Hi, I’m Annick McIntosh.

I honestly don’t remember exactly what I scored on the ACT or the SAT. In high school, I was an anxious student and test taker – I thought my standardized test scores would determine my future.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Test scores are only one part of the college application process – not the sum total. Part of my passion at The Tutoring Nook is ensuring that standardized test preparation is not an unreasonably stressful process for students, as the ultimate goal is building confidence for test day.

A bit about me…I originally hail from a suburb of Houston but left the south to attend Haverford College, where I graduated in 2010 with a degree in Molecular Biology. After beginning a Ph.D. program in Molecular Anthropology at Yale University, I started to tutor part-time for the SAT and ACT. Within two years of starting my program, I left to pursue an ocean-based career in Honduras, working as an underwater videographer and Scuba Instructor while continuing to tutor online for the SAT and ACT.

When I moved back to the US, I worked full-time as a standardized test prep instructor and manager of a tutoring branch for a Connecticut-based prep company. In 2017, after traveling for several years and teaching abroad, I moved to Maine and founded The Tutoring Nook.

I enjoy long-distance backpacking, surfing in the cold waters of Maine, and ecstatic dancing. My family and I live just outside of Ellsworth on the small peninsula of Lamoine.

tutoring credentials

  • 8000+ hours of one-on-one and group course teaching experience

  • Vetted tutor and professional member of The Association of Test Preparation, Admissions, and Private Tutoring (TPAPT).

  • Worked as a tutor for large, mid-size, and small tutoring companies: PrepNow, Higher Ground Learning, and The Learning Edge.

  • Created test questions and content for McGraw-Hill Study Guides (2016)

  • Created questions and content for numerous SAT study apps

  • Served US students from the following states: California, Washington, Wyoming, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and of course, Maine!

  • Served students from all around the world: Egypt, Honduras, Italy, Germany, England, Peru, Korea, China, Japan, and the Cayman Islands.

My Approach

Humans are pattern-seeking creatures. I teach standardized tests by illuminating repetitive elements in each section of the test and encouraging students to slow down and become more conscious of these patterns.

Additionally, success on standardized tests takes a bit of grit, so I focus on the mental aspects of test-taking, including building mental stamina for test day and fine-tuning methods of maintaining focus or re-centering when focus has been lost. I like to say that the SAT is a marathon for the brain, so it’s important to do some long practice runs before race day!

Building skills for college and beyond

Teaching standardized tests is boring. I’m not in the business of just teaching to the SAT. I want my students to learn actual skills that can benefit them in college and in life.

What sort of skills am I talking about? I want my students to have a set of tools for reading pieces of text more critically and with greater comprehension. I want my students to have a holistic understanding of major math functions and be able to recognize these equations in the real world. I want my students to feel confident navigating punctuation and foundational grammar rules.

The greatest gift I can receive is an email from a student, at some point during their college journey, expressing gratitude for the skills gained during our preparation sessions and how those skills have significantly impacted their academic performance in college.