Sylvan Review

Wednesday, June 7th

2023 Tutor Agency Reviews

Sylvan

• Personalized tutoring starts at $49/hour
• Academic coaching starts at $199/month

Sylvan Learning Center has been providing learning resources for students for over 40 years. The company consists of franchised and corporate learning centers to help students with homework support, study skills, reading, writing, math, test prep, and much more. Sylvan primarily serves K-12 students, but also helps with college and career readiness, STEM programs, and test prep.

Historically In-person, Recent Move To Online

Sylvan has historically only provided in-person tutoring at one of their over 750 locations. However, due to the effects of COVID-19, Sylvan implemented an online tutoring service for students to learn remotely. This really opened up opportunities for students who don't live very close to one of the physical Sylvan locations. Tutors video chat with the students and tutor just like they would face-to-face.

Locations Easy To Find

It is easy to find Sylvan Learning locations on their website. You can simply type in your zip code or search by state. In addition to having facilities all throughout the US, they also have locations in Canada and other international areas like Bahrain, Guam, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and more. Sylvan Learning Center has one of the biggest reaches to help students over every other independent tutoring company we have found.

Pricing Varies Based On Where You Live

The cost of tutoring services (K-12) at Sylvan starts at $49/hour. If you want academic coaching (grades K-8), monthly packages for one-hour sessions start at $199/month. Since Sylvan Learning Centers are locally owned and operated, pricing could vary a bit based on location. This makes sense, but it would be nice if you could get a clearer picture of how much you'll be paying without having to call or visit the location nearest you. They do say that they can develop payment plans and work with the budget of families on a case-by-case basis.

Sylvan Guarantees

Sylvan guarantees a few things with their tutoring program. These include:

• The Sylvan team will get to know your child and put together an education program that's unique to their needs.
• Your child will always have a learning environment to ensure skill mastery.
• Your child will learn from a curriculum that aligns with state/provincial, college and career readiness standards.
• Your child will demonstrate mastery of at least 50 skills in 50 hours of instruction.

Guarantee Restrictions

However, the guarantee only applies to participating locations and for students who complete at least 4 hours per week and a total of at least 50 hours of instruction within 14 weeks. You'll want to ask your local Sylvan center about their guarantee to make sure you know the details before getting started.

Positive Feedback, But Failing Grade

It is surprising that Sylvan Learning, Inc. has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It's unclear exactly why this is the case, but we did find hundreds of parents giving extremely positive feedback about the experiences their children have had at local Sylvan Learning Centers around the United States. Most said that their children were very successful after having tutoring through Sylvan and that their scores and comprehension improved.

Overall Good Choice

Overall, we are disappointed by Sylvan Learning Center's low rating from the BBB and lack of straightforward pricing plans. However, our confidence has been boosted after reading so many success stories from parents around the world who say Sylvan helped get their kid back on track academically. With numerous physical locations as well as online tutoring, most people will have a way to get help from Sylvan. We recommend reading reviews and getting to know the tutors at your local Sylvan Learning Center and moving forward if you feel confident in the cost and quality of tutoring they have to offer.