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Happy Parents and Students
The most fulfilling aspect of our work is receiving positive feedback from our students and their families and witnessing their academic journey truly transforming.
2025
Shirley Chen, Student
"Alice has been so sweet and understanding! She has gone above and beyond to help advise me on my essays and has been very accommodating to finding times when we can meet. Working with her on my essays has been super helpful. Compared to others I’ve worked with, her attention to detail and the personalized, clear feedback have made the writing process much easier for me. Honestly I think her help with my common app essay and supplementals was what made my app what it was, and got me into Emory ED II (Early Decision), which is one of my top 3 schools!! I didn’t think I would be able to get into that school. I’m so happy the waiting game is over. I keep saying ‘I’m so happy’ but I really am."
2025
E.W, Student, Northgate High School
"For college app prep with Alice, I was able to organize and complete my college applications to the best of my ability. Without her help, there was no way I would have known where to start.
I went into this whole process thinking I would just need help with essay writing, but it turned out to be so much more than that. Alice pushed me to understand the bigger picture of who I am, what I want for my future, and how to communicate that clearly to colleges. She also took the time to review and send comprehensive feedback on my essays in between sessions, which completely elevated my writing. I misunderstood how to answer some essay prompts, and she totally saved me there. I’m so grateful for all her support, and I feel so much more confident in the applications I’m submitting.​
If you're looking for someone who is not just a tutor but a true guide through the college application journey, Alice is the person you need. She’ll help you find your voice and shape your experiences in the most powerful way possible. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her gentle, kind guidance and insight."
2025
Sambhavi Bihari, Student, Olympia High School
"Alice has been a huge help to me throughout the whole college admissions process, from figuring out how I should expand or cut down on my college list to refining my entire application as a whole. She gives the best feedback in the kindest way and is super encouraging. I remember getting stuck on how to answer the essay prompts and not knowing what parts of my experiences were most important to tell. She was so patient and helped me introspect more than I could've done on my own. Thank you Alice!"
2025
A.K., Student, Clarkstown North High School
"Shoutout to Alice!! She was the best and allowed me to come up with my most creative and introspective ideas that led me to have the strongest application. She helped me use all the parts of my application, from the extracurricular section to supplemental essays, and ensured I showed different parts of myself in a unified, interesting way. She helped me write about experiences that actually mattered to me. It really transformed my writing voice. I really appreciated how I'd come into sessions stressed out, but by the end of it, I'd feel a lot more focused and confident in what to do next. Thank you!!"
2025
L.S., Student, Stanford Online High School
"Thank you to Alice for all the hard work on college searching, writing, interview prep, and narrative building she's done with me. I am so grateful for her kind and constructive instruction. I will carry the advice she has given me for a long time."
2025
Margaret P., Parent, Northgate High School
"I want to give a big shout-out to Joyful Minds Tutoring. My daughter has been struggling with math (Algebra I). She was failing miserably. Thanks to the patience, dedication, and subject knowledge, she has received from Joyful Mind Tutors, her last semester grade resulted in a huge improvement. If your child needs help with math, reach out to Alice or Niko. It's great how flexible they can be with changes in scheduling depending on test days and needing an earlier/later session. I also appreciate how they keep me updated on her progress throughout the semester. My daughter looks forward to her practice sessions with Alice and that is the most encouraging to me."
2025
E. W., Student, Northgate High School
"My experience with Joyful Mind Tutors was nothing short of amazing! I worked with both Niko and Alice for SAT prep, and college advisory. Both individuals were extremely understanding of my circumstances and were extra patient with me when I needed more time to grasp a concept. I truly appreciated Niko's lessons. After years of tutoring and not having any success, Niko helped me substantially and was so patient. I always thought I was the issue but he allowed me to express my struggles and work through it! So thankful I had the opportunity to work with him. My SAT scores improved substantially after working with Niko in just a few sessions. Alice helped me grasp the SAT reading section concepts too when I didn't have the strongest background in grammar. They made me custom SAT packets that really helped. I truly support Joyful Mind Tutors and was so thankful for the opportunity to work with the both of them!"
2024
T.N, Student, Valley Christian High School
I can’t recommend working with Alice enough. I started the college application process in the summer of my junior year, feeling completely overwhelmed. But then I started working with Alice.
She helped me see that it wasn’t just about getting into college—it was about figuring out who I am and how to present myself authentically. Alice helped me look at everything about myself from a new perspective, from clubs and classes to my inner life. We talked about what makes me me, not just what I thought college admissions officers wanted to hear. I didn’t realize how my stress made me caught up in trying to write what I thought would impress them, but Alice reminded me that the whole point of the application was to go beyond the list of achievements. She helped me find my voice in a way that felt vulnerable but also strategic. It was this delicate balance of being honest about my growth (mistakes and all) while making sure I was showcasing the strengths in my experiences.
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Alice also helped me research colleges. At first I had a list of schools based really on prestige and location and things like that, but I realized I didn’t understand what each college’s focuses, weaknesses, and strengths were, based on my own interests. With her help, I was able to build a list of schools that felt like the right fit for me, rather than just picking the ones I thought were simply “the best.” That was such a relief—it made the whole process feel more like a search for a place where I could actually picture myself, rather than just a competition to get into the most selective school.
Writing the essays was the most challenging part of the process for me. I was so stuck on how to explain my experiences in a way that would make me stand out. Alice helped me beyond just editing my essays. She encouraged me to dig deeper and asked tough questions that helped me understand parts of me I hadn’t even realized were important. She truly listened to me, and I knew she deeply cared about my success and potential.
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There were moments when I wanted to give up or freak out, but Alice helped me keep perspective, reminding me that every part of the application matters and is totally doable—from how I write about my extracurriculars to how I approach the supplemental essays. I didn’t feel like I was in this process alone. I feel super lucky to have found Alice at the right time and wish that everyone could work with her as well.
(2024 update: i got into one of my top choice schools, UCLA!!! thank you alice!!)
2024
JV, Student, Monte Vista High School
"Niko was super helpful in helping me prepare for the AP Chemistry and AP Calc AB exams and helping me get a 5 on both tests. He did a great job focusing on and reviewing the topics I needed help understanding to ensure I focused on the most important topics for me. He is also very kind and easy to work with, which made studying with him a great experience. He was also very flexible in scheduling sessions that worked for my schedule."
2024
Sean B., San Ramon Valley High School
"At first I was against the idea of getting help through tutoring because I usually have a kind of do-it-yourself attitude. Eventually, I realized I had to put my pride aside and ask for help if I wanted to make it through Pre-Calculus. I had just moved schools midway through junior year, and I had come from a completely different educational system in Europe. The class I was taking was totally different than anything I had done previously. When we first started, I was really worried about not understanding things quickly or right away. Niko was really understanding about my situation. He helped me realize it was okay to not know the answer, which was a big relief. We went over how to show work and do problems step-by-step to get to the right answer. We also realized that I was having such a hard time in my class because I needed to go back and review concepts from previous math classes. Niko helped me catch up on those concepts, and that helped me feel more prepared with my classwork. I have loved working with Niko, and I would highly recommend Joyful Mind Tutors for any friend or anyone that is in need of a compassionate and effective tutor!"
2024
S.D., Parent, Head Royce High School
“Niko has been tutoring my son since early 2024 – Niko is one of the best tutors he's ever had. What is particularly special about Niko is that he (a) deeply cares about his students' progress & learning (b) is very thoughtful about adapting his style to his student's skills & learning style (c) is exceptionally good at following up post-session to ensure that progress is not just limited to live sessions. I would recommend Niko without any reservations and am looking forward to him tutoring my son in his junior and senior years.”
2024
Parent, Campolindo High School
"This letter is to highly recommend Niko Eng as a tutor to anyone whose child needs some assistance.
Our family came to Niko in January 2024 with a tall order: to help our child J. (who uses they/them pronouns) to make up a lot of missed work in their Algebra 2 Advanced class, which put them on the brink of failure, while keeping up with the current material. Niko fully delivered and the outcome was even better than we’d hoped. J. has always been a good student but missed several weeks at the start of school in fall due to illness, and entered their sophomore year very behind in all their subjects. They
worked extensively with a generalist tutor and managed to catch up and get As and Bs at the end of the semester, except in math where their test average put them at something like a D+. We discussed the situation with the teacher and guidance counselor, and the teacher agreed to give J. an incomplete for the semester with the understanding that they would work through the old material from the beginning of the year and take those tests, which the teacher had initially waived for them, to pull up their grade.
J.’s tutor from fall had moved out of town, so we decided a math specialist was really what J. needed to get a solid grip on the material. We connected with Niko through AJ tutoring and he dove into the work with J., systematically tackling the units from the beginning of the year while keeping abreast of the new topics taught in the spring. His expert knowledge was critical in thoroughly teaching and explaining the math, keying in on J.’s weak points and giving them the foundational knowledge they needed. After making up the fall exams, J. was able to pull the D+ up to a B- for the fall semester. Even more impressive, they got
an A- for the spring semester which was well beyond our expectations. I’m certain none of that would have been possible without Niko.
In sum, Niko’s tutoring goes well beyond homework assistance and study policing – he is fully capable of teaching advanced math curricula and turning things around for a student who feels lost. We are truly grateful to have found him!"
2024
Aaron M., Student, Acalanes High School
“I was faced with many challenges when studying for chemistry, such as my teachers teaching style and the materials I was provided. Niko helped me find the missing pieces in my understanding of the material. I truly believe I would not have survived that course without his help. I couldn’t have gotten this type of help any other way. I ended up getting a 4 on the AP Chemistry test!”
2024
Charvi, Student, Dublin High School
"Niko has been really helpful for finishing my Algebra 2 course. Niko helped me by tutoring me in a teaching style that best suited my learning style. I'm more of a visual, artistic person, so Niko adapted our math lessons to provide plenty of graphs and visual explanations. His attentive tutoring allowed me to grow in the class and raise my final course grade."
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