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 !!!

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

I am a product of Sylvan Learning Center and particulaly this location. Granted it's a whole new…read morestaff, obviously, from when i attened, but the same great techniques and results. I started my youngest so here because I felt his previous school did not do justice to him when it came to teaching him. He fell behind. Then covid hit and it became worse. I was so sad for him and it made me cry. I decided one day to give Sylvan a try knowing what it did for my sister and I growing up. Needless to say, my son has grown so much and has gained this unprecedented confidence towards learning like never before. He is now reading little things here and there, has met his goals and passed some in school and sylvan. He used to cry when you mention homework, now he gets to it before I do. After seeing his progree, I also enrolled his older brother. Same result. He has always been a studious kid, but statred lacking amidst covid. His parent-teacher conference recently showed my how well sylvan has really helped him improve. His teacher was so very proud of his quick progree and turn-around. He is happy and his confidence in himself has returned and that makes me even more happy. I am truly appreciative, grateful, and thankful to sylvan and their amazing tutors for all their work and deligence.

Best of the best !! Staff Is amazing ! Thank you Anthony for all your help ! My daughter is finally…read moregetting the right support !! Thank you so much !

Academy of Foreign Languages is a great place for kids to pick up a foreign language. Our girl are…read morewith Jane in Mandarin and love her! The director is very professional and takes everything you say seriously. We once had an incident with another kid and the director worked with the parents and we were able to come to amazing resolutions. Would recommend for any parent.

No longer in business. Covid knock'em off about 2 years ago. Used to have great teachers. A new…read morecharter school is in its current location.

Our family has been fortunate to know and work with Erin for the last several years and strongly…read morerecommend her services. I could not be more pleased with the guidance provided by Erin Gordon Grady. The educational process, particularly steps pertaining to college admission and affordability, can be very confusing and daunting for parents and students, especially considering that the landscape is ever changing. Erin is extremely knowledgeable, patient and kind, and it is largely thanks to her that our son is currently a happy student at USC. Erin's willingness to answer all our questions, no matter how small or how complex, was a testament to her professionalism. Her wise, thoughtful replies reflect her profound knowledge on the topic and the fact that she currently keeps abreast of new developments in her field. I would strongly recommend working with Erin. After speaking with other parents who are struggling with helping their kids make a smooth transition from high school to college, I am especially grateful that my family had her invaluable support.

My main concerns about the college transfer process were identifying the right school for our son…read moreand completing the applications in a way that best and accurately reflected him. Through our collaboration, Erin was able to guide us toward great schools that would be the right fit for our son. Her familiarity with the transfer process helped to reassure us that we were on the right track. We found the support in choosing schools to apply to and guidance in completing the Common Application most effective. We also found the assistance in essay topic selection and support through the writing process very helpful. I think having her work with us allowed our son to take ownership of his process and helped keep healthy and less stressful communication between us. I absolutely would recommend Innovative Education Partners and working with Erin. The college application process is a labyrinth, and having her guide us through it was invaluable

My son is in his second year with Futures AcademyMB and it is the best place for my son. We were…read morefrustrated with our local schools for not challenging him, tried an online school and have landed here. Futures made sure he was placed in the right classes to challenge him and moved him at the pace that works for him. They have continued to check in and make sure he is where he needs to be. The guided study program has been amazing at teaching good study habits and time management for assignments. He is happy on campus and part of the group no matter what age / grade. Futures really is able to make sure that they are working with current students and what their interests are for clubs and field trips. The entire experience has been wonderful.

Fusion Academy Manhattan Beach has been an amazing experience for our son. He is a smart and hard…read moreworking kid but for some reason a large public high school didn't work for him so he switched to Fusion Academy Manhattan Beach in his Sophomore year of high school and is now in his junior year. There are so many positives to share. The one-on-one teaching is excellent. The quality of the teachers is very high but my son is also understanding the school work so much more as he is able to ask questions right away but at the same time there is no place to hide in the class. The teachers are also very supportive, they want you to understand the work and it feels more like a partnership. There are also more course options available, which given my sons interest in computing, he has been able to take classes like Cybersecurity in addition to the usual AP computer classes, and is planning on taking Animation in his final year. The school is also very flexible as there has been times he has had to move classes around or reschedule classes due to things like illness, and it has been very easy to do that. What we have really learned as a family is that there are many school options available to your kids, and if you find the right one, like we have for our son, it can really change them in a positive way.

Review Your School As a student at Torrance Adult School, I…read morehave taken English, U.S. History and Economics classes for my high school diploma. Mrs. Hilary has helped me achieve my goals, by giving me the support I needed. I plan on taking art history, U.S. government classes next. Also, I will continue taking child development classes. Thanks DR. Estes, Veronica Nieves counselor for all the support given.

I took the Beginning Excel/Microsoft class and did NOT complete the course…read more I was extremely disappointed in the class structure and most of the students did NOT even know what a desktop was, know how to maneuver the mouse and worst did NOT know how to log in to their computer after weeks. They still needed assistance. This created a minimum of 20 minutes of the teacher trying to assist all these students who were lost. I felt like she relied on other students to help those students who needed help which isn't fair. They should have a prerequisite to this class MUST know basic microsoft, how to use a mouse, how to save/ download documents into a folder, etc. I decided to stop going to the class since the teacher had to focus on these others students and then when everyone was finally on the same page. She would literally rush through the chapter since of course our class was behind. I'm giving it 3 stars since this isn't the teacher's fault or the students. The school needs to do a better job in making some of these courses to having a prerequisite pertaining to that course.

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.

I heard about General Assembly classes because they list them on Facebook and it popped up in my…read morefeed as a targeted ad. I'm glad for this as that is how I signed up for a free 2-hour introductory class to coding. The class covered HTML and CSS and was designed to just a quick intro to see if you would be interested in taking a full class. Still I was surprised how much I learned in just a free intro course. Our instructor Allie covered a ton of theory so we understood the big picture and how the different developer languages (HTML, CSS and Javascript) played different roles. Much of the class was her guiding us through actually creating a mock webpage by immediately applying the coding principles and info she taught. I highly recommend bringing your computer for the hands-on portion. Also, Allie listed additional resources for us to explore on our own time, and we were promised the slide deck after. Being totally new to coding, I was able to take what I learned from the intro class and actually fix an issue THE NEXT DAY on the website that I manage for work! I rely on website templates but don't understand the HTML and CSS behind it so I was able to override the template that doesn't even allow me to change font attributes on hyperlinked text. Once you sign up for a class they send you promo emails with discounts, so I will probably look into taking a more full class. TIP: this is located right in the heart of Little Tokyo so there is plenty of sushi, ramen and snack options available before or after going to class here.

I have mixed feelings about GA…read more Pros: 1. This is one of the few places left where you can get actual, in-person instruction. If you're one who can't stick to learning on your own online, face-to-face instruction is the way to go. 2. I also like that they offer a wide variety of topics from web development and digital marketing to project management, sales pitching, and communication skills. 3. The instructors I've had so far have been knowledgeable and nice. 4. They have many free talks in the evenings, sometimes even with free nibbles. I attended one on the art of sales pitching. I think it was called something like "How to Sell Anything to Anyone." The speaker was excellent, and he gave really good tips. 5. The DTLA location has convenient parking ($5 evenings and wknds) at Joe's Garage a few doors down. I also like that you can enjoy the many Little Tokyo restaurants before or after class :) Cons: 1. Cost. If you want to take their multi-day courses, expect to pay $$$. That's what you gotta expect for in-person classes from a private school. I'd love to take more classes, but I can't be spending more thousands of dollars. Yes, they have a payment plan, but you still gotta pay them back. 2. If you're looking to start a new career, don't expect to be "career ready" after you've spent all that money. The classes don't go into much depth. They're more of an overview, just enough to get you started. Then comes the hard part - studying on your own by following all the blogs and video content out there. THAT takes discipline, and nobody can help you there. I wish knowledge could just be implanted in my brain without my having to exert effort. Just being honest. 3. They never answer the phone. The only way to get a response is via email. If you're on your way to an evening or weekend class and need to reach someone, you won't get a response if it's outside normal business hours. Conclusion: If you're disciplined and highly motivated, save your money and take advantage of the overwhelming number of free resources online. But if you're a lazy a-hole like me and you're willing to spend some serious money, take a GA course to at least get you started and pointed in the right direction.