I feel very grateful and appreciative for my parents who were willing to sign me up for HS2's counseling program. I know for sure that if I had not joined 3 years ago, my full potential would not have been properly written out in my essays. The extra materials I asked for proved helpful for my SAT prep, AP test scores, and even my usual school assignments. My HS2 counselor was extremely supportive and a great guide. When I was at my lowest during quarantine, she didn't make me feel worse for my bad performance. She supported me throughout the experience, and I was able to recover my grades and mental health. All of my questions were answered, and many helpful suggestions were provided. She helped me explore my options, as well as what would be the best fit for me! Many opportunities were opened up to me--some were provided by HS2 directly (such as college courses over the summer, or community service programs) while others were suggested. I would have never thought of asking my neighbors who owned a beauty clinic to ask for a summer internship, or to start my own custom-painted bookmark non-profit. These were all valuable learning experiences for me, and provided the content I needed to paint my personality through my essays. Manager Helen graciously offered to help edit my financial aid appeal to my dream school, which I was accepted into. Without the appeal, I would not have had a chance to even think of attending it due to the financial barrier. Overall, I'm very thankful to have gotten this chance to have HS2's support throughout my high school career, and I look forward to attending my dream college :) read more

Don't go there. It's a waste of money. They don't really increase your chance of getting into the elite schools.

U can totally tell the five stars are written by HS2..... lol These people are so disorganized, just some middle/old age trying to make money knowing some families don't have.the time/knowledge to deal with children's college admission. read more

HS2 Academy is a great place for college counseling. My parents took me there when I was going into high school to prep me for college applications. My HS2 counselor did a fantastic job at listening to my requests and my passions for school. She worked to find opportunities for me that served my best interests and my future. During college-essay season, my HS2 counselor gave thoughtful feedback and honesty which helped me get into my dream school. Even during COVID and everywhere was locked down, my HS2 counselor still made sure to meet with me often as to not lose progress which I think shows their dedication to their work well. read more

The HS2 Counseling Team has truly been an amazing team and they helped me tremendously in these past four years. Without their support, I would not be able to get to where I am today. Not only are they approachable and supportive of my passions, but they also push me to work harder to achieve my goals. The counseling team has always seen my potential and made sure that I saw it too. The staff at HS2 is one of a kind. Whether you have been at HS2 for four years or a month, you will gain an amazing support system with friendly faces and caring hearts. I am proud to share that I will be attending UC Berkeley and majoring in Psychology in hopes of pursuing the medical field in the future because of HS2's guidance throughout the years. read more

I am a student parent and would not recommend going to HS2 for the college admissions program. Expensive(Ten thousands$)and the counselor did not give advice to the student. read more

My experience here has been absolutely amazing. The counselors have definitely helped me through every step of the college application process and they even got me into some of the top schools that I never could have gotten into on my own like Princeton. I'm absolutely ecstatic about the results and basically every step in this program -counselors were extremely helpful, they were very personable and just awesome to work with. I wish I started HS2 earlier, just because I feel like that would help me in laying out my high school coursework as well as extracurricular activities and help me maximize my time in high school, but I'm definitely glad that I joined, even late as I did since they definitely just helped me in everything, even beyond just essay editing. They walked me through the Common App, helped me fill out scholarship forms, help me brainstorm ideas for my essay, they helped me customize a list of colleges that were good for my major as well as any possible other majors or minors that I would have done. So I definitely recommend HS2 to anyone who is considering. read more

I would not recommend going to HS2 for the college admissions program. Given that the counseling service was relatively expensive (several thousand dollars), I was surprised by my counselor's lack of ethics and professionalism in handling my applications. When I first arrived at HS2, I was assigned to a guidance counselor, Krystal. She was informative about what my admission options were and provided resources for me to organize the things I needed to do to submit applications. I disagree with the previous review about the level of encouragement the counselors provide. I think as part of the policy to protect their business guarantees, my counselor was either dismissive about my applying to universities outside of the bracket HS2 placed me in or would only help with certain supplements at an additional price per application. What was most frustrating about my experience, however, was Krystal's appalling unprofessionalism. I was mortified when I learned from other students that Krystal had gossiped to them about my application and mocked my writing abilities and what I had drafted for my supplements. Not only is this a violation of my privacy as a student and client there, but also this breaches the confidentiality that she, as a professional and as a counselor, should maintain. When I brought my concerns to HS2's management, no reprimands or apologies were given; they just switched me to a counselor for students at the lowest brackets. I can't speak to the quality of other counselors at HS2, nor do I have experience with HS2's tutoring services, but considering that HS2's management allows this kind of unethical behavior, I'd be hesitant to invest my time or money here. read more

You have to really want to learn and improve yourself here. If you're looking for a strict place with strictly enforced rules that will beat your kids into a 2400, I don't think this is the place. Often times they give you too high of hopes and letting you think that "anything" can happen when really they should just be more realistic. Think hard before you drop the several grand for the all inclusive college admission package. The only thing useful about that is they have the teachers there look through your essays, but that's not worth the 2,000+. read more

HS2 helped me so much through my journey and I would not have been able to do it without them! I love my counselor Mihir; he was very helpful in answering all my questions and went above and beyond in making sure every detail of my application was perfect. I got into my dream university, and I know I would never have gotten in without help from HS2. Everybody is so great here, from my essay workshop counselors Kelvin and Adrienne to the administrative staff Kimmy, Helen, and Tiffany. I really feel that they really care about me and do the most for me. I am so grateful to HS2, thank you so much! read more

I came to HS2 academy in March 2013 for college counseling. I owe it to the hard work of the program and the individual counselors for my college applications. I really believe that without the college counseling program at HS2 my college applications would be nowhere near as stellar as they are now. In a short summer vacation, my counselor, Krystal (who is arguably one of the best at HS2) was able to mold four years of my high school experience into a package that colleges would love to see. She helped me with many skills during the college application season from resumes to essays. In the beginning of the program, I was able to organize my colleges and decide one where I would apply. HS2 really forced me to think about the choices and gave me resources about colleges. So, I was able to make well-informed decisions on where I would apply to. HS2 is not like other counseling I have heard of. One of my friend's counselor is so incredibly not encouraging. The counselor refused to help my friend with her supplements to a higher level college because he believed it was "out of her range." HS2 does not do this at all. The HS2 counselors are very encouraging and accommodating of their students aspirations. Also, HS2 had set deadlines for parts of the college applications (common app, supplements, etc...). At the time, I hated these deadlines. But I was able to finish a majority of my applications before school started in mid-august. I completely finished all my applications by November while most of my friends haven't even started. I was lucky to have Krystal as my counselor. She is fantastic at editing essays and has a lot of experience in guiding students to be the best they can be. Oh, she is also very knowledgable in what colleges would like to see in students. She is understanding of how busy my schedule is, yet strict enough to reinforce deadlines (which I am now thankful for...since I finished apps really early). I had heard a lot of great things about other counselors too. Most of them are fabulous essay editors! I don't have a lot of experience in what HS2 is like beyond college applications. But they are very organized, resourceful and friendly in terms of their classes and customer service. I do not know how the quality of the tutoring education is, but so far, my experience at HS2 has been a really pleasant one. College counseling is important in a competitive high school student's life. The most beneficial aspect of HS2 is that you finish your applications early but perfectly. So you do not have the stress and anxiety my friends have right now. Also, you have time to relax and to think about what is missing before actually submitting the application. I do recommend this to whoever can afford the rather expensive college counseling program. To me, it was worth every penny! read more

HS2's counselors are very knowledgeable in the whole college application process. For any question or concern, you will get a straight and correct answer to save you from making common mistakes. As a parent, the counselor helped bridge my thoughts with my son's ideas and set a successful strategy that maximized my son's assets in college application. During the consultation sessions, the counselor leads constructive discussions to consolidate my goals with my son's needs without arguments (you know how the teenagers are). There are just so many important decisions you have to make, and the counselor's guidance help us make all the tough ones effectively. read more

I just finished my college applications, and am leaving this place after 4 years, so I think I'm able to write a truthful review. It used to be a really helpful place to study. Very welcoming, with good teachers who knew what I was doing in classes and always followed up on how I was coming along. My counselor was strict, but fair, and she put me on a great path for going to good schools. Sometime in the last year or so, something really changed with the company, and now its a really different place. The teachers keep changing, they're not able to keep people working here for long. They don't have the teachers here all the time, either, they have them only working on certain days. Speaking of saving money, they also don't offer classes like they used to. When I started coming here there were classes every single day on top of homework club. Starting in the last year they only have classes on the weekends, and there not good like they used to be. I'm glad that I did so much SAT prep early on, because what I see this year with my friends who are still taking the classes is really bad. The packets they give them are full of mistakes and are just embarrassing. My college apps and essays all went really well, though. It started to be harder to get appointments with my counselor because she was only working on certain days, but she made sure that I was taken care of and will (hopefully!!!!) be going to good schools. I would have recommended this place 4 years ago, but I feel bad for anybody just starting with them now. It's sadder and different inside, and the teachers and counselors are hardly there anymore. read more

(I just HAD to write a review...this is for the SAT crash course classes. Even if you are going to sign up for regular SAT classes, please reconsider.) If you're going to pay for your kids to learn, this is not the place. My suggestion is to have them grind Khan Academy or any of the official College Board material (KA is the official partner); they will learn much more there. KA, for one, offers practice... It was already suspicious when I took the diagnostic SAT test a while back. I am familiar with all the official practice tests and have analyzed them multiple times. I enrolled in class out of guilt and curiosity...I wanted to see if there was any new information that I had not somehow come across yet. I was sorely mistaken! They go over things that you should already know how to do. For one, the material they do not use official material. This is understandable, but the tests and curriculum packets are poorly written and light on examples. Most important of all, IT IS NOT FOR THE NEW SAT. When I first took a diagnostic test, something was weird about its content -- nothing I had practiced was on it. The wording was different as well. I took another test during class and found that the test is copyright 2012. 2012! The College Board made changes to the SAT in 2016. I have nothing against the teacher I had. S/he was knowledgeable and obviously smart. The curriculum, though... The only thing I found valuable was the information presented in the essay portion. Then again, I have only studied for the multiple choice sections of the SAT. Do not go here. Save your time and money and study somewhere else! There is no refund. Just take all of the official practice tests and go over your mistakes. I can't emphasize that enough. No amount of money can get you a 1600, a 1550...whatever you're aiming for. It depends on the amount of effort YOU put in yourself, not the effort you spent sitting in a class "learning" a bunch of things you already knew. read more

Awful place. Just wants your money. Doesn't help at all. Not worth it.

I began to lose faith toward this academy. The summer SAT Fast Track schedule has been a problem since week one. First Saturday when we arrived, we were then told the class starts at 10:30 instead of 9:00. There was no prior notification on this change what so ever. And when we signed the contract, we were informed that the class is from 9 to 3:30 on Saturday. Thus we informed the Branch Manager, Taylor Cheng, regarding this. Taylor sent email to us, apologized and confirmed that the class is back to 9:00 am. However, the second Saturday, the teacher had no knowledge regarding the schedule change at all. It was confusing to all students. And class started at 9:10 after some struggle. And the 3rd Saturday, there was no teacher at 9:00. A substitute arrived at 9:55 and asked the class to take a 10 minute break after a 55-minute break. So officially the class started at 10:10. So we lost more than one hour there. This is extremely unprofessional. It's too bad we had already paid the money and it's past Elite's deadline for accepting new students. If we had known about this unprofessionalism of HS2 earlier, we would then have signed up with Elite next door. read more