I had the privilege of being part of Expert Guide's humble beginnings back in Pansol from late…read more90's, before they renovated and eventually moved to Esteban Abada. I'd recommended several students from MC here, and most of us have been quite successful after the reviews. I remember the tutors from UP, and how passionate they've been about getting us through our subjects successfully. I do know that the owner is very driven to provide the best academic support she can for her students. Thank you, Expert Guides! I actually enjoyed math & sciences because of you & the OG tutors :) And now that I'm homeschooling my kids in the US, my gratitude takes me back to EG. Had I not gotten the support back then, I wouldn't be able to carry on teaching to my kids.

As a student, I've been so overwhelmed with the stuff we need to do, multiple incidents can happen…read morewith the thin stairs, quite slippery floor, and the heat can cause health hazards. Although lots of teachers are caring and funny, would recommend as long as you don't get overwhelmed quickly.

I wonder what my life would look like if I hadn't gone to AHEAD Tutorial & Review for my college…read morepreparation classes and thereby, gained admission into the country's foremost university (my view is skewed): the Ateneo de Manila University! Seriously. I have to admit, there were days when I went to classes just to have fun with friends and eat out afterwards, but for the most part I know that I must have picked up something and gotten it right. The teachers are hardworking and patient and the classrooms are comfortable and air-conditioned.

Before I had taken the UPCAT, I was hesitant if I were to take review classes or just study on my…read moreown. Most of the review classes I browsed had very far venues from my place of residence, but thankfully, I found out about UPLink! They had numerous venues, and the one I had chosen was in UP Diliman itself. UPLink offered reasonable prices and quality teaching/reviewing methods. Most of their tutors/professors/reviewers came from UP and Ateneo, so you can be assured that the tutees will be in great hands! At the first day of the review classes back in 2013, they gave us a large paper binder, complete with all the subjects that were to be reviewed and some exercises to help us prepare. I can say that the reviews helped a little bit, but the tests were really different. However, let me make this clear: passing your CETs (College Entrance Tests) does not depend on the tutorial center! But, UPLink did their best in refreshing my forgotten lessons and prepared me well enough to pass all my CETs. They also offer refresher lessons before your big day, and a mock test wherein you can determine how prepared you are. (I think I failed that mock test, hihi. But regardless, I passed all my CETs as mentioned.) Besides CETs, they also offer NMAT , LET, Civil Service and other big examination reviews. The professors/reviwers/student ambassadors were all very kind and helpful during the review classes.

This tuturial/review centre is renowned for their very efficient tutors and instructors. Their…read morereview books are also very popular, especially to high school students preparing for college entrance exams. I initially found their summer review for the upcoming college entrance exams a bit too expensive. If I recall correctly, that was about Php 19,000.00 including the books and other review materials. In retrospect, it would've been worth it. Their facilities are great and their instructors are very good at their jobs too. I just took their refresher course which was much much cheaper at only Php 6,000.00. I think it was around 5-8 sessions of refresher review classes. What we did basically was we did a rehash of what they taught during the summer review. Fortunately, all the topics they covered was also discussed by my high school teachers. The instructors were also very keen on asking and answering questions. I also bought their review booklets for me to review at home. I'd say I got value for my money. And I also passed the entrance exams.

Without having enrolled in Loyola Students Center, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been accepted…read moreinto AdMU! I studied in another country for one year of college, but since I was in an international school, there was some overlapping of curriculum, and when I came back to the Philippines I wasn't delayed or anything. I still missed a lot of lessons though, especially the ones in Filipino and Social Studies, so I chose to enroll in a review center over the summer with my brother. I remember the base rate for the package we availed of being P10,000, but since we enrolled with a bunch of friends it was brought down to around P8,000 I think. Our lessons were 5 afternoons a week, for 4 hours, and I really learned a lot! The instructors were helpful and taught well, and they gave tests at the end of every session so we would know where to focus our studies on. The books you get from enrolling are helpful by themselves, too.

LSC Review Center is probably one of the main reasons why I got into Ateneo. I really wanted to get…read moreinto either one of the top 4 universities here in the Philippines, but I was so "praning" that time so I thought I would just fail everything. Because of this mentality, I decided to do research on the different review centers that they had in Manila and I stumbled upon LSC. LSC is said to provide the most comprehensive and highest quality tutorials and review services to incoming college students and they were one of the cheapest review centers during that time. I was able to meet the requirements to avail of the discount. I applied with five of my friends so I only had to pay 8,000 pesos for the review services and the complementary books. The venue for the tutorial classes were really comfortable. It was big enough to accommodate all of the students and the class room was air conditioned. The instructors were also very efficient and helpful and they would often give us tips on how we should answer our CETs.

During a UP student's stay in Diliman, he or she would find the need of going to the Office of the…read moreUniversity Registrar (OUR). Maybe you need to get your ID, pay some sort of fee, go through clearance to get your TOR, or go through the hassle of underassessment. PROS: OUR is pretty much air conditioned inside the offices. The general area for students waiting and falling in line is in this sort of courtyard type of hall with lots of seats and industrial fans. It's usually presko but it gets so hot in there if there's so much people and it is summer; Most of the staff are helpful, but it's still a government agency and as much as they'd like to help you there are lots of processes and red tape involved in transacting processes in the university. CONS: It isn't accessible by PUVs, if you're used to taking the IKOT. Sometimes the TOKI passes by it but TOKIs are few and far in between. You'd usually walk from CAL or FC and it gets really hot or tiring especially during the summer. TL;DR: OUR can be the symbol of the never ending lakad that an Isko or Iska needs to accomplish. Good thing the people are helpful and the building looks good.

Vinzons Hall houses a handful of the University of the Philippines - Diliman's student services…read moresuch as the student council, tuition loan and assistance, and guidance and counseling among others. PROS: Historically, Vinzons has been a center of student political activity. It has been the venue of many protests actions and socio-political awareness activities. Every year, student council winners are announced in its lobby as well; Aside from the institutions, the vicinity is also a "tambayan" for the many orgs of UPD, has a photocopy center, internet café, cargo and carrier services, and kiosks selling budget snacks and drinks. We have a favorite stall on the right side where we could buy a whole paper plate of fish balls for just around 20 pesos. All PUVs passing inside UP has a stop here too. CONS: The structure itself is pretty old and it's not very well-maintained; There has been a few incidents of violence and crime in this building. TL;DR: Vinzons has a place in my heart as a UP student because of the experiences and awakenings I've had. As a structure itself, I hope that it would get its much needed renovation.

MSA. Just seeing that name brings back so many memories! I was a frequent customer at MSA as math…read moreisn't my forte and it was such a struggle for me just to PASS it in college that I had to solicit help from outsiders to help me understand it. This is where MSA came in to save the day. One of the best features of this place is that students can just walk in and get attended to by whomever tutor is available at the moment. They saved me on numerous instances from failing a long test back in college and for this I will always be grateful!

We went to their branch in Greenhills for my kid and as we were about to leave, we overheard one of…read moretheir teachers speak swear words and to think that she taught my son chemistry. We won't be going back to that branch again.