I took AP Bio as a course here through Elite school because my main high school has strict AP regulation. The course I took at Elite was amazing. I had a mentor/teacher who tutored me, another teacher who graded my assignments and guied my online course, along with a Associate Director Julie Chae to help everything go smoothly. HIGH SCHOOLERS, from a junior's perspective, elite open school is better than taking ap courses at your own school. Small group sessions and great focused mentorship really makes this place stand out. - hannah y read more

I was one of those kids at Elite who were lazy and unmotivated. Parents forced me to come. I was often the class clown and a punk towards the staffers/proctors at the front desk. The only benefits I saw, at the time, were 'shortcuts' to answering questions on the SAT and the one on one college counseling / essay writing with Julian Chou. Everything else felt like a waste of my time. I came to summer boot camps to make friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with. Looking back, all of that went a long way. Sure, some might argue it's not worth the money but it really depends on how the student takes advantage of all the resources. I certainly didn't take advantage of all of them but all the instructors are specialized in specific subjects and are quite knowledgeable. Some of these instructors already have full time jobs yet they take their time during or outside of Elite classes to help students. If you can study independently, props to you but most high school students can't. I couldn't. And in this way, Elite was very helpful, using both former and original test questions to evaluate how you'd score on a real test. I enjoyed all my teachers (few whom I still keep in touch with) and the staff, yes they were mean. They were too direct and condescending. However in retrospect, considering how annoying I must've been, imagine that multiplied with hundreds more. Elite wants their students to take practice tests as if it's the real setting. You can't talk, text, or cheat and you shouldn't fall asleep. I attended Elite about 10 years ago. I wasn't close to a 2400 nor did I get into an Ivy League. But considering what I've achieved since then, I can't thank them enough for prepping me for that very first step to 'adulthood': college. read more

I needed help starting my college applications and got amazing assistance through Elite Prep Rowland Heights. I felt confident with my submissions and I couldn't have done without Elite's guidance. I'm grateful for receiving such massive support from the program. Big thank you to Michael Huang! read more

My daughter went to Elite Prep Rowland Heights. We are very thankful that she got accepted from a bunch of UCs including UC Berkeley and UCI. Especially thanks to Mr. Julian for his great guidance and teaching. He is a great teacher. read more

My review is probably not going to hold much value since it's been years since I attended this place, but...I'll write a review just for nostalgia's sake. I will say though that I agree a lot with what Chris H said, especially looking back on Elite. I attended Elite from winter until the spring of 2007, if I remember correctly. That would've been for a good part of my junior year in high school, so that sounds about right, since the majority of students take their SAT's that year. I think I was pretty much like most students here - dragged by their parents and unmotivated. There would be 3 hour long practice SAT's every Friday afternoon followed by classes from 9am until noon every Saturday (the schedule may have changed since my time there). The fun thing about Elite was that I met a lot of cool and funny people during my time there, and I remember how a lot of us bonded over humor and colleges we hoped to get into. Sucks how I never got contact information from any of those people, since some students would drop out of the program or just come and go. But this was pre-Facebook blow up and during those lame MySpace days we're talking, so I guess social media couldn't have been helped back then. But nostalgia aside, the curriculum here pretty much uses actual old SAT tests to whip you into shape. I excelled in the Verbal class since grammar and all that is my strongest point (I scored a 780 on that section on my actual test), did decent in the Reading Comprehension, and did horribly in the Math class. But with the whole routine done week after week, I really think what Chris H said is right - you're pretty much forced to study (in this particular case, the same set of question types the SAT will ask you, over and over). You could do this on your own with prep books, but what Elite does is essentially have teachers guide you through and try sharing whatever tips and tricks they know. Pretty much, they break it all down for you. To be honest at the end of the day, I'd like to say Elite did help me in some way (after all, it WAS $100 or so every week, and I stayed at this place for months). If I recall correctly, I took the SAT once, and I scored a 1960. The course I performed worst in, Math, obviously didn't improve on my actual SAT (I got 600 or so I'm surmising), so I'm guessing that's just something that can't be changed. Overall, this place I think is just a good experience in general. Having people force you to study isn't so bad, and this IS the SAT we're talking about. Although I will say that these days, the UC's don't really seem to give a shit about anything in terms of admissions....people who don't try (or have connections) get into top-ranking campuses and people who do try get into low-ranking UC's. IDK, man. The world's changing, what can we do? But at Elite, you'll make friends in your classes, so it's not too bad. And you'll pretty much go through a big step of high school along with these other students you'll meet - so looking back, it'll be a good memory. But everytime I pass by this plaza or stop on inside to go to Yogurtland, I'm hit with nostalgia. I see my younger days, and being in the real world now...I'd do anything to go back. Suddenly, being forced to study or take a 3 hour practice test doesn't seem so bad after all. So if any of you high school juniors are reading this right now and go to Elite, you are actually lucky right now. Really! Cherish your time and commit to your studies. If anything, you have another 4 years of college waiting for you, and those are going to be the best years of your life. read more

My daughter's SAT score improved significantly after taking the prep course. We are very please with the result (1580). Thank you, Elite!

Excellent Prep for all kids. Guarantee improvement on test scores. Prepared my kids well for SAT test.

Not really worth the money ($3000+ for weekday SAT prep and $1000+ for weekend SAT prep). A lot of my friends, including myself, agree that Elite isn't helping. Yes, we're supposed to know this stuff, but do we remember why/what the concept is? No! It's been years since most of us took algebra or even learned/reviewed English grammatical rules! We don't even remember what we ate for dinner, so how would we remember all these rules as well as new lessons from our current grade level? In other words, Elite doesn't teach. They'll show you what you get wrong on your weekly practice test and they'll show you how to do each math problem you got wrong (they should so at least a couple so forgetful students can learn easier/faster ways), but they won't show you why did this or that--basically they don't give you any context or background info. As for English, they never have a clear reason as to why it's this answer and not that one. It's always something vague (ex: "you can infer it from the text"). Moreover, none of my friends and I have really sharpened any skills... We may have dulled them, in fact, because elite teaches differently and it's confusing to our standard school method (and again, they never give any background context to the math formula or the grammatical rule). Also, I've taken this SAT prep all summer and I still don't know how to do a majority of the math problems (it's simple algebra, but they're all worded peculiarly) b/c again, there is never an explanation. They just show you a step by step process. My computer could do better (hint: Mathway, purplemath). To top it off, my reading teacher even admitted she wasn't a real reading teacher--she was a writing teacher... which means we've had 2 writing teachers the whole summer but NO reading teacher to concisely explain why the answer is what it is. I mean, I could give them the benefit of the doubt that they're teaching new common core based SAT... but, I don't want to give them this... because of the staff. Finally, the staff. The teachers are all great people, but the office staff? Not really (specially only a couple of the staff members... both are women and sit at the front desk). They're extremely rude and disrespectful to the students, acting as if the children are incompetent. A learning environment requires respect from both sides of the story. Even the school staff at a normal high school treat you better. This schools getting 2 stars from me because of the (SOMEWHAT) social environment between you and new people to meet. It was also fun when there were lunch breaks. read more

The continuous individual counseling was invaluable and so appreciated. The kid did improve 150+points and the practice tests seemed closely mirror the actual one so thre was no surprise. read more

I took a lot of courses at Elite from SAT prep to ACT prep to even AP study courses and I can confidently say it DOES work. I was definitely unmotivated to go but I can't deny the fact that my scores for both SAT and ACT improved tremendously. Most of the bad reviews here are from students that were forced to go by their parents so it's understandable that they didn't like it or it didn't work for them. The first time I took the ACT I got a 27 and I improved to a 33 at Elite! That is roughly a 200 point difference in terms of the SAT. The directors at Elite always make time to meet with you and they offer different counseling for college apps, essay writing, and even private tutoring. The front desk when I attended were always really nice and usually college students so they understood what we were going through and worked with us. Also, I got to meet a lot of different people from a lot of different places as we bonded over long nights of studying at Elite. You're definitely not going to be going through it alone! Bottom line if you want something easy that won't improve your score much, go somewhere else. But if you want to see real results through your hard work, then definitely check out Elite! I can guarantee your score will improve after going to Elite. read more

My daughter studied one summer here. She improved 150 points for SAT！ Very great teacher.

These supposed SAT prep classes are really just full of lies. Basically you pay them hundreds of dollars for them to tell you what you would be able to read from several SAT prep BOOKS. But why do many people report score increases? Because without these classes they would not be whipped and spoon-fed the information they need to score higher on the SAT or ACT. Basically you are paying them to force you to study. This does work though it costs a lot of money. If you really actually wanted to score well on the SAT and had the willpower to actually read some SAT prep books, Elite would just be a huge waste of money for you. This place is run professionally by Koreans, however many of the classes are not taught by Korean teachers. For example, one of the best teachers here is a super cool white dude that throws packets of papers at you and is really funny and teaches very well. In conclusion, if you can self-study SAT prep books yourself, do not go here or to any of the other prep classes that do the same thing (such as Princeton Review or nearby ACI). If you need to be spoon-fed information, then by all means Elite is probably the best prep class out of the rest, which is quite a hard thing to do considering there are SO many in Rowland Heights. And in case you're wondering, my SAT in October 2007 after going to Elite and Princeton Review was 1950. After not even thinking about the SAT until one week before Oct. 2008's test and self-studying the collegeboard book I received 2010. read more

Many of the negative reviews on here are from students who have no perspective on life. Some of the reviewers pointed out that this program is a waste of time if you have the willpower to buy practice books and take the tests on your own. This might be true; HOWEVER...how many teenagers do you know who would actually give up part of their free time AND have the discipline to test themselves honestly for 4 hours every week to prepare for the test? Exactly. Any test prep place that promises to teach you "tricks" for the test is lying to your face. There are no shortcuts or tricks to doing well on standardized tests. The only way to get better at something is to practice, practice, practice. And that is exactly what Elite offers. The teachers genuinely care about the students and often stay over class time to give additional help. They genuinely care about the students. The ones who didn't do well are probably the ones who were sleeping or on their phones in class, don't do their homework and/or cheat on the quizzes. This program is not an extension of the regular school program, so don't expect that. This is an optional program, just like the SAT/ACT itself is optional. If you don't want to go to college, don't take the test. If you're not going to try or put the work in, don't expect results. In short, Elite gets you ready for college life. read more

This has been my final stretch of SAT testing review and I'm happy to say that Elite has been my best experience by far. Contrary to other reviews, I have actually studied on my own and found it quite difficult and grueling to understand all of the meticulous and difficult concepts that the SAT consists of. The phenomenal teachers at Elite have helped me improve my score by over 300 points and it's an understatement to say that I'm satisfied. The lessons and work are definitely worth it's ticket price to attend the classes there. Unlike the other reviews on here, I believe that Elite's staff is not rude; they are actually holding their students ACCOUNTABLE for their work which is part of their JOB DESCRIPTION. If the staff wasn't the way they are now- tenaciously holding their pupils accountable for their lessons, work, and grades- I wouldn't be paying that bulk of money that I am to them. All and all, the teachers and staff have shown an interest in individuals and are always willing to help you in any way possible even if it means staying after class hours to discuss a certain topics and/or lessons. Because of the connections I have made with my intellectual and kind teachers, my thinking and disposed tendencies are definitely more suited to do well on the upcoming SAT. I definite recommend sending your child to this branch. Thank you Elite for helping me build my personal and educational future! Thank you for aiding me in the next chapter of my life at UCLA! read more

I took Elite not knowing what to expect and was inundated with the work given to me. By the end of the summer I was exhausted, but I definitely got the results I expected (increased my score 250 points) and ended up at an Ivy League. In order to get the results you expect you MUST attend every session and take the homework extremely seriously. I'm a person who learns best from repetition, however. If you are someone who needs more instruction, maybe this course isn't for you. My favorite part was the weekly SAT mock sessions. By the end of the course I was so familiar with the test that I knew with quite some accuracy how much time I had left on a section and whether my pace was too slow or too fast. read more

The staff has a hard time treating us like "customers" or even students. We are the ones who are paying you. There is no need for attitude or being rude. The teachers are great, they help me alot, but the proctors could definitly be more nice. I'm not asking for the world, but a little respect. read more

My son took the diagnostic test at Elite Rowland Height and his score was 1600. We signed him up for a 8 weeks prep class. He got his SAT scores result yesterday - 2100. We are very happy and contented. He wants to try one more attempt but I advise him not to. I told him to put more on his school studies and tries to maintain a decent GPA. As a mom, and I am very sure including my son, really respect the person in-charge at Elite Rowland Heights - JULIAN. He is very professional, knowledgeable and kind. Make an appointment for your child to see Julian and I dare to say you will NOT be disappointment with his advices and information. Thank you Elite and Thank you Julian. read more

Extremely disappointed with the two young ladies in the front who work here at this location. I would give no stars if I could. Both girls have very bad attitudes, and show no respect for students and parents. I don't know their names, but they don't seem to care about the students at all. Not only do they have no respect for students, but they have no respect for their privacy either. Also, other students' essays, names, and test scores are layed out in front of the desk for everyone to see. Overall, I just want to point out that the two ladies need to realize that we parents are paying a lot of money for our kids. If I'm paying huge amounts of money for a prestigious SAT school, shouldn't these two ladies match up to these standards? Never bringing my children back here ever again. I strongly recommend you go to a different location if you're interested in elite. read more

First of all, you should know Elite is very strenuous mentally and physically. You have to sit in a class for hours for test preparation, and it may not pay off if you do not use the opportunity and resources given to you. If you do, it is one of the best SAT preparation in America, and I would highly recommend it. My son got a score of 1520 on the new SAT (out of 1600), and did well on the essay. I would highly recommend Elite to people who are willing to work hard to get a high score on standardized tests. My son really enjoyed having Mr. Famili, Roxana, and Kylie as his teachers. He thought they were extremely helpful and good at explaining the thought process behind choosing the right answers on the SAT. read more