You are in amazing hands if you choose Sherpa Prep! You are…read morein amazing hands if you choose Sherpa Prep for your GMAT or GRE needs (I say both because I accidently joined a GRE class too and it was also amazing). They've had my back through every step of my journey. Nafeez has been excellent as a GMAT instructor and he's really taken the pressure off of studying for the test. I highly recommend. P.S. Extra friendly to Veterans!

I think they could also improve by incorporating a 5-10 minute intermission for certain classes…read more Again, the pacing is like drinking water out of a fire hose. I think students could also benefit by being split into groups based on their learning styles/skill level/programs and fields of interest, but this may require more Sherpa tutors being staffed. And finally, there needs to be some way for students to have slides available before the live session. What exactly is the copyright issue and how can it be resolved to make this happen? More to come.

Nicole was amazing with helping my son select and apply to colleges. She was especially helpful in…read morethe essay idea generation and writing portion. She was able to pull topics and relatable experiences from him that he would not have done on his own or with our help. She made the whole process stress free by breaking it down into doable chunks. So wish I had found Nicole when going through the process with my older son. It would have saved us so much stress. Highly recommend Nicole.

Nicole is amazing! She is very knowledgeable about the college admission process. She is always…read morevery responsive and kind and flexible to work with. She worked with our daughter to come up with a balanced list of colleges and helped her through all aspects of applying to schools. She helped my daughter think through what she was looking for in a college. She worked with us to set realistic deadlines and helped our daughter get everything done well and in a timely manner without stress. We are looking forward to working with Nicole again for our younger children.

I had the pleasure of working with Ryan Blodgett for 6 months studying for the GRE. Having not done…read moreany math or standardized tests in over 8 years, Ryan managed to teach me math fundamentals until we were eventually practicing advanced functions. After working with Ryan, my GRE scores went up by over 8 points, which is a huge feat for someone with extreme test anxiety. Not only was Ryan an excellent communicator throughout the process, but I felt like he was fully on my team for making me improve my scores. Ryan created a completely tailored program built especially for me to tackle my weaknesses and give me the best study practices. We also managed to laugh and have some fun throughout a normally grueling process.. I could not recommend working with Ryan highly enough for any and al standardized test needs!

I had the absolute pleasure of working with Ryan Blodgett for 6 months while he helped me with the…read moreSAT, ACT, and AP tests. Going into the year, I had no idea whether to take the ACT or the SAT and he helped guide me in a path that lead me to the most success. I ended up primarily studying for the ACT and took the SAT a few times toward the end of the year, and he had great tricks and access to excellent study tools to help me and give me a lot of practice. The workbook that Marks Education has created is so helpful and full of all the information you need for the test. Incredibly well thought out! He also gave me actual ACT and SATs to give me practice so that when I walked into the test I knew what to expect. He also had awesome packets and review materials, as well as previous AP tests to help me prepare for the AP tests I took Ryan gave me confidence in an area that is hard to feel confident about. He always motivated me, and knew how to help me in areas that I was struggling in. Ryan was an amazing tutor, but he also went the extra mile to check in with me and keep up with the other things I had going on in my life. He was a part of my team junior year, and I am so thankful for all of his help.

For many high school juniors, the ACT/SAT is a painful rite of passage. We have used Marks…read moreEducation test-preparation for our two children and highly recommend their tutoring services. In both cases, our children achieved their desired ACT test score in just one sitting. Most recently, Lance helped our child with test strategies and provided practice sets and exams tailored to our child's needs. Lance was professional, supportive, friendly and most importantly, effective. While we know a test score is not the sole factor needed for college admissions, it is an unfortunate necessity. Many thanks to Marks Education for their test-prep!

The test-prep tutoring at Marks Education-DC is thorough, organized, effective and thoughtful. Our…read moreexperience has been nothing but positive and working with Shaun has helped our child's scores improve dramatically. Marks Education-DC sets a plan for success and helps every step of the way. Patient, kind, intelligent, appropriately rigorous and professional are all words that describe Marks and the people who works for Marks Education!

Educational Connections has been a "best all around" experience for me and my family. It is a joy…read moreand privilege to work amongst so many bright and caring educators. As a parent, I have seen firsthand what a game changer it is for a child to have 1:1 support that comes from someone other than Mom and Dad. My daughter has worked with Jan at EC. The relationship they have formed and skills my daughter has learned have been critical to my child's classroom confidence. Jan has been a gift and our gratitude is high!

Educational Connnections was an absolute game changer. My son came to Educational Connections with…read morean SAT score of 1060- his grades were good but wasn't good with standardized tests AND he attended a college prep school! Educational Connections was the RIGHT call as his score went up almost 300 points and was deciding between Ivy's and "mini-Ivy's (NESCAC) schools. HIGHLY suggest them to anyone!

Ian in the Mcclean office was truly amazing. My son was never a good standardized test taker and…read morehis first practice exam was below average, By the time he completed his ACT he scored on an elite level and was accepted to th college of his life. The added benefit was that my son's academic confidence grew by leaps and bounds

I worked with Burks and Dan from Marks Education to study for the SAT and the AP Chemistry test…read more Both tutors significantly helped me learn the material, prepare for the tests, and improve my scores. I would highly recommend Marks Education tutors to anyone looking for tutoring on standardized tests. Not only did the tutors help me improve my scores, but they put my mind at ease by giving me the confidence and skills needed to excel on both tests!

After attending both the 2016 summer SAT program and the extended winter SAT program, I can firmly…read moresay that Elite Prep truly does help students to grow beyond their known limits. I have personally improved my SAT score and SAT Mathematics II test score by over 250 points: A feat that I could only accomplish through Elite Prep's instructors and curriculum. After attending other SAT prep academies, I found that many tend to cram hundreds of SAT vocabulary words and assign a ridiculous number of pages to students. By the end of these programs, students, including myself, cannot remember a single piece of valuable information. Elite Prep, on the other hand, thoroughly goes over each and every page of its books and assigns an appropriate number of vocab words, making sure that every single student understands concepts and solutions to complicated problems. I found that Elite Prep also tends to be fairly strict in preserving an atmosphere of comfortable and kind learning: an atmosphere where students speak up to learn from mistakes rather than staying quiet for the fear of embarrassment (an environment found in many other SAT prep academies). Overall, I would definitely recommend Elite Prep for anyone looking for that just right SAT prep class. p.s. There happens to be a deli right underneath Elite Prep where students can buy lunches or small snacks. This works well for students who don't happen to have packed lunches.

It is a great place for all students to gain a real advantage for the SAT. During my time there…read moreover the summer, I realized that the program was very organized and had a clear plan to allow us to achieve our SAT goals. However, it is not a magical system. In order to truly improve the SAT score, it takes dedication. Honestly if you just stick with the plan throughly, your score will improve by a lot even though it may be challenging. The teachers there are very helpful and they will challenge you to always do your best. I also enrolled in their College Admissions Counseling, and I truly believe it was the reason I could successfully apply to all my colleges diligently and accurately. The advice and assistance given is crucial for not only writing essays, but submission timing, interviews, and pretty much anything that correlated with applying to college. They will help you throughout the entire process and it really is a great program so you should take advantage of it.

Future test takers be warned - as Kelsey G. mentions, all test taking centers are not created…read moreequal. I had a horrible experience at the L St location in DC, and it resulted in me scoring 100 points below what I ended up getting at the much nicer Bethesda location a few weeks later! This location is cramped, prison-like, hot, and the people who work here are extremely rude. Choosing this location is a huge mistake.

I didn't realize that the Pearson testing center would appear on Yelp, but since it's here I'll put…read morein a review. First, if you want a good idea of what your testing experience will be like, check out this video: https://youtu.be/1kK-QuuZeuw While this video wasn't taken at the DC center, it is very much the same layout, decor, computers, etc. The testing center is what you can expect it to be, a quiet and somewhat secluded space with a few workstations where you take your test. Security is tight, you will have to check-in at the lobby security guard, who will then direct you to the elevator that takes you to the Pearson suite. Once in the testing center, you will have your picture taken and your palm vein scanned. The palm vein gets scanned every time you enter and exit the testing room, including breaks. Be advised that if you do need to use the restroom during a break: the restrooms are located outside the testing center in the hallway. You will need to borrow a key from the front-desk in order to use it. While the restrooms are a short distance away, keep in mind that you do lose about a minute of your break just having to walk to and from the restroom. There are two employees at the test center, one at the front desk to check you in and one who is the "proctor": s/he is stationed outside the testing room and can monitor each test taker through a large glass window and video cameras. When I took my test the first time, I would agree with the other reviews that both test employees were very strict and followed the rules to the dotted i. They weren't nice and didn't smile at all. I felt that one step out of line would have had me kicked out of my test. But on my second visit, I encountered two different employees who were the opposite: they were both laid back and very friendly. They were still professional and certainly harped on the rules, but they didn't do it in a condescending sort of way. It was as if they understood that you were stressed out about your test, and they wanted to make you feel comfortable. So overall, I would say that your testing experience might vary based on the testing center employees you get and how their attitudes are. Pearson's primary competitor in computerized-testing is Prometric. I took a different test before at a Prometric center (not in the DC area though) and I can say that Pearson is a lot better. At the Prometric center, I had to wait 45 minutes(!) from my scheduled appointment time before I was even seated at a computer to begin my test. The Prometric center was setup completedly different from Pearson, with the center stuffed with I'd estimate 30-40 test takers sitting in a large cube farm (the Pearson center seats about 12 max, I recall). The Prometric center was definitely not run very well, which certainly added to my testing anxiety. I can therefore give Pearson credit for at least managing their test center much more professionally and sanely. At the end, I would give the Pearson testing center 4 stars. One star off simply for the restroom situation, and maybe for the inconsistency of the staff's attitudes. But, compared to the Prometric testing center I think Pearson is very good at keeping everything organized and professional. Just one less thing to worry about on test day.