My experience working with Njoki was amazing. My family purchased the Silver package during my…read morejunior year to help me prepare for college from start to finish. They helped me find scholarships and grants that covered more than half of my tuition. With the help of focus admissions I got into my first choice school.

I am extremely pleased with the services I received from focus admissions. The owner is very…read moreintelligent and passionate about her work, which is evident in her results! I got into my dream school and was able to get two scholarships to help fund my education. This program required a lot of commitment but with the guidance and great feedback I received from Njoki, the application process was very manageable. I will definitely be back when I am ready to apply to graduate programs.

Joan is a pleasure to work with. We have only met with her once so far but she is so…read moreknowledgeable, kind, compassionate, and truly cares for the students she helps with their college choices. We are SO incredibly grateful we found her and looking forward to utilizing her superb guidance and skills.

My daughter worked with Joan Casey throughout her college search and application process…read more Joan was extremely thorough in her assessment of my daughter and in her selection of schools. Her advice was based on in-depth knowledge of my daughter's learning style and personality. The list of colleges she presented were mostly solid targets (rather than reach) and she prepared my daughter to be realistic and in the end, very happy with her acceptances. Joan created a strategy to identify a first choice school, for an early decision application while organizing and motivating her to complete all of her regular and early action applications. Joan's observations of my daughter's strengths and weaknesses and her knowledge of the pros and cons of each school made the process seem more concrete and predictable. Joan continues to follow-up with my daughter and said that she will stay in touch with her throughout her freshman year.

Without the experienced and steady hand that Angela and her team at Boston Academic brought to the…read moretable, I don't know how my son would have gotten through this hyper competitive world of college applications. Thanks to Boston Academic, my son was admitted to UPenn and we are all so grateful and happy! Cannot recommend their services enough!

Zach is an excellent teacher. He is very patient, intuitive, and clear. It was clear from our first…read moreconversation that he has been working as a tutor for many years, and is familiar with many learning styles and approaches. As a working professional who has been out of school for some time, preparing to take the GMAT/GRE for graduate school has been a bit of a nightmare. I tried studying independently for a few months, with little success. I then signed up for an expensive group prep course, only to find that the material was covered far too fast, and the homework load was out of scale with my available time. I have had a few sessions with Zach so far, and each one has taught me more about how I learn, and what I need to learn. The one-on-one teaching scenario is exactly what I needed to not be overwhelmed. Each lesson is tailored to work with my own learning style and struggles. Zach has gone out of his way to check in with me between appointments, and create tools that will aid me in my independent studies. I feel more confident about my ability to cover the material needed for the test, and more importantly I feel more emotionally equipped to tackle the learning material that a few months ago felt out of reach. After seeing how Zach has adjusted his learning tactics to suit my specific needs, I feel confident that he would be able to do the same with other students. I would highly recommend Zach to anybody that is struggling with some aspect of their education: studying for a standardized test, catching up in an academic class, or anything else. I will write another review after I take the GMAT this fall!

I write with the highest praise for Zach Katz, who prepared my son for the SATs. Weekly, for about…read moretwo months, Zach worked with my son, who was a Junior at Brookline High School. Zach took the time to develop a mutually respectful relationship with his tutee. Zach's careful, methodical approach paid off. My son looked forward to each tutoring session. After each appointment, he was optimistic and confident in the progress he was making. Zach helped him identify his strengths and develop strategies to improve his performance. Zach was patient and empathetic. He helped my son create a study plan that accommodated my son's many other academic and extra-curricular commitments. Zach has a responsive, adaptive tutoring method. He discovered my son's learning style and adapted his tutoring approach accordingly. My son's SAT scores improved substantially*. Even more importantly, he learned a number of strategic test-taking skills, which he reports have improved his performance on other school exams. *January 2012: 2080 (CR 680; Math 690; Writing 710; Essay Subscore 9; MC Subscore 70) March 2012: 2280 (CR 680; Math 800; Writing 800; Essay Subscore 11; MC Subscore 76)

Graduated from Launch; obtained job…read more I applied to Launch Academy since I was looking for a way to kick start my career after I lost my previous job and after weighing a few options ended up deciding on Launch and I think I can say it was honestly among the best decisions I've made in my life. The staff were extremely welcoming and supportive the whole way through and the students I worked with were also great. Even after graduating from Launch I felt I was connected to a great network that I can always reach out to for anything which I think some other bootcamps really don't give you access to. Now I won't shy away from it but this experience is NOT for everyone, you have to put a lot of money upfront for the course (like most bootcamps) and the curriculum is intense but I think the end result is truly worth it as you'll come out with understanding of technology that you did not have before and be ready at least put your foot in the door of the industry. If you're looking for a bootcamp that feels more welcoming but also will get you the tools you need for future programming jobs then I would recommend Launch.

Hi Folks, I…read moreoriginally posted a response to the guy complaining about the interview process as I enjoyed the initial interview but have to post a two-starer here as I found the staff very poor communicators about money. I had to ask several times about how to pay, put off work for several months in order to attend, and spent a lot of time fundraising because the staff were unclear about how their payments plans worked. Feel free to message me for more info but I've decided to use One Month Rails and the free tutorials out there until I finish graduate school because the experience with these guys left me unsure about whether or not I would even get a decent education with them. I think they're a little immature in general and irresponsible financially. A lot of these bootcamps have a "large group awareness training" vibe to them, the enthusiasm behind which I was perhaps blind enough to enjoy, until I realized that they are incapable of providing a product or service in a way that would be helpful to me. I also had to bring up a lawsuit to get the deposit back - and call and email several times. Not a fun process. They made the ludicrous assertion that they don't refund deposits because of "all the resources" that they provide before the course starts, or something to that effect, but I still don't have access to the resources they promised other than a Dropbox file with books I would find for free that arguably aren't even the best materials on the subjects they suggest students study before the course starts. They also said I was getting access to "people," but the co-founder was going to be unable to address my issue for at least three days and the other available people were the folks who didn't understand how to communicate effectively to begin with. I had to remind them that I am an adult with a career and a life and that their admissions process was hindering my ability to get on with either. Their response to me was that the "family" there probably wouldn't be a good fit and that they were "revoking their acceptance" - I had to point out that if that's how they treat their family, they certainly don't deserve to call themselves one. It's also a pretty bad sign when businesses that can't be up front about money start calling themselves a family to make up for their lack of professionalism and inability to provide the structure and resources they promise you. Creeptastic, and certainly kinda like getting mugged by a guy who smiles at you afterwards. Happy searching - best with making the most of your career. KP

My son just got accepted to his dream school. We worked with Meredith Principe-she's amazing!…read moreMeredith was able to bring fresh perspective to our thinking about the process. She balanced our expectations while adding valuable insights. She was so responsive. Her replies always thoughtful and very thorough. We came to her in state of confusion. Once we connected with her the college application process became crystalized for us. This is a challenging process-get the best advice you can. I recommend this firm for wise guidance in navigating the college admissions process. A pleasure to work with them from start to finish!

As a parent whose children have aged out of Mathnasium, I cannot state how much my kids benefited…read morefrom the program. Each had their own reasons for being there: one needed help filling in the gaps, the other wanted to be challenged. Both left feeling great about their skills and their grades showed. The one-on-one instruction with two others at pod kept them motivated and relaxed. Great instructors and a good set up without the stress of a classroom program. Thanks Mathnasium!

This is not a friendly learning center for people of color. I recently visited Mathnasium Newton…read morewith my 8 year old daughter. Despite having an appointment, the owner ignored me for 43 minutes while taking white customers, who entered the center after me. When she did sit down with me, she was rude and clearly did not want to speak with me. I bought some of my observations about her obvious racial preference to her attention. Her response was not apologetic or even acknowledging of an error. She instead told me that "technically her appointment was not with me, but with my daughter". As a black woman, as a mother, as a human being, I will never return to this center!

Overall, I enjoyed the classes they have here and had a lot of fun taking the sewing and guitar…read morelessons. The team is pretty responsive if you run into any issues with the class scheduling and pretty understanding. I qualified for financial aid and it got approved in less than 48 hours. I'd definitely wound love to check out their other classes sometime.

I took the intensive drawing bootcamp with Brett Xavier Gamache and really enjoyed it. Brett is a…read morepatient and generous instructor. He provided just the right amount of advice and instruction regardless of each person's level of experience. I have some drawing experience but it's been many decades since I took a formal class. Many of the techniques that Brett shared were familiar to me but good reminders. Most helpful was having Brett review my work at different points during the process, and offer advice on how to proceed. Thank you, Brett, for an enjoyable reintroduction to drawing. I look forward to taking another class. The CCAE could do better in communicating what to expect and in keeping the listing up to date. The description says it's 6 hours but it's listed as running from 10am-2:30pm. The supply list was incorrect so I purchased much more than I needed and didn't have items that I did need. They should also note that you only have about 30 minutes for lunch and Cambridge eateries can be very crowded on a Sunday. I would have brought a lunch.