We have worked with Michelle Podbelsek for both of our kids. They are very different types of kids…read moreand therefore had different styles and approaches to the college hunt. In both cases, Michelle was a godsend. She regularly met independently with the kids and always provided me with a status afterwards which meant that the kids could drive their own process but I was comfortable with the direction and the partnership was super easy. Both kids have said "I don't know what I would have done without her" Her counsel is always honest, fair and spot on, while being delivered in a supportive way. The process is so tough and so emotional, and she managed to identify its harsh realities while keeping the kids feeling good about themselves and identifying options that worked for them. The office is very well run. They call and remind you before every appointment. Billing is easy to understand. All in all, a totally terrific place and super highly recommended.

Our son worked with College Counseling Associates, and we were pretty disappointed in the feedback…read morehe received. For paying such a steep fee, he received little feedback. We have noticed that other families have found much better consultants from other companies in the area, so we suggest to anyone reading this to check out other counseling firms in the area." Other people who give positive reviews likely are not knowledgeable on the subject of college admissions and thus don't realize how helpful or not the counselors are.

My daughter started working with AJ Stevie on Algebra 1 this spring as she prepares to enter high…read moreschool. Stevie is very patient, kind, and easy for teenagers to connect with. Since he studied physics, he is also incredibly talented in math. My daughter often says that he makes math much easier to understand, and that has really helped her build confidence before starting high school. He also regularly communicates with us about my daughter's progress and learning goals. This is very important to parents.

Not an effective program. Our son did the group SAT prep class. He studied, practiced and did all…read moreof the coursework outside of class. IThere were no real improvements among his 3 practice test AJ Tutors administered. I asked the instructor about this and he said it was typical but let's see how the SAT goes and then we can assess if we want a 1:1 session (more $$ of course). We received the SAT scores and the total score has no improvement. After the 2nd practice test I inquired if we could get a list of question that were answered incorrectly so we could focus/revise studying and it didn't happen. The program is very expensive to not see any gains or meaningful improvement in overall test score from the practice tests. Instructors should know how to get students past a plateau.

I first heard about Sentence Center years ago, when my child was still too young to join the…read moreprogram. When I called to inquire, Chino spent so much time talking with me and sharing helpful information about how to help my child develop a love for reading, even though we weren't able to join the program yet. When my child was old enough to join, I was really excited but also worried that he might not participate, since writing and speaking in group settings had been challenging for him at school. Unexpectedly, he has participated well in the class since the very first day, thanks to his exceptional teacher, Ms. Margaret, who has been so patient and has a wonderful way of drawing him out of his shell. After just two months at Sentence Center and now starting the new school year, he came home today and told us that writing was very easy for him at school. It was really exciting to hear that and to see how much he has already grown through this program! Every teacher who has taught my child has been exceptional, patient, and truly talented at working with kids. They have helped him learn how to come up with ideas, turn those ideas into writing, and share his work with the class. I highly recommend this program, which has helped my child in so many ways beyond writing, including public speaking, confidence, and creativity. I am so grateful to Chino and his team!

My son (8th grade) has done this camp two years in a row and both times has had a great experience…read more Chino and his team are fantastic. They make an effort to get to know each kid and their interests. They make the online format fun, including some chatter about personal interests during the zooms. They also reach out to parents and offer positive and constructive feedback about each child's writing. I was initially looking for an in-person camp but I think the zoom format actually works well for a writing camp. Each day has a specific theme and each participant has to read out their essay to the class. I believe my son's writing skills and confidence has grown due to this camp. We will definitely do it again!

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.

I have been improving my french now for many years, using classes and individual lessons both in…read moreSan Francisco and France (many locations). Arcene is the only french tutor I have used in SF, and would not switch to any other. For the price that Arcene charges, he is really unbeatable value for a very skilled teacher. I know all this sounds hyperbole, so some specifics may help; - A part of each lesson is conversation. Arcene is a good conversationalist, by which I mean that he draws out the student with leading questions, and gets the student to talk about themselves. e.g. on my very first lesson with him we went through the vocabulary for my 'life story' - how I was going to introduce myself to others during an upcoming visit to France. - Arcene listens well, takes notes, and corrects after the conversation, point by point, without breaking your flow at the time. He will suggest better ways of expressing things, and use your bad grammar usage as launching points for instructions in some point of grammar (pronouns, tenses, verbs etc). - Arcene would usually then go through a structured description of that point of grammar, whatever it might be, and write down the information at an appropriate level of difficulty, using examples. Sometimes the writing was a little untidy, but I would rewrite these later into my own book anyway. - There is a good mix of technically correct grammar and good daily phrases. - He's quite funny, does not take himself too seriously, and as I can see from the other reviews, many of his students also consider themselves to be friends with Arcene.

Arcene is great. I…read moremet him a few years ago while I was studying for law school classes at Maxfields cafe in the Mission. I overheard his lesson at the next table and immediately wanted in on it. I asked for his info, then I had a few lessons with him before I headed to Paris for a month. I felt like my lessons with Arcene really helped me communicate with Parisians, whether it be ordering breakfast, asking for directions, or exchanging something at a small hardware store (my biggest achievement thus far). Last year, my friend and I asked Arcene to lead our "French Club," which consisted of meeting at a French cafe for some coffee and conversation every other week. Arcene gave us little homework assignments, and was very flexible as far as just letting us do as much or as little as we wanted. I would recommend Arcene to anyone, whether as a supplement to a formal class or just for conversation. He is extremely intuitive at telling where each person is and what they need to know. Plus, he is super interesting so you actually want to figure out what he's saying!

The tutors are highly supportive, and the private lessons were extremely productive, helping me…read moreimprove my kid SAT score in a short amount of time.

Best for SAT prep. Focused preparation on identifying weak areas and targeted coaching to get…read morebetter.

TestCrackers completely changed my GRE experience, especially thanks to Yuri (Quant) and Seth…read more(Verbal). I worked with TestCrackers for over a year, primarily through small-group tutoring, and I cannot recommend the program highly enough. I came into GRE prep from a humanities background and had historically struggled with quant. Math had never felt intuitive or comfortable for me, and I truly never imagined I could perform well on the Quant section of the GRE. Yuri, who taught Quant, is hands down the best tutor, and honestly the best math teacher, I've ever had. He completely transformed how I approach math. From day one, he created a learning environment that was supportive, engaging, and genuinely enjoyable. His lighthearted teaching style, dad jokes, and famously theatrical reactions to common mistakes made concepts stick in a way I had never experienced before. To this day, I still hear his voice in my head catching me before I repeat errors, and it works. Beyond his teaching style, what makes Yuri exceptional is how genuinely invested he is in his students. He took the time to get to know me, truly believed in me, and pushed me to do better in a way that made me feel capable rather than intimidated. He often went over time, not because he had to, but because he wanted to help more. It was clear his motivation came from a place of real care and generosity. To put my progress in context: my first Manhattan diagnostic was a 151 in Quant, and my first official PowerPrep test was a 144. I ultimately ended with a 163 in Quant on my exam. At the time, I didn't even know if meaningful improvement was possible for me. With Yuri's guidance, I not only improved significantly, but gained the confidence to apply to MBA programs that once felt completely out of reach. Seth was equally impactful on the Verbal side. His guidance completely changed how I approached the section strategically. I still hear him asking, "Is this 100% provable?" in my head during verbal questions, which helped me stay disciplined and precise on test day. One of the biggest breakthroughs from Seth's teaching was learning to let go of certain science passages and instead focus my time and energy on passages I knew I could get right, a strategy that made a huge difference. I started with a 153 in Verbal and finished with a 161. Thanks to Seth's emphasis on error logs, thoughtful review, and strategic prioritization, my Verbal score improved dramatically. I consistently reviewed session notes, maintained a detailed error log, and applied his frameworks throughout the exam. Thanks to TestCrackers, and especially Yuri and Seth, I finished my GRE journey with results I genuinely never thought were possible. More importantly, they helped me see what I was capable of before I believed it myself. If you're serious about improving your GRE scores and want instructors who are deeply knowledgeable, incredibly effective, and truly invested in your success, I cannot recommend TestCrackers enough.

Thank you Testcrackers!!!! So grateful for the Testcrackers Team, Yuri, Andrew and Sarah!!! I spent…read moreover a year studying on my own with Gregmat, Magoosh, Kaplan and ETS PowerPrep and I just wasn't getting anywhere as far as progress goes. It felt like there were too many videos to watch, too many areas to study and I felt overwhelmed and unmotivated. At 38 years old, the last math class I had taken was over 15 years ago, so it was a pain relearning all the math they test on Quant. Andrew broke down which areas were not tested as often and let the class know which topics to study on their own (due to class time restraints) if they were trying to score 320 and higher, which I very much appreciated. I only need a 290 for a program that requires that for admissions. The first GRE I took in August, 2025 was 279 (141V, 138Q) with practice tests ranging in the 270-280's. Today, I scored 294 (147V, 147Q), with practice tests ranging from 289-302. I studied 3-6 hours a day, 4-6 times a week (homework included) for two months to obtain this score, which I am very happy with. I'm sure I could have scored higher if I studied a bit more and did more homework. If you are thinking about taking their prep course, take the next step and make that investment because it is totally worth it!!!!!

Think twice before engaging with Josh at TPU. His business is built around "exploding offers" i.e…read more preying on the vulnerability of GMAT students by putting in place fictional time limits to pay upfront in order to incentivize people to doll out thousands of dollars. His attitude put me off immediately and he doesn't even work with students himself.

Josh helps you get results on the GMAT…read more I had taken a Veritas course, practiced on all of their CATs and the official CATs, then went into test day and got rocked by how weird the Verbal section was. Needless to say, the 790 Veritas average wasn't accurate. In just a month, Josh saved my scored and bschool hopes by upleveling my Critical Reading and Reading Comp on the hardest standardized test questions out there from a variety of other exams, helped me hone Sentence Correction to a science and taught me a lot more math and how to solve problems with many different ways. 30 days later and I'm at the top of the 80% spread for all of my schools. Thanks!