The Wagner Prep Difference

Sure you could “just buy a book,” watch it collect dust, and then get into arguments with your son or daughter over it.

Of course you could enroll them in a in a big-box test prep service and get cookie-cutter approaches and impersonal tutors.

Or you could enroll them in a Wagner Prep program and get:

A personal touch. Mike Wagner leads all classes himself and is available to help you with any questions about the college process along the way, including his monthly check-ins.
An effective tutor. Wagner Prep is a small business, which helps keep quality at a premium. Mike and his small team are professional test prep experts- not college students. You know exactly who you will be dealing with when you enroll in our courses and can ask questions about the college process along the way. Many parents and students come to us when other prep classes didn’t work.

Teaching teenagers is hard. It takes a professional who is relatable, experienced, and interesting.

Ready to see increased SAT/ACT scores for your child? Want a smoother college admissions process? You came to the right place.

Mike Wagner, Lead Instructor

Founder and lead instructor Mike Wagner left his high school teaching job to start an education company designed around holistic education and real, meaningful connections with his students. He teaches classes or is consulting with students every day and prides himself on creating an open and inviting atmosphere.

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Our Office —
246 5th avenue
New York, NY 10001
(718) 440-4671

Tyler Littlefield, Math and Science Instructor

Tyler has been working alongside Mike for more than two years now, and has been a professional, full time tutor for over 3 years. Trading in his job as a chemical engineer testing emissions across the North East, Tyler settled down in NYC and is so passionate about tutoring math and science to students he does it six days a week.

Lili Hamlyn, English Instructor

Lili is originally from London but has been living in Brooklyn for six years. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Oxford and has been working for Wagner Prep since 2021. Lili is passionate about teaching and loves sharing her enthusiasm for the English language with her students. She works with students on SAT and ACT test prep, essay writing, literature, and college essay prep. When not tutoring, Lili is a professional writer whose work has been published in The Yale Review, The White Review, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Marley Perlstein, Math and Science Instructor

With an educational background that includes a Bachelors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Masters in Biostatistics, Marley is skilled in tutoring a range of subjects such as SAT/ACT prep, Algebra, Geometry, and Biology. She is known for her patient and thorough teaching style, always ensuring her students are completely comfortable with the material to help them reach their academic goals. When she's not tutoring, Marley holds a full-time position as a data analyst at the Cancer Institute of NJ. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and attending music events.

Christos Levy, Math and Science Instructor

Christos is an aerospace engineer and flight instructor with a passion for aviation. After completing his education at Purdue and obtaining his masters in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, he is now an engineer at Garmin. He teaches and mentors students in math, physics, and computer science through the college level. His goal is to empower students by growing their skills through his interactive teaching style.

Gwenyth Jackaway, Ph.D., English and History Instructor

Dr. Jackaway is a mission-driven educator and former college professor -- with over 20 years of teaching experience -- passionate about the power of teaching to transform lives. After earning a BA in history from Columbia University, and graduate degrees in communication from the University of Pennsylvania, she then joined the faculty at Fordham University, where she served as an Associate Professor Communication and Media Studies. Dedicated to helping secondary school students find their drive and motivation to prepare for the challenges of college, she now offers individual tutoring in the humanities and social sciences.

Mark Kosmerl, Math and Science Instructor

Mark hails from north of Chicago, but currently works as a Production Engineer for a multinational energy company in Texas. In 2023, he graduated from Purdue University with a Mechanical Engineering degree, having also conducted research for NASA and completed two engineering-related internships during his studies. Mark has been supporting Wagner Prep since 2022, focusing on high school and college level math and science, as well as standardized test preparation.

Alex Solomon, English Language and Literature Instructor

Alex teaches in the writing program at Rutgers University, where he received his PhD in English Literature in 2017 (he also holds an MA in English from Rutgers and a BA from Rice University). His dissertation, on the connections between experimental science and the early British novel, was awarded the prestigious Dan David Prize in Literature by an international committee chaired by novelist Jamaica Kincaid. After graduate school, Alex taught at Ashoka University, an innovative liberal arts school near New Delhi, India. Outside the classroom, Alex has been a private tutor for over a decade, working with students across a range of subjects, with an emphasis on critical reading and writing skills. He has extensive experience helping students with standardized test preparation, including the SSAT, ISEE, ACT, and SAT.