A little background of where I was coming from before I met Mark: A year prior, I had gone through…read morenumerous classes (in-class, online), drained hours of studying, and learned other people's methods, giving me a good grasp of concepts however, I was plateauing, specifically in verbal. ( V35, V36, V34, V30, V35....) My math has always been strong (47-49) but something subtle behind the way I was approaching verbal was setting me back. Mark taught me how to look at verbal like math by "decoding the matrix" and after taking 10 hours with him, I suddenly clicked. I feel that Mark's approach to teaching not only helped me look at the GMAT in a different light, but also helped by relating it to my everyday life, making it not as dull and monotonous to study. Mark is very energetic and very personable. He really dug in deep with my weaknesses and accessed how I approached the problems. Some things that he taught me are even applicable outside the GMAT. As mentioned, after I tried many resources and tutors, Mark was the one that finally unlocked my testing to V40. Highly recommend Mark Alan Robinson for private tutoring! Tutor: Mark Alan Robinson Company: Veritas Prep Type: Private tutoring Location: Houston Area Time: January-February 2018

I've taken the course twice thanks to Veritas and their no hassle attitude for taking the course…read moreagain for any reason within 1 calendar year. I took the course both times with Mark Alan Robinson. Initially I was steadfast with my engineering "must-solve" mentality and didn't get out of the course as much as I potentially could have 1st time around. The second time was completely different, I took to Marks "unorthodox" approach to viewing problems and solutions to not only make the GMAT more fun, but also taught me the values that CEO's carry with them at all times, but most interestingly, these values were simple enough for a 6 year old to understand. He is very knowledgeable and is very easily accessible outside of class, especially for such a busy individual. His examples usually revolve around people or instances and these tend to stick a lot better than conventional teaching methods (for me personally at least). I highly recommend anybody looking for help with the GMAT to look out for his class. The only thing I'd say is you need to patient and buy into his methods, they may frustrate you initially, but in the longer run, are very valuable information and practices.

STAY AWAY STAY AWAY They took a long time to match my…read morerequest then the tutor quit after 1 session, then 1 week later finally another match who cancelled and then the new tutor cancelled just before the session. It took over 3 weeks to get the tutor who cancelled and after paying for 4 sessions, I used one and they refused to work with me, refused my refund, get diffeernt reps who all they say is I am so sorry,,,do nothing...worse customer service ever...unable to reach managers...no return call..YOU WILL BE OUT ALOT OF MONEY STAY AWAY

Getting assigned to a tutor that had availability took over two weeks. Scheduling is complicated…read moreand even though I requested sessions up to two months out, they were never confirmed until the night before or morning of, often changing shortly before the scheduled time. The tutor was not helpful, only providing generic tips and tutoring. Nothing was tailored for my child unless I asked for it. Nothing was assigned to be worked on between sessions. It was only when we asked were we told we could work on some assessments if we wanted. Even then, we had to ask to go over them and discuss what was missed. My child's scores actually went down after 3 months of tutoring. He gained nothing from this experience. Would not recommend.

I learned about Advantage Testing from my friend at work. I asked her for some tips to prepare for…read moregraduate school, and she recommended me to get a tutor at Advantage Testing for a kick-butt GRE score. The tutor that we both ended up having was Mark. He was really nice, smart, and had a knack of breaking down the information and making it easy to understand. Added plus, my scores and brain power are on the up-and-up in such a short amount of time! In addition, the office staff was very nice and courteous too! They put me at ease with all of the offered services and made sure everything will work out with my schedule. Note: Be prepared to budget $$$$ and give yourself plenty of time to take your final test and all of the practice tests. If I remember correctly, the tutoring company recommends 3-6 months of preparation with at least 10 (ten) scheduled practice tests. I did it in 6-weeks with 2 (two) practice tests. I don't know where they found these tutors, but they are geniuses. Super geniuses. Thanks for reading! P.S. My other friend said that he paid much more for his GMAT classes. So, in the end, I had a good deal with the 1-on-1 help.

From the owner: Private tutoring for high school, undergrad, and grad students. Prepare for SAT, ACT, AP, ISEE,…read moreSSAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT. Admissions counseling for high school, college, and business, medical, and law school. Online and in person. For more than 35 years, Advantage Testing has provided the nation's finest private tutoring and test preparation service. Our approach is rooted in meaningful educational growth, not tricks or shortcuts. Your tutor will personalize your program to unlock your full potential and help you excel in every subject, test, essay, or assignment. As one parent notes: "My son after just his first session said, 'I learned more in that one session than in months at school!'"

My wife was disappointed. Paid an initial consult fee but ended up getting no more information than…read moreI would get with 5 minutes of searching online and a discussion with my realtor on high school choices in Houston. My wife felt like she could not get Dr. Hayden Shumsky channeled into a specific answers but a lot of general discussion - maybe you need to visit multiple times but our questions were quite simple. They could possibly be better at Career and College choice help. Our questions were more around public / private school choice in the Houston ISD area. Nothing too complicated.

The Shumsky Center helped my son tremendously. So far he was offered three different college…read morescholarships which I think was directly attributable to their help! This was time and money well spent Hayden knew which colleges were strong in the area of interest to my son. He guided him through the process. He supervised the selection, application, essays. I only wish I had started my son on the ACT/SAT tutoring earlier. I highly recommend

I was initially a little skeptical about taking a test prep course simply due to the cost--I wasn't…read moresure that it would be worth my time and money. However, Manhattan GMAT far exceeded my expectations. The rigorous homework load helped me structure my studies and immerse me in GMAT preparation. The Socratic teaching method turned the classroom into an active learning environment. The material was excellent; it was far better than the Princeton Review book I had been using. Finally, Joey, my instructor, was excellent. He had a passion for the material and was genuinely interested in the students performance. The course is very fast-paced, and to get the most out of it, you must do all the homework. You need at least ten hours per week to dedicate to the course outside of class to maximize the benefit of the course. Simply sitting in class will not be very rewarding. Manhattan GMAT allows you to sit in on the first session for free, which I would recommend. The classrooms at this location are very nice. There is also a kitchen with a microwave, so you can heat up your dinner.

GMAT score improved from 650 to 740!…read more I've never been very good at standardized tests. For me, the GMAT was the most intimidating part of the business school application process, and it almost kept me from even applying. My biggest takeaway from this experience: don't give up hope if you get one bad score! Fully explore your options - if the regular class/online sessions aren't enough for you, consider working with a tutor for several sessions (it really does help you go from knowing a subject well to complete mastery of that subject!). For me, it was definitely worth the investment. As I was starting out, several colleagues recommended that I try Manhattan Prep based on their positive experiences with the program. Being someone who wanted to do a self-study program vs. a classroom program (just my personal preference), I decided to purchase the Interact package. Overall, I thought the Interact package was very well done - it's engaging, covers a lot of ground, and really teaches you the fundamentals of how to approach each type of problem. Over the course of the program, I got to the point where I was scoring pretty consistently in the 680-710 range on the MPrep and GMAC practice tests, and since my goal was to score 700, I felt like I was in a good position to take the actual test. I ended up getting a 650 on my first actual test. It was pretty demoralizing. I decided to take MPrep up on their offer for the Post Exam Assessment (with Jamie Nelson) and had really good results so booked two more sessions (I was matched with Eric Garthoffner). Jamie Nelson: I had a wonderful experience with Jamie on my post-exam assessment. She did a ton of homework beforehand, and closely went through each of my practice tests (and my enhanced score report) to really get a sense of the areas in which I was struggling. She picked up on errors I was making on a consistent basis that I never would have realized on my own. We then dissected each of these problem types and she provided customized problem sets to work on these weak areas. I saw improvements in my next practice test and decided to invest in several more sessions. Eric Garthoffner: I spent around 4 hours with Eric over two sessions. He really transformed my approach to studying for the quant section. We spent a lot of time on strategy (both test prep and actual test day strategies), and on pattern recognition / short-cut application. Like Jamie, Eric was very good at identifying areas where I was struggling and created a customized study plan to help me improve in my weak areas. I gained a ton of confidence on the quant and significantly improved my timing. Overall, I had a great experience with both Jamie and Eric. The sessions were very complementary to the other MPrep materials and helped me power through that last mile. Importantly, both Jamie and Eric were great motivators and taught me how to approach and study for problems in a more effective way. Based on my experience, the extra tutoring is well worth the investment if you don't quite get your target score initially. I ended up getting into two top-five business schools in round one, and could not have done that without the help of MPrep (or Jamie and Eric).

CCLS is a great place to learn a new language! I've learned so much! The teachers are experienced…read moreand also keep the classes fun.

The best Spanish classes in town I really like it easy to understand and the teacher are amazingread more

I called one afternoon totally flustered not knowing what to do. I talked to Audra and she calmed…read moreme and said everything would be OK. Literally within hours Bethany was standing at my front door. Thank you Rice Tutors but especially Thank you to Bethany Hammons for taking my daughter under your wing. Not only have you changed her perspective on math but you have lifted her confidence and made her realize she is capable of anything she puts her all into. Bethany helped her double her test scores in just weeks. She is patient,nurturing and a great listener. I LOVE Rice Tutors and Bethany Hammons. We wouldn't go anywhere else!

I got SAT tutoring from them and it unquestionably helped me. I would say that it boosted my SAT…read morescore by 50-100 points.

Although Kaplan offers great online resources and test preparation materials, I've been extremely…read moredisappointed by how unreliable they have been with their in-person classes. I'm an elementary school teacher trying to transition out of the education system, and I learn best in a classroom setting. I specifically enrolled in Kaplan's in-person course, but my classes in Houston have been canceled twice, and both times I was given only last-minute notice. I planned my entire summer break around these classes so I could make the most of my vacation and prepare for my next career step. Instead, the repeated cancellations have completely disrupted those plans and delayed my progress. The only remaining in-person classes Kaplan offers conflict with my work schedule once the school year begins, leaving me with no real choice but to take the online course--a format that I know is not effective for the way I learn. This experience has been incredibly frustrating and has made me feel that Kaplan's in-person program is simply not reliable for students who are depending on it.

So, disclaimer: I've only taken the MCAT once. And I used Kaplan for my test preparation. Since I…read morealmost got my target score (yay!) I never had to retake it or use another prep service. However, a friend of mine used Princeton Review so we've compared often, and I've used their books sometimes. Kaplan is good for people who need experience in test-taking environments, but for the MCAT I don't think they shine in content or even the quality of their materials. Multiple books, the online system, etc. had typos, wrong answers, missing information. So I'll try to focus this review on the teachers and facilities. One teacher dropped our class after 3 visits because she was too busy. Another teacher told us he wishes he hadn't gone into medicine (he wanted to make money). Facilities- this center (next to Bally's) SUCKS. It's old, decrepit, and frankly for all the money we pay Kaplan they could at least move to a better office building. The elevators creak and groan so half the time you anticipate a sudden free fall whilst you review your chemistry flash cards. The temperature- ARCTIC COLD. Even when it was 30 degrees outside it was still freeeeezing inside. Upon complaining, the front desk said that they couldn't control the temperature, it was set for the whole building. The building would also randomly shake- perhaps people at Bally's were dropping the free weights? The bathrooms- always dirty, always out of toilet paper and paper towels. WTF?? Since the building is open until at least 10 pm the janitors should be there that long as well. But noooo, they only service during business hours (8-5 pm), but again that isn't Kaplan's business hours! Parking can be difficult from 4-6 because of the peak Bally's time. Props for it's close proximity to Antone's, mmm I'm craving a poboy right now...

The advocate you want in your greatest time of need. This is not just one person, but a team of…read moreexperts who care about you and your child. They bring a depth of knowledge and experience to their intuitive approach to helping match families with solutions. Shay is an incredible mix of touchy-feely, intuitive, listening, and connected - with a fierce side of get 'er done. This is the team of experts you want when trying to advocate for your child.

Shay and Karen have been by my side through thick and thin. They have always been understanding and…read morecompassionate and helped me find my way. They have helped me navigate through those hard times and continue to be considered dear friends I can always reach out to. Shay and Karen truly saved my life. I am not a parent, I am a young adult who has been working with them for the past 3 years. They have stepped in and helped me when I could not rely on my own parents. They have treated me as a friend, and mentee, and almost as if I am one of their own. I love them both dearly. They have been by my side through the rough times and they have been on the other side of the bride to see me come out with success. They have guided me every step of the way. If I ever need someone to talk to in the middle of the night I feel safe calling either of them. I truly have a unique bond with them than I have ever had with any counselor or therapist. I recommend anyone needing help with counseling or treatment to run straight to them for help. They know what to do and will put you in the right direction. I even had someone tell me that Shay and Karen are a "BIG DEAL" in the recovery world. I feel honored to be their client and have such a strong bond with them. You will not be disappointed!!!!