My daughter started working with Margaret and Laura on her SATs last summer and their tutoring made…read moresuch a difference. My daughter's score ended up increasing by a little over 200 points and they helped her with her test taking anxiety. We decided to also work with Margaret and Laura on my daughter's college applications and they helped her get into her top school. They've checked in with her a few times now that she's headed off to college and I think she really appreciates their support.

From the owner: Admission Allies provides comprehensive and customized college admissions and standardized test…read morepreparation services. Founded and run by two Harvard PhDs, Admission Allies gives you ivy-level admissions prep and advice. **Taking the August SAT?** Enroll in our 4 week SAT Boot Camp Sign up at admissionallies.com/satbootcamp **ALSO now enrolling students for our virtual College App Essay Boot Camp, running 7/31/21 - 8/21/21** For more details: admissionallies.com/essaybootcamp

We worked with NWES from our son's middle school years through high school. He received support for…read morehis math courses. The coaches that our son worked with were consistently excellent. He developed strong relationships with all of them. The rest of the team is excellent too. Everything about the place makes getting help easy. Can't recommend strongly enough!

Our family has worked with NWES for the last 4+ years. We started when our son needed a proctored…read moreexam for the online ed advanced Algebra class he took over the summer before starting high school and he continued to work regularly/weekly with NWES tutor Jason on various things for which he needed guidance over the 4 years in high school. Their sessions were centered on strategy and learning how to organize and develop good study habits and while content teaching was a part of it, our son's growth into a confident student was the most important benefit. The last session with Jason is next week. Our son will be graduating from Ballard High School next Wednesday (with straight As) and in fall he is starting at UW Engineering - majoring in MechEng and Industrial Design. My husband and I are very grateful to Greg and Jason for all the support in last 4+ years. It was really great to know that even though our sone would not really listen to us, Jason will likely get through him and point him in the right direction. It was wonderful to work with NWES. finding them was one of the luckiest accidents!

Both my girls took a free evaluation test (which is good practice and information in itself!) and…read moreupon Steve's recommendation, skipped the class and did a few private session. They had flexible scheduling, were easy to work with and the girls appreciated the sessions - there was no feet dragging when it came to appointment time. Both improved their ACT scores by at least 4 points. Definitely worth the time and money.

I took a condensed LSAT prep course with Steve in January - despite the time constraints, it was…read morevery informative and definitely helpful. My LSAT score improved throughout the course. I can see Steve cares about his students and takes time to make sure everyone is getting enough attention. Plenty of prep materials. Recommend!

The biology teacher never showed up, didn't give compensation, not worth it! Kaplan is betterread more

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE: Signed my son up for the Ultimate SAT Prep course. They sent the…read morematerials for class a few business days before class with an ETA to arrive after class has started. I noticed this and tried to have it delivered on time but the only answer I got was "I'm sorry". They don't fix the problem, they tell you to send an email but don't answer them, they seem to care more about their profits than students.

My son GREATLY benefitted from the tutoring services he received from the teachers at Next Steps…read moreTutoring. We were referred by a friend and have since discovered that other friendsalso love this gem of a learning center. We started with this tutoring company when my son was a Junior in High School. We wanted him to work on self-management and on specific writing and math skills. He was getting a little lazy and scattered. Most importantly, we wanted our son to set some goals for himself and work toward those goals. The support that he received from Next Steps was just what he needed. The staff are highly qualified and really gave our son what he needed, from so many disciplines. Week by week we benefitted from teachers who specialize in math/science, writing, executive functioning, college/career planning and selection, and college essay writing. The pre-college planning for SAT and college essay writing took a lot of time but it was a tremendous growth experience. My son became a student who persisted in finding resources to complete what was necessary at school managed his own assignments and work. His self reliance skills really improved, and his motivation and pride in his work grew. Now that my son is recently graduated from high school and will be entering the college of his choice, I look back and know for a fact that the expert, personalized, focused help that he received from Next Steps Tutoring played a significant role in his success. As he enters college I know that he has tools to manage himself and his learning. In the near future my son will have some pre-college tutoring / success planning from his teachers at Next Steps Tutoring, just to strategize and prepare for his first year at college. I know that these teachers are available by phone or Skype in the future for him. It is so wonderful from a parent's perspective to see the growth of a young person. Seattle folks, give these teachers a call!

We were recommended Verge by the parents of a close friend of our son. When applying for junior…read morehigh school, we did not utilize any services and our son got into none of his top choices. We did not want to make the same mistake for high school and going with Patti and Verge was the best decision! Patti helped us not only with narrowing down high schools based upon our son's interests, but she helped him with essays, school visits and with reviewing accepted schools. Patti also keeps the focus on the students and what they want/need. Our son got into his dream high school and we couldn't have done it without her. We could not have done it without Patti and Verge!

From the owner: With over 25 years of experience in Seattle independent schools, Verge supports schools,…read moreorganizations, and families with the following: school admissions consulting. professional development. strategic planning. leadership coaching.

If you do work with Phyl, I would be very careful to be clear about what it is you want from her,…read moreespecially if you are a transfer student. I met with her several times and decided to apply to colleges based on some of the information she had given me, and she only told me that she thought a particular college was a bad fit for me after I had already applied and gotten in there. On a related note, she also didn't seem to have a very good understanding of professional boundaries. It seemed to me that she was trying to be everything to me, other than what I hired her for. She thought that setting up a meeting with my therapist (for herself or both of us) would be appropriate, but she did not draw up or help me create a list of colleges, based on my preferences, and her knowledge, during the year that I met with her. There may be areas in which she does have expertise, but many she did not, but acted so confident that I began to doubt myself. For example, when I told her that Germany was offering tuition-free school for international students (in 2016-17, a few years after its inception in 2014), she kept maintaining that it was "not actually free". She had no sources for this, and I repeatedly clarified that I was only talking about tuition, not living expenses. Although not as related to her field, in discussing my plans for the possibility of law school after I finished my degree, I told her I was interested in becoming a law professor. She said, "Well, they won't let you be a law professor if you haven't practiced law". I mentioned this to law school graduates I know, and learned that this wasn't true. I do not want to get into a philosophical debate about whether allowing law professors to be completely inexperienced is the best system, I just found it to be a discouraging remark. If I hadn't been able to find more accurate information, I may have eliminated one of my biggest dreams based on misinformation! Finally, she did not seem to understand my family's financial situation, though both my mom and I tried to convey it to her multiple times. For example, when I was thinking of going to the above-mentioned college (that she didn't recommend), she suggested that I take only one course to start, which would have meant that I would not qualify for financial aid at an out-of-state school. In fairness, I may have been a difficult client to work with, and she was able to help me with some applications at the last minute, which was much appreciated.

From the owner: college consultantread more