Our family was at a crossroads regarding next steps for my daughters college education…read more Joanne has been wonderful to work with. More importantly, my daughter is very comfortable with her. She is very knowledgeable, professional and has a very calming influence when you are feeling lost. She is the right advisor for your college needs. I am happy & grateful.

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!!

The team at Great Expectations College Prep was incredibly valuable in helping us navigate and…read morefigure out the whole college process. Our teenage son worked specifically with Chelese Belmont and there aren't enough stars to tell you how helpful she was. Our son had some early challenges in school and his first two HS year grades were not the best reflection of who he is as a student. By Junior year, his average was a 3.5 and then the pandemic hit and his school went to pass fail, which didn't help raise up his average. Chelese encouraged him to try and take the ACT, which he did very well on. She also helped him find schools that might look beyond just his GPA. She was incredibly thorough in helping our son (and us) understand all his options and what schools would be a good fit. She took great care in helping him craft his essay and maybe most importantly, she took the pressure off of us to make sure he hit all the deadlines. We are happy with the choices that our son has for college and Chelese has been a huge part of finding the right college and helping us make the best decision. Overall, Chelese was great! She was thoughtful, kind, honest, incredibly and supportive. She gets our best recommendation.

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!

Though Premiere Prep is typically geared towards high school students preparing for college, I used…read morethis company for hourly consultations for my academic transition. I didn't know it when I met him, but Justin was a game changer for me. I never knew the value or importance of receiving professional academic/career guidance. I can honestly say that I would not be nearly close to where I am today without Justin's guidance or support. He has helped me in my professional development through editing my resumes, interviewing skills, and most importantly, he saw my potential and helped me realize it too. His advice is honest and compassionate (though not necessarily what I always wanted to hear) and he wholeheartedly invested his time in me. Justin helped me transition through one of the most difficult times in my life between undergrad and post-undergrad at UCI. These days, I am proud to say I am at my top choice graduate program in occupational therapy. Whether it is college counseling or personal development, you couldn't be in better hands with Justin or his team at Premiere Prep.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

An exciting combination of counselor-led discussions, college student guests, and list assessment…read moreby Blue Train specialists. This workshop will help any student struggling to complete and polish his or her academics. Students work on personal statements. They also work on scholarship essays. By the end of the workshop, students gave valuable one-on-one feedback and continue progress on their personal statement. Between the tutoring, practice tests, workshops to complete applications, and knowledge of current college admission standards, the Blue Train mix of counselor-led group discussions and mock one-on-one practice will take away the jitters and leave you feeling confident and related. They also offer a one-on-one guidance with an essay specialist. These mini sessions are open only to students who have already attended the personal statement workshop. These thirty minute boosters are intended to help students keep their writing process flowing with structural and editing advice. No need to curl up in a fetal position or hire an overpriced private college counselor to tell you where you won't be accepted. Do your applications and essays better, for less, with the team that has helped more students with this sort of process than any other company in the South Bay. High probability of success with Blue Train. Email them at office@bluetraincollegeprep.com

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 !!!