The results said it all. My daughter was successfully admitted to all of the schools she applied to. THANK YOU, HS2, for guiding us through the entire application process. JoAnn ( our counselor) was so amazing, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She made the most hectic application experience feel like a breeze. We were well organized and focused from the get go!!! As a parent, I highly recommend HS2. It's definitely money worth spend knowing that we received professional guidances at any time we needed. My daughter also found the homework club extremely helpful; it was a great resource throughout her high school years because she could always get quality help whenever she needed. read more

I hate it soooooo much. Makes my kid do so much stuff, doesn't care about my kid at all, piles my kid with stuff, gets personal in a bad way and just wants money read more

I should read these reviews before I paid HS2. I went to their seminar, thought all they introduced were true and paid. Just wasted money and time, too late to regret! The head counselor in Arcadia branch is not nice any more after I paid. I understand making profit is important for business, but should be honest! Hope my post could help some parents not to waste money and time with this place! read more

I joined HS2's counseling program in my sophomore year and can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I ever made. From helping manage my GPA and plan my testing to helping me find and apply to summer programs during my sophomore and junior years, my counselor Daniel has been there every step of the way. Unlike other counseling where the counselor rarely interacts with their student outside of meetings, Daniel constantly kept in touch with me to make sure I was doing well in school, help edit my summer program applications and plan testing. When college application season rolled around, Daniel worked with me to condense my personality and the last 17 years of my life into a nice little package to present to colleges. He helped me decide on which schools I was going to apply to, edited my essays, prepared me for interviews and kept me on track to meet deadlines. When I was struggling with my workload and was entirely unmotivated to do my college applications, Daniel would sign me up for essay workshops (he brings food!) and make sure that I did not fall behind with my essays. Throughout my entire counseling experience, Daniel has been positive, friendly and encouraging. Thanks to him, I now have the option of calling Cambridge, Massachusetts, my home for the next four years. Overall, HS2 is a great place for college counseling and I highly recommend that you sign up! read more

Counseling services are good quality. Some of the counselors are really experienced! Tutors are top-notch and help you stay on track in the Homework Club. Overall, the place is very organized, from essay worksheets to homework logs to college app checklists. read more

Amazing counseling for those that are or think they may struggle in application season. College application season is incredibly complicated and will make your head hurt. I can say that joining HS2 was one of the best decisions I've made. I can't speak for other counselors, but Daniel, my counselor, made sure I was on track and got my applications in hassle-free back in November 2013. He also helped me apply EA to as many schools as possible to increase my chances of admission because of my competitive major, computer engineering. Through Daniel's help, I've received decision notifications from 5 schools already, deferred by 1 and accepted at the other 4, 3 of which are in the top 7 schools in the nation for computer engineering/undergrad program. THANKS HS2! read more

I go to Lynbrook High School, and a lot of my friends there have used the counseling services at HS2. I joined in my junior year, and my experience with my counselor (April Major) really helped me through the college application process. During my junior year, I was able to get a huge headstart on college apps, as well as prepare/choose my summer programs, extracurricular activities, and classes. Ultimately, I had no idea that the college application experience would be so overwhelming, and both April Major and HS2 allowed me to get through it while juggling senior year and my extracurricular activities. I didn't sign up for any tutoring/prep classes there because I found them unnecessary, but it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. I can definitely recommend going in to at least check out HS2's counseling service though. As for my counselor, I've heard only positive reviews about her so far (from friends and personal experience), and she really helped me with my schedule, activities, schoolwork, standardized tests, and especially college apps/essays. What I've learned from HS2 is that if you put in your own effort, you'll get the maximum benefit out of HS2 and your counselor, who are there to guide/help you, not apply for you. read more

Loved the place. Found them to be very helpful. Mandy the director is awesome. Highly recommend if you have a high schooler. They ensured college apps become a manageable effort without being too daunting. read more

Before your very eyes, senior year has rolled by. My peers are stumbling over each other to figure out what colleges to apply to. "When do I ask teachers for rec letters?" Some of them won't know the existence of the counselor until weeks after early apps were due. I have to say though, in comparison, my college season went by like a breeze. My counselor, April, greatly aided in cutting down my essays, and her foolproof brainstorming sessions left me full of ideas and motivated not to disappoint her. I started my essays during summer vacation due to HS2's advice (or else I would have also procrastinated from the sheer amount of work). There were so many seminars about how to fill out each different application that I was fully prepared by the time they rolled around. I was a late bloomer in a lot of ways, college essays were one of them, so I had trouble finishing up to my deadlines (which were put at a much earlier time so that you'll actually be able to enjoy your winter or even Thanksgiving break... For the first time in four years.), but April was 100% accommodating to my schedule and occasional (or not so) bouts of hysteria. There was never a time that I was confused about anything during the first semester of my senior year because the all-knowing April waved her magic mouse and produced lists and infographics that dispelled the urban myths. My counseling experience was so good that I would automatically give this place five stars. I highly recommend April and still have the cat book that I was supposed to give her on Christmas for all the pain I've caused. The essay editors there are very good at their job and seem to specialize in different things, so altogether you have a very thorough edit of your essay. Emma is great at fixing content, while Garrett is amazing at word choice (whatever message or atmosphere you're trying to get across will be amplified ten fold by the magic unicorn poop that is the Garrett-word-choice-express). As for other benefits, so many diagnostic tests, which in comparison to other diagnostics gave me the closest score to my real score. As for things that have lowered my experience by a star: - Students look like they're very well-cared for by personal tutors at HS2 during homework club, but the one class I took there for SAT II Math has made me realized that the quality of the class highly depends on the motivation of the students in it. People in my SAT II Math class didn't care so much, so my experience was not as enriching. - One cannot simply sit passively while the counselor paves out everything for you and lays you a plush carpet for one's majestic feet to tread upon. AKA You also have to look for opportunities to stand out in application. This might be a difficult concept to understand when planning out all your activities and clubs. Counselors are there as guidance, not maids. - I did have a counselor before April (Infidelity? Sorry April!) that I was officially paired with by Highland Testing. Highland Testing itself is very accurate, but my old counselor and I were more like siblings and not very productive. Many of my other friends also said that their first-paired counselors were not necessarily the best. On the bright side, it's easy to request a switch. The four stars I am giving is as a student who has been there for counseling (planning activities, checking grades, SATs/ACTs, essays and all) since sophomore year. Since I did not sign up for classes here, I had much to compare to between taking up classes at other tutoring places such as IvyMax and Flex. All have their own benefits, but I highly recommend this place for its counseling. read more

I don't recommend to go to HS2, my child's grades are not good so we decide to go to HS2 and paid $17000, but my child quickly lost interest to go there because he can't get help, and my child's grades were even worse after he joined HS2. Because my child is a quite boy so usually he could not ask questions to tutors actively, that means teachers there don't help students individually if students can't ask questions. even worse when we quit HS2 just in more than half year or so, but we can't get a penny refund back!!! read more

My daughter joined HS2 when she was high school freshman. The initial meeting with their director was encouraging, because they would bring up some good points and showed a great deal of care. However once you paid, things became dramatically different. Their assigned counselors seemed to us have no passion about what they are doing, and are mostly in transition to their next permanent gigs. My daughter expressed her idea of becoming a dentist. And the counselor told her to go to a bio related summer camp at U of Michigan. It would cost us thousands of dollars. We reviewed carefully at home, and realized it was mostly for agriculture related bio studies e.g. soil analysis, insects, plants and stuff. nothing to do with human health. When we told her our findings, she had no clue. Overall, we felt they just try to get by after collecting money. Don't even think about refund, or partial refund after regretting joining them. Their service is useless to say the least, and can be misguiding if you get a wrong counselor. read more

I'm so glad that I joined HS2. As a child of first generation immigrants, I knew nothing about American high schools or the college application progress. Everyone at HS2 was extremely kind and patient in answering my questions. Huge shout out to Daniel S for being an amazing counselor. He guided me throughout my high school experience and college application process. I highly recommend the Cupertino HS2 branch! read more

Honestly, coming here helped me so much throughout my college application process. My counselor, April, was really helpful throughout application season, and I knew that I could always count on her to help me. Though it was a stressful time, April and the other essay editors really helped me stay on track and focused. I was finished with my apps before all my friends! And it was great to have winter break free and to have time to study for finals. The SAT and ACT prep here also really helped me during the summer. The classes may have been slightly long, but the teachers were mostly cheerful and they tried to make class as interesting as possible; they could really have a conversation with the students. The counseling process is definitely recommended though. If you can't afford everything (because it really is very expensive), you should try for the counseling at least because my counselor helped me find so many programs, classes, or opportunities outside of school and really allowed me to become more organized. I was so scared sophomore and junior year, but every time I came back from a counseling session, I felt like I had just gone to therapy. I could really talk to April about my school stresses and she was always willing to help with classes or supplemental materials. I became less anxious about my future because April helped me plan it out, and that has honestly been the best thing about HS2. read more

One of the WORST tutoring centers EVER!! I recommend anyone who is trying to apply for college to never go here! My mom told me to drop by this so called "academy" to see if i could get information and get help on applying to colleges for next year. So i decided to stop by my local one. Boy was i sorry that i ever stepped foot in this place. The lady that i talked to was rude, condescending, and made me feel like crap! I feel that i am a very strong candidate to get into any schools that i apply to, but apparently according to this lady i would be lucky if anyone accepted me. No tutoring place should ever make their potential customers feel like they have no future or chance of getting into a college. I came into this facility with an open mind because i did some background work and read through their website. It looked like it stood for strong morals and the hope that everyone can succeed. WRONG!! After feeling that i had been told that i would never go anywhere and why should i even try. I went home upset and had low-self esteem. Maybe their other locations are more polite and respectful of their clients but i just went for an initial meet up session and i came out feeling like crap about myself. read more

I can't vouch for every single HS2 branch but from what I've experienced at the Cupertino branch, I can say that HS2 has been immensely helpful for me. I joined as a sophomore and my counselor, Daniel (who I am convinced is the best counselor you can possibly have), helped break down the overwhelming and intimidating experience of what we know to be as high school and college applications into manageable and achievable steps. Like most sophomores, I had no idea what I wanted to do, what I wanted to major in, what career path I wanted to take, and quite honestly, college still seemed like a distance away. But Daniel helped shape my interests into something I could actually pursue in college. At HS2, you meet your counselor about once a month but Daniel personally stays in touch with all his students between meetings too - to the point where there isn't even that awkward teacher-student relationship anymore. I have friends who go to other similar counseling places and it just doesn't reach the personal level that HS2 does. After all how are they going to help you if they don't know what you value, what your interests are, and who you are as a person? Daniel has done more than just help me find summer programs or edit my essays; he has shown me random YouTube videos (he was the first one to show me Ylvis!) at the end of meetings, offered coffee during the late essay workshops, and above all, has become like a friend who just happens to know a lot about college stuff! Do I even need to mention the details like how he will help you make spreadsheets to organize all that confusing college information? Or how he stays up just as late as his students (like 3am) to edit essays? Yeah, the counselors here are awesome. If you're like me, you are probably skeptical of this college counseling thing. Maybe even a little disgusted - at least I was once. You're afraid that you're going to go into this, be forced into taking classes you don't want to take, be molded into someone you're not, all for the sake of having that "perfect" college application. But the counselors here aren't like that. Daniel always considered my own opinion, my parent's opinion, and somehow managed to find a middle ground. HS2 isn't going to push you in a direction you don't want to go but that doesn't mean that they're going to do nothing if you don't know where to go! They'll help you find your direction and your goals and from there, yes, they're going to push you to challenge yourself and achieve those goals. Everyone has different capabilities and they recognize that. We're not all Ivy League status and HS2 certainly isn't going to magically elevate everyone to that level. Reach your own highest potential - that's what they want for their students. read more

Being the first child, I didn't know anything about the college application process. My counselor at HS2, Daniel, helped me with everything! He really got to know me and suggested extra curricular activities that suited me. He kept me informed about applications, gave me suggestions on different colleges, and helped me edit my essays. He reminded me about upcoming deadlines and was very reassuring when I was stressed out. read more

HS2 academy didn't meet our expectations at all. The first meeting was very impressive but the actual experience was totally different from what they promised. We got a decent counselor, but her leader wasnt helpful. When we asked for a change, we couldnt get that done without changing the counselor. So we decided to stay on. Right at the peak of application season, the counselor quit and it affected my student really badly. The new counselor didnt help choose the right ED college. With a few years of counseling experience, it should be pretty simple to guide the student in that decision. The group leader was also not very helpful. The initial counselor was very optimistic about the colleges we choose, but without proper guidance, my student ended up in waiting list for all of his private college choices. It ended up as a very bad experience after paying a huge fee. A parent could've done a better job than this. I will not recommend HS2 to anybody. read more