Sam and his team are the real deal..my kid was a 4.3 gpa student I wanted to give her the best…read moreopportunities to pick a great college. Latina, female, I thought the scholarships would be rolling in, it doesn't work that way. There are scholarships out there but full rides are few and far between. Thanks to CME, they helped us work out a financial plan to maximize our EFC. Our kid is doing great in College, thanks to CME, she was awarded 25K for four years, this college was not on her radar, but it worked out for her and she is happy and so are we. I never thought I could afford to send my kid to this type of school, with SAMs help and his amazing team we did. The help continues for four years, every year they guide us through the FASFA application process to keep things moving along. Thank you CME, we have two more years and then grad school...

We are so grateful we found Sam Mikhail and College Made Easy. They were recommended to us by our…read moreson's high school at one of the College Financial Education nights. We thought we navigate the financial aid application process ourselves, filling out the FAFSA and CSS on our own... It was way more complicated than we thought. Sam helped us understand our current finances and really supported us in making some important choices that made a valuable difference. Everybody's situation is different, but If we could quantify the savings over the next four years, it's easily over $200k. His services has helped us figure out how to stretch our son's current college saving and really make it last.

I wanted to make sure my previous review (based on my distasteful experience with Gerald and Ashton…read moreat the Bright Mind) is not moved to the not recommended section: AFTER GERALD CONTACTED ME REGARDING MY REVIEW: My negative review is because of TBM's lack of transparency and sub-par customer service as I stated in my conversation with you, Gerald. INITIAL REVIEW: Keeping it short, I do not recommend doing business with TBM. Gerald and Ashton, you don't need to search through your records because you know me. In fact, I am surprised only when the review is negative, you cannot find the reviewers' information on your file. SAME COMMENT AS I HAVE IT ON GOOGLE REVIEW.

Mike and Gerald put together an amazing plan for mu daughter. She did the SAT test prep and worked…read morewith them on her college applications and essays. 3 weeks before she started hearing back from her applications, she was so depressed. She was convinced she wouldn't get in anywhere. My child came up with some of her list, Mike and Gerald came up with others. They were with her from the very start. Not only did she get into 80% of the schools she applied to, she got into here first 3 choices. I tell everyone I know with high school aged kids - if you have any concerns about the college counseling process at your childs school - or they might need some tutoring and help with college applications... Help with financial aid, help with filling out the forms, who needs what form where and by when....This was SUCH a help to us.

We truly appreciate you and CL team's efforts put into my daughter's college application journey…read more The success we called wasn't about getting into the highest ranked school, it is about the confidence we gained thru out the process, also the college fits her best interests!

Tammy as owner is hands-on, very personable and manages a fun team of college counseling experts…read morewho will take time to listen and help you with your college applications from A-Z!

If you have a high school student planning on going to college but needs help, check out Pathways…read moreA-G for assistance.

From the owner: Pathways A-G is an independent educational consultant program helping families navigate the…read morestressful process of college admissions.

Walking into Albert & Bryan's office was one of the best decisions I made in my college application…read moreprocess. Starting with outcomes: I got into all of my reach schools & my cousin (applying this year) is knocking out target/reach schools by the day. Of course, results never paint the entire picture, so I'd like to highlight a few behind-the-scenes aspects of their approach that I believe are quite conducive to great application delivery. 1. Crafting an authentic application. Every word on my application contributed to an accurate picture of who I am. Not once did I get the impression that Albert & Bryan were trying to fit me into a "template" of the perfect candidate (as a significant number of college applications guides tend to do). Their primary role was extracting notable points about my experiences and helping me with synthesizing/packaging them into compelling and genuine stories. Authenticity is one of the key characteristics of engaging college essay writing, yet it is often one of the most overlooked. Albert & Bryan know this, a fact that is reflected in their guiding principle: "If we anonymously drop your essays in the middle of the street and your best friends pick it up, they will immediately think of you. If strangers pick it up, they will feel as if they have already met you." I certainly believe that we accomplished this by the conclusion of the process. 2. Storytelling expertise. To put plainly, they are great storytellers. Albert & Bryan teach storytelling techniques that I haven't encountered anywhere else. Short, choppy phrases to convey excitement and thrill; sentence cadence to amplify any message you are trying to get across; sustaining a metaphor to create cohesiveness and make the essay a better read- a few of many techniques that I employ to this day. Telling a good story is a fundamental skill of any capable writer, one that is especially critical when trying to encompass your entire character in a few pages of paper. 3. Commitment to their students' success. Albert & Bryan had many other clients while I was there, yet they somehow made it feel as though I was their only student. They reviewed each completed application with the utmost care. I got emails from them at all hours of the day/night, pointing out the slightest of details (deviation in format, potential ambiguity, minor discordance in information) that I somehow overlooked. Every time I needed their help, they found a way to clear up a time slot. I've heard of instances where they devoted their entire night *after closing hours* to work on a mentee's last-minute submission. It goes to show how much they are willing to do to ensure that their students are supported. 4. Staying well-informed. They go to conferences every few months to keep up to date, not just with what application reviewers want to know from their applicants, but also general trends in what types of individuals thrive at which places. This- along with the personal network & bank of experiences that they built over years of being in the industry- means that they had well-informed and nuanced responses to any inquiry I had about the application process or the universities themselves. It's difficult to find guidance of this quality, especially for a process as convoluted as applying for college. Albert & Bryan's service is a gem in the space. I'd recommend them to anyone applying.

Royal Education provided an incredible amount of knowledge and guidance for me and my family during…read morethe college application process. I worked with Brian and I think his background as an Ivy League student from a family that was not well-off allowed me to connect very easily with him. I always felt like I was working alongside him to improve my applications, and it was very easy to joke with him and push through a counselor-student relationship. My family has never been through the American college application process and I would highly recommend Royal Education to anyone who would like clear and concise advice and guidance.

Patti really helped my son navigate his voice in his college essays. She was also instrumental in…read morehelping him decide where he wanted to apply (and why) and what majors would and wouldn't be a great fit for him, based on getting to know him over the two years they worked together. Once my son decided what he really wanted to pursue, she helped him back into choosing the best colleges within various universities, keeping location, size, campus vibe, cost and other variables in mind. As parents, it was wonderful to have a positive and knowledgable outside influence take the reins in aspects of the process that we didn't know much about. She kept him accountable and on track, while always being upbeat and a pleasure to work with. He submitted all his applications early and was confident that he'd done his best work. I highly recommend Patti to anyone looking for guidance at any point of the admissions process.

As a parent going through their first college application with their child, I strongly urge others…read moreto search elsewhere for college counseling. Despite the positive reviews others have left, my son, Christian felt strongly about Patti's various shortcomings during his college application process. He felt that his questions were left unanswered constantly and oftentimes would leave meetings more confused. He strongly felt that his time would have been better spent somewhere else. To other parents: Please be wary of the unrealistic promises made by this business!

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!!

I brought my son to c2 when he was a junior at Crescenta Valley High School. He needed some…read moretutoring in AP physics to help him understand a few concepts before the AP Exam. We purchased a package of hours, figuring we could use them for other subjects and SAT prep as well. What I didn't expect was how comprehensively C2 would help my son. We didn't know about the SAT subject tests, but Maggie recommended that my son take them. It was a godsend, because when my son was applying to schools- his top pick required three subject tests. He had already taken two the spring before thanks to c2's suggestion. Over the summer, my son did review with C2 for his SAT test. They helped him raise his scores tremendously. They also gave him counseling on college applications- providing worksheets for him to help identify some of the schools that might be a good fit for him. After he took the SAT, they helped him with brainstorming and editing a few sample essays for his college applications. Many of you reading this are results oriented like I am, so I'll tell you that my son got into his first choice for college and raised his SAT from a 1370 to a 1520. He managed to score a perfect 800 on math. Yes, he is bright and motivated and hard working. But he couldn't have done it without Maggie and her amazing tutors at c2.

My younger child has also now "graduated" from C2. She was always an outstanding student but…read morebenefited from some extra help in a few very challenging high school classes. She also took full advantage of the college admissions guidance and college essay support, and was admitted to all the top UC's and offered some merit scholarships at very competitive private schools. She has proudly accepted an offer from her dream college! I can't say enough great things about Maggie and her team at C2 La Crescenta.