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Client Speak

Sunil Kaushal

CEO, Standard Chartered Africa and Middle East

"If you want a dedicated and encouraging SAT tutor, Nina Merchant is the person to go to. Her approach to the whole program is completely different from any tutor we have met. We interviewed a few people for our daughter, Ruby’s, SAT preparation but none of them had a firm plan of action in place. Nina knew how she would work with Ruby with a very focused timeline. This is what made us go with Nina. The study material she provided were excellent aids. Ruby’s confidence & concentration levels reached a new high. She was completely at ease when she went for her test. Nina’s polite manner, punctuality and sense of responsibility to the task at hand were commendable. She was never late for a session. Anyone looking for a focused, dedicated and sincere SAT tutor would do well to request Nina for help."

Kirthiga Reddy

CEO & Co-founder, Virtualness

"As our decision to relocate back to the US came together, we started working with Nina Merchant to help prepare our two girls – Ashna Reddy, applying for 9th grade, and Ariya Reddy, applying for 6th grade, for their SSAT/ISEE exams. Over 5 months, from the initial test to identify their starting point, to coaching classes twice a week to cover various subjects, Nina worked hard to make learning fun and she’s truly invested in the children. The girls moved from being in the 25th to 75th percentile in initial tests to the high 80th and 90th percentiles. Nina partners closely with parents, truly cares for the children and strives to constantly go beyond call of duty. Ashna and Ariya have both been accepted into their top choice of school, were fortunate to have choices of incredible schools to choose from — we are very grateful to Nina for her contribution to this important stepping stone for our children. My girls and I continue to keep in touch with her."

Sanjay Kamlani

CEO & Founder, Maker5 Inc

"Our children ages 13 and 9 worked with Nina in private tuition sessions for approximately 1 year prior to taking their SSAT tests for private school admissions in the United States. The sessions were focused on Math and English which are the primary areas covered in that particular test. Our objective was for the children to learn the material, understand it and apply it comfortably, with confidence and in a timely manner consistent with the time constraints imposed by test. For our children to succeed, it was important that the tutor could appreciate their level of understanding, their mindset, and their motivations. Nina was able to connect with our children and win their commitment and attention. Nina’s demeanor was warm and friendly such that the children felt comfortable spending time with her and yet serious and focused enough that she could teach them the material in the appropriate time frame. When it was time to take the test, our children were calm, confident, and positive about their preparedness and actual taking and completing the test. The children achieved the scores that they were targeting, and more importantly learned the material such that it helps them in their day to day academic experience. The most impressive and surprising part of the experience was the ability of Nina and the children to achieve their objective while working in sessions that seemed comfortable, relaxed and seemingly enjoyable. Nina knew how to push the children to stay on task and when to back off and let them slow down the pace or take a break in an effort to make the learning process stress free and painless. One might have thought that more seriousness and intensity was required to achieve the objective, but clearly that was not the case. While disciplined, consistent sessions were critical to success, so to was the relaxed mindset. Nina’s western/US background is an added asset to her ability to teach students to tackle US centric tests."

Dick Heezius

"We hired Nina initially for our son who was 15 at that time and who struggled with organising his work and some specific topics like math & biology while he attended Oberoi International School. Nina met him twice a week and helped him in preparing for his ICSG tests. She coordinated with his school how to best help him. Our son made huge progress during the year and was able to get good results on his tests. His self confidence rose substantially and Nina played a big role in this. Furthermore, Nina was helping our other son, who had just started middle school at the American School of Bombay and was struggling with getting things in order and meeting deadlines. With the help of Nina, he got things sorted out and strengthened his academic foundation in various subjects because of which his results improved quite a bit. Nina also worked with our daughter of 8, a student at OIS, who needed help in concentrating on her work. Nina got her focused on school work with results which was otherwise very difficult to achieve. Nina spent quite some each week during the course of the entire school year at our house to help our children. She was a very pleasant and professional teacher, who we can recommend to everyone whose children need some help with school work. She would still be with us had we still been living in Mumbai."

Sandeep Patel

CEO & MD, Cigna TTK

"Nina came highly recommended from other ASB parents. In addition, Nina’s academic credentials and past experience in tutoring students for collegiate entrance exams played an integral role in making our final decision. My son, Aaron (American School of Bombay, Grade 12) needed to take a focused approach to preparing for his second attempt with the SAT., including in-depth work in particular areas with poor to mediocre results during his initial attempt based on a self practice preparation approach. Nina took a methodical approach in identifying areas where Aaron needed to focus by first reviewing the initial test results in detail. She then helped him develop an understanding of areas on which he needed to focus without discounting his strengths. Aaron was much more confident during his second attempt and was able to garner better results. Nina’s approach to teaching was much appreciated by Aaron, as she took a more coaching/ mentoring approach versus a strong hand approach. Nina’s reputation has simply preceded her.

Anonymous Parent

"Nina has worked with our child who is in 9th grade. We were very happy with the way the private class was conducted. There was absolutely no stress or burden. She was always punctual, friendly and had a great rapport with students and the extra classes went off very smoothly. I would certainly recommend her for both SSATs as well as schoolwork."

Anonymous

American School of Bombay Parent

"Nina has provided private one to one tuition for our eleven year old son for over a year now. We were looking for a tutor who could offer a solid foundation in English and has a good understanding of the way that English is taught in the international style of education. This included comprehension strategies, essay writing and preparation for standardized tests. Nina has proved to be a great tutor on all fronts! She is on time, well prepared with appropriate coursework, knowledgeable about the current topic and has the patient of a saint! She has been receptive to our feedback and always includes any suggestions in future lessons. I have seen a dramatic improvement in my child’s writing abilities over the year and I would highly Nina as an English tutor!"

Chirag Doshi

CEO, Walchandnagar Industries Ltd

"Nina Merchant was introduced to me by our Boarding school consultants to help my boys specifically with their UKiSet exams. We met with quite a few tutors, both in India and in the UK. Nina came across as the most enthusiastic and had a desire to really make time and prepare the kids thoroughly for the exam. During the few months that she has engaged with the kids, not only did she help them with their UKiSet but has supported them additionally for their other exams including their CAT4 and English tests. I believe Nina treats all the kids she teaches as her own children, and it shows in the efforts she makes and the time commitment she puts in for each child. The result of our time with Nina, both my boys excelled in their exams, and got into Haileybury school. My younger son continues to work with her on a weekly basis to help him improve his English Language and Literature for GCSE as well. I would highly recommend engaging with Nina Merchant."

Armaan Tandon

Tufts University Class of 2022

"I heard about Nina through a cousin of mine. My biggest concern when I joined Nina was that I will not be able to finish the work in time. I chose Nina because she was able to give me one-on-one classes that allowed me to focus better. By the time I finished my ACT exams, I found that my concerns were not valid, as Nina was very organized to get the work done fast. The best bit about working with Nina is that she is extremely organized and knows the content extremely well, which means that she can allow students to reach their target in a matter of weeks–provided the students finish their homework on time."

Vivek Pandit

Head of Global Private Equity and Investor Practice, McKinsey & Co.

"We were looking for a tutor for my then 4th grader, and because I have a child in the international system, it was really hard for me to find someone that is very well-versed with the American system and the international system. A friend of mine recommended Nina and said that Nina had helped her children get into private school in Miami. That was 7 years ago, and Nina has been with us since then. My 4th grader is now 16 and 2nd grader is now 14, and now she has also been with my 10-year-old for the last one year. The two things that I really like about Nina is that my kids adore her, and she genuinely adores them; they look forward to her coming every week. The second thing that I love about her is that she actually makes sure the concept is taught before she leaves, and she doesn’t really clock her time. I found her to be most useful as a math tutor—a person that either takes a child ahead of the game, and challenges them so that they can really get ahead in math class, or to clarify problems for any of my children that have been struggling in an area in math. She’s also helped with MAP tests for all three of my children, and has helped with Language Arts at times. My two older kids had to take the SCAT test, and Nina helped with that as well; they both did really well and were accepted into gifted programs.

Ajay Kaushal

Director & Co-founder, BillDesk

"My daughter was just two weeks away from her ACT exam. A friend of mine suggested I speak with Nina Merchant. After I discussed a few details with Nina, she promptly sent me a schedule of classes for the next two weeks. We decided it was best to have someone help my daughter through the preparation process, and it was a very good decision indeed. Nina was focused and very organized. My daughter became comfortable with her from day one, diligently attended classes, and completed the assigned homework. That wouldn’t have been possible if she didn’t see Nina investing so much energy in the preparation process. Nina would analyse her mistakes, give her specialized practice in those topics, and encourage her all the time. My daughter, in fact, used to look forward to Nina’s classes because they became so much fun; Nina had a lot of anecdotes to narrate, and encouraged open and free-flowing discussions. We have a lot to thank Nina for. My daughter managed to secure wonderfully in the ACT exam—much beyond our expectation, but in line with what Nina had predicted. She has a very good way of gauging a student’s capabilities. I wish Nina all the very best."

Bhavna Jain

Indian National Congress

"I am indebted to Nina Merchant for greatly contributing to developing the Math skills of my two boys Arjun Jain, age 11, and Kabir Jain, age 9. When Nina came into our lives, both my children were struggling in school in their academic performance in Math. Kabir was doing better as he had an aptitude towards Math. Ms. Nina came and assessed their basic skills and understanding of concepts. With patience and fun techniques, she developed the kid's Math concepts. Slowly and steadily Arjun who was not able to get even basic multiplication, not only got comfortable with it but also started enjoying doing Math both in school and at home. He not only got a grasp on Multiplication but also other derivative concepts like ratios and proportions, percentages, word problems of the same, etc. Kabir went onto another level with and started working on higher concepts which were well beyond his grade level. Thank you Ms. Nina for all your help You have brought MATH HAPPINESS into our home!!!"

Manish Maker

Director, Makers Development Services Pvt Ltd

"I must admit that, at first, I was very apprehensive about utilizing the services of a “tutor” for our boys tests for various UK colleges. After all, coming from a great academic institution, being used to being tested, being bright, busy boys who spend more than their fair share of time on academics, this could only harrow them, and impinge upon their time—and do they need a tutor at all? However, having Nina Merchant coach our boys along has proven invaluable. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable and well-versed with the entire UK testing scenario including the CAT-4, but is rather familiar school-wise with the fine nuances of how each institution approaches the same subject tests. Her ability to relate to the children and develop a personal rapport with them, as well as her ability to instil a sense of confidence in their own abilities, was very special. I found that Nina did not, as many teachers or tutors do, contradict or confuse the methodologies that the children are already taught, but merely supplements this in her own way. Thus there is no “Method A” versus “Method B” to confuse the child, no unlearning or re-learning—just a gentle encouragement forward and brushing up of skills, thinking, reasoning and approach leading to great confidence and great results.
Nina has been an integral part of the boys being accepted into the institutions of their choice."

Esha Bhojwani

"Nina Merchant is amazing! We decided quite late that we wanted to apply for boarding schools in England for my son for grade 11/12. Nina came highly recommended and was kind enough to fit us in to her already packed schedule. She even accommodated us by coming very late in the evenings.
Within a very short span of a month and half she was able to prepare my son for his entrance tests. He was accepted at both the schools that he applied to (Charterhouse School and Malvern College)! Moreover, Nina quickly established a wonderful rapport with my son and he looked forward to her lessons! She has a great ability to connect to the kids at their level and speak their language which makes the learning fun for them while at the same time covering all the content and practise that they need. I would highly recommend Nina."

Payal Shah

"This was our first year in Mumbai since we moved from the US. I made a connection with Nina the first time I talked to her and enrolled my son, Saunak (American School of Bombay, Grade 11), right away. Nina’s approach to the SAT prep course has been organized and detailed. My son has definitely gained a lot from this course. He was confident when he appeared for his exam, a little nervous too, of course. This was one less thing I had to worry about with transitioning and IB already on my mind. Nina has been extremely good with emails, feedback and personal attention. She went out of her way to make sure my son had all the material required for success. I would definitely recommend Nina as a tutor as she is very easily available for any doubts and she did her best to satisfy all my queries. Nina surely takes her work seriously and ensures that her students do too. Once, Saunak almost did not go to class as he was unwell, but she convinced me to send him to class. I am quite glad I did!"

Deepa Navani

"Nina’s command of language inspires and motivates. Her student, my son, writes with flair & reads with better understanding after just 5 months. Thank you, Nina, for building confidence in your students"

Sohaib Farooqui

"I have completed Test Smartly's SAT prep course which was held for 4 weeks. This course not only helped me to achieve a higher score in my SAT, but also set an effective routine which I followed all through the course to achieve that score. The course also pointed out areas I needed to work on in order to boost my scores while also providing comprehensive practice material. Miss Nina was very helpful and would come up with fun ways of learning vocabulary which also helped develop my communication skills."

Anonymous Parent

"After a long search for a tutor for the UK 11+ exams, Nina was recommended to me. I was initially apprehensive that a tutor based in Mumbai would have the knowledge needed to guide my child for a UK exam, but after a trial lesson I was convinced that she was the right person. Nina is knowledgeable and approachable. My son enjoyed and looked forward to her classes. She has a very good way of relating to children and making them feel very comfortable around her. She was patient and friendly but firm, she didn't make my child feel stressed out about what he didn't know or couldn't initially understand about a concept. The work that Nina did with my son has already helped him pass an entrance exam into UK preparatory school and will help him in the upcoming 11+ exams."

Revathi Shivakumar

"My daughter has signed up for SAT classes with an organisation recommended by her school counsellor. With a month to go, she said she didn’t know much. I picked Nina from an email, knew nothing about her. She did a great job with my daughter who eventually got into almost every school she applied to. Nina is knowledgeable, passionate and very committed to giving her best. She also made my daughter feel comfortable and confident, key elements needed for her to learn and do well. Since then, I have referred Nina to friends and have always been profusely thanked by them. Nina is a wonderful tutor and I recommend her services wholeheartedly."

Raj Vithalani

Purdue University

"The past SAT tutors which I went to didn’t give me enough personal attention even though they were private tutors. They did not have any plan for me, and wasted my time doing practice tests without any review. I wanted someone who would professionally track my progress and take small steps for my improvement. Moreover, I wanted someone to make a road map to success. We had been trying to find a professional SAT teacher since a long time and I was struggling through my SATs. It wasn’t until I was in the 12th grade at DY Patil International School (Worli) that we found Nina. (cont’d) The multifarious tricks she taught me and tailor-made worksheets helped me very much in solving difficult problems. This time around, I was more confident also because she made the test be less boring. She also helped improve my language skills in general. My parents were very pleased with her dedication, commitment, punctuality, and that she actually delivered."

Maithali Kale

"Nina came like a pillar of strength right in the middle of the pandemic. My daughter had joined the IB curriculum from ICSE and along with the new way of online learning was struggling at math. That’s when she came highly recommended from one of the counselors. We had spoken to a few other tutors but after speaking to Nina her knowledge about the subject, diligence and comforting manner gave my child confidence to get better and excel at the subject. She always provided the necessary support and my daughter has a great rapport with her. I am glad we chose Nina and highly recommend her to all other students wanting to excel."
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