Sonia Lal, Founder

Personal Guidance from a Former Harvard Admissions Interviewer and Harvard Graduate

Ivy League Potential was founded by Sonia Lal, M. Ed., a former Harvard admissions interviewer. Sonia has worked in the field of college counseling, education, and human development since 1997. She was trained in college admissions by Ivy League deans of admissions (including Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Stanford, University of Chicago and Northwestern). Her expertise on essay writing was featured in AdmitSee’s book 99 Successful Admission Essay Excerpts. She has served as a judge for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Sonia has also served on the Illinois Math and Science Academy Admissions committee and evaluated IMSA student research projects. Sonia has interviewed more than 30 college admission experts and is currently writing a book on leadership for teenagers. Sonia graduated from Harvard University cum laude with a B.A. in Social Anthropology and completed coursework at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a masters degree in education and is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Jeremy, Award-Winning SAT/ACT Tutor

“Best Teacher in New York City” Award from the Princeton Review

Jeremy has tutored for over twenty-five years, working with such companies as The Princeton Review, Kaplan, The Scholar Group and Drew Brody Tutoring. At The Princeton Review, he helped develop and write teaching materials, and won the award for Best Teacher in New York City. At Kaplan, he created a course on public speaking and persuasive writing. He has helped students prepare for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, HSPT, GRE, GMAT, CHSPE, TOEFL, and humanities-based AP and SAT Subject Tests. With his background as a professional actor on television and stage, Jeremy utilizes the skills he's developed to communicate and connect more effectively with students. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in English and The Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.

Julie, Former Official Scorer for SAT/ACT

A unique tutoring opportunity: get help from someone with years of experience scoring official tests!

Our master tutor Julie is high in demand. She has worked for Pearson Educational Measurement, scoring for the SAT, ACT, and state writing exams. She has also been an examiner for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization since 2007, scoring HL Language A1 papers. Julie has taught English and Latin at high schools and universities for over twenty years, including Higher Level IB English, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, Latin 1 and 2, Composition, and College Reading. She has also worked at the university level as an instructional designer for many years.

Wayne, College Admissions Counselor

In addition to serving as a college admissions counselor for high school students, Wayne teaches world history at a high school in the Chicago area and has been working with teenagers for many years. After three years at New Haven Public Schools, he taught English abroad twice: first, as a Fulbright Scholar in Strasbourg, France, and second, as a Yale-China Fellow in Changsha, China. Later, he worked at the Chicago Public Education Fund, a nonprofit aiming to combat educational inequity through serving Chicago’s school leaders. Wayne graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Education Studies, where he was a Division I diver for four years. He received his Masters in Secondary Education from Northwestern University, with endorsements in History, Social Studies, and French. 

Sophia, College Admissions Counselor

Sophia is an experienced counselor and teacher who is passionate about education and positive psychology. She has worked with over 1000 high school, undergraduate and graduate students over the years. Sophia received her masters degree in applied psychology and her bachelors degree in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under world-class faculty (Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Angela Duckworth). Sophia is a lifelong athlete, both a gymnast and a diver, and enjoyed diving on the Penn women’s varsity team.

Coleen, College Admissions Counselor

Coleen has worked for over 10 years as a professional school counselor, teacher, and academic advisor. As a college counselor, she strongly believes that forming positive, trusting relationships will lead to student success. Coleen has a master’s degree in school counseling and received the Nancy K. & Steven W. Lynn School Counseling Scholarship, as well as an award from the American Counseling Association. She has a bachelors degree from Pomona College, ranked #12 by Forbes magazine. In her spare time she enjoys knitting, roller skating, and getting boba tea with a friend.