Natalie Gorna

Professional tutor, writer, and editor

In the beginning…

Hello and welcome! My name is Natalie Gorna. I was born in California but I’m now living life on the East Coast. As soon as I graduated high school, I started working as a professional freelance writer and editor in 2009, then also as a private tutor for math and English. I mainly helped students in person until I began a hybrid of online tutoring and in-person tutoring in 2018. It was not until 2020 that I went fully online.

Always keep moving forward

In the meantime, I became a published scriptwriter, book/movie reviewer, copywriter, and blogger. 7 of my scripts were produced by an indie film company as short documentaries, sold now on DVD. I have hundreds of book reviews posted on my book review website, Around the Bend of the Book, from my days as a book critic for the deceased and recently resurrected Examiner.com site. I’m always keeping busy! As I’ve expanded my skills and interests, my tutoring services have grown in tandem.

A decade and a half of experience

Since 2010, I have worked with thousands of students − children, teenagers, and adults. I have helped them make progress in their classes, understand their homework, ace their assignments, and pass tests. I have also assisted homeschoolers, working professionals, and retired military personnel. My tutoring lessons are one-to-one, fully interactive, engaging, and instructive. I always do my best to adapt to the needs of every student I work with.

What I tutor now

My tutoring specialties are students in grades 1 through 12: writing coaching and test preparation for the SSAT, ISEE, CogAT, OLSAT, SCAT, HSPT, CTP ERB, MAP, SHSAT, TACHS, SAT, and ACT exams. From essay writing to college applications, students of all ages work with me to build their writing skills and mechanics. Test prep is a central hub of the education “job application” process; I know the ins and outs of the best practice materials and resources, and I’ve perfected my techniques and strategies so everyone can master test-taking and be successful. My students reach their test score goals!

Student Feedback 🙂

My tutoring philosophy

Everyone is a student throughout life, whether actively at school or not. I know from my own experience how hard it is to learn any subject and how much harder it is to find the right teacher. Now I explain the same concepts I’ve mastered to countless students who need my help. The key formula for successful learning is “practice makes perfect”: anyone can improve with enough hard work, dedication, and, of course, the right guidance. I don’t just teach my students what they need to know: I show them how to build on the skills they already have and reach their true potential.

Based on 13 reviews

Review us on

Natalie helped tutor both of our elementary school daughters for a few different tests. She was great about pinpointing both of their strengths and weaknesses and then figuring out the best platforms, books, and methods to help them improve in the areas they needed the most help with. She has high standards and expects the students to work hard, but she gets great results. We were pleased to work with Natalie and highly recommend her for your child's test prep needs.

JeannineChris K.
Natalie is a great tutor. She helped my son study for the NWEA MAP and CogAT. She was able to improve his scores substantially. She is very knowledgeable about study materials and helped us to create a great study plan. She was able to keep my son motivated to keep studying and he enjoyed working with her a lot! We communicated often outside of tutoring sessions and we were able to work together to identify concerns and make adjustments as needed to keep my son on track. I highly recommend her services to anyone who would like some extra help with test score improvement.

Larry S.
We reached out to Natalie after an ISEE practice test showed my son needed lots of help with math. She quickly guided us on where to focus and which practice resources to use. Regular remote sessions helped my son learn not just formulas for types of problems, but critical test-taking strategies. We appreciated her caring approach and that she checked in between sessions about his progress. Ultimately, he brought his stanine scores up 4-5 points for both math sections, putting him well in the range for his schools of choice. We're grateful for Natalie's help and recommend her highly!

Casey H.
Natalie was recommended by one of our local college prep education companies, and she is nice, professional and easy to communicate with. Her work was very helpful for my daughter's prep for her ISEE test. After 14 lessons of math tutoring, my daughter's test scores went from 5 and 5 to 7 and 8, which I was very pleased with. I will definitely recommend her to any friends who have the same tutoring need for their kids.

EJ F.
Natalie did a fantastic job at helping my daughter prepare for her school entry exam. She was patient and offered an all around approach that included extra practice and programs outside the weekly online session. In general, she helped my daughter bridge some learning gaps in maths and English that we weren't aware of. She provided lots of follow up and feedback outside the sessions too. Highly recommend.

Marisa H.
Natalie worked with our son for the elementary SCAT. She had a great syllabus and project plan and was able to teach our son concepts and strategies in an efficient manner. She assigned homework efficiently as well to ensure progress throughout the duration of the program. We are also happy to report that our son qualified for both verbal and quantitative in the CTY program with advanced placement in quantitative! Thanks Natalie for your guidance!

Arpita M.
We live in Texas, and my 6th grader needed some focused tutoring for a few areas of a standardized test (CTB ERB). Natalie worked with him twice a week for the month prior to the test, and it was exactly what he needed to excel! Natalie sent out homework and reviewed it with him over the computer / whiteboard program. It worked great.

K J.
Natalie Is an amazing teacher . Even when you will feel like giving up , she wont let you. She will bring out the best in you. Highly recommend her .

Pinki B.
We only had time for a few sessions with Natalie to prepare my son for the SCAT. He was scoring below the required score in practice tests before he worked with her. After working with Natalie he qualified and was admitted to JHU CTY at the advanced level. They focued on math that he’s never seen before (he’s a 5th grader and the SCAT covers 8th grade math). He scored in the 94th percentile in math. She knows what’s important and how to teach it. Thank you!

Vanessa K.
Natalie is a fantastic tutor! Her guidance with test prep is excellent, and tailored to the student’s needs and challenges. Communication with parents was clear, quick and helpful - I always felt like I was being kept in the loop. Highly recommended!

Laura F.