PrepMatters of Bethesda

Sharon Kim at PrepMatters is excellent. I have recommended her to friends many times over the years. Both of my kids worked with for SAT / ACT tutoring and years earlier, for SSAT testing prep. Thanks to Sharon, their testing skills, strategies and scores improved significantly after working with her -- often in a matter of weeks. She is patient and incredibly thorough, and offers common-sense, helpful advice for parents on general school admissions. Even with seemingly little details such as scheduling or communicating issues as they arise, Sharon was extremely responsive. My kids also personally loved working with her, not surprising given how thoughtful she is. PrepMatters has a great system in place overall, and I highly recommend them generally and Sharon Kim specifically.

Laura Moore was an excellent resource for our Junior HS student preparing for his SAT! From the outset, Laura instilled confidence, focused on the biggest areas of need, and broke down complex problems so our son could understand and apply them. Laura genuinely cares for our son's success, which served to uplift his motivation and focus to levels we couldn't achieve as parents. I could see that she inspired him to give his best effort. The study techniques and cadence of preparation were perfectly tailored for him. I'm happy to report he exceeded his (and our) test score improvement goals!

We couldn't be happier with Prep Matters. We were very lucky to be assigned Sharon Kim. She was phenomenal. My daughter adored her and Sharon helped my daughter raise her SAT score 250 points!!! They are the best test prep company in the DC metro area based on my research and more importantly my experience.

I recommend Prep Matters often. Ashley has been a steady force for our son as he navigated various math levels throughout high school. She provided just the right amount of instruction, encouragement and guidance. It’s been a relief to have Prep Matters here to help supplement and support school instruction. We have also been lucky to have tutors Vinnie and Moose for test prep (HSPT and SAT). They definitely eased the stress with test taking skills and tactics for both of our sons.

Ned Johnson, and the team at Prep Matters, are phenomenal. Ned really understands the psychology behind test taking. He not only helped my son learn the material and practical tips for standardized test-taking, but he also worked with him to be prepared psychologically and emotionally. My son looked forward to the weekly meetings and he really valued his relationship with Ned. Thanks to this prep, he brought a lot of confidence (swagger) into the SAT. His scores improved 200 points between the PSAT and SAT. Prep Matters really helped him tap into his test test taking potential.

We had an excellent experience with PrepMatters when our son was preparing for the SAT. We worked with Sharon and she was quite simply an outstanding match for him. With her guidance, he reached the top 1% of scorers. It was also very easy to work with PrepMatters, which was organized and efficient.

Lexie at Prep Matters was an excellent tutor. I asked for a kind and patient tutor for my daughter - that was the most important quality that we were looking for based on past experiences with tutors (who weren’t). Lexie was great. My daughter got a 34 on the ACT on the first try.

Prep Matters is THE BEST!!! The team is incredibly supportive and dedicated to helping students succeed. Ned is one of the most inspiring people I've met—he really believes in his students and encourages them to always persevere. Ashley is also fantastic—she’s super kind and always there to offer encouragement when students are struggling with difficult problems/concepts. I couldn’t be more grateful for the help and motivation they've provided me!

I am the parent of eight children and have been using the services of Prep Matters for many, many years. For all this time, I have been exceptionally pleased with the instruction and the results. I have, most recently utilized the services of Sunhee, an SAT tutor who has singlehandedly enabled my daughter to raise her SAT score by over 200 points. The experience of SAT test prep, which can be grueling, unpleasant and painful, has been actually enjoyable for my daughter. I think this has much to do with the relationship and rapport she has developed with Sunhee. From the first session to the last, he has been responsive, supportive, encouraging, and motivational. Sunhee is not the only tutor who has yielded exceptional results for my children. Both of my sons also used Prep Matters tutors, and I was equally and exceptionally pleased with the academic support and guidance they received. In all cases, my kids reached their target scores as a result of the instructional tips and strategies the tutors provided and were accepted into competitive colleges. I have also known Ned Johnson, the owner, for over two decades. He is an incredible person, dedicated to achieving success for all Prep Matter students. He has called me at home to discuss my kids' progress and has personally met with my kids when they have struggled academically or needed an extra boost of encouragement. He cares about each and every student who walks through his doors, remembering their names and stories long after they have graduated from high school and gone to college. Ned is an extraordinary man and the example he sets is on full display in the staff he employs. His tutors work hard to achieve results, embracing the same values inculcated by Ned. In many ways, Prep Matters feels like a family. This is a personal tutoring experience that adapts strategies specific to a child's needs. This daughter is my youngest and will close this chapter of my life. I will always be grateful to Ned and to Prep Matters for being there for me and my kids--for believing in them and working with them to create the best possible outcomes.

I can't say enough in support of PrepMatters. It is an incredibly nice, well-run, welcoming company with an enormously talented and dedicated staff. For quite a while, we've worked with math tutor Sharon Kim in the Bethesda office and absolutely LOVE her. She is really great about learning each kid's way of learning and then teaching effectively to that. Also, my son just really enjoys spending time with her and doing all the math they do. I'm super fond of her as well. We also worked very briefly with Moose in the Tenleytown office. He is a physics whiz and the brevity of our working relationship was only because my son had no teacher at school so needed guidance until one was hired. Moose was the perfect interim! I have recommended both him and Sharon many times. We have also worked with PM in the college counseling realm. Full disclosure- I have my own college counseling business, but my son and I didn't want to work together during his application process. So, we interviewed several companies and immediately chose to partner with PM's Maureen Delaney. She is wonderful, and my son loves working with her. Lastly, I'll note that Ned Johnson, founder and leader of PM, is a terrific human who is deeply committed to and knowledgeable about education, development, and adolescent. It's been a pleasure to get to know him, and I highly recommend the books he and Bill Stixrud have authored. The prices aren't low, but honestly, I feel great about paying such a caring, supportive group of people. Their help has been worth every penny!

Ned and everyone at Prep Matters are incredible! All 3 of my children worked with Ned and his team and we had the best experience ever! We recommend PrepMatters without any hesitations!!

All four of my kids have used PrepMatters at different times and we have been very happy. My older kids used them for Sat Subject tests and our daughters prepped for the standardized SAT/ACT tests. We had some of the test prep that was distance learning and some that was in the office one on one. I will say that we were pretty specific about what kind of test prep we wanted and tried to match the kids with the tutor. If I didn't know, I asked. My kids are all a few years apart and the rules for the colleges seem to always be changing. Our family found Ned to be really on top of what was going on and also very responsive to emails and questions. Additionally, he is seeing kids from all over the DC area so I felt like his assessment of the situation was better than our kids school counselors.

I have been very disappointed with Nicole in PrepMatters in McLean she worked with my daughter for over eight months and did not even know what grade she was in . Waste of our time and money always the schedule and appointment was wrong ended up waiting for over 3 hours for my daughter at the end we didn't get the results we were looking for. Please safe your money or go somewhere else

Natalie Lempert is unprofessional. Said she would text to confirm an appointment in the morning. My daughter shows up for her morning appointment; Natalie does not. There is no text. No other message with any explanation. This was the second time.

PrepMatters is top notch in testing preparation. We have been working with Ryan Warren to prep for the SSAT, SAT and ACT. His breadth of knowledge and ability to prep students for these tests is incredible. PrepMatters paired us based on some basic questions about learning style and interests. I enjoyed having one outstanding tutor who was able to quickly home in on areas to improve. As a result of hard work, I was able to sharply increase my score. Thank you PrepMatters for working with me to succeed on these tests!

Dr. Kathleen O'Connor is in the very top in her field. Anything she touches can only be good for students and their families. I personally credit Dr. O'Connor for whipping me back in to shape after I failed out of the University of Maryland. Not only did I get back in to Maryland but I ended up with a grade point average over a 3.0. A few years later, I went on to get my Doctorate and currently enjoy a very fulfilling career in health care. I encourage any student or family member that is in need of direction and a no nonsense approach to seek out Prep Matters.

We had a very positive experience with Prep Matters. The office staff was responsive and helpful. Our daughter took timed practice tests at the center which were professionally run, and undoubtedly prepared her for the "real" thing. Out tutor was excellent - not only substantively, but also in terms of motivating our daughter. He was patient, firm, and has a positive energy like none other. He was also accommodating in terms of our schedule, and supportive of me (her mom!). Prep Matters definitely played a role in our daughter's scores improving. It is wonderful to have a full-service tutoring center like Prep Matters! We will definitely be using them for future tutoring.

Waste of time, incompetent staff, over priced, and underwhelming. Take your money elsewhere. I've been mis-scheduled several times, never had a tutor be on time, and have found the tutoring itself to be very sub par.

Prep matters allowed my daughter to keep her A/B average in Algebra all year, dont know what we would have done without their assistance!!!

Waste of time. Everything Laura covered was available online. Scores did not improve.

I'm very pleased with our experience at PrepMatters. From the initial contact to the weekly tutoring sessions, we received excellent service. My daughter's confidence and test taking skills increased tremendously. They get to know their students personally and connect them with a tutor that matches their personality well. The reception area is comfortable and inviting and the staff members are very welcoming. We are completely happy with our decision to use their services.

I had one of the worst customer service experiences of my life at this business. I contacted Prep Matters looking for an SSAT tutor for my 11 year old son. I spent an hour on the phone with one of their managers who explained the process and scheduled a 3.5 hour long baseline practice test for a Saturday. My son took the test and we were assigned a tutor. The tutor called me to discuss the test results where we realized they had given my son the WRONG TEST!!!!! They had given an 11 year old the high school test. Are you kidding me? So now I have a kid who already feels uneasy about his test taking skills and you've traumatized him for 3.5 hours?? And the worst part was that nobody apologized!! I spoke with the tutor, both center managers, and the regional manager. I just don't understand how something like this happens. THIS IS WHAT YOU DO. How do you give the wrong test?? When I asked for a few hours of complimentary tutoring to make up for their clear error, it was as if I had three heads. They said they had never had anyone ask for such a thing. Instead, they would make an exception and if my son wanted to take the correct practice test, they wouldn't charge me for it. I literally started laughing at that. I have never encountered a group of people who are so defensive and unwilling to admit that a mistake was made. I realize they have a great reputation, but my experience makes me question what that reputation is based on. There is no way I would ever give one red cent to this company!!!