Testimonials

"I take chemistry for IGCSE and I will be doing my exams in May and in June. I've started off with chemistry with a very rocky start due to the fact that I was not understanding some of the logical concepts.

I searched for help as I felt really hopeless in my classes. I wasn't understanding anything. My exam grades were not good either. And I think this is the story for a lot of students as well in today's day and age. And I struggled a lot to revise for chemistry. I felt like I didn't understand anything I was even reading.

But then, thankfully, I started doing tutoring in chemistry with Miss Cristina, and this brought some light to my understanding in chemistry, I hoped to go from a level 4 four, which what I started with 4 fours and 5 five really bad grades. And in my last mock exam, my official mock, I managed to get a level 7 seven, but only through tireless work and pages and pages of exercises and lots of explications for each and every concept, which I found very, very helpful as well."

Maya A. (IGCSE student, Spain)

"I started working with you in November and that time I had a 4 at that point I was doing IB Chemistry HL. I think my issue at that moment was that in class, I could not really understand what my teacher was saying.

So to have your class afterward, which summarizes the whole lesson, really helps. As well as the homework, the practice. Now my most recent is a 7.

I feel like the most helpful thing from our lessons is theories. Because chemistry is not just calculations, it is all about theories, because theories come in hand with calculations as well…And to have you directly telling me what exactly you need to know and how you should say it is definitely really helpful."

(Melissa, IB DP Chemistry HL student, Thailand)

"I was taking Organic Chemistry 1 this semester and I was retaking it actually because I took it last year and it was like a big struggle for me. And this semester was still a lot of work, but I did much better and I got an A in the final course and put in a lot of work and time and it was very worth it.

It was very helpful to do a lot of practice and to really work through questions until I understood everything and not just kind of blindly trying to figure it out. And I thought it was a big help to work with you.it's a very good feeling and makes me feel like it was all worth it and worth all the work that I put in, very happy about it. Thank you!"

Biana Z. (Pre-med student, US)

"(Sereena) On my first AP chem test, I actually failed it, and I got a little panicky during the tests. But then when I met you, you made it a lot better because I had more resources to practice with. And then you had all these colorful slides that I could learn with because I'm a visual learner, so that helped me learn a lot better than just, like, my teachers boring lectures.

(Sereena’s mom) And I'm so glad that we started this, because after a few classes, I could see that she was getting less nervous about chemistry.

It did not seem hard, and I would think, oh, my gosh, that's a lot of work. But she was willing to put in the work with you because she enjoyed chemistry after she met you, she really enjoyed it. So even though I think she was doing three classes in a week, there was not even one time she said, oh, I'm bored. I want to miss.

She always looked forward to having a class with you because you gave her all the strategies. So when she went for the other tests, it was so much easier. And from failing a class, she went to straight a. So that was a great journey, and thanks to you."

(Sereena K., AP Chemistry student, US)

“During the exam, when I went into the exam, I saw the paper and I was like: okay, I know this! I was not stressed at all about the paper. Like when I went to the exam we had so much practice, I think we probably did almost all the past papers we were able to do towards the end. So I was so confident when I went to the exam, I knew what I wanted. And it was like all the answers were coming to my head and I just had to jot them down. [...] And especially because this year the exam papers were different than the previous years. But because of the fact that we had practiced so many papers, other than our syllabus as well, we did so many textbook exercises it helped us. They weren't the regular pattern of the exam papers and that was actually very helpful, especially for chemistry. Thank you so much to you and all your teachers Miss!”

(Yuvraj, IGCSE student from New Delhi, India)

"I'm Anaya, I'm a year 11 student this year taking my final IGCSEs. I joined tutoring from Ms. Cristina last year, because obviously, we were heading towards our final exams and chemistry was getting a bit like, it was hard to learn myself and I needed help to get to that A*. And it's obviously helped me a lot and I am working at an A* right now. Thanks to Miss Cristina. Thank you, Miss! You really helped me enjoy chemistry!"

(Anaya, IGCSE student from New Delhi, India)

"When I started (the chemistry class), my grades were bad. I was failing, I think I had like a 59, and I was very upset and I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself. So then after we started working, my grades started going up and I got more confident in the classroom and I started answering questions, and yeah, just kind of gaining more confidence in myself. So, yeah. And now I just took my final and I got a 92 on it." 

(Lorena Briceno, 10th-grade student from New York, US)

" At the beginning of the school year chemistry was kind of scary for me. When I started I was getting like 60s and 65s on my tests. I couldn't figure out a way to like pull my grades up. I wasn't proud of it because science was one of my higher grades until this year when it was just terrible. So I knew I had to do something.

So since starting tutoring, my grades have progressively gone up. I went from like 60s to now getting 80s and 85s on my tests. And sometimes 90s. I'm actually proud of myself now, like even besides getting good grades, I'm actually understanding and I'm able to answer questions in class.

I feel very confident, like doing my homework and just knowing that I can understand the concepts and just get through it pretty quickly helps me in class too. I'm very confident. I like answering questions and I like being engaged in class. So tutoring has helped me a lot."

(AJ Quinn, 10th-grade student from New York, US)

" In the beginning of this year, I was doing horribly bad. I wasn't doing good. I was failing. I was at 44. But now my averages are 90 and I could still do better, but I'm doing great."

Eric Lopez (10th-grade student from New York, US)

"He usually didn't struggle with math or science, but with chemistry, he had a struggle so his grade average was dropping. He usually is able to maintain 90s in science, and he had now dropped down into the 70s. 

And then we started with you. And when we started, you started to break down the chemistry with him. From the beginning, and he quickly picked up and his grades went right back up until the 90s. After just a few tests.

For other parents who had their children in this situation, I did refer them to you. You know, I recommended that they take your tutoring. Because a lot of help is good, it's a good thing. And we thank you! It's a pleasure to work with you as well. We very much appreciate all that you do. So thank you!"

Tanya Quinn (Mother of AJ, 10th-grade student, New York, US)

"Eric has always been a good student..So I was feeling frustrated because he was struggling with just one subject, which is chemistry. He was struggling. That was his only low grade, I think, 50 %. He was failing, definitely failing, failing the class. And that does impact his entire cumulative GPA.

Eric has been now with you tutoring in chemistry for a couple of months. And so far we've seen amazing results! He started getting 80s  and now he's getting 90s in his exams and his tests, and he understands the concepts. That is making me very happy because he is starting to grasp what chemistry is and all the different concepts which are complex. Thank you, Cristina! Thank you!"

Lorena Giler Lopez (mother of Eric, 10th-grade student, New York, US)

"You know your subject inside and out. So my son just slipped into your program and he's been going now for the whole school year. So our plan is to continue and to prepare him for the college AP chemistry exam so that he can get college credit for it. So a lot of the learning has been the study skills. That's usually the struggling area for students, taking notes, reading the material, reading the text so that you can understand. 

So I think that it hasn't just been chemistry. It's been study skills that you have taught him to organize himself and you hold him accountable for it. And it's nice to just be a mom. You know, there's a lot of things to fight about. And I picked not to fight about chemistry. So I'm relieved!"

Esmy Lozano (Homeschool Mom, Dallas, Texas, US)

"She was struggling greatly.... And from 65-67% that she got the first semester in school, barely passing at this point...now, last week, she received her grades and are like 88-89 % in chemistry, and she's able to understand it! She was screaming out of her room: Mom, I've got 88!!! So she was excited. She was so happy!"

Sulma Alvarado (Mother of Miranda, 10th-grade student, New York, US)

"Cristina wants you to know that you've got an 89.5 at your assignment!!!"

Mathew Lozano, homeschool student, Texas US

"As a homeschool parent, I have a bachelor of science chemistry in college and high school, but I am very rusty and I didn't feel prepared to provide the instruction for chemistry. And that's why I sought you out. I said: I'm going to outsource this topic because I want my child to really be taught systematically. And you definitely have done that!

I do want to say that accountability is big with Christina. She stays on top of it and she communicates how the sessions were and where the struggles are. And, you know, from teaching note-taking skills to study skills, to doing spreadsheets for my son so that he can keep up and track his work has made such a difference. And I feel like the study skills that you have taught him are transferring into his other subjects.

So he gets a lot from your sessions. And I just want to say thank you publicly! I appreciate you so much and I'm so glad I found you! And I know all chemistry tutors are not created equal and you are the best-kept secret in the Netherlands. And we hope that more people will hear about you here across the pond."

Interview about Homeschool Chemistry with Esmy Lozano (homeschool mom from Dallas, US)

"Got an 89.5 at the chemistry assignment!"

Matthew Lozano, homeschool student, Dallas, Texas, US