The Princeton Review

Buyers beware!!!
My son took the Princeton Review P-​ACT exam through his high school to determine his level and which test would be better for him: ACT or SAT. He scored 27 on the ACT part of the test. We enrolled him to the ACT ultimate small group course in June 2015. On their first test on the first day, he scored 24, which is significantly lower than his previous score. So just by enrolling in the course, he already «lost» 3 points. The goal of that, we learned in hindsight, was to have his baseline score as low as possible, so they can later claim my son’s ACT score did improve, when in fact, it did not.
Long story short, he took the course, took the test, scored… you guessed it right, 27. Took the refresher course online, took the test a second time, got a 28.
When I called to exercise my money back guarantee, Princeton Review claimed my son did improve his score by more than 3 points, and therefore we are not entitled for money back. Like we did not see that coming.
So basically, it’s the oldest trick in the book: we give you a really hard test as a baseline test, then we teach you nothing, you «improve» your score back to where you started, and we get to keep the $ 1500.
Shame on you, Princeton Review. You have one very very upset customer. I will do whatever I can to convince others to never take your class ever again.

Brian NGUYEN of Princeton Review, was ranked the best tutor my daughter has ever worked with, and our other tutors are generally PhD candidates. We had private sessions with him to prepare her for the ACT exam, and her results both improved and were great. His attitude was always positive, patient and supportive and he ended each session with a special treat for the whole family. I know he also offers review classes, but for us, the convenience of in-​home tutoring, especially with Brian, was well worth the cost. I can’t offer high enough praise.

Alvin, my tutor, was the best and I would definitely recommend him. He helped me raise my score from a 29 to a 33. Also, he’s super cool guy and was very professional!

After posting my negative review, and seeing Allan’s response, I reached out to him. He was very concerned with our satisfaction and offered a private phone call for tutoring help. He talked with my son twice, reviewing areas where my son could improve his score. My son took the SAT twice after these calls resulting in a final best score of 1920 and an improved essay score from 8 to 10. Allan also offered a free ACT class if my son chose to take it. I appreciate his concern to make the situation right.

I used the Princeton Review across from UC Irvine (at University Town Center) in order to prepare for the GRE. Everyone at Princeton Review was very professional and helpful. They made me feel comfortable and at ease. Heidi was my tutor and she did an excellent job through and through! She was flexible on meeting times/​locations and explained everything very clearly so that I could understand the material. It is obvious that she has a lot of experience. I took the exam twice and my scores improved markedly as a result of Heidi’s tutoring. My official scores were well above the requirements for admission to my graduate program of choice. I highly recommend this Princeton Review center and Heidi as a tutor.

I think when it comes to MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) preparatory courses, The Princeton Review is gold standard. I work full-​time and do not have much free time to prep for this test. Furthermore, I make way too much money to feel motivated enough to study for this exam on my own. I took the 7−10PM class in Irvine over the summer, and the instructors that I had were all wonderful:
Biology: Neha was very knowledgeable and resourceful. She seemed to have an extreme type-​A personality, which in my opinion, made her a perfect fit to teach the biology section.
Physics: Aki was very knowledgeable and knew how to explain complicated topics. I have a degree in electrical engineering and a degree in chemical engineering, but was impressed with how he was able to explain some of the topics.
General Chemistry: Lucas was extremely knowledgeable about chemistry and the MCAT. I appreciated his down-​to-​earth teaching style and insight on the MCAT. His experience prepping for the MCAT resonated with me.
Organic Chemistry: Ameer was an awesome instructor, and I thought he did a very good job navigating the class in a very difficult subject.
Critical Reading: Vik was very articulate and insightful. This guy’s class was very enjoyable, but I stopped attending it half way through because I didn’t need much help in this area.
Psychology/​Sociology: The classes were conducted online. The Princeton Review really needs to refine and improve the classes for this section. I personally did not gain much from their online psy/​soc classes.
In addition to all that I stated, the books and online resources provided were all vital in my preparation for the MCAT. The course was expensive, but I think it was worth the money.

After working with various SAT tutors, The Princeton Review finally gave me what I had been looking for. I did a couple privates with Allan Pulido, and he was amazing!!! He was not only an excellent teacher, but he made learning really enjoyable and he was super easy and fun to talk to. Before, I always felt as if the tutor did not comprehend my way of thinking, and therefore could not identify my errors (or help me fix them for that matter). Allan was completely different: he had worked with so many high– scoring students that he knew exactly how to help me. Allan also tried to work on building my confidence, because honestly, that was the key factor in my case. I was getting the same score for months, and when I finally took the real SAT (after my sessions with Allan) my score increased by 100 points!
The Princeton Review also provides free practice tests sessions, which were vital to my progress.

I have actually never taken a course here but was frantically looking everywhere for any free OAT (Optometry Admissions Test) exam. My test was a week away and I was desperate for any additional practice. I called the office and was greeted by Nicole. No OAT Practice Exams were given around that time. However, she offered to send me one of their OAT practice tests I can take/​and time myself at home. Three days before the test, I took a picture of my answers and she personally scored my test and even sent me my OAT score report the day after. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE, Nicole!

My son worked with Heidi at Princeton Review in preparation for the ACT. She was wonderful to work with. She helped him raise his score and was very flexible with his tight schedule. I have no problem recommending her and Princeton review.

*Coming from the point of view of the daughter of this Unilocal user*
When I first began my private tutoring sessions with Allan from Princeton Review, I knew that this was different from any «boot camp» that claims to prepare me for the SAT. Rather than focus on rote memorization or waste away time with busy work, every lesson was spent with my tutor explaining how to understand the questions being asked and different techniques to attack each section of the test.
Not only did Allan effectively prepare me for the exam, but he also made each lesson genuinely enjoyable. Allan is extremely easy to talk to and he definitely lightened the pressures of preparing for such a critical test for my academic future.
Overall, there is absolutely nothing negative that I could say about the Princeton Review. Communication, punctuality, and resources were never an issue. Coming from my standpoint, this unique program can effectively help anyone attain their goal score for any exam. I would definitely recommend to anyone.

Friendly welcoming staff who are ready to assist both parents and students.

Tutoring at Princeton Review is amazing– my tutor, Ms. Stein, is extremely patient and helpful. She explains each mistake I make carefully and even answers my emails when I ask her questions outside of class time. I would definitely recommend this institute.

I found Princeton Review at a college fair in Arcadia one day and I heard Allan Pulido speak about the SAT there. From when he first started talking, I knew that he was different. He understood high school students and I immediately sought him out. He helped me one on one as I prepared for the SAT. He was understanding and knew how to get me to think about the SAT in a way that I could get.
Allan was not only there for SAT support but also moral support. When I felt down about the SAT, he helped encouraged me. Princeton Review helped me prepare for my second take of the SAT by providing a FREE Online Refresher Course, which was helpful in my second take of the SAT.
I loved my time with the Princeton Review and I found it extremely helpful. Also I highly recommend Allan Pulido. Just talk to him for a little bit and you’ll see why he’s different and helpful.

For the MCAT: So I’m re-​writing this review because I’m a bit disappointed with my 2^nd experience with TPR. Physics teacher is ok, Chem and O. Chem teachers are probably the best and Bio is pretty good. I’m taking away a star because the worst section right now is CARS (critical analysis) because we basically haven’t had a steady teacher since the beginning of the class and right now it’s week 5. neither of the ones they have brought were very helpful in my opinion. They need to DRILL us with passages and more techniques that help with the short test time. All the online material is very helpful obviously but I wish the physics and CARS class/​instructors were way more effective and interactive. Especially since these are the hardest sections (at least for me they are). There is also no in class section for the psych/​socio part which I find really odd considering its a section on its own on the new mcat.
Overall, the material is great and there’s plenty practice material… but $ 2000 worth? Steep price for a class size of 20+. There is plenty of practice for me to do both online and with the textbooks/​materials provided with the course so even if I don’t get what is taught in class, it’s easily self taught online.

We used Princeton review and would not use them again. They are very over priced and really seem insensitive about how much you are spending if you need additional training. It’s all about getting you to spend more and not what’s best for your child. Try Elite!

Read the reviews and look how many people are disappointed about last minute cancellations of classes. I was informed 4 days before classes were to begin that classes were cancelled.
This is obviously a recurring problem with this tutoring center.
My advice: Go elsewhere… you do not need the stress of this unreliable and unprofessional center