So I spent $4,000 for the 10 sessions for the SSAT for my son. He did fairly well on the…read morepreliminary evaluation, but after the 20hrs he did no better (maybe worse) on the final assessment. I can't tell exactly, as I was never given the same "scaled scores" to compare the two, even after 4 email requests! Save your money and just use the Princeton Review or some other book, the book has the same strategies as Axiom teaches. Total waste of money.

Axiom has an array of educational programs (test prep, learning efficiency, social emotional…read moredevelopment, entrepreneurial thinking etc). We have been so impressed by the rigor of their programs, the training of their staff, their flexibility, knowledge and all around commitment to the success of their students. A huge thumbs up!

If math sounds synonymous with dancing naked in a conga line at the wedding of your second cousin,…read morethen you definitely need Kick Ass Tutors. Much like the naked conga, math for me is an awkward long forgotten series of patterns and moves that I only tried rarely and with much taunting and embarrassment. Insert my future. It now depends on a complex mathematical dance that I have yet to master. I consider my options: 1) a high priced test preparation factory, 2) a stack of heavy books that will be later used as the legs to a coffee table or 3) a random I find on craigslist to tutor me. I'm not sure if the classroom style test prep I'll receive at a big name corp is worth the value of a gold coin. I'm also not sure if I'm disciplined or savvy enough to navigate a labyrinth of test prep books on my own. Initially, I choose option 3. I've had lots of math tutors and my craigslist find was particularly abysmal. He had never taken the GRE and was a scholar equivalent to John Nash (i.e. see film "A Beautiful Mind"). Not only was my craigslist friend as perceptibly brilliant, but also taught me math in a similar method to the aforementioned film and savant-- which equated to a series of murmurings, scribbles and assurances that what I was learning was rather simple. Ack. Unfortunately, the numbers just wouldn't float in front of me and I decided to see what else I could do to prepare. After much googling and panic, I discover "Kick Ass Tutors" on thumbtack and meet up with Karim. Equally brilliant, but far more articulate than the former Nash understudy-- Karim offered clear step by step instructions and more personalized attention than I would have received with a more well-know test prep company. He also knew the GRE, had a set curriculum and was able to successfully get me to do the mathematical tango. All in all, save your time and your wallet and go with KickAssTutors. Karim is a mathematical rock star, but an even better teacher. Highly recommended!

Karim came in to help me with math on the GRE 1 month before the test. Karim is a math wiz and a…read morereally good teacher. Super patient guy and an utmost professional. Karim is not big on tricks like some of the other prep companies, but to quote the Trix Rabbit "tricks are for kids". Karim focuses on the actual formulas that you WILL need to memorize before the test. He brought workbooks for us and for a study group that only included 2 people, the price was very reasonable. He does not do verbal but if you are math deficient like me, definitely give him a call.

Mr. Fidani is the man! He helped me so much through a tough time in my life. I was so unmotivated…read moreand lukewarm about my college expectations, until we sat down and seriously went through my options and goals. I'm currently on my way to becoming a software engineer thanks to Mr. Fidani, and I've never been happier. Thanks again for all the help!

College Clarity Consulting was a life saver for my college bound senior. The counselors at school…read moreare a great starting point, but my daughter needed the extra time and guidance that College Clarity provided. They were able to review her essays and give feedback in a timely manner. The insights into the selection process were very eye opening and helpful in our preparation. I highly recommend College Clarity for college bound students.

I took various SAT I Prep classes here in addition to the weekly math course while I took AP…read moreCalculus in high school. Mike Shieh taught these classes and his help made a positive impact not only my SAT scores, but also in my classes at school. Mr. Shieh is the most dedicated and knowledgeable teacher that I have encountered during the stressful two years before applying to college. Not only does he take time to personally help each student in his classes, but he makes sure to cover key topics and even give you tips and tricks to help you complete your problems. Best SAT helped me achieve the SAT scores that I wanted and taught me how to become a more efficient problem-solver. This going unsaid, I took what I learned from the courses and reviewed the material on my own time as well to succeed. You definitely get what you put in, and if you're looking for a worthwhile tutoring company, Best SAT is the right place for you.

I took the Bio SAT II class here and scored a 780 (after taking honors not ap bio) and returned for…read morethe Math SAT II class and scored an 800. I took the Bio SAT with Mr. Murdock who was extremely organized and prepared. More than four years after taking the test, I still remember the large binder full of problems and summarized material I received on the first day of class that were way more useful than any ap bio book you can find. If you do the assigned readings and problems, and just consistently keep up with the class you will do extremely well on the test! Mr. Shieh was an awesome instructor for Math, both for the SAT and for geometry. His teaching style is effective and collaborative and the more you ask questions and participate the more thoroughly you will understand the material. Mr. Shieh is extremely clear and concise when answering questions and he will go out of the way to make sure you completely understand. The small group setting makes sure you won't get lost, and the informal lectures will ensure you are still paying attention! I have taken classes with ThinkTank, Ivymax, etc. as well but the quality of classes at Best SAT is unrivaled! Make sure you check them out before finalizing a tutoring company.

We were referred to John by one of our close friends and we are so thankful we did it. John and…read morehis team worked closely with our son for four years, from course selection to summer camp application, and eventually through the college app process. He put a lot of thought and paid extra attention to every details of the application forms. He is our guardian on meeting every milestone in this journey. John is more of a mentor to my son as well. He helped him navigate through his stress and anxiety, so that he could focus on making progress in his course work and applications. He also help bridging the communication between us and our son, which we deeply appreciated to balance our relationship during the crunching times. We would highly recommend John, he is the one you can count on!

Entering my senior year of High School and the chaos of college applications, I was very lost on…read morewhat a strong college essay and application looked like. I remember having different extracurricular experiences to talk about but there was a missing piece of how to word my essay and let alone start on my essays. I spent 2 weeks blankly starring at my document before realizing I needed more help than I expected. It wasn't until I started working with John and Jamie that I was able to talk about my life experiences and turn them into strong essays that reflects who I am and the type of leader I am in any community. Working with them helped me quickly understand how college essays are structured and how I can word my experiences to illustrate my strong characteristics as a student and leader. I really appreciated the weekly workshops provided by Jamie and John for extra time to spend on essays. As someone who had a hard time finding time and motivation to work on my essays, the workshops and set meeting times held me accountable for getting my work done before each meeting. I would 100% recommend John's service to anyone else struggling during this process. I am now committing to UC Davis and I couldn't be more grateful for the help provided by John and Jamie.

I got the effective tutoring I needed from Idea Tutors. They were helpful and knowledgable right…read morefrom the start. The tutor met me in the library twice a week for two hours to go through all the material I needed help on!

It took me a bit to get motivated to apply for grad school and part of that was the task of taking…read morethe GRE. Once I started studying on my own I quickly realized I was going to need some help. I knew from the first call to Idea Tutors that the service was going to be professional and reliable. Private GRE prep worked wonders for me. I am very happy with how the tutor conducted sessions in a manner that ensured a high ROI. In every session we focused on important test taking strategies and content in a way that prioritized the concepts that could give me the highest increase in my score!

I'm a mother of a 14 yr. old girl who struggles with school. We have been using Navigate Learning…read morefor 2 halves of 2 school years now. We first were introduced to Emily when my daughter was in 8th grade, struggling to graduate, understand how to organize & balance her school life. It's hard with a mother like myself, pushy & frustrated not able to see that she needed understanding & a guiding hand. We had FINALLY found the answer we needed in Emily & her tutoring skills. She is amazing, warm & intuitive, with a wonderful caring heart, that LOVES what she does, with each & every student she works with, as do her employees. The focus of her business is to give tools to each student to build confidence, become self reliant & motivated to do the very best they can in every situation or challenge that comes in school. My daughter is doing much better & definitely more happy. Words can't express how thankful I am for all the help that Navigate Learning has given us. I have 2 more children in school & will continue to come here for any help they need as well.

Navigate Learning and Emily have been a great help to me along my educational and career journey…read more Charged with the task of writing a Personal Statement, I found myself drowning in my own run-on sentences, run away thoughts, and flowery rhetoric. Emily pulled me out of the water and helped me concentrate on main points and communicate in a way that helped me land my first choice internship and send me along my way to become a Registered Dietitian and business owner. I have since called on Emily for career advice and consulted her for resume writing and personal advice. She is trustworthy, kind, and has a way of caring for people I have hardly witnessed in all my life. Entrusting her with your tutoring needs, or that of your child will be a priceless investment. I can't say enough about her. Thanks Emily for all of the help, sound encouragement and advice!

Chris is an outstanding counselor. He helped me write my essays for UCs and the Common App and…read moresupplementals for schools such as NYU and Columbia. His organization and the information he provides about all of the schools are amazing and reduced the stress of having to research all of the small things for each school I was interested in. The way he guided me to write the essay was efficient and saved me a lot of time as I didn't have to write the same essay for another question that was similar to the last. I was able to finish my essays by August. It was a big relief and the whole process seemed very manageable with his help. His ability to provide fluidity in my writing and his knowledge of college admissions helped me especially because my writing was "impenetrable" or difficult for someone who didn't know me to understand. Besides the support he gave me with essays, he was also very easily accessible and understanding. I had his number and if there was anything that came up in the way of a meeting, I could just text him and I got a response in less than an hour. Any rescheduling of a meeting was simple and caused no trouble. Chris is a very straightforward person and gave me the support and advice I needed to write my essays. He is also pretty funny and a down-to-earth person which helped as meetings didn't come as something I didn't want to do. Chris was a great college counselor and I recommend him as his understanding of the application process and his ability to tutor and write were a great help.

I come from a non-traditional educational background, having gone directly to the US Air Force out…read moreof high school, only to stare down my UC undergraduate applications at the age of 29. Chris helped calm my nerves during the entire process. Chris is patient and has a unique talent of channeling your talents with the best possible outcome. He reassured me that my uniqueness had value. He got me talking about my achievements, made me feel proud, and helped me coalesce my thoughts into an essay that won me acceptance to Cal. In fact, after my acceptance into Cal, the admissions team asked if they could publish my personal statement to help other prospective students. Out of thousands of applications, they remembered mine! I highly recommend Chris for anyone who struggles to put their thoughts to paper for a personal statement. Thanks to Chris, my life trajectory changed in ways I never imagined. Chris has also tutored me in other areas such as Math and Writing. Learning never ends and Chris is unceasingly helpful in all aspects of my life. He is the most incredible writer I have ever met. I also plan on using Chris' services when I enter the work force after college. Meticulously written cover letters, resumes and thank you notes will put you above the rest. Thank you Chris. I am forever grateful.