Background - Michael Romano

I was raised in Rhode Island, where my parents ran a chain of popular nursery schools. Watching my mother, affectionately known as “the Mother Goose of New England,” and her positive impact on countless youngsters have certainly shaped my way of relating to both teenagers and adults. 

After high school, I attended Duke University on a partial music scholarship and graduated in ‘91 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Music. While studying Psychology, I learned that success in life (as well as success on standardized tests) is much more about the timely entrance of peak performance states than it is about any particular ability or talent. 

My education and continued interest in the psychology behind such performance states are key components of my approach to tutoring. 

Additionally, as an accomplished musician, I am aware of the positive impact music can have not just on mood and health but also on academic performance, a phenomenon known as the “MOZART” effect. As a singer-songwriter, I am well-versed in an artistic process that rewards openness, flexibility, and receptivity. These lessons learned from years of music and songwriting inform my tutoring, as I aim to affect my students in an inspired and creative way, a phenomenon known as the “MR. TEST PREP” effect. 

After college, I moved to California and started working for an SAT tutoring company. Along the way, I saw flaws in its methodology and thought I could bring more successful strategies to the test prep process, strategies which I have been refining since 1997. To date, I have prepared over 3000 students. I LOVE what I do. Not surprisingly, when I was little and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was not Astronaut or Policeman; it was “MR. TEST PREP“. 

ONE MORE THING: I LOVE BASKETBALL! GO BLUE DEVILS!