Dr. Elena Polenova is an experienced educational consultant and professional psychologist with an international, interdisciplinary background. She has completed graduate degrees from two different countries and has over two decades of experience working in a university environment.
Angela is a professional writer, editor, and storyteller with 10 years of experience. She has partnered with Elena for more than five years on helping students articulate their strengths, skills, and formative experiences through personal essays that are truly unique.
Eugenia Zhukovsky brings over 10 years of experience as a subject tutor, teacher, and writing coach, with a deep focus on supporting children and adolescents in both academic and emotional domains. As a clinical psychologist in training, she has held a range of roles serving students on the autism spectrum, twice-exceptional (2e) learners, and those managing ADHD, anxiety, or depression.
Sasha has several years of experience working as a subject tutor. She loves helping peers and high school students with their writing by working with them one-on-one to improve skills and foster personal voice. Sasha is a third-year student at the University of Chicago, where she studies political science.
Marina spent 20 years as a software developer before discovering a new passion: college consulting. An information junkie at heart, she loves researching colleges and the unpredictable but exciting landscape of admissions. Using her logical mind, Marina enjoys creating student success systems that break the overwhelming application process into easy-to-follow steps.
Dan has been a full-time tutor for more than 20 years, guiding thousands of students in test prep and developing their reading comprehension, science, and math skills at advanced high school and college levels. He began his teaching career with a large test prep company, where he taught classes, trained teachers, and was named the organization's National Teacher of the year.
Dr. Elena Polenova is an experienced educational consultant and professional psychologist with an international, interdisciplinary background. She has completed graduate degrees from two different countries and has over two decades of experience working in a university environment. Elena arrived in the U.S. in 1989 as a doctoral student and because of a different educational system here, she found herself having to relearn everything she once knew, about education; in the process, she fell in love with the complicated and vibrant American education system. Making Stony Brook University her home base, Elena held the position of Associate Director of Counseling at Stony Brook’s Career Center where she was responsible for helping with graduate school applications and working with pre-med and undecided students. She also served on the Honors College Advisory board and admissions committee, was a member of the teaching faculty, gained a few notable awards, and presented extensively at national and international conferences.
As a parent of first-generation American college students, Elena understands and honors feeling an exceptionally complicated pressure. At home, she accompanied her three very different children on three very unique journeys into college admissions which led to Williams College, Yale and Stony Brook. The rocky roads leading to and from their undergraduate acceptances illustrate the surprises, disappointments, and fascinating unpredictability of choosing the right school. Through these experiences, Elena developed empathy for parents going through the application process with their children and dedicated her career to helping them.
Elena’s extensive knowledge of and intimate familiarity with higher education admissions processes prompted countless friends and colleagues to solicit advice and assistance from her. As the requests piled up, Elena was motivated to devote her full time attention to education consulting on a full-time basis in 2017. Consummate professional, she joined Independent Educational Consultants Associations (IECA). Her rate of success and renowned approach to her cohort of prestigious students are why Uncommon App thrives exclusively on referrals.
In Elena’s free time, she likes to read classic British mysteries while cuddling with her cats, play tennis, and swim in open water. She is obsessed with feeling the vibes of college campuses and squeezes campus tours into every vacation.
Angela Bucalo
Head of Essay Editorial Program
Angela is a professional writer, editor, and storyteller with 10 years of experience. She has partnered with Elena for more than five years on helping students articulate their strengths, skills, and formative experiences through personal essays that are truly unique.
Angela’s ability to refine student writing while upholding individual narrative voice helps students build confidence. Her creative partnership with students has resulted in successful applications to institutions like Cornell, MIT, Oxford, Princeton, UChicago, and Yale.
Angela earned a BS in sociology from Stony Brook University. After work, she enjoys hiking in the Adirondacks, traveling abroad, and learning how to drum.
Eugenia Zhukovsky
Essay Coach & Tutor
Eugenia Zhukovsky brings over 10 years of experience as a subject tutor, teacher, and writing coach, with a deep focus on supporting children and adolescents in both academic and emotional domains. As a clinical psychologist in training, she has held a range of roles serving students on the autism spectrum, twice-exceptional (2e) learners, and those managing ADHD, anxiety, or depression. In each of these roles, she works closely with families to develop individualized academic action plans rooted in empathy and empowerment.
Eugenia believes fervently that academic success is rooted in children feeling supported and believed in. As a writing coach, she enjoys discovering what students love and working patiently with them to channel their passion into authentic writing that reflects their natural voices.
Eugenia is currently a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at LIU Brooklyn. She holds a BS in Neuroscience from Yale and an MA in Psychology from Columbia University. When she isn’t working or studying, she loves to spend time with animals and learning to DJ.
Sasha Maskoff
Essay Coach & Tutor
Sasha has several years of experience working as a subject tutor. She loves helping peers and high school students with their writing by working with them one-on-one to improve skills and foster personal voice.
Sasha is a third-year student at the University of Chicago, where she studies political science. In the classroom and in extracurriculars, she enjoys activating her academic, journalistic, and creative writing skills. She is a proud member of the editorial board of a student-led literary magazine and has been an editor for an undergraduate sociology journal.
Sasha grew up in Westport, CT. In her free time, you can find her playing chamber music, reading poetry and memoirs, or spending time in the great outdoors.
Marina Evenstein
College Consultant
Marina spent 20 years as a software developer before discovering a new passion: college consulting. An information junkie at heart, she loves researching colleges and the unpredictable but exciting landscape of admissions. Using her logical mind, Marina enjoys creating student success systems that break the overwhelming application process into easy-to-follow steps. She draws on her experience with her own children’s college selection and admission processes to relate to families, guide them, and lower their stress levels.
As an avid fan of the arts, Marina specializes in performing arts colleges and programs, especially conservatories and BM, BME, and BFA programs. She has vast knowledge of and experience in navigating these unique admissions processes, from audition preparation to summer program selections.
Marina holds a BA in computer science from NYU. In her free time, she loves all things music, including attending classical concerts in New York City, singing soprano in the Fairfield County Chorale, and volunteering with local music organizations.
Dan Block
Test Prep
Dan has been a full-time tutor for more than 20 years, guiding thousands of students in test prep and developing their reading comprehension, science, and math skills at advanced high school and college levels. He began his teaching career with a large test prep company, where he taught classes, trained teachers, and was named the organization's National Teacher of the year.
Dan continues to find meaning and fulfillment by helping students realize their aptitude so they can make the most of the opportunities brought by academic success. He currently specializes in MCAT and SAT, and has experience teaching GRE, LSAT, DAT, GMAT, and PCAT. His sweeping knowledge of diverse curricula gives him keen insight into what students have been exposed to in the classroom. This enables him to remediate common foundational problems that hold back students from achieving their full potential.
Dan holds a BA in computer science from Yale and an MM in clarinet performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington. Away from work, you can find him indulging his puzzle addiction (his crossword streak is up to 1855), participating in recreational math contests, or playing the piano.
