Read what Acuity Admissions’ clients have to say about our work:
“My twin daughters are dedicated students who have overcome some medical difficulties and family eccentricities that, in their everyday lives, they have worked hard to hide from view. They were intending to approach their UC applications the same way, until we started working with Brian at Acuity Admissions. Brian was AMAZING about changing their outlook, and about helping them (and us!) to see how their background stories could make their applications stand out in a way that maximized their chances of admission, rather than hurting them. Together the three of them worked to produce brilliant essays that were informative but moving, and even hilarious when they needed to be. Our daughters are succeeding beyond our dreams at UCLA and have definitely proved they belong, but they wouldn’t have gotten there without Brian’s expertise and creative input.”
-Jay C. (parent), Culver City
“I first worked with Brian as an ACT tutor in my junior year. I tended to freak out a little bit because of the importance of a good score to my college chances, but he kept me sane while teaching me everything there is to know about acing the test.
But where Brian helped even more was with my application to Stanford, where I had an opportunity to play football as a preferred walk-on. I wasn’t actually being recruited, so it was super important that my application made the case for me as a football player while also demonstrating my strengths as a student. I don’t know how I would have walked that line without Brian’s help — he knows sports almost as well as he knows writing, and I was really proud of the application I produced with his help. I’m even prouder to be entering my third year at Stanford, majoring in Product Design and playing with a great group of guys for Coach Shaw. Thanks so much to Brian and Acuity!”
–Harry S. (student), Los Angeles
“We know plenty of parents from our elite high school who hire private admissions consultants because (to be frank) they simply can’t manage to work side by side with their kids on their college applications. I’m sure that Acuity is built in large part on that kind of work, but in our case it was the opposite: we hired Brian because he was committed to working with both our kids AND our family, together.
While Brian was (appropriately, from my point of view) primarily responsive to my son and daughter’s personal statement ideas, he was also careful to take all of our parental inputs into account. And in each case he was respectfully critical: he pushed against the ideas his experience told him weren’t our best options, and steered us considerately toward alternative paths that preserved our preferences while putting a better shine on what we had to say. Ultimately, both sets of applications were brilliant, and we have been ecstatic about the results: Princeton and the University of Texas!”
–Leonard Z. (parent), Los Angeles
“With the help of our school College Counselor and the essay workshops that he went through in his AP English class, my son wrote what we thought was a great essay for Early Admission to Harvard, but his application was rejected. Of course there could be lots of reasons for a rejection, but we brought Brian and Acuity in anyway, and my son’s writing was totally transformed. Together the two of them found new topics to explore, and brought new perspectives to the topics we were already considering. Overall the result was a much more honest and searching account of my son’s strengths and experience, that worked perfectly with the rest of his application, and honestly made me tear up a bit when I read the finished product. Best of all, the people in New Haven agreed. My son got into Yale in the regular admissions cycle, and he couldn’t be happier. I only wish we would have brought Acuity in sooner.”
–Stephen B. (parent), Pacific Palisades
“Brian was practically a member of our family for almost 10 years, while he worked with and mentored all three of our vastly different kids in almost every subject imaginable, from World History and English to Calculus, Chemistry and Physics. He dealt admirably as well with his fair share of high school drama, and he was indispensable when it came to test prep and college application counseling.
Brian has a great instinct for when to focus on learning overall, even at the expense of a short-term grade — and when to zero in on immediate success. He always kept our sons’ and daughter’s long-term benefits and well-being foremost in mind. He was reliably brilliant, patient and caring. We’re so grateful that, in a household where my wife and I were often pressed for time because of work, he was here to serve as a friend and a positive role model to all of our children.”
–Mark N. (parent), Los Angeles
“Brian is the G.O.A.T.!”
–Elan Z. (student), Princeton University
“My oldest son wrote his entire Application on his own. My wife and I pitched in after it was done to try and edit and help, but we don’t have very much experience so we weren’t sure we were giving the right kind of advice. Luckily we found Brian the “college application ninja” online. He gave us detailed and quick feedback which we used for our son to turn in an application we all liked a lot better. Thanks Acuity admissions!”
–Carlos A. (parent), La Cañada Flintridge CA
“Brian came to us highly recommended by friends and other parents in the area, and he didn’t disappoint! Not only did he work with my two older sons to prepare them for their ACT and SAT exams, but he also whipped them into shape with their college applications. From making the most of their extracurriculars to helping them with essays that popped off the page, his input was essential in getting BOTH of them into Yale. We can’t wait for Brian to work with our younger son too!”
–Lara P. (parent), San Pedro
“All of the usual superlatives apply: Brian at Acuity was professional, punctual, and steeped in all kinds of knowledge about the full range of standardized tests my son had to take for his college applications. I happen to know (from listening through the kitchen door during lessons🤭) that he was brilliant too about helping my son apply all that knowledge to the actual exam materials. He (Brian) is just a really personable and patient guy, which goes a long way in this kind of business.
One specific thing I wanted to add: my son is a tirelessly hard worker, to the extent that he’s almost masochistic about his preparation. At one point in the process he hit a plateau with his SAT prep: his practice scores were holding flat or even declining. Most parents when faced with this would push harder, and I know most tutors would too, especially when more work means more fees to collect! But Brian went a different direction, and diagnosed the problem as overpractice/overfamiliarity. He convinced my son and me that — against every bone in our being — we should give things a rest for a couple of weeks and see what happened when Austin came back to it. Lo and behold: his scores ticked up again, and at the end of the day he comfortably beat the score he’d been aiming for all along. We loved the way Brian was flexible enough to think outside the so-called box, and we were grateful for how much he was willing to put our son’s needs over his own “bottom line.””
–Suzanne B. (parent), Santa Monica, CA
“Brian worked for years with my older son, helping him with advanced placement classes and then with ACT prep and all sorts of college admissions help. We valued Brian so much for his intelligence and sound advice, and for the incredible knack he had for bringing out the best in my son’s application essays. But if there’s one thing I would say that Brian did the most for our family, it would be the way he had of keeping us all calm. We went through a lot of crazy life changes during the time Brian was in our weekly lives, and sometimes that craziness spilled over into the academic realm, but Brian was always poised and reasonable. He always knew what to do next, and he was always right about how it would pay off down the road. If you haven’t hired him yet, you should do it as soon as you can! Don’t let him get away.”
–Anita G. (parent), Pacific Palisades
“My dad always says, and I agree, that Brian would be a bargain at twice the price! He’s a great tutor.”
–Patti H. (student), Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
“Brian worked with both of our high school sons on ACT preparation and on college admissions consulting. He really helped my older son to fill in his “list” with college possibilities none of us had considered beforehand. And with my younger son he was incredible about orienting his background in a way that aided his athletic recruitment (he’s now a golfer at Willamette University) without making him seem like a one-dimensional applicant. Brian is a gentleman and an engaging person all around, he knew almost everything there is to know about the college application process, and he gave us exactly what we needed without ever pushing us to sign up for more. We’re so grateful to have had him as a part of our family and our community!”
–Tracy D. (parent), Culver City
“Our daughter Hannah is an excellent student who had Ivy League aspirations going into her senior year of high school. We interviewed the handful of admissions counselors in our area (outside of Santa Fe, NM) but none was the right fit, so we took advantage of the wonders of technology and found Brian (and Acuity), online. He was experienced and affordable, and worked within our budget to help Hannah present her background in a way that would appeal to the colleges she was targeting. Thanks to his help, she’s now in her sophomore year at Brown.”
–Elizabeth G. (parent), White Rock, NM
“Brian worked with our kids on ACT preparation, and helped them both to much higher scores than they could possibly have achieved on their own. In our opinion he was a much better tutor, more comprehensive and at a much lower rate, than any of the other “expert” test-prep tutors we encountered in our area.”
–Shane S. (parent), Torrance, CA
“Brian was recommended to me by friends whose daughters had worked with him in the past. But I’m a mom of sons: and I was worried that my boys wouldn’t want to listen to some “nerd” who showed up to work with them on testing and colleges and math. But with my boys Brian was a “dude,” which I mean in the best possible way. Maybe because he has sons himself, he really connected with all three of my kids in a way that made for a great working relationship. We’re so happy with Acuity and with how everything turned out for our family.”
–Chaille D. (parent), Culver City