Not every student has always struggled. Some students begin as straight-A students, and at some point, they hit a wall in a certain class. Nikki started with Raz Tutoring 9 years ago after struggling in an advanced elementary math class, and is now experiencing what true academic success looks like.
Nikki was a strong student, but when she was met with a high-level, elementary math track with weekly olympiad-style problems, she had to build a type of persistence and structured problem-solving that pushed her out of her comfort zone. For a student who has always naturally picked up new things, this brought on high pressure, perfectionism and emotional hardship, causing her grade to drop to her first ever C.
Raz Tutoring had already been working with Nikki’s brother, and he had shown strong progress, so it was natural for Nikki’s mother to reach out to us for her support as well. She started with Mr. Z for twice-weekly sessions, using a gentle approach practicing persistence rather than applying more academic pressure. Mr. Z began with rapport-building and formative assessment to understand how Nikki had done well in the past, what changed, and discover how she felt about what she was currently struggling with. Nikki did not need more testing or drilling, she needed someone to understand the cognitive dissonance and internal struggle that she felt toward struggling with things that had always come easily for her.
Over their sessions, Mr. Z and Nikki worked on structured thinking and organization systems. In other words, Nikki learned how to break hard problems into smaller, manageable steps as well as simple habits to track her own work, catch her mistakes and find where she was experiencing pressure. They also worked on ADHD-informed strategies to help Nikki manage long, frustrating problems without losing steam, and self-affirmation practices to interrupt negative self-talk. Through their sessions, it became clear that Nikki’s main barrier was the mental and emotional consequences of her experience in this fast-moving class, rather than her math skills.
"Mr. Z is the best tutor. He always took the time to listen to what I was struggling with and found a way to make it click for me. Over 9 years, he has truly impacted my life as a mentor." — Nikki L. | Student, Stanford
As Nikki worked with Mr. Z, she attained an A in the very class that she had struggled with initially, as well as an A in every class that Mr. Z supported her in, all the way through her high school graduation. Working through her mental and emotional barriers, Nikki was able to achieve an ACT superscore of 36, become an International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Finalist, earning 2nd place in Earth & Environmental Sciences. She was part of the Cum Laude Society, and was ultimately accepted to Stanford, her first-choice school, as well as every other school she applied to.
As a high school graduate with exceptional honors, Nikki is traveling Europe before starting her first semester at Stanford this fall, with plans to study biomedical engineering. A recommendation letter from a math and science teacher described her as “an exceptional student with a remarkable academic record, outstanding leadership qualities, and a passion for learning that is truly inspirational.”
Typical tutoring would have intervened in Nikki’s math skills, but what she truly needed was confidence and structure built through time and patience, and someone who could walk alongside her the entire way. This created a sense of self where she, according to what she wrote in her Stanford application essay, is “forever assembling my collage and discovering how it fits into the larger one we all share.”