Paul the Tutor's Education Center

We have been really pleased with this tutoring center. Our child is in 5th grade applying to independent middle schools and had to take the ISEE. His math practice tests were going poorly, and he was also struggling with math schoolwork (especially word problems). Our tutor has been Chase, a very nice young guy who is able to explain complex ideas in clear and simple ways. Paul said he was good with younger kids, and we agree - he's very friendly, positive and patient, and our child really liked working with him immediately. In addition, he's been super flexible with schedule changes, and really a calm, low key pleasure to work with.

And he has produced results: In Dec 2016 our son took the SSAT as a practice run, and scored well on verbal but sub par on math - with very minimal prep and only 2 meetings with Chase. Several weeks later he took the ISEE and scored about the same on verbal (which Chase did not focus on), but improved almost 100% on math, especially those pesky word problems! His score almost DOUBLED on the quantitative tests. In this instance he'd prepped for a little over a month, with maybe 6-7 hrs max devoted to math prep. That's a big jump up, and of course, it's helping with schoolwork as well. Chase has seriously done a great job and we recommend him unreservedly.

I am giving 4 stars because some of what other posters have said is true - in other ways this center could stand some improvement - billing seems chaotic and to this day I really don't know what we've actually paid and what we have not. Their billing person seems haphazard. Also, Paul said he would evaluate our child himself and never did, and has not offered any feedback on his learning style, which he promised he would give in our first, lengthy, conversation. In addition, the center on Piedmont is often without heat - a major issue this winter, so bring a coat!

We have been lucky to work with Paul as well as several of his tutors, and they are all excellent! My son was studying for the ACT and got an average score on the practice test. After working with Paul for about 3 months, his score shot up to a 32! We couldn't be more pleased with Paul's services. He somehow gets into kids heads and gets the very best out of them every time. He has a way for speaking to them so that they really understand and retain what he is teaching. Well worth every penny!

After our great success with the ACT, we worked with other wonderful tutors to help my son with an on-line math class. The high school program just wasn't working for my son- 40 kids in one math class just didn't allow the time and attention he needed. We worked mostly with Kelsey, and she is AMAZING! We call her the math whisperer because she took my son from a C to an A by building up his confidence and finding a way to make the material make sense to him. He is no longer scared of math and while it is still work, he is much happier to have her in his corner. She helps him in whatever way he needs- in person, via Skype, or text. She is very flexible and clearly invested in making sure my son is successful. She really cares about her students and it shows!

I highly recommend Paul the Tutor's and wouldn't go anywhere else for all my children's tutoring needs!

Paul is the best tutor one could go to, especially if that one is a concerned parent looking to position their child with the best possible tools.

He does not teach math, he explains the logic of math. Paul is a principle based teacher, he teaches the logic of the subject matter so the student learns the underlying principles essential for true understanding; I.E. no memorization, but real, god honest understanding of the material.

Just to give you a very, very basic example, instead of saying 5 times 24, Paul would propose something akin to: what if you have 5 groups of 24? And if that didn't work, he would draw diagrams, adapt his language further, and seemed to actually enjoy trying to explain the subject matter; he has a real passion for teaching, is more or less what I am saying, and, for my (older now) and many other/future/your? childrens' sake, it is an effective passion for teaching.

Paul is the crème de la crème of tutors, you could not do better, and would notice an immediate difference, to your relief I am sure.

This guy can take a D student and make them an A student, he is a miracle worker, so long as the child has some spark left for learning, he can be the fire starter.

Not to mention that ultimately, I actually saved more money from Paul's SAT tutoring in the form of scholarships than I paid for the tutoring!

Just in case you are wondering, this an honest review, that is dead on accurate. It's literally been years since I have talked to Paul (7 or 6) and I still sometimes reflect on how much I learned from him. In college and even the work place, his guidance at that point in my life is now invaluable.

++++ he is a really cool guy that teenagers/kids will like.

I emailed Paul when my freshmen finally realized he was "not getting" his math class and no amount of studying seemed to be helping. Paul made contact within a couple of hours. Paul gave me a list of tutors who work for him and were available for ASAP studying (over the weekend) in order to prep for Monday's quiz. My son started with Adrianna. They logged in about 3.5 hours, went through homework, looked at what he was missing, she offered him some test strategies and BAM, he posted his highest grade all quarter, a 86%! Needless to say, he is thrilled that math seems to be making sense, he willingly passed on an end of year event for his track team tonight in order to make his tutorial session. We are looking forward at finishing the year with Adrianna in his corner and hopefully he will be motivated to work a bit over the summer in order to make next year easier. I couldn't be more pleased.

I had the worst experience of trying to get SAT prep here. I did some research and heard Paul the Tutor was a good way to prepare myself for the SAT. However, I did not receive ANY help. Two weeks ago I made a schedule for my consultation that was supposed to be today at 1PM and then they tell me a day before that my consultation could not happen since there was a mix up in scheduling. I understood this and so they set up a skype chat at 3:30PM for me the same day. I received a confirmation email this morning and I replied saying that I would be able to make the call. I included my skype (that I just made for this consultation) and everything. 3:30 comes around and I get NOTHING. I call the place five times and they do not answer. This goes on until 4:05PM where I just give up. This has been so inconvenient for me and this was just the worst service ever. Thank you guys for not picking up the phones having the decency to email me back(:

My son worked with Paul the Tutor for SAT prep. and not only did his scores improve, but the process was well thought out, thorough, and without any negative judgment towards my child's learning disability.

We have worked with several of Paul's tutors for school tutoring and ACT prep. We've had great experiences with all of them. I've never worked with Paul himself though I hear he's good too.

I have watched Paul interact with my children as well as many friends of my children over the past three years. Paul is a big guy with a big smile and sense of humor; He is one of those guys who is outgoing in every situation, meeting people wherever he goes. With children, Paul has a gift for quickly understanding how each kid likes to communicate. He takes work seriously and is frank with kids while keeping an upbeat attitude. Paul has not worked as a tutor with my children, but I recommend him regularly to parents who are seeking a tutor because he is intelligent and simply so at-ease with kids and people in general.

Paul really helped my daughter who was having trouble with the SAT reading section because of her dyslexia. She had a college tutor but that woman didn't understand how to teach those test skills to a child with dyslexia. In 2 months, Paul got her score up 120 points. Paul was very accommodating because we live in SJ, they skyped the lesson once a week. Now my daughter has a combined SAT score of 1910 and she qualifies for many good colleges. Paul is the best!