Chris is an original -- and a transformative asset to anyone seeking to further develop their test taking skills. Chris helped my son improve his SAT score by an impactful 90 points (+40 verbal and +50 math). In my son's words: "Chris' difference is that he coaches for a mindset edge. I had never thought of approaching the test that way previously. He is also superb at determining precisely where each student should be working. There is no guesswork. He has his method down to a science." We truly enjoyed Chris' personality and expertise and are extremely gratified by the outcome. We are delighted to recommend Chris' services without reservation -- and will be repeat clients. read more

Great experience working with Chris! He's very patient and didactic, adapting his strategies to each individual student. My daughter did great on her ACTs. Thank you, Chris! read more

Chris Borland is the best! My son was really struggling and falling behind in his math classes. He dreaded Math and felt he was not smart enough to understand. Chris was so patient with him and helped him understand the questions. By the end of the semester, my son was able to catch up and pass Geometry with an A! The best part is because of the kind and patient way Chris helps his students, my son's confidence in his Math skills has grown so much that he chose to take Precalculus this year even though he didn't need the Math credits! Chris took the time to ask my son about his other classes and interests outside of Math. Now they chat about other shared interests and my son really looks forward to his tutor sessions with Chris. Chris teaches the math well and also inspires his students to develop a growth mindset. I highly recommend Chris Borland. read more

Chris is an amazing math tutor and has helped my daughter immensely over the past year. He made math fun and interesting for her. She was not interested in math before starting her tutoring with Chris and now is really excited about math. When he teaches he gets excited about thinking through a math problem which is infectious. He has a calm and patient demeanor but is also funny and cheerful with kids. My daughter loves working with Chris and she has gotten a perfect score on all her math tests because he has taught her to enjoy math, the fundamentals of math, and the "why" behind specific math equations. I highly recommend Chris Borland! read more

Chris Borland is truly a phenomenal academic coach. He brings over 40 years of teaching experience to the table, and it shines in every aspect of his work. Before working with Chris, I had been tackling the SAT like any other test - drilling on content, memorizing formulas and vocabulary, and practicing a few problems daily. I was consistently struggling with writer's block on the essay portion, and missing simple mistakes on the math section due to test fatigue. Chris revealed in his initial tutoring sessions how the SAT is a test of endurance and strategy, more than knowledge, and that developing the right test-taking skills could help me optimize my time and shift my focus to areas with a better payoff. In our sessions, we'd alternate between individual practice problems and running through whole sections. This routine trained me to recognize the appropriate strategies for each problem, but beyond that, Chris coached me on managing test anxiety, and simple tricks to maintain focus throughout the test while keeping an eye on the clock... the things they don't teach you in school! One skill that particularly sets Chris apart from other Bay Area tutors is his expertise with graphing calculators, which helped me shave off minutes of testing time that I could reinvest in the more difficult math problems. Chris is patient, supportive, motivating, and genuinely fun to work with. He comes in with a high-energy that's infectious and really engages you to focus on the problem at hand. He gives a reasonable amount of homework, and frequently assesses your progress for transparency and accountability. Prepping for the SAT can take a lot of effort, but Chris ensures the effort you put in will be worth your while! In the course of 7 months, Chris helped me raise my SAT score nearly 200 points to 2150, and reach a 710 score on the Mathematics Level 2 subject test, putting me squarely in the running for the top schools in my college list. Chris has also tutored my niece, who recently finished her freshman year of high school with an A grade in her Algebra class thanks to his coaching! When shelter-in-place restrictions started mid-semester, she continued to have a very positive learning experience as Chris transitioned to support virtual tutoring sessions over Zoom. The extra 1:1 attention from hiring a coach like Chris during this time was particularly motivating for her to finish the year strong. All in all, highly recommended! read more

Chris tutored my son with ACT prep and he was absolutely wonderful. Within 8 sessions, he was able to help my son raise his score by several points to his goal score (34). He is able to accomplish this by really understanding what makes that student tick and finding ways to inspire and motivate them. For my son who is an athlete, Chris used the analogy of sporting events, and used techniques to essentially build his stamina. Standardized tests require knowledge of substance and strategy, but they are also about mental endurance, and Chris recognizes this. Chris is also incredibly supportive, and recognizes when confidence is lagging. He holds his students accountable by giving them specific work and challenges and also rewards their gains, and is able to pivot his teaching style if a certain way of explaining things isn't working. I highly recommend Chris to any student who is studying for a standardized test or even just needs additional help outside of school. read more

My 8th grader has just completed 12 weekly sessions with Chris, and we can't say enough good things about his math tutoring and his communications back to us. Chris helped my son brush up on Algebra 1 skills and provided fun and interesting topics to help my son advance. We'll definitely use Chris in the future. He's an excellent tutor. Here are some snippets from his website: * Longest practicing professional private tutor in SF and Marin: at work since 1977. * All ages, K-16. * All levels and standard math courses, arithmetic through calculus (except AP Statistics). * Focus on competence, confidence, head-starts, high scores. read more

Chris is a gem. Everything you could hope for in a tutor. He is kind, calm, understanding, warm, patient, incredibly experienced, and brilliant at the subjects he teaches, as well as the test taking process. Our daughter, a high school junior, met with Chris for a total of 8 sessions. She thoroughly enjoyed her visits with Chris, always coming away feeling confident and inspired. She vacillated until the 6th session about whether to take the ACT or SAT, so Chris couldn't tailor the majority of the tutoring to the specific test. She also had such a busy schedule and demanding level of AP homework that she hardly spent any time working at home with the practice materials that Chris gave her. Despite that, her score on the ACT (which she finally chose) increased from a 30 on her practice test to a 34 on her first real ACT. Needless to say, we're thrilled with the result, and relieved that she doesn't need to take it again. One and done! We're also so grateful for how downright pleasurable Chris made the process for our daughter and us. We'll be back in a couple of years with our younger daughter! read more

My high school sophomore worked with Chris this past academic year. There are so many wonderful things to say. First, Chris is smart, thorough and takes his work with students very seriously. My son has a great relationship with Chris because he is a serious and respectful student, and Chris is the same as a tutor. These are not "social hour" tutoring sessions (which my son had with his freshman year math tutor in Greenbrae and what a waste of time and money that was). Chris' tutoring fees are not inexpensive but you WILL get your money's worth with Chris' sessions and your student will not be disappointed. My son was worked so hard all year in his Honors Algebra 2 class yet he was disappointed he was only pulling "Bs" and "Cs" for first semester. He set his second semester intentions to raise his grades and get an "A" on the final and an overall "A" in the class. He set up a strategy with Chris and together they worked hard to reach my son's goal. I'm proud to report, my son reached his goal and he knows Chris' support was a pivotal part in getting him there. Thank you Chris! read more

I will preface this by saying that I have always been a humanities-oriented student - if Chris could help me succeed in math and standardized tests, he can truly teach anybody! Chris was my tutor over the course of several years for integrated math (geometry + algebra 2), the PSAT, and the SAT. He helped me smoothly transition into a new advanced math curriculum when I switched schools, and I was very impressed with his knowledge of the local integrated math curriculum, which was completely foreign to me when I moved across the country. I was initially uncomfortable with geometry, but Chris helped me not only excel at it, but by the end of the year, even enjoy it! He explained new concepts very clearly and was skillful at coming up with new exercises tailored to the concepts I needed help with the most. When those concepts were solidified, he taught me more difficult challenges ahead of the rest of my class! I really appreciated how well rounded and interdisciplinary Chris' approach to education was. Even now, over a decade later, I fondly remember at the end my first year studying with him the fictional book about geometry, Flatland, that he gave me, which opened my eyes to the aesthetic beauty and even the philosophy of math. I know for certain that without Chris, I never would have had the interest to later pursue calculus, purely for fun (and I'm very glad I did!). Before studying with Chris, I had never had success with standardized tests and was dreading the PSAT and SAT. I started studying quite early with Chris, (the end of 9th grade), anticipating that I would require as much practice time as possible. After beginning to learn SAT skills with Chris, I was amazed by how quickly my scores were increasing as I implemented his recommendations into my regular practice tests. I received basic PSAT/SAT prep at school, but Chris' guidance was far more helpful. I ended up scoring very well on both tests and was satisfied with my college acceptances. After undergrad, I would later go on to study at Oxford. I'll also add that many years later, I studied for the LSAT, and the standardized test skills that Chris taught me years before on the PSAT/ SAT really jumpstarted my test prep for the LSAT. Lastly, it's worth highlighting that Chris is immensely patient, compassionate, and accommodating, especially to students with disabilities. Throughout high school, I struggled with undiagnosed Lyme disease, and Chris really supported me in my math and standardized test studies, especially during the period before I received my academic accommodations, which allowed for extended time on exams. I also had a near death in the family, and Chris helped me get back up to speed after I missed a considerable amount of classes. I will always be very grateful for everything I learned from Chris! read more

Chris Borland has provided test prep tutoring for two of our three children, one for the SSAT and then the ACT, and the other for the SSAT. They both dramatically improved their scores as a result of his tutoring and were accepted to their first-choice schools. We will definitely continue to use him to help our children prepare for standardized tests in the future. They all have very positive things to say about him and his teaching methods. He is patient and firm and successfully impresses upon the children the importance of regular practice. I also find him helpful in that he keeps me up-to-date on their progress and areas of focus. read more

Posting on behalf of AF, Lynmar Estate. My 10 year old enjoyed working with Chris and was excited by how much he learned from him. His confidence in his math skills increased, and his enjoyment of the subject became palpable. Chris was patient and firm, coaching on posture and focus while being playful and patient. We look forward to continuing with the math tutoring next fall! read more

Mr. Borland was one of the best tutors I've ever had. His teaching style was highly individualized. A tutor like this is hard to find. He helped me study and prepare for the SSAT and thanks to him I was accepted in to many of the private high schools I applied to. He knew exactly what my problems areas were, and worked with me to correct them very efficiently. Thanks to Mr. Borland I got accepted to the school of my choice. He is very patient and knowledgable. He explained everything in a very clear and understandable manner. He goes above and beyond to make sure his students are successful. His test taking tips and tricks were so useful. I felt confident in my test taking abilities after I worked with him. Mr. Borland is a brilliant tutor, one of a kind. He helped me so much! I highly recommend him to anyone preparing for the SSAT, or in general as a tutor. read more

Chris Borland came highly recommended as the best SSAT prep tutor in the area, and it's true, he is. Our experience with Chris, however, went way beyond SSAT prep. Yes, he helped our son raise his SSAT score by a remarkable 44%, which was phenomenal, especially with the kind of resistance our son gave to doing the work necessary. But even more important than that, Chris inspired our son to ask interesting questions of himself and to look outside the box for answers. Every time I picked our son up from his sessions, he was inspired by some big philosophical idea or an exciting project that he and Chris had cooked up that day. The inspiration lasted longer than the car ride home and fueled our son to accomplish some wonderful things. He started a film club at his school, sharing one of his deepest passions with other students of like mind. He began a piano program for the underserved children in Marin City. Most importantly, he was accepted into his dream school, Thacher, one of the most highly esteemed boarding schools on the West coast. Chris was instrumental in making these dreams a reality. Chris reinvigorated our son with the joy of learning which is the greatest gift we could have asked for! We can't thank him enough. read more

To whom it may concern: We would highly recommend Chris following his tutoring of our son in his Junior year, in preparation for the ACT test. In our son's own words "Chris helped him significantly improve his score by them jointly developing a tailored test strategy". For our son this meant understanding how to better use his time and how to focus on critical areas. It also meant learning good testing techniques. The outcome was much improved testing results as part of a successful application/acceptance to his first choice school. Throughout the process Chris was very clear in his direction while holding our son accountable. Chris was quick to see how our son could improve and our son responded to his approach, which was not the norm with all his other High School teachers. Thanks Chris!! Paul Smith (proud parent!) read more

I started doing ACT prep with Chris at the beginning of my junior year. When I first took the ACT, I scored a 21. After a year of working with Chris, I scored a 32. His constant optimism and insightful feedback helped me develop the skills needed to succeed on the ACT. Through our test prep sessions, my confidence in math skyrocketed. In addition, my understanding of grammar and writing conventions grew. So, not only did my ACT score improve 11 points, but my understanding of math and English improved tremendously. Now, I am working with Chris as I am in honors calculus. Chris's is the first teacher who has taught me calc in a way I understand it. This has enhanced my confidence in the classroom and improved my testing results. I would recommend Chris to anyone struggling with test prep or math. No matter what math level you're in, go to Chris. read more

Over this past year, I observed Chris tutoring the 8-year-old that I nanny. This child began working with Chris during 1st grade, and by now he is extremely confident in his mathematical abilities. I was blown away as I overheard Chris teaching his student many of the same concepts that I had to review for the GRE - properties of exponents, square roots, fractions, negative integers, prime numbers, and even basic algebra. The boy was preparing for a graduate school entrance exam in 2nd grade! Not only is Chris vastly knowledgeable in math, he is also infinitely patient and easygoing. He also takes the time to write thorough emails to update parents as his students progress. I would encourage any parents that are on the fence to invest in a tutor. Math was a huge source of anxiety for me all throughout school (and most certainly on the GRE). From observing Chris with his student, I have no doubt that my grades and confidence in STEM subjects would have increased drastically had he been my tutor. I couldn't put a price tag on that! read more

Chris is OUTSTANDING !. He worked with our daughter to help prepare her for the SAT and the ACT. We started early as our daughter deals with a certain amount of test anxiety. Chris worked above and beyond to get our daughter as comfortable as possible with the test both emotionally and academically. In the end, we are abundantly grateful to Chris for all that he has done. Our daughter was able to get her score to where it needed to be, and she came through the past many months with new skills on how to calm her mind as well as how to apply what she knows to these tests. Now our 2nd child is beginning the college process and I am confident he will do for her what he did for our eldest. Thanks, Chris! read more

Chris is great. His advice on test taking techniques and his teaching style helped our daughter improve her SSAT score by 50%. Chris also tutored her a bit in math showing her alternative ways of solving problems. Here again our daughter scored in the 91% on the math SSAT. Our daughter put in the work and took the test prep very seriously and fortunately got the results she was hoping for. The test results along with her good grades and teacher recommendations put her in a position to be able to choose the high school of her choice. I highly recommend Chris for any student who is motivated to improve their test taking abilities or who just needs a tutor to help reach the next level. We will be coming back to Chris for SAT prep! Thanks Chris! read more

Chris is exceptional! We were referred to him by our college advisor. Chris worked with our daughter to prep for the ACT exam. He takes the time to build rapport and trust with his students, and works with them to review core subjects and teach valuable test taking skills. There's plenty of stress during the college application process and working with Chris makes the test prep a more positive experience. He is thorough, patient, and knowledgeable. Our daughter scored beyond her goal on the ACT, in her first attempt. We were very happy with the result. Yes, she worked hard and took her test prep seriously, AND Chris' partnership, approach, and expertise were key to her success. We highly recommend Chris & Borland Education. Thank you! read more

My daughter met with Chris only a few times before taking the Math II Subject Test. His patience, knowledge, and test taking techniques were exceptional. Chris is unique in enabling his students have confidence in their abilities and to achieve their goals--an 800 in this instance. read more

Chris Borland is a wonderful, patience, positive, supportive and knowledgeable ACT/SAT tutor. He worked with our son, once a week, for about 4 months and our son did much better than expected on the tests. Our son is not a "good" test taker and the results exceeded his expectations. Chris is a good motivator and slips in some life coach messages, which, over time, helped our son's confidence in the classroom. Chris is very easy to work with and always ends a session with something positive to remember. Finally, we appreciated that his office was conveniently located with a parking lot make the weekly meetings easy. Chris also makes house calls but we found working at his office a better environment for focus. read more