When I found Julia, I was in complete despair. College application deadlines were around the…read morecorner, and my daughter hadn't even started the process. All of her UC prompts were just ideas at that point. Our first meeting with Julia was a long conversation, during which she helped extract a full list of extracurricular activities and developed ideas for the essays, personal statement, and Common App essay. Over the following weeks, I watched each essay come together and be finalized one by one. She created a list of schools and a structured calendar that kept my daughter on track. I'm happy to say this was the best investment we could have made. My daughter was accepted to UC Berkeley and several other colleges. The peace of mind I had knowing Julia was managing the college application process was priceless. She is knowledgeable and competent, and she brings so much compassion to her work. There were many times when I felt overwhelmed, and she was always able to calm me down. I only have one regret--not using her services for my oldest son during his college application journey. I am confident that Julia will continue to be a valuable part of my children's educational journeys, whether it's navigating college course enrollment, updating resumes and LinkedIn profiles, or applying to graduate school.

Joanne is the most amazing Career Counselor ever. She really helped me develop my skills and my…read moreresume to allow me to obtain my dream career. I researched so many other career counselors and I found her on Yelp. I even referred her to many different family and friends and she went above and beyond to help them as well. She was such a pleasure to work with. Her customer service, attention to detail, and professionalism were outstanding. 10/10 stars would recommend!!

I worked with Julian very closely while I was applying for colleges. He was a tremendous help and…read morewas always so meticulous and thorough when it came to essay revisions. As a first generation student, he helped ease a lot of my anxiety surrounding the college application process. I applied to six different colleges and got acceptances to all of them and that would not have been possible without Julian!

We had a terrible experience with this group. I would have told the owner director had she ever…read morechecked in during the process. We did not even use all of the hours.

We are extremely grateful for the support this college counseling company provided our family…read morethroughout my daughter's high school. The process of preparing for college applications was overwhelming, but the guidance we received made all the difference. Felicia, who worked directly with my daughter, was outstanding, supportive, knowledgeable, and always encouraging. She helped keep everything organized and made sure my daughter felt confident every step of the way. She was always there for my daughter when she needed her. Justin, the owner, has clearly built a wonderful program that truly supports students and families. We're thrilled that my daughter was accepted into the university she had been hoping for, and we're very thankful for their role in helping make that happen. Very Highly recommend.

My student sat for practice tests in AP Chem and AP Calc AB with Premier Prep. Justin was friendly,…read morehelpful, and very responsive.

After taking the GRE for the first time and not scoring to the level that I was looking for, I was…read morerecommended by a close friend to seek a private tutor through Twainstein. This could not have been a better choice, as working with Avi Lidgi proved to be what I needed to take the next step in improving my score. After working with Avi for three sessions (three weeks), I was able to improve my GRE score by 13 points (V158 Q159 to V166 Q164) into the 90th%s. While the resources and study materials were certainly useful, Avi's expertise on GRE-style questions and strategy for approaching these questions were invaluable in improving my score beyond what I could have done myself in this short period of time. Many of the questions that I considered highly difficult became simplified and approachable under his tutelage. During the test, this saved me many precious minutes to check my logical reasoning in both the verbal and quantitative sections. As such, I highly recommend Twainstein to any individuals or groups seeking improvement in their GRE test scores. The test is an excellent opportunity to anyone seeking to advance their education, and this test preparation organization offers an exciting way to achieve even greater success.

TLDR; Twainstein was quite possibly one of my greatest finds on Yelp. Highly recommend for GRE…read moretutor services. Money well spent. Over the past year I decided to pursue a career change that would require taking the GRE (/ hiring a tutor) and getting accepted to grad school. Being budget conscious, the first thing I noticed was that Twainstein's services weren't cheap, in fact they were wayyy out of my price range. However after doing some research, reading some reviews, having a pressure-free consult with Avi, and deciding that the best investment I could make was in my education, I made the leap. Best. Decision. Ever. Over the course of a month and half, Avi and I worked together to improve my confidence and test-taking strategy/abilities (Dare I say i'm no longer afraid of fractions?). He was patient, observant and tailored our sessions to my needs. I put in a lot of effort inside and outside of our sessions, and he did the same for me. I also really appreciated his routine checkins, his availability, speedy email responses, and his comprehensive approach to the exam. If you are slow to learn, have a LD like myself, or just lack the confidence, please don't let that deter you from taking the exam! You can achieve your goal score like I did with hard work and proper guidance, which is why I highly recommend Avi and his team.

Yvette is incredible and has honestly changed my son's future. She is immensely helpful in terms of…read morewhat needs to happen and when. We did not realize what we did not know when we started working with Yvette! She is knowledgable and great about checking in and keeping us on track. She is cheerful and encouraging. There is so much that is not common knowledge in terms of where to apply and when and Yvette walked us through all of that. She was eye opening in terms of school costs too. We had so many more options than we thought. There is much more than meets the eye in this process and I am eternally grateful that we found Yvette. I cannot recommend her services more highly. Without a doubt, she has changed my son's trajectory!

As a high school teacher, I can appreciate someone who's passionate is to help students. Yvette…read moreputs careful thought and planning when it comes to students in higher education. One cannot add up all the little things she does for her clients. All of her student clients are very lucky to have someone like her on their side.

After working with Margret for a few weeks, I saw my SAT score improve by 50 points, achieving a…read morescore I was satisfied with. The strategies and skills I learned were invaluable to my progress and were unlike those I had encountered with prior tutors. She was always readily available to meet and had every type of practice problem imaginable. If you're aiming for a score in the 1500s, I would highly recommend her!

My son's goal in working with Margaret was to improve his understanding of and comfort with SAT…read moretest taking strategies. His experience has far exceeded expectations in every way. Margaret is not only very easy to talk to, and endlessly patient (and funny!), she is remarkably well organized and on task leading up to, during and after each session. He has learned so much from her, and has even noticed how the analytical skills he's practicing carry over into other aspects of his academics. We cannot recommend her highly enough. She is a gem and worth every penny she charges.

We are very grateful to have met Kathryn 4 years ago when our oldest son was going through the…read morecollege process. She was extremely knowledgeable, patient, diligent and insightful. She helped guide him to choose the best fit school. Our 2nd son is now in the process and even though they are very different kids, she has been a perfect match for him. She understands the essence of a high school student and focuses on finding the best school-taking into account the social, academic and well being of the student. We highly recommend working with her!

I wish I could write a review of how their services were, but after two emails - crickets. Maybe…read morethey're great? Maybe they're not. Who knows because no one got back to me. I emailed the first time and just assumed it got lost, or fell through the cracks. Emailed the second time and it very clearly states that someone will get back to you within 24 hours. Nothing. Yes, I checked my spam. If there is one thing I will not tolerate it's a business who acts like your business isn't important and doesn't reply. Maybe they don't need the business, maybe they're too busy, but it's unacceptable to not respond back.

Joseph helped me prepare for a job interview, which I only had a few days to prepare. He was very…read morethorough with his analysis of my strengths and weaknesses, and I appreciated his honesty. One thing that still sticks with me is him telling me over and over again to stop being so modest. Its a good quality to have but its not going to get me my dream job. Joseph is very articulate and has so much patience. He lets you record the session so you can listen to it again whenever you think you might need to freshen up your interview skills - you get your money's worth. You will appreciate all the feedback he gives. Don't be shy explaining how you handled interviews in the past because he tell you what you did wrong. During my job interview I was able to be more confident in the value and skillset that I bring, all thanks to his input. Don't forget, you also have to do your part by practicing your answers to common interview questions after your session ends.

5 + I met with Vijay…read moreabout three weeks ago. He prepared me in ONE session to be fully prepared and confident for my interviews in educational administration. I learned how to streamline my answers and project passion for my work. Don't waste your time and energy buying and reading interviewing skills manuals; Vijay has what you need to ace that interview. Worth the drive into LA and a bargain for his quality of service! Thank you Vijay!

After starting with a different (and expensive) college counselor located in Santa Monica and SAT…read moretutor (expensive) who both came highly recommended but were essentially completely useless, we received a glowing recommendation for Blue Train and made the switch. Best decision ever. Our two sons used Blue Train for multiple things over their junior and senior years - test assessment/diagnostic, ACT prep and guidance, college list building, guidance re HS classes and even extra curricular advise, as well as navigating the college application process and the all-important essay drafting. Scott and the people at Blue Train put the boys on a very manageable schedule and in fact, both of our sons were totally done with most applications by Thanksgiving. Both boys got into tons of schools, got thrown tons of money, and this entire process was so smooth because of Blue Train's guidance. We event consulted with Scott when deciding which schools to attend. I cannot say enough how effective and impressive Blue Train was. Highly recommend !!!

It's been 4+ years since I wrote my initial review of Blue Train and I've had 1 more kid go through…read morethe college admission process. I'm just as happy with Blue Train now as I was in my previous review. Both my kids got into their #1 colleges thanks in part to Scott's assistance and we're again working with Blue Train and Scott for my 3rd kid. Blue Train and Scott are the best! I've referred several friends to them and my friends have all been really happy.