Academic Center of Excellence is an after school learning center located in the Ardenwood Plaza…read moreShopping Center serving mainly the Ardenwood & Forest Park Area of Fremont. I attended ACE for their after school program from 1st grade all the way to the 4th grade. When I first attended ACE, the owner was Kevin and Mrs. Howard ran the learning center. A few years later, Mrs. Bang took over as owner and ran the place. Currently she is still the owner and running the place. For the after school program, they offer free pick up service from both Ardenwood Elementary & Forest Park Elementary Schools. They can also do Warwick Elementary if need be, however most of their business comes from Ardenwood & Forest Park Elementary Schools. After they pick you up from school, you would first have homework hour, which consisted of you doing your school homework while getting assistance from a teacher whenever you needed help. After an hour, it would become snack time and you would get a little snack to eat. Most of the snacks came from Costco. Then after snack time, it would be learning time based on the curriculum they offered and based on your grade level. The after school program is from when the school ends to about 6 PM. I've also used this place for private tutoring, and summer courses to help me improve. It was alright, somewhat helpful. I've had the following teachers here: Mrs. A (Now works as a teacher for Fremont Unified School District). Mr. Fitzpatrick (OK) Mr. Philip (Second best teacher there!) Mr. Ray (EWWW) Mr. Lawrence (Best teacher there!) Mr. Mark (Awesome guy, pretty good). Mrs. Bang's daughter, forgot her name, was nice and helpful. Got tutored by her over the summer as well. There are a few other teachers, however I don't recall their names. At the time, the front desk assistant was Carlos, and he was super friendly and helpful, one of the best staff there. I liked him! Visit their website for more details on their programs and offerings: http://www.ace-afterschool.com/ Owner is Song Bang. She'll most likely be the one to answer the phone if you call. ACE is an alright place to send your child, my experience was okay, I mean it wasn't the best but you know, there were some great teachers and it was just okay. 3 stars.

We used Ace Tutoring in San Marcos before COVID with some success. I paid several thousand dollars…read morein advance with assurances that the money could be used at any time. I have called them over ten times to set up SAT tutoring in the last two weeks and no one is returning my phone calls. I delt directly with the owner, Steve. It appears they are avoiding me so they do not have to provide prepaid services. Unless someone contacts me I soon, I will have to assume they are trying to rip me off. Do not waste your hard earned money when there are so many other tutoring services.

I had a pretty good experience in this center. I think its their director, Ms. Yuan, she is super…read morenice and considerate. I went on the Global Philanthropy Leadership Internship Program this summer in China. The entire trip had a great impact on my life. After coming back to the US, I have been receiving help in my writing and college application which I really appreciate. I would recommend Ivymax to anyone looking at educational related services.

We used IvyMax for college consulting last year. Experience was pretty bad for that price. As a…read moreparent, I learn nothing new from them. Many of their advices are just too general. You can learn that from youtube videos. Also, it's hard to get in touch with our college consultant, Mr. Wei. Every communication (phone call, text chats) had to go through his secretary. Very time consuming. They also tried to sell you more services in some meetings. The essay review was helpful but that's it. Unless you really don't know anything about college admission, you should look somewhere else.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Michelle, and I cannot recommend her enough! As a…read morecollege counselor, Michelle has so much valuable knowledge and insight in the college admissions process, which has undoubtedly helped her students get into top schools. From the moment we began working together, I knew I was in good hands. Michelle is extremely organized and strategic with her students. She helped me plan out the classes and extracurriculars of my entire junior year and summer, which was a huge relief for me and my parents. It allowed me to see the clear path I had to take to reach my goals. Despite working with multiple students, she is very good at responding to any questions or concerns that parents or students may have, and she is always willing to go the extra mile to help her students succeed. One of the things I appreciated most about Michelle is that she has a lot of recommendations up her sleeve if you are interested in activities that relate to your passion. She also provides a crate filled with organizational tools to keep all your academic information neatly sorted, including SAT/ACT scores, college lists, and more. Michelle is very realistic and honest when reviewing your student profile while also making sure to offer suggestions to keep you open-minded. She never misleads you when discussing your goals and helps you stay on track to achieve them. During my application process, Michelle was encouraging and compassionate. She constantly sent out email reminders to keep me and other students on track, and she made sure that we were all well-prepared for the college application process. Michelle has a lot of great connections and does not shy away from sharing her tips and tricks with the families she works with. Overall, I could definitely tell that Michelle cared about me as a person and not just as one of her students/clients. She wants all of her students to be happy and successful, and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an exceptional college counselor. Thank you, Michelle, for all your hard work! SIDE NOTE: I was admitted to USC early action (USC was my dream school)!!! Fight on!

I wanted to take a moment to leave a quick review. I reached out to in regards to counseling…read moreservices for my daughter. Unfortunately, she was not taking new students at the time, but the fact that she took the time to call me back and spent her personal time on the phone, giving me some basic information with absolutely no upside for herself speaks volumes. If she will give her time to a parent, who is not her client I can only imagine how dedicated she is to the students she works with. Not only that, but she was a wealth of information in a short amount of time. Thank you for your time, it was truly appreciated.

Edit 2: I am confident that the individual involved made personal remarks that were unrelated to…read morethe situation and hence I needed to walkout. In fact, I initially did not want to make this public, but I could not find any option on the website to provide feedback directly to business, I raised my concern and whether they choose to accept or not is up to them. I believe the business may have been misled with what I am reading - several inaccuracies but I am not losing anything in this situation, so I am at peace with whatever position they choose to take in their defense. Edit to the review: .. The response given by the business seems to present only one side of the story (not accurate misleading ) and I was not contacted for my perspective on what happened. The teacher is very patient and excellent. My daughter and I really like him, and he provides honest feedback. However, I have to unenroll my daughter due to the administrative staff's unprofessional communication, including personal remarks that felt unnecessary and inappropriate.

My daughter has been going to Best Brains for 6 months and I see good improvement in her math &…read moreenglish. I love the structured curriculum and am very happy with my decision.

Both my son and daughter have been attending Kumon since they were in TK and Kindergarten. Now in…read more4th and 2nd grade, we've seen great progress in their math skills. We absolutely love our Kumon center--the teachers are amazing and always ready to help. Their support has made a big difference in my kids' learning.

It's amazing experience with kumon. My kids learning was great and we are happy with our progressread more

My exprience with Brilliant Minds has been awful to say the least…read more My first interaction was with the owner Syeda Tabassum. We had a very candid conversation where I set clear expectations for what I needed in order for my son to attend. Because I commute far distances for work and travel frequently, one of my requirements included drop-off service. When I asked if they offered this service, Syeda advised that she needed to speak with the center Director Mrs. Ramala and follow-up. Later that week, I attended open house (Per Syeda's recommendation) and met with Syeda and Ramala in-person and discussed requirements further. Drop off service was a primary area of concern because my son had attend Glitter Kids (their direct competitor) a couple of months prior and after a week or so they advised they could no longer provide drop-off services. However, both assured me this would not be an issue at Brilliant Minds. On 8/2 my son started their summer camp as a way to get acclimated and prepared for the new school year. On 8/14 he started their after school program. On 8/16 I was told by Syeda they could no longer provide drop off services and that I had 2 weeks to locate another facility for my son. This mishap is very unfortunate and has created a very stressful situation. As a parent finding a reliable, honest and trustworthy center is critical for our children's long-term success.

My son is here for summer camps, he is enjoying all the field trips, basketball classes, fun events…read morelike laser tag. I like that school take care of maths, writing, and art projects too. Overall he is really happy and wants to join after school program when school starts.

Elaine is a world-class advisor--thoughtful, capable, compassionate, and responsive…read more She worked with our twins for several years as we navigated the stress and uncertainty of the college process--where to apply, how to think about value, and how to strike the right balance between reach, target, and safety schools. The process today is daunting. With Ivies accepting just 3-5% of applicants and UC schools also extremely competitive, it's too risky to go it alone and hope for the best. Elaine dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and care guiding our kids through every step. No matter the situation, her advice was always thoughtful and transparent. She responded quickly to every question, usually the same day or within 24 hours. Of course, no advisor can work miracles if a student isn't already committed and putting in the effort--but for motivated students, even the strongest ones, her guidance is invaluable. She also helps set realistic expectations for both kids and parents, which is just as important as anything else. Now the results are in. Both of our kids are strong IB students who were active in music and leadership programs. While the Ivies ultimately proved too far a stretch (despite their qualifications), they were accepted to several top UC and state schools, as well as USC, LMU, and others. Our daughter has chosen UC Berkeley, where she also received a significant merit scholarship--something we were especially grateful for given the cost of college today. Our son was also offered spots at UC Berkeley and UCSD, but has USC Thornton in his sights. If you have a child entering or already in high school, I highly recommend starting with Elaine for an initial consultation. Our whole family--especially our kids--is grateful for her guidance, which led to outstanding options at some of the top public and private universities in the country. We couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome and look forward to the next chapter with twins in college.

My daughter and I often joke that Elaine came to us from on high just when we needed her most! We…read morehad no idea how to navigate the college application process, but with Elaine's excellent help (she is calms, clear, organized and inspiring) we were able to make it! My daughter ended up getting into her first-choice school and Elaine's amazing help made that possible. But more than what school she got into it was just wonderful having Elaine to guide us and bounce ideas off of throughout the process. It's not easy out there and there is no one right decision - through it all Elaine made us feel like we had a strong guide on our side.

The methodical structure in approaching math and English helps the kids a lot. I'd totally…read morerecommend.

It's been a great experience for the family and kid. They really pay attention and encourage kids.read more