Ivy Admissions

(46 reviews)

0.9 mi

Best for SAT prep. Focused preparation on identifying weak areas and targeted coaching to get…read morebetter.

The tutors are highly supportive, and the private lessons were extremely productive, helping me…read moreimprove my kid SAT score in a short amount of time.

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C2 Education of San Mateo

4.0

(12 reviews)

1.2 mi

We signed our kindergartener up for a package of tutoring. It was not cheap but it is worth it. My…read moreson is learning two languages and has been under a lot of travel lately - not a proper structured school. I wanted to make sure he got ahead before 1st grade starts. He is learning a lot with Anuja and he really likes her. He leaves every session feeling more confident and proud of himself. It is worth the price knowing that my son is building confidence and setting the foundation for the next 12 years of his school life. And update: My son said "I like learning at the learning center better than my school" and he attends one of the best school in this entire region. So that was pretty exciting to hear how happy he is here..! He really enjoys Anuja!!

Stating pure facts in a timeline format, in case C2 tries to disguise the issue…read more On 9/28/23, we reached out to C2 to extend my son's hours, to use them for SAT prep in 2024. On 9/29/23, we received written confirmation that the hours were extended. On 8/28/24, we reached out to C2 to use those hours that were extended. We were informed that the hours had expired in 12/23. We showed them proof of their written confirmation from their center director. We waited around 2 weeks for a resolution. Eventually our messages were ignored. Sign that contract and buy those hours at your peril. Stay away and find an honest tutoring company.

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Huntington Learning Center San Mateo

(24 reviews)

3.0 mi

We are incredibly happy with our experience at Huntington Learning Center. Our first grader was…read morestruggling with reading and I felt lost in terms of how best to support her. She just couldn't seem to focus and was falling behind. In the 4 months since we started, I have seen great improvement in reading skills, but most importantly, an increase in her confidence and reading is less of a battle with us. She is happy to be there, loves her tutor, and most importantly, enjoys reading. More recently we have had to switch to online tutoring given the Shelter-in-place order. I was very worried that our successes would come to a halt. It took some adjusting but the tutors and center have been creative in finding ways to keep her engaged and focused during our video sessions. We have our good days and our not so good days when my daughter is less engaged, but the best is when she tells her sister about how fun Huntington is.

Our granddaughter has been going to Huntington since second grade. She is currently in third grade…read moreand we have seen how she has improved and gained confidence in her math studies. The way schools are teaching math today differs from how we learned many years ago. It can be frustrating for parents and grandparents to help with this new math. Our granddaughter likes her tutor and doesn't complain about going to tutoring and having someone else explain concepts (even though we wish the school that we pay for did a better job at this). A tutor can take the frustration away from us and our granddaughter which helps her to be more open to learning. Huntington has been flexible when a schedule change is necessary. Additionally, it is nice to see how our granddaughter has improved when we meet with Huntington for her progress reports. Admittedly, it is not inexpensive, but our hope is that it will give her the confidence and foundation to be successful in math in the future. Thank you to Geetanjali and Casey.

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Mathnasium

(18 reviews)

2.2 mi

Our daughter loves going to Mathnasium and is always excited to attend. This is a huge reversal…read morefrom her prior experience at a prior after-school math program, which left her uninterested and feeling ignored. She loves the tutors at the Laurelwood center and frequently tells us all about how much fun she has had with them. We also appreciate the relative similarity between Mathnasium's curriculum and that of the local public schools. This helps the kids either practice what they're learning at school, or if they get ahead of their grade level, use their school work as a reinforcement for things learned at Mathnasium.

Before my daughter started at Mathnasium, she did not like math. There were gaps with her math…read moreskill and understand that I just don't know how to fill them. When my daughter started with Mathnasium, Angie knows exactly how and what area to focus on. A detail plan was given and surly my daughter progress beautifully. With just two hours a week for the past year, my daughter is all caught up and started to enjoy math. The best part is there is no homework and I no longer need to figure out which and why a particular area in math is troublesome for my daughter. My daughter tells me that she "needs" to go to Mathnsaium otherwise, math does not make sense for her. I highly recommend it and could not be happier.

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Green Academics

(19 reviews)

1.9 mi

Chris is an outstanding counselor. He helped me write my essays for UCs and the Common App and…read moresupplementals for schools such as NYU and Columbia. His organization and the information he provides about all of the schools are amazing and reduced the stress of having to research all of the small things for each school I was interested in. The way he guided me to write the essay was efficient and saved me a lot of time as I didn't have to write the same essay for another question that was similar to the last. I was able to finish my essays by August. It was a big relief and the whole process seemed very manageable with his help. His ability to provide fluidity in my writing and his knowledge of college admissions helped me especially because my writing was "impenetrable" or difficult for someone who didn't know me to understand. Besides the support he gave me with essays, he was also very easily accessible and understanding. I had his number and if there was anything that came up in the way of a meeting, I could just text him and I got a response in less than an hour. Any rescheduling of a meeting was simple and caused no trouble. Chris is a very straightforward person and gave me the support and advice I needed to write my essays. He is also pretty funny and a down-to-earth person which helped as meetings didn't come as something I didn't want to do. Chris was a great college counselor and I recommend him as his understanding of the application process and his ability to tutor and write were a great help.

I come from a non-traditional educational background, having gone directly to the US Air Force out…read moreof high school, only to stare down my UC undergraduate applications at the age of 29. Chris helped calm my nerves during the entire process. Chris is patient and has a unique talent of channeling your talents with the best possible outcome. He reassured me that my uniqueness had value. He got me talking about my achievements, made me feel proud, and helped me coalesce my thoughts into an essay that won me acceptance to Cal. In fact, after my acceptance into Cal, the admissions team asked if they could publish my personal statement to help other prospective students. Out of thousands of applications, they remembered mine! I highly recommend Chris for anyone who struggles to put their thoughts to paper for a personal statement. Thanks to Chris, my life trajectory changed in ways I never imagined. Chris has also tutored me in other areas such as Math and Writing. Learning never ends and Chris is unceasingly helpful in all aspects of my life. He is the most incredible writer I have ever met. I also plan on using Chris' services when I enter the work force after college. Meticulously written cover letters, resumes and thank you notes will put you above the rest. Thank you Chris. I am forever grateful.

Winston and Katie a few years ago

All-hands-on-deck company meeting

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Four out of these five siblings have done fantastically thus far, and the fifth is proceeding apace!

AJ Tutoring

4.7

(31 reviews)

1.5 mi

Certified professionals

Offers customized solutions

My daughter started working with AJ Stevie on Algebra 1 this spring as she prepares to enter high…read moreschool. Stevie is very patient, kind, and easy for teenagers to connect with. Since he studied physics, he is also incredibly talented in math. My daughter often says that he makes math much easier to understand, and that has really helped her build confidence before starting high school. He also regularly communicates with us about my daughter's progress and learning goals. This is very important to parents.

Not an effective program. Our son did the group SAT prep class. He studied, practiced and did all…read moreof the coursework outside of class. IThere were no real improvements among his 3 practice test AJ Tutors administered. I asked the instructor about this and he said it was typical but let's see how the SAT goes and then we can assess if we want a 1:1 session (more $$ of course). We received the SAT scores and the total score has no improvement. After the 2nd practice test I inquired if we could get a list of question that were answered incorrectly so we could focus/revise studying and it didn't happen. The program is very expensive to not see any gains or meaningful improvement in overall test score from the practice tests. Instructors should know how to get students past a plateau.

SAT Prep

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The Right Approach to Education

(19 reviews)

2.2 mi

The team at The Right Approach provided amazing support to our kids including tutoring, test prep…read moreand college application support. They created a wonderfully supportive and encouraging environment for our kids that reduced anxiety and stress and enabled our kids to take full advantage of the support they were being given. The support for college application process support was top notch and both of our kids got into their top choices. We can't say enough about Jamie and the team at The Right Approach and strongly recommend them to anyone seeking tutoring or help with the college application process.

I am VERY happy with The Right Approach To Education and so grateful for all their services! My…read moreson just finished up 1:1 homeschool tutoring for Physics & Chemistry, which eased up my teaching load considerably. Charlie was a wonderful fit for my son - very engaging and encouraging. My son even said that class was FUN (which he hasn't said about any subject for quite awhile, ha ha!) I highly recommend TRA & their high-quality teachers!

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26 Alpha Prep

(11 reviews)

2.9 mi

Ruby helped my son prepare for both the PSAT and SAT, and we found her to be friendly, helpful, and…read moreextremely effective. To prepare for the PSAT, my son took a group course with Ruby, and he found her advice and guidance extremely helpful. His scores on practice tests improved quickly, and he ended up scoring in the top 2% of all California students. For the SAT, we arranged for him to work with Ruby one-on-one, and he again found her advice to be valuable and the preparation extremely helpful.

Highly recommend Ruby for SAT math tutoring. My son needed a math tutor for his SAT prep. Ruby…read moreunderstood my son's needs, reviewed chapter by chapter, which my son found to be very helpful. With her help my son was able to score 1550 on his SAT. We highly recommend anyone who is looking for SAT math tutoring give Ruby a try, we did and it paid-off big time.

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Cardinal Education

3.4

(9 reviews)

1.4 mi

Teachers here are underpaid and the management team is extremely unresponsive to requests, from…read moreteachers and from parents. Would not recommend.

Awful service. They do not provide what they claim. Tutors are not trained well. Look elsewhereread more

CE is a member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization of leaders in admission counseling.

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Lucent Education

(31 reviews)

2.3 mi

I got in contact with Agnes again to have a professional edit my MBA application essays. I cannot…read morerecommend Agnes enough. I have never been a strong writer, and while I had an idea of what I wanted to write about, I was not satisfied with the way in which I had written my essays. Agnes was able to help me convey my ideas in a more compelling manner. Furthermore, Agnes was able to provide advice on what would resonate more with the admissions officers and help me refine my ideas. I was extremely busy in the months leading up to the application deadlines, but Agnes' quick turnaround time allowed me to edit each essay enough times and until I was happy with all of them. After sending an essay back to Agnes for revision, she replied with a date by which she was able to edit my essay by, allowing me to plan ahead. In the end, I was admitted to Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, and Kellogg School of Management. I strongly recommend Agnes to anyone who needs help with their essays.

My son is a high school senior. Agnes did a one-on-one call with me and answered questions via…read moreemail and then did a one-on-one call with my son. Agnes worked with my son on everything from application strategy, timing, resume, essay edits and strategy. She spent time every week catching up with my son and was a true partner. He showed me some of the multiple edits she worked with him. She helped him narrow down his reach/ possible / safety choices (and some new ones) and worked with him on an Early Decision 2 and his regular decisions. My son is smart but has poor organizational skills and timing was never his strong suit. Agnes was great in keeping him on track and making sure he was progressing on time. He and I were happy that he got all his essays done and applications out. My son got into his first choice via ED2 so we were thrilled (unfortunately we had already spent money on regular decision applications but all is good). Would recommend Agnes for any parent looking for a partner for this child.

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Super Munchkins Academy

(9 reviews)

1.7 mi

SUPER MUNCHKINS IS THE BEST! My husband and I had a hard time deciding where to send our son after…read moremy mother was leaving the area and would no longer be able to assist with daytime care duties. We looked at multiple facilities, but felt right at home when we toured Super Munckins Academy. The teachers Michael, Romaria, and Liliane are all very kind and caring. I have seen them treat all the children as if they are family. My son has always been excited at drop off, relieving a lot of anxiety when we first started daycare and every day after. I always know that he is in good hands and am never stressed or worried during the day. Every time we pick him up he is smiling ear to ear. They provide frequent status updates and photos throughout the day which is much appreciated. They also utilize baby sign language as well which really helped foster our son's communication skills. In addition to this they taught my son to say please/thank you before 18 months which, I will tell you, is the cutest thing ever. They do daily teaching activities and go to the park as well. They get a lot of outdoor play as well which my son loves. They are able to accommodate special requests as well (ie early nap time if needed based on appointments). Both my husband and I work 8-5 most days so we were worried about finding a place that could accommodate our work hours. Michael worked with our schedule and was able to plan early drop off/pick up for us which was much appreciated! They even are able to provide weekend care with advanced notice if one of the teachers are available.

My daughter has been at Super Munchkins Academy for 1 1/2 years and I am completely pleased with…read morethe level of care she receives there. My husband and I really appreciate the atmosphere this home-based daycare provides as it is important that young children enjoy their early years from infant-preschool. It is more than a family based daycare (note 14 kids is the maximum enrollment) as the program mimics preschool curriculum and teaches kids ABCs, shapes, coloring, name writing and whole lot more. Special kudos for introducing different languages- they speak Spanish and Portuguese and this place is well diverse. The teachers are all very caring and attentive to her needs and have been instrumental in her preparation for kindergarten. Each day (weather permitting) the kids have outdoor play and they visit different neighborhood parks, visit the library, and seasonal parks. One of the many perks is that they utilize the Bright Wheel App where they post many pictures and short videos throughout the day, so parents can see how their children are up too:) The location is ideal too as the home is next to SMPD, library, various shops and minute away from Foster City, 101/92 freeways. I too, agree that Super Munchkins Academy is a true gem and we are so grateful to have our daughter go there. She always talks highly of her teachers and her friends she has made along the way. If you are in the Peninsula and looking for a daycare/preschool for your child, do not hesitate to contact SMA and get on their waitlist. THANK YOU so much Super Munchkins Academy for you all that you do. PS- the photos here are a bit outdated as they have renovated their home. Check out the backyard- it is phenomenal!

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Wonderland Day Care Preschool

(9 reviews)

0.5 mi

We've had our daughter here since she was 6 months old and our son since he was four months old…read more She is now three and he is almost two. We have seen their social skills and eagerness to learn and play thrive here. Oksana has always been communicative and patience with our kids. Our son loves her aids Nora and Natalya. We highly recommend Wonderland Daycare to anyone who wants their child to start off on the right step.

Our son started at Wonderland since he was 1.5 year old. He's 3.5 yo now. We are very grateful for…read morethe care, education, nutritious meals and fun that Wonderland offered. We visited many daycares when we were looking and Wonderland stood out. Many daycares do not offer lunches and for those that do, the meals are really subpar: a couple *very* expensive daycares we toured had these sad looking cheese pizza and carrot sticks for lunch, or mac and cheese, or sad pieces of chicken nuggets. Oranges that come from fruit cups. At Wonderland, Oskana makes fresh homemade food, soups with vegetables and proteins, oatmeals, fresh fruits. That to us is a really big win. All the caregivers at Wonderland are genuinely kid people and we feel the warmth and care that come from them when they interact with the kids. That is also really important to us. Working with kids requires a lot of patience and I can't imagine sending my son to someone to whom it's just a job. He spends so much of his days there. We want him to feel loved, engaged, comfortable, happy and that's what he has been! They have music classes twice a week and it's a great idea! The kids are exposed to different instruments, dance, sing, play with music. Many times my son would surprise me on what he knows that he learned from daycare. Like the alphabets or days of the weeks, months of the years the first time he excitedly recited them to me. They do a lot of activities and projects and had a lot of fun. The outside times are great as well. Most importantly, we feel very safe sending our son there. Oksana, Natalia, and Khrystyna are all very attentive and pay close attention to the kids. Oksana, Wonderland owner, is really easy to work with. She's highly capable, responsive, professional, reasonable, flexible. She cares a great deal about the kids and her business, and always strives to provide the best care. Having experienced being really stressed out about finding the right care, I would highly recommend Wonderland to any parents who want a peace of mind when sending their kids to daycare.