Our daughter used Compass (Bay Area) for three exams during her junior year of high school: the PSAT, the ACT, and one AP (calculus). Her results speak for themselves: National Merit eligibility on the PSAT, a 36 on the ACT (single-sitting), and a 5 on the calc AP. As caveats, she is extremely bright and is an inherently good test-taker, and we were proactive about selecting her tutors to match her personality and scheduling needs. That said, I had no significant complaints. Jill and Alex were responsive and worked to conform to our requests, and our daughter found her assigned tutors engaging. And she, in turn, did the assigned work. We originally found Compass via recommendation by parents of an older student who had already used them. We, in turn, have now recommended them to parents of younger students whom we know. We told them the same thing I'll now tell you: Compass isn't the cheapest option, but I suggest you use them anyway. To us, the results were well worth the expense. read more

I highly recommend Compass Education Group. They helped my son with the Reading and Writing sections of the SAT, and his score improved drastically from 620 to 760 (99th percentile). read more

My son worked with Compass Prep via some 1:1 tutoring for math and reading/writing in the 3 weeks leading up to his second SAT. Our son worked with Rachel for both subjects. She was terrific, and his score increased 120 points between his first and second SAT. Thank you, Compass! read more

My son used Compass and we were very pleased with the results and the thoughtful, pleasant and effective tutors that he worked with.

This is my family's 3rd time working with Compass and it was fantastic experience yet again. My youngest of 3 used Compass for ACT prep. Her English/ Reading tutor, Freya, was fantastic. Her first math tutor wasn't a great fit so we switched to Kathryn and it immediately made a big difference. She was great. My daughter really liked the in-person tutoring option and we really appreciated the convenience of the tutors coming to our house. The weekend in-person proctored practice tests really prepared her for the test. My daughter started with a 24 (gulp) and her Super-score is a 35! Thank you Compass, you delivered once again!! read more

insanely expensive, we were charged 5K and my daughter's SAT score increased 30 points. The tutors left her more frustrated than when we started and overall the program's owner did not communicate with me when I expressed frustration. There are so many companies providing these services. I would avoid this one at all costs. read more

Both our boys went through compass tutoring for SAT and were able to raise their score by close to 100 point( their scores were 1590 and 1580 on the first attempt). We chose compass over the myriad of SAT tutoring options as the teachers come up with an individualized plan for each student base on the need. 11th grade is a busiest year for most high school students and spending every weekend for SAT classes/tutoring is not a option for most. With the compass tutors tailored plan my kids were able to achieve their desired score with just the required amount of lessons. Both were strong in math so they received focused tutoring on improving the verbal skills. We strongly recommend Compass for students who want to get the most with limited time. read more

Our twin daughters's SAT scores jumped by 200 plus points. The reason being that they got tutored by the most incredible folks at Compass. We wouldn't have seen the jump in scores if we were to tackle the SATs on our own. The staff at Compass goes above and beyond to help the students. We are beyond happy with the scores the kids ended up with. We highly recommend Compass for SAT Prep. Thank you Compass staff. read more

All three of my children worked with Compass Education Group for college placement test prep. Compass assessed each of them and determined all three would be better served with the ACT. Then they developed a personal tutoring plan for each student. My sons both needed more time in Reading and English with less in Math and Science. Their scores each rose by 3 points in the composite putting them in the top 5% of test takers. My daughter has significant test anxiety, so Compass worked on her test taking mentality as well as time management. Her score rose by 6 points from initial practice test to her one and done live test where she scored in the top 1%. Compass tutors were well prepared and held each student accountable. They were also flexible with scheduling with my three high school athletes' crazy schedules. I strongly recommend Compass and recommend them without reservation. Your student will NOT improve their test taking if they do not do the homework, practice tests, and work diligently with their tutors. But if they do the work, they'll get the results. read more

Compass Education Group did a phenomenal job preparing our kid for the ACT. We had two wonderful and expert tutors, Freya and Jake, with whom our kid started meeting online when were we out of town in the summer, and in person once we returned. Taking several practice tests administered by Compass as part of the process provided instantaneous and detailed feedback and helped the tutors know what to target. Jill Goodrich answered any questions we posed and was very responsive. Because of Compass, our kid was able to increase his score from a 30 on the first practice test last April to a 36 on the actual test this February. We were so pleased with this process - there was a fabulous outcome but, more importantly, it was a happy learning experience for our kid. read more

Due to mishandling and them " forgetting my student" my students test had to be delayed by several months as well as Tutoring. The case was transferred multiple times and it was communicated we would be receiving some financial adjustments due to all of the inconvenience. Not only did this not occur but while I was hospitalized they sent this to collections when I was unaware there was even a balance due and they were supposed to be discounting the balance due to cancellation by the tutor on one occasion and the mishandling of my case. It is really awful how we were treated. That being said the tutors themselves were excellent so it is really unfortunate the financial concessions that were promised were not made and that I was charged for a session that did not occur. It is really quite shameful that the Account manager lost my students information and simply forgot to set up her tutoring. This delay was very stressful and then made it even more difficult for college apps. whatever happened to the customer service or at least we're going to try to accommodate the customer? read more

Compass did not help my daughter improve her SAT score. She worked with two tutors for several months - the tutors did not listen to her feedback and refused to answer questions. Waste of money. read more

We had an extraordinary experience with Compass. They were recommended by my daughter's school after a presentation about college testing. I phoned them up to learn more about their services. Hillary gave me a complete understanding of options for my daughter and what would be the value of testing in spite of all the current changes for UC, etc. After discussing the issue with her thoroughly and on into another conversation, we decided to do zoom tutorial sessions for the summer. My daughters two tutors, both professional and amazing gals, Leah and Erika, helped my daughter learn and apply the different sat strategies. Over the course of 3 months, she was able to improve her score by over 100 points, amounting to a 1540 at the end. We are very pleased with this program, and definitely recommend it to prospecting sat takers. read more

Our family is truly grateful for Compass' role in our son's excellent test result. Our son studied 1-1 with Compass tutors for 4 months. The first probably the last ACT test he took at the beginning of his junior year he achieved 99% (34/36). Lia, the managing director, has been extremely helpful, guided us through the entire program. Every time we expressed concerns or had questions, she always patiently listened and addressed all our concerns. We especially thank our tutors (science & verbal) for their exceptional quality work making miracles happen! They are not only brilliant teachers, but also wonderful people to work with. They boosted our son's confidence when he was feeling low. We can not ask for better tutors delivering better results! read more

My daughter had an amazing experience with her tutors at Compass while studying for the ACT. They were professional, personable and flexible and the coordinator was responsive and supportive. Her ACT score went from a 27 in her initial practice test to a 34. I believe the individual support for the different subject matters makes a huge difference in the success of the tutoring program and I highly recommend Compass. read more

Our daughter's ACT score jumped from 28 on her first practice test at the start of her junior year to a whopping 34 on the actual test she took at the end of the year. The reason? Some amazing tutors from Compass. Both Compass tutors were true masters of their craft, plugging into opportunities for improvement and helping our daughter learn critical test-taking strategies. We could not be more pleased with the support that Compass provided and the exceptional results that they helped our daughter achieve. read more

Initially, our son was a bit hesitant to work with any prep program asking "why do I need to do this?" - but, once it started, the tutors - Amir and Youngbin - ended up providing valuable insights and they were a great personality fit, too. The program allowed him to focus on the most relevant areas so he could efficiently spend his time and having the Zoom option provided a lot of flexibility in scheduling. His tutors along with the coordinator, Hillary, were wonderful partners in the process. read more

Compass has provided tutoring for three of our children on the ACT, SAT, and PSAT. Their planning is tremendously valuable in terms of when and how much prep to do and when to take the tests. The tutors are top notch. Two of our kids saw their scores improve substantially including big moves up in their respective areas of weakness and effectively maxed out their scores. The third also saw meaningful increases. Their practice tests get the kids ready for the real thing effectively. This is not a fun process for the kids and it's not cheap. But Compass is a top quality provider and you'll get your money's worth if your student shows some effort. read more

One son successfully worked with Compass for ACT and SAT subject test prep and the other successfully worked with Compass for ACT prep only. In both instances, study sessions were tailored to their unique learning styles following a proctored diagnostic ACT exam which we decided upon following review of PSAT scores. The 1 on 1 weekly sessions were convenient and flexible which fit well both times with our sons' academic coursework, extracurricular sports and volunteer work. Both sons worked with the tutors to stay on track and not miss sessions knowing that as busy some weeks were, it was important to practice regularly to become more comfortable with testing format and time management. Behind the scenes, I appreciated Lia Lackey's attention to detail regarding tutor selection, scheduling, and mapping out strategies that allowed my sons to prepare for these tests with time leading up to the test date and to feel comfortable with that preparation on test day. Based on their overall improvement on practice scores during preparation, both sons were confident in electing not to take the ACT a second time to improve their scores, and are/will be going to highly competitive colleges that were in their top 3 in their application process. read more

Compass recently provided test prep for my son's ACT test. He had one tutor for Math/Science and another for English/Reading/Writing. Both tutors were a great personality fit for my son, and as flexible as they could be in setting the tutoring schedule. At the beginning of the three-month period during which my son worked with the tutors, we had set a target for his scores. I did not monitor the tutoring sessions, but was pleased to see that the tutors did use the periodic practice test results to inform their future sessions. This was very important for my son because he was not interested in spending too many hours on test prep homework between sessions, so the tutors' abilities to focus on the areas needing the most attention allowed by son to progress in the areas that needed the most attention. My son's first "official" test ended up yielding better results than we had expected to the point where he is done with the ACT and can move on to preparing for other tests, etc. Thank you to not only the wonderful tutors, but also to Julie, for being so responsive re test administration and answering my questions. One point of feedback for improvement might be for Compass to offer practice tests at sites where the tests can begin earlier in the morning, such as 8:30 or 9:00 am. Not all students perform their best early in the morning but given that the official exams do start that early, it would helpful to more accurately mimic the test environment and/or timing. Currently, practice tests start closer to 10:30 am. read more

Update: I decided to follow up with Compass' offer of additional help. Sara Cantor, our Director, was responsive. Compass offered two more tutoring sessions before the Dec 2015 test date. My daughter ended up scoring the same, ironic right!? I have realized that it wasn't Compass' fault, they don't have "magical fairy dust" to make my daughter a genius overnight. SAT/ACT are Standardized Test measuring "their" knowledge and I had to except that my daughter is a 24. Compass helped my daughter reach her highest potential. I'm upgrading them to four stars for customer service because that's what I value most in a company. As long as your expectations are "reasonable" I would recommend Compass if you have money to burn and your child needs the extra attention or push. read more

We had a great experience with Compass Education Group a year ago. I contacted them for SSAT tutoring services. Though my child had good scores after taking the test the first time, they were just shy of cut-offs for boarding schools. My child decided that he wanted to try to boost his numbers with the help of tutoring services though he only had about 5 weeks until he could take the next exam, once we had engaged Compass. We had some challenges finding meeting times with the first tutor we had been assigned but after relaying our concerns about the tight timeframe to Lia Lackey, the program director, she reassigned us a tutor immediately. No small feat considering we were heading into the holidays. The 2 tutors my son worked with were excellent. They provided clear instruction and feedback. They were very patient when they were reviewing strategy and test problems to see that he fully understood the practices. The best aspect was their analyses of questions he answered incorrectly and their subsequent prescriptive strategy recommendations targeted to help deconstruct the questions at hand. My son/we had a very positive experience and his test scores increased and showed improvement based on the practice that he put in with the teachings in mind. The one-to-one tutoring was very effective for my son and we will definitely engage Compass again. read more

I can highly recommend Compass SAT and AP test prep. Torsten Sannar has been supportive and an important resource through this process for my daughter (currently a Regents Scholar at UCSB) and my son who will be completing college applications this fall. The tutors we've worked with, Christian and Thane, were effective teachers of test taking strategy, and especially the math, our biggest concern. The results were there. read more

Test prep and SAT test taking can be anxiety provoking. Understatement. IMHO, you get what you pay for. The folks at Compass test prep are consummate professionals who respond to your every need. Sarah Jacobs, the program director, listened carefully to my son's desire to study six weeks prior to the January test date. She put together a customized plan which included twice weekly tutoring sessions with content experts in both math and writing/verbal. Because of the short time frame, the emphasis was on test taking strategies and problem solving. I realize how different learning and studying can be for each student (I am a college teacher myself), so I will refrain from going on and on about how over-the-top pleased I am with my son's recent test result. However, I will say that if you're considering other test prep places, do know that for my son Compass provided two amazing, through, conscientious, friendly tutors and strategies armed with amazing test taking strategies which worked! I liked the diversity of their tutors in terms of schools, majors, ethnicities, educational and work backgrounds. Not all are Ivy league cookie-cutter-robotic-types. They are well versed when it comes to working with teens, and they practice a mantra of being realistic, honest, positive, and encouraging. And guess what? If there isn't a fit, they'll find you another one pronto. It's called customer service. Compass has it down. It was a considerable financial outlay for me, but in retrospect, well worth it. Thank you Sarah Jacobs and Shruti Swamy, our beloved tutor! read more

Compass is great! The tutors are so flexible with scheduling around my daughter's busy life, and worked with her very well. I so appreciate that Compass offers regular SAT and ACT test to gauge your student's progress. From start to finish, and with every practice test in between, we could see the steady progress, which resulted in a 6 point increase in her ACT score. We will be back for our next child! read more

We worked with Compass for both our children and had an absolutely fantastic experience. Erika and Brian, our tutors, were amazing, coming to our home and then over Zoom. They were very flexible, supportive and really helpful. Our coordinator was terrific, very accommodating and communicative. Both our kids increased their scores substantially from the initial scores to the real thing and only had to take the ACT once. We give Compass our very highest recommendation and thanks. read more

We do not have experience with many tutors, but on account of the fact that my daughter is dyslexic and I am quite versed in her learning differences, I knew that she would benefit from formal test prep. I had learned about Compass when Bruce Reed attended Piedmont High School and talked about their approach to tutoring. He was wildly impressive so I was intrigued. I had two very different informational phone calls with potential tutors, one being Compass and the other local competitor, and there was no question that I would engage Compass based on those conversations. Ping Mathre, the program director, is a star. She is smart, flexible, kind, highly informed and engaged and knew her roster of tutors. She was also totally customer focused and willing to engage with my daughter on terms that worked for her, rather than Compass. Our plan was rather unconventional - we started tutoring the summer before junior year, broke for fall sport season, and reengaged in November. My daughter worked independently and with two tutors - one for math and science and one for English, and managed her assigned work efficiently and effectively while learning testing strategies. Ping was super helpful in making sure to accommodate practice tests with extended time for my daughter when there appeared to be no spots left at certain sites. My daughter went into her February ACT feeling confident, with a clear strategic plan, and ended up crushing her test. One and done. Thank you Compass! read more

Compass is a terrific education group. My daughter increased her SAT test by over 200 points and the tutors are capable, organized and Compass has provided them to work around my daughters extremely busy schedule. The administration is attentive and they give great advise. They are experts in the field and I would not hesitate to use them. They are expensive, but you get what you pay for, so if you want to see your child improve, hire Compass. read more

Very dissatisfied . They start out as very professional and organized. Follow up in great detail to get you started. However after spending many hours of tutoring time ($140 per hour) the projected results were way off the mark. The managers response was... I am not surprised. Well I am very surprised and upset. read more

I had high hopes for Compass. This past summer, after my student's junior year, we spent several thousand dollars on math and English tutoring. This review is for the math tutoring, which really deserves a NEGATIVE review, since it was literally a waste of precious time and money. My student is studious (has a 4.4 GPA), studied the material but her math score improved only 30 points. The first tutor was on his phone continuously. He assigned problems, get on his phone, and then graded them. Repeat. We complained and got a second one. The second tutor was good, came ONCE and then got another job. We waited for a third tutor. The third tutor was good but busy and by that time, we were bumping up against the test. Seriously disappointed. Wish we had done free Khan Academy! My daughter took that ACT cold and did better and will be taking it again in December. To be fair, the English tutor, Sarah L was very good and the program manager Alicia did her best with the tutors she had. read more

Compass worked both of my kids over the past couple years and I couldn't be a bigger promoter. We were assigned Hillary as our initial interface, and she did a great time talking to our kids about their interests, needs, desires and habits in order to find effective tutors. After a practice test to choose a focus on the ACT or SAT, each of our children were then quick contacted by a English and separately a Math tutor. In each case, the tutors were incredibly responsive, effective. Wonderfully, the students and tutors then work together taking the topic off our plate as parents. With a regular tutor sessions, assigned homework and practice tests at Compass, the results were loud, clear and elevated! I am so thankful! read more

My son took the practice SAT before any work with Compass and scored 610 verbal. After taking 6 sessions with Compass and paying $1800, he took his first SAT and received a 590 verbal, going down by 20 pts. I offered him more sessions for a retake and he said, ..."no thank you, I will prepare on my own for this one." He retook the test and received a 660 verbal. I raised this issue with Compass and rather than offer to refund money or give free lessons, they said I could pay for more. With this, I am unsatisfied. read more

We have been extremely pleased with Compass from the Director Sarah Jacobs to the wonderful choice of many tutors. My sons needed much help with SAT and ACT preparation and we were fortunate to have found 2 great tutors. We did the practice tests that compass suggests and we feel this really helped the boys get an idea of where they were at and what they needed to improve on. It was practice like--but the real test is the same amount of time and prepares them mentally to sit as if it were the real test! Sarah put us in touch with two tutors. Each of them were the perfect fit for my active boys. The Math tutor Andrew MacIver was knowledgable and has taken the SAT and ACT test on several occasions. He prepared both of my sons for the Math portion of the test and they both improved much after several sessions with Andrew. He gives them confidence and shows them what they are doing wrong and explains it in a way they understand. He prepares them for the Math portion and focuses also on each students weakness so they can become stronger through his teaching and guidance. He is always on time and ready to work with my boys. We liked his eagerness and positiveness in helping guide our boys to success. The next tutor who was exceptional was Lucy Taylor. She shows up with a smile and is always prepared and ready to go. She knows her English and has been so helpful with writing tips and getting the boys to focus and get to the point. They really enjoyed having Lucy and she greatly improved both of their scores. She loves what she does and it shows by her work ethnic and her willingness to make sure her students are improving and on the right path. At the moment, my sons are Juniors and one is done with the ACT--scores good and the other one is taking the SAT one more time to see if he can improve even more. We also might take ACT since it has been suggested for us to try that test since he is good at Math and not so good at Critical Reading. We will find out more when we take practice Compass test shortly and discuss with Sarah. Sarah is also great! Whenever I have a concern I can talk with her or email her. She gets right back to me and keeps me informed about what we should do next. She cares about her students and is on top of things and we are very happy with the results we have received through Compass. We highly recommend Compass--Great Tutors and we like the Practice Test Sessions so we can sit and prepare as if it were the real thing. Then we can see our results and improve on the areas we are weak in. Good luck and give Compass a try!!! read more

My older daughter, now a graduating senior from a private high school in San Francisco, went through the Compass program for college testing assistance. We had a really positive experience with them. The tutors were great. They worked hard and patiently with my daughter and she felt very prepared heading into the ACT which she took 3x in her junior year. First time was February which as it turned out was her highest composite score, then in April then again in June. Now here we are in the second semester of senior year and the past two years seem like a blur of college test prep and test taking, college essay writing camp (Lair of the Bear through UC Berkeley, highly recommended), and college applications. It has been a long haul, and my daughter just SIR'd at UC Berkeley which was one of her reach schools. We are thrilled. In fact, I just called Compass today to get started on round 2 -- my younger daughter who is a sophomore at a public school in Northern California. We hope to have as great an experience this second time around and there was no place else I wanted to call other than Compass. Pricey, yes. But totally worth it. read more

Compass was super disorganized in teaching me and didn't seem to care what I did on the SAT. They gave me one practice SAT and also didnt review what i did wrong on a problem. read more

I am so thankful for Compass! My son increased his ACT score by 6 points after working with the Compass tutors. Compass is very organized and provides a great service to their students. I highly recommend Compass and will be coming back for my other kids. Thank you! read more

Compass provided useful study materials for our daughter. Their proctored diagnostic exams were very helpful in helping to get her comfortable with the test format and reduced stress on the actual test day. And the 1:1 sessions were a great motivator and included test taking strategies as well as feedback on her sample tests. We were pleased with the results. read more

We used Compass to help our son improve his SAT score. Their excellent tutors provided one-on-one support and addressed the specific areas he needed to focus on. The end result was an +100 point increase. It's an investment, but I cannot say enough about the high quality of the tutors. Compass also offered many practice test options which helped get him ready as well. read more

Start with the positive: Sarah the program director is nice, as were the other tutors. The are responsive, ask good questions, and are quick to try to get you to sign on the dotted line. They were also available and responsive to questions. The not so good: For more than a $2000 outlay, the results were awful. A 40-point gain on the combined SAT wasn't worth the money. Every time we voiced a concern over practice test results that showed their "tips" weren't working, there solution was: more lessons, more $. We received constant reassurance that their strategy and tips -- which could be summed up as advice on which sets of questions to skip -- would work. Just using the skipping method could increase math by 50 points, the math tutor told us. It didn't. It didn't help that the male math tutor laughed at my daughter when she was struggling on a problem and told her she had "test-itis." He thought that was funny I guess; my daughter didn't. Suggestions: 1. Be willing to challenge your methodology and tutors if it's not working instead of "sticking to the plan." 2. How about a little transparency on your results? What percentage of students gain more than 100 points in test scores, what % gain more than 200 points? How many don't gain at all? Which type of students are mostly likely to benefit? If you don't have that data, you should. It would provide a little more transparency to the results that people are paying thousands of dollars for -- and a little accountability..... Oh wait, if you weren't actually improving scores that much that would hurt your business.... I get it.. 3. Stop the B.S. that you've assigned your "go to tutors" for a particular kid. That's baloney, and I only wish I'd understood that earlier. 4. After voicing so much concern over your students while suggesting more lessons at nearly $200 a piece, you might want to drop an email to the student after their test to see how they did. NONE of your tutors did or the program director bothered to do that. When all is said and done--and the payments have cleared--I guess you really don't care that much after all. read more

We had nothing less than a positive experience at Compass. Karen Schuster was a fantastic partner in my daughter's preparation for the ACT. She not only listened to our goals and concerns, but was able to guide her on the best course of action and did an incredible job matching her with a tutor. Karen was extremely supportive of my daughter's score goals, and along with her tutor developed a manageable plan especially within the short time frame we were dealing with. The investment was well worth it, and her scores showed it. If you are looking for the right partner in your son/daughter college prep and search process, we highly recommend that you make Compass part of your team. read more