Emily and her staff have helped our family through both high school homework help, organizational…read moreskills, and college SAT prep in uniquely professional and thorough ways. The process for understanding who your child is, who your family is, what is at the core of the need, and adjusting and checking in along the way are beyond compare. I am an educator, and worked with many tutors and tutoring services over many years, and these folks, with Emily at the mast, really find a unique and effective balance. They have a no nonsense approach, are goal oriented, target with professional skills, and have a human approach. They know how to meet families and kids where they are, wont shy from giving advice, and they really know the landscape of all the different schools in the area, even down to the curriculum expectations; they know students they serve well. This experience of local schools alone is a huge experiential leg up. I am an elementary educator, but they helped me with my two very different high school kids journeys. I am VERY confident they can do it all, K-12! This place is the BEST!

Study Smarter was terrific in helping our daughter (and her parents!) through the college…read moreapplication process. Everyone we worked with -- Ariel, Joel, Mel -- was professional, thoughtful, and connected well with our daughter. They built trust with our teenager, coached her throughout the process (school selection, test prep and essay writing), listened to her and evolved their recommendations as they got to know her. The bottom line: Reduced stress in the process and (we firmly believe) better results in admissions and financial aid offers than our daughter would have achieved without their help.

I can't recommend Strategies for Learning highly enough! Natalie and Michelle have both been just…read moreamazing. My son (6 yo) has a number of learning disabilities and tonight he was able to accurately recite the entire alphabet to me (twice!). For parents with kids who struggle in school, it is the small victories that matter so much and to see your child make such a major improvement in only three months is just amazing.

We worked with BJ McIntyre and he was really great. He is kind and fun and was really curious about…read moremy kid and what she needed to succeed and feel positive about herself as a student. The strategies he taught her have helped so much. We would definitely recommend!

Brittany and Ben are wonderful tutors and mentors, excellent at teaching both STEM and…read morehumanities/social studies subjects. I am someone who needs concepts explained to me in several different ways, and they are able to adjust their teaching style to fit my needs. I also have a difficult time staying focused, and they are good at keeping me engaged in whatever I'm working on. Brittany tutored me from 7th grade through the end of high school, and has even helped me with some of my college coursework. In middle school, I was a year behind in math, and she helped me catch up by tutoring me in Pre-Algebra over the summer before 8th grade. With her help, I passed a placement test that allowed me to take Algebra as an 8th grader. Brittany then helped me prepare for the ISEE in 8th grade, which got me into my top choice school, Head-Royce. When I started at Head-Royce in 9th grade, my classes were much harder than at my previous school, Oakland School for the Arts. Brittany helped me transition more easily to taking rigorous college-prep courses. She helped me with English and history throughout high school, including APUSH. She was also my SAT tutor and helped me with college application essays. Ben helped me with math during high school, and the math section of the SAT, and substituted for Brittany when she travelled to Guatemala. Unfortunately, they don't tutor high school science, so I had to get another tutor for Chemistry. During my first two years of college (I will be a junior this fall), Brittany gave me invaluable essay-writing strategies that not only helped me write large research papers, but personal statements for my transfer applications and for applying to the Honors College at my university. I highly recommend Ben and Brittany. I'm a strong student now and owe a lot of that to their constant guidance and support. I highly recommend them to any parent who wants tutors that will adjust to their kid's unique needs, and more importantly, truly care about them.

Brittany is an amazing tutor. She started helping me with geometry my sophomore year all the way to…read morecollege admissions. She is such a hard worker, and has helped me in so many different ways throughout high school. She's assisted me in geometry honors, precalculus honors, SAT prep, college applications and so much more. Brittany has been an invaluable source of knowledge and advise, and I can honestly say that I would not have succeeded as much as I did without her help. But the thing I cannot stress enough is that she has such a enormous heart, and truly cares deeply about the students she tutors. She will go above and beyond for each and every one of her students to make sure they succeed. Brittany is honestly one of a kind, and I am so incredibly grateful that my parents chose her to tutor me.

Great teachers, kind staffs! The lectures are good quality!…read moreBut the price is inexpensive I took TOEFL class. My English skills were so improved I think I've made a right decision

I took TOEFL with Adam. He is the best teacher ever I had in my entire language course: 18 months…read more He is fun and motivating. IIC Oakland has a decent size campus, student teacher ratio is super good. Very good for studying. Their SF campus are conveniently located in but Oakland are spacious and newer. Teachers are in Oakland enthusiastic. Do you want to learn life in America? come to Oakland, right next Jack London Square, you can walk down the harbor walk. grab some sandwich from subway, get some ice cream in Ben and Jerry. IIC has got flexible schedule.

Achieve Learning and Resource Center is a dynamic organization built to serve young people and…read moretheir families as they navigate school based learning. I had the pleasure of working with Madison who took on the role of Tutor Coordinator and Regional Manager for our group of young men in Oakland. She provided an outstanding tutor and many resources for us to build on. Madison and Achieve still follow up and provide strategies and opportunities for our young men. I would recommend them to anyone looking for affordable, tutoring, SAT or College Prep assistance.

We are very disappointed in achieve learning and resource center SAT prep course. They have been…read morevery unorganized. The tutors are kids and they let kids leave early and chose to do or not do certain things. I paid good money and expected way more. They should be clear that they pretty much just hand out study guides ( which you could just buy and do on your own ) and have kids do them. I was expecting a little help on problem areas. No such luck. I would not recommend them.

Audrey is the best writing coach I've ever worked with. She is attentive, kind, and offers great…read moreediting advice. Audrey's rates are also the most affordable I've found. I highly recommend working with her!

From the owner: Audrey is a USC and UC Berkeley alum, born and raised in Menlo Park, CA. Audrey began working in…read moreeducation more than 12 years ago at a private Palo Alto early childhood development center, where she later became the lead kindergarten teacher focused on accelerated math and reading. She has tutored college student athletes in French, taught English in Vietnam, given ukulele lessons in Spain, and teaches salsa dancing in Berkeley. She was a straight-A student from public elementary school to private college prep school, and graduated from universities summa cum laude with degrees in International Relations and Nutrition Sciences. Since 2023, she has been employed by OUSD as a substitute teacher. Audrey's style of tutoring helps students find answers on their own and build confidence. Her love of teaching is contagious and her main goal is to make learning fun!

My son returned to Sylan after taking a break for a few years. I liked Sylvan before, and I am…read moreparticularly impressed by the current staff there. When I told my son we were going to re-start sessions at Sylvan for his writing, he entered the building crying. Anthony the Center Director was very patient, developed a good rapport with him that calmed him down, and spoke to him in a way that put him at ease. He seemed to sincerely care about understanding what was going on, to be sure my son was seen, and make that connection. I feel that conversation started my son on the right foot. He believes the staff really cares about his success and about him as a person. My son now really likes (!) going to Sylvan because he sees it as a positive place where people are looking out for him. He has told me a few times that Sylvan exactly prepared him for the work he was doing in class. He had a private tutor before this, but he feels Sylvan's methodology and staff are much more effective for him. His writing is much improved, and the results in his report card show it! The other aspects of what I appreciate about Sylvan compared to a private tutor is that there are several teachers, so there is no missed lesson if schedules don't align with one person ... there is always someone who can give a lesson. Some of the staff are / were school teachers so they are very skilled. Also, you can easily ramp up or down with more or less sessions as you need, and sometimes they can easily identify when other aspects (e.g. grammar) get in the way of the skill you're trying to improve (e.g. writing). I really like that flexibility and those resources with a great staff. During Covid, Sylvan was quick to seamlessly move to online tutoring so students did not need to miss any education. I think Sylvan Piedmont is very well run, with a talented and caring team. I highly recommend it!

We enrolled at Sylvan to assist our daughter with her transition to 6th grade and the increase in…read moreschoolwork that came with it. They have really helped her with the fundamentals of the math and writing that she was struggling with upon arriving to Middle School. The teachers are nice, friendly and give her the motivation that she needed to power through. Thanks Sylvan!

I had an amazing experience working with Gourdy. He helped raise my ACT score a ton and was super…read morehelpful with all my college essays, from private schools to UCs. He really knows what he's doing and made the whole process way less stressful. He was also a big reason I got into UC Berkeley, which I'm super grateful for. On top of that, he's really knowledgeable but also funny, so sessions never felt boring. Definitely recommend if you want someone who actually makes a difference.

Gordy is an exceptional college counselor! He kept my son on tack and met all the deadlines even…read morewhen we had limited time. He was encouraging and used virtual services effectively. I also liked how he created google folders and made the whole process of essays and tasks easy and even fun! I would highly recommend Gordy!