Meet Scott Riley

Scott Riley has spent more than eighteen years teaching students at the middle school, high school, and college levels. He holds a B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Saint Mary’s College of California, and a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has taught at UC Santa Cruz, Foothill College, and Lake Washington Institute of Technology, and currently teaches Latin and serves as a Grade Level Dean at Lakeside School in Seattle. Scott is also the author of New World Medievalisms (Boydell Press, 2025) and is represented by Great Dog Literary Agency in New York City. Throughout his career, he has been drawn to helping students become stronger readers, writers, and thinkers — work that informs both his classroom teaching and his approach to college admissions advising.

Scott’s work in college preparation began at AJ Tutoring, a boutique tutoring company in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he taught the PSAT, SAT, and ACT across both mathematics and reading/writing. Since then, he has served as a certified SAT instructor with The Princeton Review, an application reader for the University of California system, and a graduate coach with admissions consulting organizations including InGenius Prep and Mill Creek Education. Over the course of his career, he has helped students strengthen their candidacies through standardized test preparation, college essay coaching, and comprehensive admissions advising.

The Hermitage grew out of a simple observation: families often have to navigate separate tutors, essay coaches, admissions consultants, and academic advisors. The Hermitage brings those services together in one place, providing thoughtful, individualized guidance from early college planning and candidacy building through the final application and acceptance. By integrating these areas into a single program, Scott aims to make high-quality admissions advising more streamlined and cohesive, allowing students to receive consistent support from one educator.

College preparation is not simply about gaining admission to a particular institution; it is about helping students discover their interests, develop their talents, and think seriously about the lives they hope to build. Whether preparing for the SAT, refining a college essay, or planning for life after high school, Scott's goal is to help students become more thoughtful, capable and confident learners and leaders.