My daughter just completed the Cardiology Camp at Stanford, and I cannot speak highly enough of the experience. The instructors and camp leaders were exceptional. They created a welcoming, supportive environment where the kids felt comfortable, connected, and truly bonded with one another. Thanks to this camp, my daughter has gained so much confidence. She made amazing friends and came home at the end of the week excited to share what she learned. A special thank you to Emily, who is incredibly kind and quick to respond to any questions. Dr. D was an inspiring teacher--knowledgeable, patient, and truly engaging with the students. And Julian made a lasting impression by remembering the kids' names from the very beginning and being consistently warm and friendly. Thank you so much to the entire team at Education Unlimited for such a meaningful and memorable experience! read more

This was an excellent service. They got us two amazing tour guides who were friendly and knowledgeable in the peak season when all the campus tours were already booked. The company representative was easy to reach and constantly kept us in the loop via text. Highly recommended! read more

Had my kids take the Emerging Writers Institue program over the summer. I think they enjoyed/learned from it although I am not sure because no progress reports have been recieved. I've been following up for three months now. No writing samples, grades, reviews, nada. I've been getting the runaround from their customer service. read more

My son does 8-12 weeks of summer camps every summer as he is a homeschooler. He says this is the best academic camp he has ever attended. He attended this camp at UCLA. He liked that there were many people who lived nearby attending. (At many academic camps it is almost all international students.) He thought the quality of instruction was high, the best he has encountered at an academic camp especially in Mock Trial. He liked that most of the students attending actually wanted to be at the camp. He thought the camp director was amazing. He appreciated that there was more supervision of kids on their devices than there has been at other camps, but he still thinks there could be more. (It's no fun to be in a class with kids who are secretly gaming rather than engaging in class. It's also no fun to be at a camp when you want to make new friends but everyone spends every minute of their break on their phone.) As a parent, I was impressed with the level of communication provided by the camp. They responded immediately to every issue I had. It was not hard to get ahold of camp directors. As someone who attended a private university, I was shocked at the UCLA facilities. Classrooms were ... basically hallways in dorms. They were hot and not air conditioned. My son did not have a problem with this, but I was pretty surprised. This is a fairly expensive program as far as summer camps go. They could not rent actual classrooms? No idea if this is a fault of the program or of UCLA. My son also did SIG at UCLA and facilities were the same, so I assume this is a UCLA thing. Like I said, my son did not complain about this. read more

My two. sons got to attend Education Unlimited this time around and both had an exceptional experience. I love all the personal attention the students receive. The staff was great about respecting the fact that they wanted to have their own separate experiences. One of my sons did Leadership while the other did Neuroanatomy. Both had incredible instructors. The camp was large enough that they each made their own friends. Some local and some from around the world. One of my sons is still messaging almost daily with a new friend he made from Spain. It was also small enough that they got lots of personal attention. They both felt very seen and got what they were hoping for from camp. read more

There is NO DEPOSIT REFUND even if THEY cancel a class; Deposit was hundreds of dollars. In 2020 They cancelled my son's class when Covid hit, and they refused to refund it. They directed me to their fine print. that's a terrible policy. read more

My son had been on the middle school debate team and really enjoyed thinking about how to professional argue a topic. The summer going into 8th grade we found the Edu Unlimited Mock Trial Camp at Stanford. My son attended as a day student and absolutely loved it!! The class was taught by an actual lawyer and he got to practice opening statements, understand what a witness is thinking by playing a witness, experience putting together closing arguments, etc. and then presented with his class at the end of the week a mock trial to parents. We signed him up early in January for the High School Mock Trial Camp but in March, the pandemic hit and there was nothing in person last summer. They did offer a virtual Mock Trial camp and it was very good. The only thing missing was the personal interaction between the kids which I think is extremely important. This summer will also be virtual but we signed up because the strategic thinking part of the class is so fun for my son. This camp is well worth the money and if it ever goes in person again, we are thinking about having our son participate in the overnight camp. Great Camp!!! read more

My daughter just finished Prep Camp Excel at UC Berkeley. She absolutely loved it. Everyone involved was so organized. She said the classes were fun and challenging. She lived in the dorms for a week and did not want to leave. Definitely signing up for another camp next year. What a great way to keep kids excited and focused on college. read more

Education Unlimited - UC Berkeley's bell tower - Educational Services Near Me - Berkeley, California

I loved my summers with Education Unlimited! Their curricula and environment were exceptionally conducive for learning and social development. As a student, I learned crucial public speaking skills and made life long friends. As an instructor, I was impressed by the EU pedagogy, which put an emphasis on teaching students to love learning while providing a safe environment for campers to flourish. A really excellent company offering great summer programs! read more

I sent my 12 year daughter (rising 7th grader) to Computer Camp at Stanford this summer and was completely underwhelmed. This camp is overpriced and mediocre -- don't waste your time or money. I wish I had read these reviews on Yelp before I had committed to this camp. Be sure to double check which computer camp you are signing up for. There is one that claims to teach computer science but I inadvertently signed up for the computers & business camp. They teach basic HTML and CSS but not to any depth where the kids can actually make anything meaningful. The kids were asked to copy code given to them by their instructors and when the code didn't work, the instructors didn't know why. Their lead instructor Navid spends a generous amount of time pontificating about how Google can't be trusted with your data, how they might share data with the NSA, and how they sell users' data to advertisers. My husband runs Google+; my daughter's father works at Google; and I used to run the design team at Google. My daughter doesn't need to hear from this guy what Google does where he is totally uninformed. If he wants to have a discussion at this level, he should do it in a more thoughtful way, perhaps by getting the kids to research policy and have a debate where multiple perspectives and possible realities can be explored. Of all the things I find disappointing about this camp, I am most livid about this. Navid covered principles of economics which my daughter found interesting. According to my daughter, she was one of a few who paid attention to this lecture, while the rest of the kids played video games on the computer. They took a field trip to the Computer History Museum which I could have done for 1% of the cost of this camp. The camp materials firmly say that you have to pick up your kid between 5:00 - 5:15 or you will be charged $60/hr. So I was not pleased when I had to sit around and wait until 5:30 for my child to be delivered at the pick up point. The camp director described the instructor as being "very passionate" and wants to keep the kids for as long as possible because he has so much material to cover. I am disappointed they are not respectful of other people's time when they expect the parents to respect THEIR time. I was also disappointed that the kids spent all of their time indoors, even during breaks when they could have gone outside to get fresh air and move around. Overall, even though it was not what we expected, my daughter did take something away from this camp. But, compared to other camps, we did not find this to be high enough quality for the price. read more

I have sent my daughter to summer programs since she was 9. She is 13 now. Last two summers we tried Education Unlimited programs and they were both amazing. The customer service before hand was friendly and personalized. Call and ask for Nermin or Chris. Both are super knowledgeable and helpful. I was always impressed that when I called they immediately knew who I was, who my daughter was and what camp she was doing. All of my little requests were handled in a prompt and professional manner. I have not had that experience with other camps. The staff at camp was equally attentive. When we went to check in the staff and directors were there to meet and warmly greet us. They all introduced themselves and shook my and Jessica's hands. They has really read the materials we sent in and already knew where we were from and a few of Jessica's likes and dislikes which helped her feel at home right away. The staff at camp both summers were highly qualified and the curriculum was well thought out. She did Sally Ride Science at UC Berkeley the first summer and really liked her lead teacher Vicki. Starting her off in an all girl camp was comforting for both of us. We had done ID tech the summer before and that hadn't gone so well! This last summer we decided to try A+ Summer Middle School and she really loved that. Her camp director was Liz who was amazing and super organized. My daughter loved doing the mystery summer major and is already talking about going back this summer to do the future studies major. Can't recommend this program enough. It is laughable that some people on here compare it to the YMCA camp. I used to volunteer at the Y. They aren't even remotely the same experience in quality, curriculum, staff, safety or attention. read more

My daughter loved her camp experience with Education Unlimited last summer. They struck such a good balance between fun and learning. She told us she worked really hard on her case presentation, but it didn't seem like "work work" since she was having so much fun. We loved her instructor, who seemed to connect well with the kids and really got them engaged with the material. One thing I appreciated as a mother is that the camp was well set up from a security perspective and the staff seemed very serious about camper safety. Camp buildings were locked at all times, and admittance required staff to let you in. Once inside, entry to the dorm area was with the badge only. It's not the easiest thing to drop your child off at a sleepover camp, but seeing that they take security seriously helps make it easier. I'm glad because she loved it and can't wait to go back this summer! read more

Our daughter (15 year old) was very interested in attending the 2018 public speaking summer camp in Berkeley. We were a bit worried about several negative reviews that we had seen on this site, but we decided to give it a shot. It was well worth it. Our daughter thoroughly enjoyed the camp, including the program, its pace and the instructors. She even learned several skills :-) :-) The group was reasonably small (about 8), which gave everybody an opportunity for interaction with the instructors. Maybe some of the negative reviews were from people who expected some involvement from the University, which obviously is zero. The instructors teach at other colleges, and do this as a summer job. The university only provides the dorm room and halls where the course is held and the students stay. But the instructors are very good and enthusiastic. The atmosphere was fun, the group was good (a balanced mix of US and international kids) and everybody had a great time. read more

Our daughter was in the Neuroanatomy program at Stanford. The class itself was good, but Education Unlimited is extremely disorganized. 5 stars for the class, 1 star for everything else = 3 stars. The following is in time-order. 1) When we checked in, we found her room fairly easily (the signs weren't great but we figured it out). The room was a double with another girl in the same class. We entered the room to find only one bed! We found the director who apologized and set off to solve the problem. We appreciated her quick response. However, the solution was to stick her with two other girls (who were in different classes) into a triple. There were three beds, but not desks or storage because the room is only designed for two people. Her roommate-to-be was also put into a triple. *** EU should have checked the rooms ahead of time to head this off -- that's not much to ask. And, since they are the only ones in this building, why couldn't they just get more rooms assigned? 2) They didn't have a shirt or lanyard for our daughter either. A small thing, but combined with the room snafu made us feel unwelcome. Again, not a hard thing to check ahead of time. 3) We told the director that our daughter has a nut allergy. The director responded that she runs a "nut free" program. Well, the meals had prominent signs about nuts in the food (including hot dogs at the end of the week. Nuts in hot dogs?). So much for that. 4) The walking tour for kids and families was an enormous precession that snaked through campus. Once in a while she would wait until everyone caught up. Usually she narrated only to the people close enough to hear her. We weren't the lucky ones, so we missed 80% of the information. Parents were looking at each other saying, "do you know what is going on?" 5) The classes were held in a building quite a distance from the dorm. That building is kosher, so the kids could not dissect the brain they were given -- they had to go back to the dorm! Given that a dissection was a key part of the curriculum, why would EU use with a building with such a restriction? Baffling. 6) Our daughter was on a girl-only floor. There is a girls restroom and the boys restroom is reserved for staff. The problem is there were only 2 showers for all the girls on that floor which was not enough. When I asked, the EU person told me that this is something they "get a lot of complaints about". So, they have a problem, they know about it, and they don't fix it. 7) On the final day, the kids gave presentations which they work hard on all week. Again, a problem. They didn't have enough rooms to do the presentations, so they had to combine Astrophysics and Neuroanatomy into the same room. That meant that the kids had only 1/2 of the time they expected. I felt so bad for the Astrophysics kids, because the instructor rushed them along and cut them off (their presentations were impressive too -- we would have enjoyed hearing them). Our kids would have brought their laptops, but they were told (incorrectly) that there was no laptop hookup. EU does this EVERY WEEK. How can they not get this right? Why don't they have enough rooms, or a system for addressing the situation? It's not like it's crowded at Stanford in July. Good instructor, bad operations. I don't know if we will participate in their programs again. It's possible that there is some issue between them and Stanford, but if so, that's something Education Unlimited desperately needs to address. read more

I spent two summers at Stanford University with Education Unlimited. I was at their debate camps, and I always left prepared and energized for the upcoming school year. The instruction was intensive and in depth, and the instructors were all well connected at Universities I was interested in attending. There is no doubt that my college prospects were increased by my attendance at camp. read more

Can I give them ZERO stars? Because that is exactly what I got for paying $2500 for a week of writing camp at Stanford that got CANCELED due to Covid-19. NOTHING. They are refusing to give me my money back even though they are not providing any services. I am certain that Stanford had the integrity to give them their money back for room and board costs. This is a difficult time for families - it wasn't easy for me to spend that kind of money but did it for my kid. Now there's $2500 down the drain. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS CAMP UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR MONEY TAKEN IN EVENTS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL. read more

Education Unlimited is going to get my 2 kids homeless! I know the title is kind of shocking; but, here is the story; and, let me say upfront, Education Unlimited said that is because we did not buy their refund policy that cost 10% of the tuition. In our case, the tuition for the kids is ~$16,000. No refund and no real substitute except for credits. For those who just want the summary, here is the short version. I signed up for their boarding camp in various locations before corvid-19. Corvid-19 came and all but UC Berkely remained. We moved the boys to participate in their Berkely camp. They subsequently cancel the Berkely camp stating "Act of God" and there will be no refund. They offer Santa Cruz which we happily transferred to. Now, little do we know, Santa Cruz is a long long shot. Ed. U. never tell you that except just dangled that in front of us helpless parents. No surprises here, we ended up no Santa Cruz but only virtual classes. For my boys, that defeats the entire purpose of spending ~$16,000 for their "self-reliance and independent" educational purpose of the boarding camp. So, we ended up just credit. We tried numerous times and Nerman, whom I guess is the boss of the Ed. U., insisted that we can only get credits for the $16K that we paid. They cannot refund if they wanted to since they do not have the money anymore. I even ask for only 50% of the money back and she refused. Now, back to the title, we are leaving our home during the time we sign our kids up for camp... (another term for no home for us). My boys need a place to stay and since they were signed up for away camps, we did not arrange for them to be couch surfing with us. I know I would be considered a bad parent but COVID-19 hits us hard too: jobless and to be homeless. But, in my defense, I have given $16K to take care of them and in a "quality" educational environment. Little do we know that Ed. U. will cancel the course and will not even consider a refund of the money that we set aside to can take care of them. Well, sorry readers, it appears the summary is way long already. Simply put, we gave them $16,000 for service to be provided. They did not come through and quote it is Act of God that they will not refund the money. Where in reality, they already spent the money and there is no money to be refunded. We have not gone through any of their programs yet... maybe we can use the credit one day after the boys get out of the Social Services system. Yes, again, it is our fault according to Ed. U. Anyway, I give them 2 stars for being such unethical business-centric. I read some of their latest review by fellow yelpers and it is not all about refund. They gotten 1 star for educational content. And, the owner Matt Frasier always rebutted that it is not his fault. This is so similar to our situation of applying the "Act of God" clause. Business is business, there is no Act of God invocation unless you are dishonest. You go into business because of you think you can make money. You take that risk by leaving or not taking a 9-5 job. Act of God is simply the act of you not being vigilent or business savy enough to avoid that risk. For crying out loud, the US goverenment already given trillions and trillions of dollar to bail you out; and, here you are doing double dips. Shame on you... you are as bad as those ivy league colleges who took millions of PPP dollars and still not refund any tuition to their students. They claim to be educators but they are only interested in money and endowments. What a hypocrite of you too... on one hand, you accuse them for not refunding tuition; yet, the company does the exact same thing and worse. I do not know if the owner or the CEO of Ed. Unlimited have kids, maybe this is one topic you want your kids to write about - is it fair to not refund the money that people have given you and use contract loopholes to not paid them back? Or, maybe even something simpler, if you see a person drop his wallet, what do you do? In your case, you would keep it and say finders keepers. I do not know if they are educationally competent; but, I just want you all to know they are only interested in making money and spending them before services were provided. And, that got me thinking... if they run their business so poorly and ruthlessly, do you really want to entrust them with your children's well being for at least a week? The Dicken's Oliver Twist saying "Please, sir, I want some more." where young Oliver ask for another bowl of weak porridge when he is desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery... Oh well, that might be good for my boys too since I cannot legally do that in the United State without being locked up for child abuse. Yeah, I know, too much! read more

Our 16-year-old daughter has been attending academic camps each summer since she was 10. For parents with kids who love to write: Education Unlimited's Emerging Writers Institute (which our daughter attended at Yale, in June 2013) was the best of the bunch! Our daughter had a wonderful time, learned more than any of us had imagined possible, and walked away with a polished & publishable piece of writing. The camp director was available day and night, smoothed away every bump in the road (daughter's cell phone needing replacement, early airport departure time, etc.), and was extremely responsive each time we called with a question or concern. I cannot say enough good things about this summer camp! Our daughter has also attended Education Unlimited's Sally Ride science camp (which, contrary to other reviews I've read, included an excellent dissection component). And she reported learning "tons" when she attended Education Unlimited's Speech & Debate camp. The camps are structured to be safe, educational, and fun. Although we were nervous about sending our child off to camp on a plane (from Oregon), the folks at Education Unlimited have each summer managed all of the details flawlessly. They are always there at the airport, providing seamless transfers to and from camp, and somehow managing all aspects of the camp in a way that even my disorganized child is always where she needs to be, when she needs to be there. read more

My daughter has attended camps with Education Unlimited camps for the past 5 years. Both virtual camps this year and physical camps the years before. Marin Biology, Film production, (Fiction, non Fiction and Poetry) Emerging writer, robotics, A+ Leadership. I could not say enough good things about the team. The teachers and camp leaders are stellar. They know how to help the kids come together quickly and form bonds that help them have fun and do good work at the same time. She leaves each camp excited, connected and feeling good about what she accomplished. She is doubly exceptional, both with a learning disability (ADHD) and incredibly smart. This leads her to be constantly moving, talking, doing and it can at times hard to navigate for people who may not know her. I was anxious about the teachers reactions since her energy can be challenging to handle. Instead, I have been blown away by the level of care and regard they have for her and her needs. They are looking out for her and have called me at times to better understand how to help her. They are true educators, not just in the way they teach but in the way they regard our children as whole human beings with huge potentials and quirks. Despite the number of campers that they have every year, she was so surprised that teachers and administrators not only remembered her but were able to advise on the classes that would be best for her. I highly recommend Education Unlimited! read more

This place is not for education but for profit. I paid $2000 for a speech camp and they cancelled the camp but rejected my request to get the refund. This is outrageous as an education institution, this place only cares about money. I would like to give it a negative. read more

My experience with Education Unlimited was very enriching. These camp is a challenge to learn new skills such as writing long essays, be more confident with yourself to talk in front of a lot of people.... They will highly prepare you for college life. If your goal is to have an entertaining summer full of games and party, this is not the program you should be looking at. However, if you want to prepare yourself for the future by developing new skills that you will need in both your college and at work, then definitively chose this program. read more

My son's face stated all, when he came back home after spending time at Stanford. Happy with his choice of the class, faculty and curriculum. He stated he was engaged into activities which were academically challenging but provided in in very positive way and feedback from faculty was absolutely top rated. My son loved the camp and is definitely going back! Thank you very much read more

I attended three Education Unlimited speech camps when I was in high school and the camps were amazing across the board. The teachers were some of the best I ever had and really went above and beyond the call. For example, on several occasions I had teachers who took time out of their free hours to redo speeches with me multiple times so I could get extra practice and get everything as close to perfectly right as possible. The camp staff was also just genuinely very friendly and dedicated to making sure each student had the best experience possible - I remember that one session, I had a commuter classmate who didn't have reliable transportation home, so the camp staff arranged a carpool to make sure she got home safely. Over ten years later, I still look back at the Education Unlimited camps as a really outstanding formative experience from my youth. I now work in litigation and frequently use the public speaking and critical thinking skills and techniques I learned at camp. I also made some great friends at camp, some of whom I am still close with to this day. My younger sister also attended their College Admission Prep Camp many years later and had a wonderful experience. read more

Underwhelming is the keyword. My daughter attended the Stanford Leadership program. The general feedback from my daughter and other kids are as follows: - food was not good - lodging was ok - classroom was off campus - the program was disorganized - the overall value for the price for one week @$2500 is not worth it. $1000 Max would be about right but would still skip this in the future. The only positive is that she met some friends. A few other items. 1. The instructors are from Cal State Northridge with various backgrounds. 2. The meals are for a very large group of various campers the converge on the Stanford campus in the Summer. This include Sports, art and academic camps. Education Unlimited, a third party vendor and unassociated with the University pay Stanford to use the Stanford name and some facilities to offer these camps. Not what we imagined it would be and entirely misleading. I wish we could say something more positive. I will follow up with Stanford directly to see if they review these programs or is it just another way of generating revenue. read more

I had a great experience as a camper at an Education Unlimited high school speech camp. The staff created an atmosphere in which my new friends and I wanted to continue working on our research and preparing our arguments and speeches long after class time was over. My primary instructor was a skilled teacher who pushed us to challenge ourselves and step outside of our comfort zones. Because she was caring, young, enthusiastic, and obviously a talented speaker, we all admired her and wanted to do our best. I was amazed to watch the other staff in a demonstration debate at the beginning of the program. At the time, I could not imagine myself ever being able to come up with such smart arguments and to think so quickly on my feet. However, by the end of the program, the instructors had helped me learn many of the strategies they had used in that public debate and develop the confidence to defend my own arguments in front of a crowd. Furthermore, by providing the opportunity to spend time on the UC Berkeley campus with like-minded fellow campers from across the country, the program got me excited about college, helped motivate me to do my best in the college admissions process, and contributed to my decision to continue with speech and debate in college. I have stayed in touch with several of the friends I met at camp and continue to use the public speaking and argumentation skills I learned in my everyday life in the form of class participation, formal presentations, paper writing, and more. I would highly recommend EU speech camps to anyone looking for a summer program that is both worthwhile and fun! Thanks EU! read more

I always find it interesting when reviews swing from predominantly 5 stars to a few unhappy one stars. I think the one stars are truly unhappy otherwise they would not have taken the time to write the review. But what makes them unhappy? Was it the camp or was it their lack of understanding or appreciating what the camp could offer. In reading their reviews and concerns and having sent my children to Education Unlimited on 2 occasions, I can offer the following: As a parent, you know your children best. In choosing a program you have to have clarity on what you want your child to get out of it. Education Unlimited provides well-defined descriptions of the camps and it is up to the parent to decide which camp suits their goals best. My children, for example, are both academically book smart. They are 4.0 students, AP course students, members of the National Honor Society and varsity athletes. They are both strong in science and mathematics so if I choose a camp that concentrated on science or math, I would be doing so to keep them sharp, but not necessarily to challenge them. If on the other hand, if my goal would be to challenge them, then I would choose a camp out of their comfort zone. For my kids, it would be the public speaking and/or the A+ Leadership camps. So since our goal was to challenge them, these were the camps we choose......and indeed they were challenged and stimulated. They learned new skills and emerged feeling accomplished and much more confidant speaking in front of people and organizing their thoughts on the spot. In short they both had successful experiences. I will note that each had different experiences, because they are different kids, but each experience was positive. For the parent who said they only use Stanford, UCLA and the other highly esteemed universities as room and board........ well, yes they do! and Education Unlimited does not make any claim beyond that. But look at it from another perspective: How amazing is it for a 14 year old to be on the Stanford campus and live the college life for a week. It is POWERFUL. No amount of parental guidance on the importance of attending college can duplicate the actual knowledge of being there and living it and coming away with a positive "college" experience. As a parent and more over as a consumer you need to be smart in your purchases and realize what benefits these programs are actually offering. You must realize that these programs or any other programs, while having some grade guidelines for some of the camps, draw from a broad region. They do not have an admission requirement or know what classes their campers have previously taken so they must fashion their courses accordingly. It is the job of the parent to read the course description, establish the family goals and determine what they want their child to get from it. For our family, the administration has been very helpful as well. They had an old email address for me and I was not getting any information. Needless to say, our family had missed many of the deadlines. The administration was very helpful getting us up to date and current before the camps began. On many levels, from the administration, to the staff and on the course content, I highly recommend Education Unlimited. read more

I attended the Education Unlimited CAPC (College Admissions Prep Camp) when I was in high school and had a really great experience. It was the perfect mix of hard work and fun and it definitely helped me to feel more confident with all aspects of the college application process. All the staff members were extremely helpful and knowledgeable and I also made some great friends. It's a great way to make the SAT/college process less intimidating and even a bit fun! I would absolutely recommend this camp to any high school student. read more

Matthew finally did get in touch with me by email, and he first offered me a free course this summer for my daughter. But since the only computer science courses in Ed Unltd the Bay Area this summer are at Stanford, rather than Berkeley, this was not convenient for us. Matthew then offered to give half of the approx $1500 tuition back. I indicated to Matthew that this went a long way toward making me happy, but would not make me whole, as superior courses from competitors are available in Berkeley for $500. I did accept the 1/2 refund, but it does not resolve the more general issue of these classes being very overpriced, and much more than the competition (which competition was much better, in our experience). Matthew wanted me to take down this review (which I never promised), but Yelp discourages folks from doing that, and it does not seem fair or accurate. read more

This is in regards to computer camp web development course at Stanford at Palo Alto, CA Head instructor Navid. Web development instructor: Michael. My son enjoyed it, and I felt it worth the money for the following reasons. -8 hours/day of teaching on web development covering coding that my son didn't know as well as reviewing areas my son did know - Field trip to computer museum to see history of computer science - Students had to come up with a presentation by end of week and had to to a crash project to demonstrate that they learned something. Presentations were done in a classroom. All had impressive projects -Students also get one field trip to Santa Cruz Boardwalk to relax and get to hang with each other. -international and national student exposure. My son's roommate was from Arkansas. Some of his classmates were from Florida and London, England and New York City. -I extensively spoke to Michael and Navid. Navid really put thought into this program. Michael has real world practical experience in web development and CS programming, so he had great advice to help me guide my son. I looked at ID tech and Digital Media, but after searching reviews on internet, they seemed to be more into providing fun games and times for kids and less on class time of real programming. My son had to do intense work on his web presentation. Finally it was good for my son to get out and experience the college life. I think parents who enroll kids in this course are looking for more serious courses. I saw poor reviews of the Sally Ride camp. That section has nothing to do with the web development section, so one has to look at each course separately rather than at Education Unlimited as a whole for reviews. read more

About to write a review about the Sally Ride Camp and found someone had my exact words "mediocre and overpriced camp hanging its hat on the name of prestigious universities"! Sums it up perfectly. Spot on. My 10year old daughter's complaints included too much sitting around, teachers not stopping to answer questions, and the classes were too basic. My main complaint was that the "academic" day finished at 4:15 and not at the advertised 5:00 with day campers sitting around for the last 45mins, plus they took a day trip to the Academy of Science (which we had already done) and the next day an hour long excursion to the campus bookshop. Seriously for close to $1,500 for five days, that was one expensive field trip. read more

This is a mediocre and overpriced camp hanging its hat on the name of prestigious universities. My daughter just completed a week at the Sally Ride Science Camp for Girls at Stanford, and for the price (and not to mention the name sake), I expected a much better program. It was truly disappointing. My daughter's biggest complaint (shared by the friends she made at camp) is that Education Unlimited is super disorganized. She said they spend very little time actually learning anything and that the classes, which at her level (going into 8th grade) are supposed to be more advanced, felt more like stuff she learned in the 5th grade. She said the counselors spend their time flitting around trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing and the overall time management is just really lousy. She gets the feeling they are just flying by the seat of their pants most of the time. The camp is open to girls from 4th to 9th grade, but unfortunately, they seemed to gear the afternoon activities for the younger kids and would not accommodate the fact that 13 and 14 year olds aren't really into playing tag or watching Wreck-it-Ralph during free time. And that leads to my biggest complaint. This program is billed as an academic program that will advance girls forward in science. I expected an academic program. It turns out there was only "class" in the morning. The classes were weak. Not advanced by any stretch of the imagination, from what I can tell. The best day was when they had outside teachers come in from the Marine Science Institute...my daughter said that was more along the lines of what she expected the learning to entail. There were supposed to be afternoon classes, at least according to the schedule they provide at orientation, but it turns out they have "activities" like the aforementioned game of tag. They say in the marketing literature that they take the kids on a field trip. I expected something that went along with her major of "Advanced Marine Ecology" and that girls in the other majors would take a trip geared toward their majors. But instead, the entire camp, all ages and all majors, went to the Academy of Sciences of San Francisco. That's a fine, even excellent place to bring kids. But what a cop out.....seems like they wanted an "easy" place to go. I can take my kid there any time, and probably see more exhibits (since they couldn't get their collective act together to actually see anything worth seeing) on my own without paying Education Unlimited more than $2 grand in the process. For the price of the program, with Sally Ride's name attached to it, at an elite university, I expected a top notch program and we were super disappointed to discover a mediocre program instead. What I did expect, given the state of most college campuses these days, was a full-throated defense of oil divestment and the evils of human impact on Mother Earth. On this front they did not disappoint. It appears they spent a significant amount of time on these issues and took the intellectually lazy route by avoiding a complete discussion of the full range of scientific evidence and opinion. But like I said, not a surprise. Just be aware. So, to sum it up: Don't be fooled into thinking this is some "elite" program (as another reviewer said). The college campus may be elite, but the program is sub-par and over-priced. Yes; she has made friends. Yes; she got a flavor for what a college campus is like. Both good things. But that's not worth the price of admission by a long shot. This is not a finely tuned program in any sense. If you've got money to burn and just want to find something for your daughter to do, then go for it. If you want focused learning from excellent teachers in a well-oiled program, this is a camp to avoid. read more

I was super pleased of my daughters experience. As a future 9th grader, she had the opportunity to stay one week at UC Berkeley. The classes offered provided a foundation to her high school years, motivating her to take leadership classes and student body. The friends she met there, she still keeps in touch with today. It is an amazing place for a growing teen to learn how to be independent and make educated decisions for herself and her high school classes. I recommend this. read more

I used to work for Education Unlimited as an instructor for the A+ summer programs and the Director of the Emerging Writers Institute. I also worked in the home office managing the curriculum and assisting families in with program selection and registration. I want to assure families that the programs I directed or worked with ALWAYS had sufficient numbers of students, incredible staff (fulbright scholars, top-tier professors and upper-level graduate students, and experienced professionals), and a home office support staff who did their absolute best to provide over 1000 families each summer with a quality academic experience. Further, EU conducts annual program evaluations of each session, including full appraisals of staff, curriculum, extra-curricular experiences, and campus life. Data from these evaluations are used to make program improvements, to hire the top performing staff, and to identify what works. This is not just any camp company; it's a company that cares deeply about the quality of each student's experience. I enjoyed the time I spent working for EU. The home team is a dynamic group of people who are really passionate about providing those life-changing summer experiences for students. They make every effort to make learning relevant and engaging, and to elevate the experience of living on a college campus to motivate students to perform well. Watching my students present their work on the last day of camp made me well up with sadness and pride- sadness because I was saying goodbye to students I came to genuinely care about and pride because all of my hard work creating a cohesive and meaningful summer program paid off. Directing the Emerging Writers Institute was a true pleasure, and it reminded me that an academic program can indeed change student lives. read more

Much time sitting around. Too much FREE TIME. They never dissected a fish, a frog or a pig. They did not experience anything new or participate in any amazing Scientific experinces. My 8 grader attended this camp 2013 and learned stuff shich she already new. No effort in the filed trip. Same ol, same ole. No creativity . OVERPRICED waste of money. Don't let the name "Stanford" or 'UCLA" fool you, they only use or rent the space. These school have absoultey nothing ot do with the camps. read more

My kid loved it! Great facilities and she made great friends. The teachers were very kind and qualified.

Education Unlimited has hired me as their Videographer for two summers now and I'm hoping that they will reconnect with me for a third year. I've had an absolutely amazing time working with them and love the experience they create for their campers AND staff. As a hired staff member one might think " what qualifies you to give an accurate review of this company?" Well... In order to gather the footage I needed I would spend an entire week working with the 2 or 3 camps that were being run during those dates. that means capturing the class sessions, working with the kids and staff, and living on the beautiful Stanford campus. What I found amazing was that I, a 2 year college student now, was actually learning quite a lot just dropping in on classes throughout the day. This was due to 1) the amazing attitudes and personality the teachers brought to class. and 2) they actually knew what they were talking about! the Staff hired for EU's camps are actually QUALIFIED in their subject and LOVE to teach it. This makes for happy eager to learn campers, which there were plenty of, and a overall positive experience. Every week there were kids crying who didn't want to leave, Not just because they would miss their friends who came from all over the world, but because they would miss their counselors and teachers! (yep, they're that awesome) Here is a link to EU's youtube and the videos I took there. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjZ5UHqVeTsjusMMQGuftRQ read more

My daughter Grace loved her camp experience with EU. She made new friends, had fun and most importantly learned valuable writing and communication skills! She can't wait to sign up this summer. I found the staff to be incredibly smart, reliable, kind and patient! read more

Since Education Unlimited owner decided to respond TODAY to my post from 2013 (after not responding to my letter of disgust at the time).... he has earned a second bad review. My daughter had a had a terrible experience at what is now called EU "Science Camp for GIrls." Back then was called Sally Ride Science Camp. It says right on their website that they changed the name in 2015: "In 2015, after the passing of Dr. Ride, it was renamed the Science Camp for Girls." Today, in 2019, to undermine my review, Matt wrote to say that the camp is run by a different organization, Sorry Matt, you did (and do, under a different name) run that camp, and in fact, I'm still on your darn mailing list. Thanks for writing back 6 years later and pretending I was talking about something else. Buyer beware. PS my daughter is happily now at a great college, studying real science. read more

I just wanted to send you a thank you note for the wonderful middle school program "Tools of Modern Communication-Public Speaking" you hosted at Berkeley. My son attended with great reservation and at my request as I know how important public speaking is as children and young adults enter high school, college and the workforce. We were delighted with the reports our son sent us each day on his experience with debate and how to structure, organize and present his ideas clearly and enthusiastically. Our son said his teacher Sam was very encouraging, instructive and helpful to him. I was very pleased to see all the middle school speeches and learn more about each subject based on the interesting topics the students chose; and I was especially impressed to see the poise and confidence in each student. Our son said he had a very good experience during the week and was able to learn skills and practice techniques that enabled him to speak well before a large group. THANK YOU for providing this wonderful and truly valuable training and experience. I especially want to thank Leah Clark who was so attentive and responsive to me as we had to organize a few meetings to get our son to a baseball tournament during the week. In short, your program and instructors were tremendous, inspiring and educational and your organization skills, responsiveness and attention to detail are greatly appreciated. I will highly recommend Education Unlimited and the Public Speaking class to other parents. read more

I agree with all the comments that the other unsatisfied parents have made. Don't be fooled by the name of the company and the name of the colleges. My daughter attended the Sally Ride 2013 camp at Stanford and it was a huge disappointment. Save your money and send your kid to a YMCA camp. It costs about half of what this camp does, they feed the kids better food, there are more activities, and your child will return with a lot of great memories. UPDATE Matthew Fraser offered a substantial discount on another camp as a result of a letter I sent him after the experience I wrote about (above). I used it to send my daughter to the 2014 Prep Camp Excel at UCLA. My daughter was much more impressed with this camp, and claimed to have "learned a lot". As for me, from the camp orientation on the first day it seemed much more structured and academically rigorous. Still, when I look at the cost...let's just say that my wife and I make a combined income of $200K/year, and we think the camps offered by Education Unlimited are very pricy for what they deliver. Parents are seduced by these programs being held on university campuses (which has to account for a large part of the cost). Truth is that the kids see very little of the campus, and could be held at Holiday Inn as far as the kids are concerned. Parents are not provided a grade or much any other measure of what the kids got out of it. From what I can tell, the substance of the program does not measure up to the grandeur of the settings. Education Unlimited provides a service for 'Tiger Moms' and alike to 'feel' like they are giving a leg-up to their kids. If you have the money to burn, and you don't mind stealing a part of your kids vacation time so you 'feel' like a better parent, then go for it. I still say that the YMCA offers a better and richer life experience for your kid for a lot less money, and they will feel like they really went to camp. read more