approachable, which is really comforting for a shy person like myself. I'm going to Bryn Mawr, my dream college, which I wouldn't have been able to do without her. I highly recommend Nena and Custom Academic Coaching for college applications! read more

My daughter began working with Nena at Custom Academic Coaching during the summer before her senior year; my only regret is that she did not begin to work with her sooner. Nena set goals and deadlines for my daughter, and helped her develop a realistic list of reach, target and safety schools. She also helped with her Personal Insight Questions for the UC schools and her Personal Statement for the Common Application schools. She was always available to answer questions and served as a calm and supportive presence for my daughter throughout the process. Working over Zoom, I often overheard their sessions, and I was impressed with Nena's ability to draw my daughter out about her experiences and then help her craft effective narratives about those experiences. These discussions became the basis of her essays. Working with Nena on a consistent basis over the months leading up to the Early Decision deadline helped take much of the stress and anxiety out of the college application process for our entire family. Anyone with a teenager knows that as independence develops, a parent is not the best person to provide support in the application process. Nena is also extremely knowledgeable about the tricks of the trade, including the points admissions officers are looking for in personal statements and in the supplemental essays. I wish my daughter had begun working with her sooner because Nena was also knowledgeable about steps students should take in their sophomore and junior years to help them become strong applicants, and earlier guidance would have been helpful. Thanks, Nena! read more

I met Nena through a friend who had worked with her the previous year on college apps. From the start Nena was super supportive in helping with my college application, but also keeping it real with me at all times. I started my application process relatively late but Nena helped keep me on time and task completing applications well before they were due. I have always struggled with writing, especially the creative writing that colleges look for. Nena helped me start from scratch, we brainstormed essay topics together from just a series of questions and from there we started writing. I always felt that my writing was my own but Nena helped refine and fine tune the little things that made what I wrote perfect, helping me incorporate all the details I wanted to. Additionally Nena was there at all times to support me outside of just college apps, she was reassuring when I was stressed about my grades, always able to answer any questions I had, guiding me and helping research to ensure I picked the right major and colleges to apply to. Thanks to Nena I was able to get into USC (one of my top choices), UCLA, UCSD, UC Riverside, UC Davis and more. I am so grateful for all the help and support Nena gave me, she worked with me acting more as a friend and ultimately guided me to make the best decision. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a strong college counselor who goes the extra mile! read more

What can I say or how could I start to talk about Nena. She has truly been the answer to all of our prayers. We were very stressed about applying for high school for our daughter and were worried about how it all works. We had so many questions and not much answers. Nena took the time to explain everything to us, how the it all works, how we start, got her on the right track from test prep to helping with the application process. Our daughter excelled beyond any expectation and got in to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Mayfield senior, and Westridge. Our daughter was well prepared for high school journey. Shortly after Nena started working with our son, who was struggling with English. Within a few weeks, his teacher came up to me and asked what we have been doing different because he improved dramatically. He continued to work with Nena and as we started the new school year, he took all the amazing tools Nena worked with him on and he is doing so well at school this year. Nena doesn't only work with the students on the subject but at making sure that they understand it the from A To Z the right way. If all teachers were like Nena, our children would be in a much better place and have brighter future. We are blessed to have Nena and are so thankful for her. read more

"She's Amazing"! These were the first words my high school daughter exclaimed as we drove away from her coaching session. Nena was wonderfully nice, patient and a brilliant academic coach. She quickly ascertained my daughter's goals and skill sets and provided numerous recommendations and references to guide my daughter on her college preparation journey. Nena then followed up with emails filled with additional valuable information. My daughter is very organized and a planner by nature and I wasn't sure if she needed the session. Once we started, I realized how important and valuable Nena's coaching is to all students (Planners and Procrastinators) wanting to be fully prepared for the whole spectrum of college admission activities. She teaches AP classes, helps to identify and achieve goals, coaches SAT and other college entrance exams, assists in writing college entrance essays and helps students prepare for their their admission application and interviews. If you are a college bound student or know of one, you need to contact Nena to best prepare to attend the college of your choice! read more

I have worked with Nena over the past two years and her work with me has been beyond amazing. My father came across her page while looking for college counselors for me, and we decided to give it a shot; that was the best decision we made. Nena for our first year helped guide me in creating a passion project, which for me was an entire non-profit organization. She helped me along with the entire project from start to finish, always giving helpful advice. Then as my senior year rolled in she helped me with all of my applications. Nena's way of college application counseling made the entire experience for me much less stressful, in comparison to many of my friends who approached the application in different ways. Nena and I worked efficiently and before we knew it finished over 16 college applications. Having her help me along with the applications really made the process significantly easier and less stressful. I wholeheartedly believe it is because of her guidance that I was able to get into my dream college (University of Southern California) for next year, and I owe a lot to her. read more

I was recently accepted to the PhD program at Johns Hopkins University due in no small part to the extremely helpful counseling from Custom Academic Coaching. When I reviewed my applications and essays on my own, I felt that the person writing didn't reflect me or my ideas. So--in a panic--I contacted Custom Academic Coaching... And Nena saved the day. Amidst thankless last-minute deadlines and late night emails, Nena elegantly guided me through my own material and helped me clarify my thoughts. Despite having no background in my area of study, she strengthened my capacities as a writer and an applicant. Her guidance helped me faithfully present myself and my ideas as clearly and confidently as possible to my audience. As a result, I gained admission to a prestigious University with one of the nation's most competitive graduate programs of its kind. As I pack my bags, I am grateful for Nena's positive advice, editorship, and most of all, gracefulness in the face of my worry. read more

After struggling through the first few months of my AP Language and Composition class, my family decided to get the help I needed from Nena. From the first session, I knew that we made the right decision. She was easy to talk with and showed genuine care for me. Nena is more than a tutor; she is a friend. She would text me outside of our sessions to check up on how I was doing or to send a picture of something that related to what we were working on. She leads tremendous discussions that I could bring to my class every day. We began to see results immediately. I became more consistent on my quizzes and tests, and I began to feel confident as I walked into class because I knew that I had been prepared extremely well. I would recommend her to anybody looking for someone who cares and who will work tirelessly to help a student reach his/her goals. She completely changed my approach to English overnight, and I am eternally grateful. read more

I have worked with Nena since middle school, and I have gained so much from her. She helped me develop confidence in my writing and critical thinking skills, in addition to preparing for college-level writing. Nena helped me immensely during my college application process, and I was accepted to almost every school I applied to. With her help, I gained admission to UCSD, Occidental College, Santa Clara University, and many more. I was also waitlisted at UC Berkeley and Pomona College, and I received the president's scholarship at Occidental College, where I decided to attend school. I feel prepared more than ever for college courses, and my writing has improved so much thanks to her. I will definitely be coming back to Nena for my graduate school applications in the future. I cannot recommend her services more, whether you just want to improve some skills or gain admission to the college or graduate program of your choice. read more

I had Nena as my tutor through the summer and I cannot believe what I have learned a lot throughout the break. I have struggled with English literature for a long time in school. I have tried many ways to improve, but they didn't go out well. However, these all changed since I met Nena. Every class, we read interesting articles about current topics like social media and its harm. After reading an article, we wrote reflective writing for it to express ideas and practice writing skills. Along with these reading and writing assignments, we also learned grammar and vocab every class. All these made me feel prepared for my upcoming school year. Furthermore, I can feel happiness in every class. I can express my ideas anytime in class and Nena will always give me responses patiently. At last, I want to thank Nena again for all the assistance and support in the lessons. I believe I will have her as my tutor again in the future. read more

Nena is the absolute best at what she does!!! She has helped me grow so much working with her over the past ten years. She isn't just challenging, she's engaging and thoughtful in a manner uncommon to many of educators, in my experience. Nena has brought out the best in both my writing and critical thinking. Not only has she helped me get into the colleges of my choice, but she's continued to help me grow as a writer and a human being. I would recommend her to anyone seeking to further their education in any way. I can wholeheartedly say you will never find a better tutor. THANK YOU, NENA!!! read more

I don't know what I would have done without Nena guiding me through the college application process. She is a perfectionist who won't stop until you have created an application that you feel proud to submit. Nena took time to truly get to know me and helped consistently portray my best characteristics throughout my entire application. She has a superior knowledge of college admissions and what each one expects. The amount Nena helped with the quality of my application made her invaluable to the process. I highly recommend Nena to anyone wanting to submit a superior college application! read more

Nena is amazing at what she does and knows her stuff. I had previously scored a 1590 on the old SAT and after a couple of months of her coaching, scored a 1240 on the new SAT, which translates over to a 1760 on the old SAT and I'm sure if I had studied with her more, my score would have increased even significantly more. Also, she has been a huge help to my college essays/personal statements as I apply to college. I thank her for giving me a huge leg up and for taking a load of stress off of me as I apply for this upcoming Fall. She is amazing at what she does and I 10/10 recommend. read more

CAC is made up of a great team of productive tutors. Nena listens and understands her clients needs and directs a specific tutor to teach whatever subject is needed. My eighth grader initially used her to learn the necessary test taking skills for the ISEE and has continued to use her for his challenging school assignments. Although her expertise is English and Literature, her team also includes a positive tutor that has the patience to teach Math and Science. She's a rare gem that definitely can build up your child's confidence and help improve his/her grades and scores. read more

Nena was the absolute perfect coach for my daughter! Though my daughter is an excellent writer, it was Nena's insight and experience in working with college bound students that I think made the difference in helping my daughter to zero in on the essential elements of a successful personal statement and supplementary essays. Nena took the time to really understand the qualities of my daughter that would be of interest to her college of choice. I firmly believe my daughter will be successful in getting into a great college because of Nena's help and advice. Thank you Nena! read more

Nena helped me throughout the entire process of applying for law schools. Preparing for the LSAT, I couldn't finish reading comprehension sections in time, but with Nena's help I significantly improved my score. Nena also helped me write and structure my admissions essays to law schools. I hate writing personal essays and they would have been terrible without Nena's help. I ended up getting a 174 on the LSAT, and I got into my top choice for law school. Nena was always professional, responsive, and a pleasure to work with, and she got great results! read more

Nena's College Roadmapping course has been invaluable to us in discovering what is out there and how our child should be preparing for college. SO MUCH HAS CHANGED. I can't stress this enough. Everything I thought I knew about what colleges are looking for and how to work the system is just wrong now. It's scary to think about how far behind we would have been had we not found Custom Academic Coaching. I'm very thankful that we are starting during our daughter's Sophomore year. read more

Nena is truly a helpful, kind individual that I'm so glad to have met so early on in my life. I'm a bit shy and awkward, but Nena always strove to see the best in me and have me put my best self forward in my college applications. She cares not only about your successes, but also about your struggles and general going-ons in your life, making her a great advisor and friend. She's a wonderful person overall, and definitely one of the best college consultants out there! read more

My 16 year old has been working with one of Nena's tutor's for two years. He has now started to work with my 13 year old. Two very different kids with different personalities and different needs. He has a fun and creative way of explaining things and has been able to adapt to their different learning styles. He is a fantastic tutor and reflects Nena's professionalism, standard of excellence and understanding kids and how best to teach them. I highly recommend CAC! read more