FAQs

AJ Tutoring offers the most efficient and effective way to improve your student’s score. Most students improve about 100-150 points in only ten sessions. We are the only group with a proven track record of improving students’ scores in such a short time.

We are also a team of professional 1-on-1 tutors. Other groups hire high-scoring tutors whose main focus in life is elsewhere. We are committed to teaching full-time. We do very little advertising: all our work comes from the great word of mouth of our clients. In fact, AJ Tutoring is the outgrowth of the private practices of Aaron Andrikopoulos and Joe Niederman. Our main objective is to provide the best education to each student.

We meet students at home, online, or at our tutoring locations across the Bay Area. We tutor students seven days a week until 10 pm, including Saturdays and Sundays. Find the location most convenient for you! 

AJ Tutoring has locations in:

• Burlingame
• Danville
• Lafayette
• Los Altos: Fremont Ave.
• Los Altos: San Antonio Rd.
• Los Gatos: Highway 9
• Los Gatos: Los Gatos Blvd.
• Menlo Park (Practice Test/Admin Office)
• Menlo Park (Tutoring Center)
• Mountain View
• Orinda
• Palo Alto
• San Carlos
• San Jose
• San Mateo
• Saratoga
• Woodside

Academic Tutoring = Ongoing support for school subjects
Test Prep Tutoring = Focused preparation for standardized exams

In addition to test prep tutoring (SAT, ACT, GRE, ISEE, HSPT, MCAT, etc), we offer comprehensive academic tutoring across a wide range of subjects, from mathematics and sciences to humanities and arts. Curious about a specific subject? Just ask! We’re well-versed in school curriculums throughout the Bay Area, boasting extensive experience coaching students across all subject areas, and we are renowned for delivering results.

Yes! We tutor for almost all of the AP courses and AP exams. Our AP test tutors have extensive experience preparing students for the AP exams.

Learn more about how our AP Tutors can help your student get a great AP test score in AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP US History, AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science, AP Art History and more…

We use three important benchmarks to judge a good score: 

1. Does the new score represent a significant improvement over the previous score? We use this question to judge the success of the tutoring process.
2. Does the score represent the highest score the student is likely to earn? We address this question when thinking about retake strategies.
3. Is the score in or above the range for the colleges to which the student is applying? This is ultimately the most important benchmark.

It depends on the college, but we estimate that SAT/ACT scores impact admissions by about 30%, grades & course load are 60%, and extracurricular activities & essays are 10%. However, for “test-optional” or “test-blind” schools, other elements of the application become even more important.

Most public schools will simply look at a student’s highest overall score from a single test date, regardless of the breakdown sections (Reading/Writing and Math).

However, most private schools will mix and match scores to generate a “superscore”; they will take the better Reading/Writing score from the March SAT, for example, and combine it with the better Math score from the May SAT.

Taking the SAT or ACT more than once can be beneficial for many students, especially if they are still improving or didn’t feel their best on test day. Many students see score increases the second time around.

We suggest taking the test in the fall of their senior year of high school. Only select colleges require students to submit all of their testing results. Most colleges allow students to submit their best scores, so students have an incentive to take the test several times to get the best score possible. 

Most students score about the same on both tests. We caution parents not to make premature judgments about which test is better for their students. Instead, have your student take a timed practice test and make your determination based on concrete results rather than speculation. At AJ Tutoring, we offer free proctored practice tests to our clients.

Most AJ students prepare for the SAT and then only need three or four additional lessons to be fully prepared for the ACT. We can also successfully prepare students for both tests by starting with the ACT prep and transitioning with a hybrid program to the SAT test.

If scores matched grades, there would be no purpose in having scores; colleges would simply judge students based on their grades.

Students’ scores are lower than their grades when their course load is not rigorous or they simply struggle with test-taking skills like time management, guessing strategy, and question interpretation. At AJ Tutoring, we specialize in assisting students in bridging this gap and conquering the SAT and ACT.

Identifying a great match between tutor and student is crucial to 1-on-1 educational success. All of our tutors are professionals. They have college degrees and join AJ with prior tutoring experience. From there, we provide training on their specialties and offer regular support from leaders and department heads. Thus, you can rest assured that all of our tutors are incredibly knowledgeable in the subjects or tests they tutor. That said, each individual has a unique personality and approach. To find the best fit, we’ll speak with you to learn more about your student’s unique situation before recommending the right match. 

Register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com

Register for the ACT at www.act.org

Typically, two to three attempts yield the best results, ensuring improvement without inducing burnout. See testing schedule »

Yes! We never lock our clients into fixed programs, and our billing is hourly. Although we usually meet with students for ten 90-minute sessions and cover content and strategies for all test sections, we are happy to do fewer or more sessions. We can also focus exclusively on one aspect of the test.

Please email our practice test coordinator at

info@ajtutoring.com.

You are welcome to bring your friends who are prospective AJ Tutoring clients.

Tutors come to their academic sessions with a variety of resources to help meet students where they are. Students are encouraged to bring schoolwork (including notes, homework, and completed assignments) to help guide the lessons, but every academic tutor is trained to customize the lesson according to the student’s needs and goals.

Each tutor spends the first few academic tutoring sessions talking with the student about content, study habits, learning style, and test preparation strategies. At the same time, they teach and support the student directly with their schoolwork. This information provides tutors with the tools to write a holistic academic plan that is shared with the parent a few weeks into the tutoring, after which tutors continuously refine and execute the plan to best fit the student.

Yes! We have Summer Bridge and Enrichment courses and Winter Break courses for students who are hoping to take advantage of the time off to reinforce previous content or explore new information and strategies.

AJ Tutoring takes a minimalist approach to tutoring, both to help students build independence outside of tutoring and to meet the needs of students with very busy schedules. We typically recommend one 90-minute session per week for high school students, although we may recommend additional sessions for students coming in with high needs (e.g. those who are very behind or need help studying for a final exam).

One of the greatest advantages to 1-on-1 tutoring is that it is one of the most highly recommended accommodations for students with IEPs or Section 504 plans! Even students without formal accommodations will find value in highly customized attention. While our tutors are not educational psychologists, they receive resources and training for how to help students with accommodations. We are always eager to learn more about a student’s needs during the intake process.

While our academic tutoring began with primarily high school students, we now have a robust K-8 program for elementary and middle school students and a growing college program for students who want to continue their tutoring after high school.