A Personal Note from Margo

When I chose the name of STRATFORD TUTORING & COLLEGE PLANNING, my friends, students, and colleagues were not surprised. People who don't know me ask, "Why did you choose ‘Stratford’ as part of your business name?" "Stratford" refers to "Stratford-Upon-Avon," birthplace of William Shakespeare, the world's most influential writer, poet, and playwright. My mother is from London, England, and I was brought up with every cultural proverb and Shakespearean quotation imaginable. My mother ("The Queen," as we call her) always had the perfect quote neatly tucked away in her remarkable memory. If I had a challenging situation to face, the remedy was to be prepared for all outcomes: "Take arms against a sea of troubles!" As I grew older, I learned to be self-reliant, persistent, and confident, always keeping in mind that, "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." Shakespeare is, in fact, the second most quoted person in the world.

My mother would also entertain our family with famous soliloquies from Shakespeare's plays, and the magic of his language has remained with me throughout my life, so much so that I studied his plays in college and later integrated Shakespeare's plays into my teaching repertoire. My students grew to love Shakespeare as much as I did, and they performed his plays with great enthusiasm and pride. To this day, I still teach The Bard's plays whenever possible.

So now you know the origins of the name Stratford Tutoring & College Planning, LLC. I welcome you to my website and hope you enjoy the journey!

About Margo Cohen, M.S.

Margo regularly spends time visiting K-12 schools and college campuses, as well as expanding her knowledge level by attending educational conferences with her various organizations. She is proud to have developed several strong, knowledge-sharing professional networks, locally and throughout the U.S., both in the fields of teaching and learning and in the area of college admissions counseling.

Margo lives in California with her husband. Her son is a CPA and graduate of UC Santa Barbara, with a double major in psychology and business economics, and her daughter is a senior at UC Santa Barbara, specializing in communications, marketing, and technology management.

In addition to her primary career in education and college admissions, Margo's other enthusiastic interests include reading and research, advances in neuroscience (teaching and the brain), writing, photography, music of many genres, film, theater, comedy/satire/improv, visiting museums, caring for her "special variety" rose garden, keeping up with current events, hiking with her family and taking her Tibetan terrier (Sammy) for long, exploratory walks.

Margo has a deep interest in developing creative curricula incorporating media-rich learning modes for educational lessons and in teaching a diverse population of learners. A master teacher in partnership with Loyola University, Margo studied under Madeline Hunter.

Professional and Parent References will gladly be provided upon request.