USMLE Step 1, 2, 3 Test Prep

A Step Forward: Test Prep New York’s Approach to the USMLE

Test Prep New York/TPNY, a boutique academic tutoring and test preparation company based in Manhattan, offers a new option for students seeking success on the USMLE Steps. By pairing students with experienced tutors who have mastered the material and intricacies of the USMLE, TPNY provides the ultimate in individualized tutoring to ensure consistent excellent results.

TPNY is the only company to combine the highest level of individualized, rigorous USMLE tutoring with effective mental enhancement techniques to maximize test scores.

MEDICAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR: Armeen D. Poor – 4th year Medical Student, St. George’s University, Grenada

– USMLE Step1: 253/99 – Executive Board
– Iota Epsilon Alpha: International Medical Honor Society
– Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College (cum laude)
– Biology, Chemistry teacher at the prestigious Rivers School in Massachusetts
– Current TPNY tutor and 4th year medical student

“As a student preparing for the USMLE at St. George’s, my options for test-prep were limited when I left Grenada to prepare for the most important exam of my life. Students had to decide between months of classroom-heavy retreats or studying on their own. There were no alternatives for students who sought a combination of interactive guidance and self-directed study.”

“The limited options failed to address the needs of many students who sought to achieve excellent results. Those who would have benefited from more individualized test prep could only dive into overwhelmingly large and expensive ‘one size fits all’ courses… or simply go out on their own. Only as a 4th year medical student did I discover Test Prep New York, join their staff, and become an advocate for this effective hybrid learning opportunity for IMGs because I saw the strength, logic and success of their approach.”

WHY TPNY: Test Prep New York is a proven leader in one-on-one academic tutoring and test prep, pairing students with dynamic, inspiring educators who can translate their own successes into dramatic improvements for students. We have helped prepare hundreds of students for admission into elite institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford University.

TPNY has an impressive track record of students exceeding their target scores, and assisting others to improve their scores into the top percentile. We also provide innovative solutions to help clients overcome test anxiety and other psychological impediments that compromise performance when taking high stakes tests.

TPNY offices are located in New York and San Francisco; in addition, TPNY staff work with students in-person in other select cities and serve students online via distance learning. TPNY has used its experience and success in the field to develop an innovative tutoring program for students taking the USMLE. We provide an alternative to the impersonal and costly approaches currently offered by other test prep companies to students at International Medical Schools.

THE USMLE and IMGs
The USMLE poses one of the greatest obstacles, and also opportunities, for medical students–especially for those studying abroad–to achieve residency success in the US. At Caribbean schools, as the basic science years wind down, students begin to look ahead to their USMLE preparation. With anxiety abounding, medical students seek out the best route to achieve a high score.

Options are limited to inconvenient online courses and exorbitantly expensive courses set in remote locations, which deprive students of opportunities to direct their own study. Both approaches to the USMLE lack the personal touch of an individualized and interactive experience with successful instructors.

OUR TUTORS AND HOW WE CAN HELP
TPNY offers students a balance between comprehensive class-intensive courses and self-directed study. We have carefully selected and trained current 4th year medical students from both top US Medical Schools and St. George’s University, a perennial leader in International Medical Education, to serve as our tutors. With each tutor achieving at least 240/99 on the exam one year ago, their intimate and fresh knowledge of the material and exam itself provides an invaluable combination of teaching and insight to the USMLE’s challenges.

TPNY pairs students with top scoring tutors, results-oriented experts hand-picked for their ability to translate their own test-taking success into teaching others how to achieve their highest score. Tutors will carefully craft a personalized approach and detailed study plan tailored to each student’s strengths, weaknesses and goals. The tutors’ breadth of experience with the material, practice exams and success on the USMLE will allow them to guide those preparing for the exam in a way that maximizes their potential.

A UNIQUE TUTORING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Each session will include a personalized combination of didactic teaching, practice questions and a discussion of specific test-taking strategies. We will also include diagnostic testing, teaching to each student’s learning style and finding solutions to individual struggles. This combination will optimize the student’s time with the tutor, and also outline the student’s preparation for subsequent sessions. The duration and packaged number of sessions will be dictated by each student’s unique preferences and test-prep needs.

In essence, TPNY offers an alternative to students who seek a balance between an intensive prep-course and purely self-directed study. By being matched with tutors who are much like themselves, but who also have proven USMLE success, excellent training and tutoring experience, students will find the test-prep experience that fits their own personal needs and offers them the opportunity to achieve their best USMLE results!

TUTOR BIOS - some bios of some of our USMLE experts

Alexandra grew up in Gainesville, Florida and graduated from high school with an International Baccalaureate diploma. She then attended Cornell University, where she graduated with a 4.0 GPA. She was accepted during her sophomore year for early matriculation into the Humanities and Medicine program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Last year, she took a scholarly year to pursue clinical research in her field. She was selected this year for induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society that recognizes the top 16% of the graduating medical school class. She will graduate from Mount Sinai in May and will begin residency training in the New York area. Alexandra has extensive teaching and tutoring experience, having served as both a private tutor and a TA for several undergraduate and graduate courses. She specializes in USMLE tutoring.

Armeen graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he received his degree in History. After college, he taught Biology and Chemistry at The Rivers School, a premier preparatory school outside Boston. Carrying over his passion for teaching and mentoring, Armeen is now a 4th year medical student in New York, where he has spent much of his time tutoring TPNY students in Basic Sciences and preparing them for the MCAT and USMLE. After achieving a stellar score on Step1 (253/99), Armeen now strives to adapt his own unique learning style to those of each student, maximizing their potential. Armeen brings a breadth of teaching experience, academic excellence and personal excitement that allows him to engage each student. In his spare time Armeen enjoys traveling the world, reading, cooking and riding his bike throughout the boroughs of New York.

Jennifer was born in France and moved to Texas five years later. Always interested in a wide variety of subjects, she was captain of the school Academic Decathlon team. She attended Brandeis University, where she double majored in Biology and Creative Writing. During college, Jennifer worked for ACALON Cards and Exams, researching and writing art history study materials and test. As a senior, she TAed a sophomore biology class, where she taught review sessions and tutored individual students. She also directed writing workshops for students and adults in the community. After college, she joined the Peace Corps in Cameroon. As a community health volunteer, she developed and taught in-service trainings and courses for health professionals, high school students, and new Peace Corps Volunteers. Jennifer applied to medical school from Cameroon and decided to attend UC San Francisco. While waiting for med school to start, she taught MCAT and DAT for Kaplan. During medical school, she has helped to develop the curriculum for and co-facilitate a new course in narrative medicine. Now starting in her fourth year at UCSF, she has completed an MFA Poetry program at Brooklyn College the past year. Jennifer heads up our San Francisco pre-med and medical school courses, including MCAT, DAT, USMLE, SAT Is and IIs, ACT and a variety of other courses.

Michael earned a B.S in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University
and graduated from Medical School in March 2011.Michael spent 2 years
in the West Indies at the Medical University of the Americas studying the basic science portion of his medical school. After, he worked for 1 year at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. During this time he gained extensive clinical training in fields such as Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology,
Surgery, Pediatrics, Endocrinology, and Family Medicine. His
experience also includes 2 months of training in Psychiatry at Cherry
Hospital State Psychiatric Institute in North Carolina. He is
currently in residency for a combined Internal medicine/Psychiatry
residency position in Las Vegas, NV, and has successfully passed the
United States Medical Licensure Exam (USMLE) Step 1, 2 and 3 with high
scores. Michael has worked with TPNY for three years, and has a
great track record tutoring any medically related field and teaches
all three steps of the USMLE for TPNY . He is also more then
qualified to teach psychology and related subjects. His sessions are
upbeat and interactive promoting active learning, the most effective
method for students of all learning styles. We are proud to have
Michael as part of our team and are confident he will enlighten your
outlook on medicine and health. He will help you gain content mastery
and a deep understanding of test-taking strategy so you can earn your
best grades and scores on the USMLE.

Nate was born and raised in sunny southern California where he attended the University of Southern California playing varsity Rugby and received a B.S. in Kinesiology. Immediately after college he was accepted at Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he has excelled on the USMLE and NBME shelf exams. He has been tutoring his peers though out the years serving as a teaching assistant for the medical school and also selected as a senior peer tutor holding individualized one-on-one sessions with other medical students. He is a proponent of strengthening good study habits, and focusing on the big picture to help better conceptualize the minor details of the subject matter. Nate teaches various medical subjects and USMLE prep for TPNY. In his spare time he is an avid body builder, and enjoys playing various sports including football, basketball, racquetball, surfing, snowboarding and wake boarding.

Tara is a New York-native who grew up on Long Island and has lived in Manhattan for seven years now. She graduated Valedictorian from Sayville High School, with a strong interest in the natural sciences and extra curricular based in music and the theatre. She was able to cultivate all of these interests in her four years at New York University, graduating magna cum laude (GPA 3.782) in 2006 with a major in Biochemistry (GPA 3.78) and a minor in Dramatic Literature, Theatre, History, and the Cinema (GPA 3.70). She scored a 36 on her MCAT (13 in physical sciences, 12 in verbal, and 11 in biological sciences). In her sophomore, junior, and senior years at NYU, Tara was a teaching assistant for General Chemistry, running weekly small-group classes and extra review sessions before each exam. She is currently a fourth-year student at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she passed all of her classes in the first two years, achieved Honors in the majority of her third year clerkships, and was named a member of AOA as a fourth year. Tara teaches Step 2, having earned a 256 (99) on Step 2 CK, and has been involved in peer tutoring for first and second year courses throughout her time at Mount Sinai. She plans on completing residency in Internal Medicine and pursuing a career that combines translational basic research and clinical medicine at an academic medical center.

DAT, MCAT, NCLEX and NBDE tutor BIOs

Dan has just entered his third and final year of residency in orthodontics, working in the Mt. Sinai clinic. An experienced teacher, he is very adept at conveying complicated topics to both students and colleagues. He earned in the mid-90th percentiles in professional exams such as the DAT, GRE, and NBDE.

Danielle is currently a second year student at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. She attended Marist College where she began as an
Athletic Training major, then switched into Biology to pursue a career in the dental profession. Despite her change in major she was able to complete her requirements and graduate from Marist College in three years. At Marist College, Danielle was employed by the school as a tutor. She tutored biology, chemistry, and math to both general students and athletes. Through these diverse populations, she learned that different tutoring strategies work with different people. She is determined to find what strategy will be best to help students learn the subjects they need help in and ensures they master content, understand test-taking strategy, and helps students to maintain the best mindset and attitude. Danielle tutors science-based academic courses, as well as the SAT I, SAT II and DAT for TPNY.

Evan was born and raised in New Jersey, and graduated from Cook College at Rutgers University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. He graduated cum laude and as an outstanding scholar in biological sciences. He additionally completed an independent study in microbiology, and completed one year of a M.S. program in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics before being accepted into Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, where he is in his third year of study. One of his primary extracurricular activities at Columbia is running the Mentorship and Education Committee of the Columbia Chapter of the American Student Dental Association. In this capacity, he organizes various events geared towards aiding students in classes significantly more difficult than those to which they were accustomed in college. He has extensive experience assisting students with clinical anatomy and dental sciences, and has collaborated on reviews in physiology and pathology. Between helping other students and analyzing his own study habits and those of his peers, he has gained an understanding of the varying methods individuals use for studying, noting that each person goes about their process in different ways. In his personal time, he is vice president of the student government association at Columbia and enjoys skiing, playing ice hockey, and staying active.

Jean was born and raised in and around New York City. She graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with a BA in Art History and Visual Arts. She has a lot of private tutoring and classroom teaching experience including being an SAT teacher for Kaplan Test Prep. To combine her passion for artistry and the sciences, she chose the dentistry path. She is currently a second year student at Columbia College of Dental Medicine. In her free time, she loves to run, paint, cook and do all sorts of sports and adrenaline-pumping activities.

Heather graduated March of 1993 from The School of Nursing at Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Florida. She passed the NCLEX exam in July 1993 on the first try. A "self-proclaimed" adrenaline junkie, Heather quickly advanced into Critical Care. She spent 10 years specializing in the Medical, Surgical and non-interventional Cardiology Intensive Care in Florida and as a contract nurse. In 2001 she moved to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina and the day Shift. In exchange for Heather’s experience the hospital trained her in Post Anesthesia Care. She served as the Critical Care educator conducting inservices on topics such as vasoactive and anti-arrythmic medications plus invasive lines and equipment. Heather found her niche at this small-town hospital and the recovery room became her passion. Three years later in New York City she obtained her CPAN credential on the first try. Currently she works at The Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian’s recovery room.

In addition to clinical expertise, Heather possess an ability to score well on standardized tests. She understands the unique nature of NCLEX and nursing exam questions. As a traveler she was required to prove her knowledge at a new institution every three months. She passed each test on the first try. Instructors at Palm Beach Community College prepared their class to pass the NCLEX exam on their first try and her class achieved a 95% pass rate. is currently in graduate school while working and teaching NCLEX to private clients and in our classes.