About
Through returnee admissions,
into medical school.
I took the same exam you're taking.
So I know what it actually tests, and where to put the weight, from taking it, not from hearsay or guesswork. What I teach is the route I took myself.
Atsuto Deguchi
- Years in California
- 18English acquired as a native speaker
- High school
- Canyon Crest AcademyCalifornia public school. #1 public high school in the state (Niche, 2019)
- High school GPA
- 4.44weighted; how to read it is below
- SAT
- 1530in high school, out of 1600
- TOEFL®
- 119in high school, on the former 120-point scale
- AP
- 12 examseight 5s, four 4s
- University
- TsukubaSchool of Medicine, returnee admissions
- Teaching
- 8+ yearsin both Japan and the US
- Award
- AP Scholar with Distinctionfrom the College Board
What the numbers mean
US grades and scores can be hard to read from outside the system, so here are some published figures to read mine against: from the testing organizations, and from one university. Harvard is there only as a familiar example.
GPA4.44 (weighted)
An average of course grades. My 4.44 includes extra points for AP
Without extra points, 4.0 is the top: an A in every course. My school counted an A in an AP class as 5.0, which takes the average past 4.0. Schools add those points differently, so 4.44 can't be set directly against another school's GPA.
For reference: Harvard
Of the first-years who entered in fall 2025, 74.70% had a 4.0 on the 4.0 scale and 20.38% had 3.75–3.99: just over 95% together. Harvard does not say whether these include extra points for harder courses.
SAT1530
The average is 1029; 1530 is in the top 1%
That's the mean for the roughly 2 million students who finished high school in 2025 and took the SAT while there. 7% of them scored 1400 or higher. On the College Board's percentile table, 1530 is the 99th percentile: 99% of recent test takers (graduates of the past three years) scored at or below it.
For reference: Harvard
Among fall 2025 entrants who sent SAT scores, the median was 750 in Reading & Writing and 770 in Math, each out of 800. Harvard does not publish a median total.
TOEFL®119 (former scale)
On today's scale, 6.0: the top score
The TOEFL® test moved to a 1.0–6.0 scale in January 2026. A 119 on the old scale converts to 6.0 in all four sections and 6.0 overall, which is C2 on the CEFR, the international scale of language ability.
For reference: old and new
ETS recommends that a university which asked for 100 on the old scale ask for 5.0 on the new one.
APeight 5s, four 4s
A 5 is equivalent to an A+ or A in a college course
That's the College Board's own description; a 4 corresponds to an A−, B+ or B. Across all AP exams taken in 2024, 17.1% scored a 5.
About the award
AP Scholar with Distinction goes to students who average at least 3.5 across all AP exams taken, with 3 or higher on five or more.
Sources
Making the most of
my own experience.
How sitting returnee admissions myself, and studying in both the US and Japan, shows up in my lessons.
I sat returnee admissions myself
I know what returnee admissions actually ask, and where to put the weight, from having been through them, not from hearsay or guesswork. I can take you through the application documents, the essay and the interview in the order I met them, rather than describing them from outside. What I picked up then, what I gathered, and what has changed since all go into the lessons.
I got into medicine through returnee admissions
Getting into medicine or another highly selective university meant keeping my school grades (GPA) high and taking a lot of AP classes. Having taken twelve AP exams is the base my AP teaching stands on, and I use that experience to prepare students aiming at medicine and other selective schools. I took the SAT and TOEFL myself too: scores depend on ability, but also on some technique, and I pass that on as well.
I lived in both systems
Eighteen years at local schools in California, while also studying from Japanese materials to prepare for coming back, and then returnee admissions. I know firsthand where returnees stumble most. Having lived the differences between the two countries, in culture, in how schools and society work, and in how people relate to each other, I can help when a student is stuck, and with activities outside school too.
Applying to US universities
I ended up not going, but I did prepare to apply to US universities, so I can help with selective US schools too. School grades including APs, the SAT and activities overlap a lot with returnee admissions, but the essay needs its own preparation: a US college essay is judged against what a native-speaking high-school senior can write, which is a high bar for a Japanese student. I help with essays as well; just ask.
How I got here.
I have been teaching for more than eight years now, in Japan and in the US, and for three of them I have taught Japanese students at American schools. What became clear over that time is that returnee and international-school students stumble in places that follow a clear pattern. Because English can be processed on instinct, the thing that goes missing is being able to say why an answer is the answer. Exams aim precisely there (they did with me, too).
Where they stumble depends on how long they stayed. A student who grew up abroad, as I did, stalls at writing answers in Japanese. A student there for a few years stalls at keeping up with classes taught in English. Broken into procedures, both can be taught.
So lessons here do not start with memorization. They start by checking the rules and the procedure. The aim is being able to explain why that is the answer, in your own words.
The full record
What sits behind the numbers above, and the experience that feeds into the teaching.
Education
- Carmel Valley Middle School
- public middle school in San Diego, California
- Canyon Crest Academy
- public high school near San Diego. Ranked #1 of 919 public high schools in California in Niche's 2019 rankings
- University of Tsukuba, School of Medicine
- admitted through returnee admissions
Scores
- Weighted GPA4.44
- GPA is the average of all your course grades, each turned into a number. A weighted GPA adds extra points for harder courses such as AP. The maximum depends on the school
- SAT1530
- in high school, out of 1600
- TOEFL®119
- out of 120, on the scale used before January 2026
AP exams (College Board, scored 1-5)
| Calculus AB | 5 |
| Calculus BC | 5 |
| Psychology | 5 |
| Physics 1 | 5 |
| Physics 2 | 5 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| Chemistry | 4 |
| Biology | 5 |
| Computer Science Principles | 5 |
| Computer Science A | 5 |
| English Language and Composition | 4 |
AP classes
I took 15 AP classes: 13 at school and 2 outside it. The three without an exam are Statistics, and United States Government and Politics and Microeconomics, which I took outside school. On my high school's weighted scale, an A in an AP class counted as 5.0.
Award
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- two years running. The College Board's award for an average of 3.5 or higher across all AP exams taken, with 3 or higher on five or more
Teaching
- Private tutor for AP, SAT and TOEFL
- Teaching assistant, Japanese classes
- as part of the high school's peer tutoring program: working with students, planning lesson content, supporting international students
- Private math tutor
- Teaching assistant, math
- in the middle school's peer tutoring program. The eight years of teaching are counted from here
Other
- Built this site and its free materials
- including the SAT and TOEFL practice questions and the systems that score and explain them
- Programming lead, robotics team
- all four years of high school
- Completed the Computer Science CTE pathway
- a US high-school track (Career and Technical Education) for practical skills in computing
I've written a book for parents, アメリカの現地校から大学へ (in Japanese). It is coming soon on Amazon. About the book
What I commit to.
One-to-one lessons
Every lesson is one-to-one, online over Google Meet. What we cover each time is set by the student's personality, grades and goals.
I tell you when a target is out of reach
If the time left isn't enough to reach a target, I won't tell you it'll be fine if you just work hard. Instead, we decide together where your score can rise most efficiently.
Every lesson leaves a record
After each lesson you receive a written report: what we covered, where the weaknesses are now, and what comes next. Parents can follow progress straight from it.
No enrollment fee, no fixed monthly fees
For lessons you pay only the lesson fee: no enrollment fee, no monthly charge and no recurring administration fees. A cancellation less than 24 hours before a lesson, or a no-show, is charged as one lesson.
Start with one free hour.
We run it exactly like a real lesson. Not ready for lessons yet? Start with a free consultation instead — email or Google Meet.
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