Sylvan Learning Centers

I contacted American Fork Utah Sylan to see if they could help my daughter because she was behind in school and struggling with anxiety and PTSD which made it difficult to catch up with her homework and get back on track for graduation. They said they would be able to help but they would need to evaluate her first which would be $199 but that there was a coupon out that would reduce the price to $100. I did need to pay a $50 deposit "non-refundable" deposit which the non-refundable part was not made clear in the phone call. I've cancelled the evaluation and they won't refund the deposit without approval from the owner. The director mentioned that she could try to request a refund from the owner but he would probably say no. This just solidifies the complaints that have already been logged on this site. Definitely buyer beware.

My wife was employed at the Sylvan Learning Center in Bartonsville, PA when it closed down suddenly. Not only was there no warning of the closing, my wife was never paid for the last 2 1/2 weeks of work there. We are struggling just to put food on the table and take care of our child. Call, emails, and letter have led nowhere. My wife deserves to be paid. She gave an awful lot to that company. I would never recommend Sylvan to anyone, whether it is for their child or a job.

The Sylvan learning center in Bartonsville, PA abruptly closed on the 26th of October 2011. The franchise holder Joseph ** has not returned any phone calls or emails since the business ceased operation. They are holding $900.00 in unused tuition payments. Sylvan corporate refuses to take any action even though they have a contract in place with the franchisee that specifically states when shutting down they must transfer you to another center or refund your monies. Neither happened and the corporate entity refuses to hold the franchisee accountable to the contract they signed with Sylvan corporate. It is an absolute disgrace that in this difficult financial time, corporations willingly allow people to run off and take you money. I'm out $900.00 in unused tuition money that I want refunded.

I have the complete At-Home System for 8-12 years. Everything was fine until my daughter listened to disk three. In the story, it said that birds are related to crocodiles. That is evolution. That is a theory and should not be imposed on my child no more than religion. This was a gift to me so I cannot seek a refund.

Sylvan is sold out to franchisees. A lot of people don't know that. My daughter actually got a good education at the Longmont and Boulder, CO centers. She had a very good teacher. However, Sylvan, in general, doesn't keep their promises and don't trust them. My daughter took Algebra 1 for credit and it was approved by her school to do. At almost the end of her course in Longmont, CO, she was informed that the center would be closing and she would be moved to Boulder to finish. She went to Boulder and finished, and had the same teacher who moved there too and the director there said he would get the transcript to the school.

At that time, the Boulder center was closing down too and all the people there were upset at losing their jobs. My daughter went on to school and they allowed her to take Algebra 2, the following year. It wasn't until now that she is a senior that they informed us that Sylvan never gave them the paperwork. I do fault the school for waiting so long to let us know, because if we knew the year before, we could have enrolled her in different classes to make up for it. We had no way of knowing they didn't receive the transcript because they allowed her into Algebra 2 and she finished it.

We contacted Sylvan's head office in Baltimore because the franchisee of this area completely closed down all his centers. The four centers had been owned by H&S Educational Enterprises, Inc. which is owned by Bruce Hassan, Sherry Hassan and Kristin Smith of St. Augustine, FL. I do not know if they own Sylvans in Florida, but they owned the ones here in Colorado and will not acknowledge my emails. The head office said they only received the progress reports as far as Longmont, but none of the Boulder paperwork. Last week, they agreed to send the transcript with a lower grade taking into account the part of math they didn't have credit for. So basically, they were averaging the 0% into the 100%. We didn't like that, but if she doesn't get some type of credit, she doesn't graduate.

Today, Nina at the information desk contacted us to tell us that they changed their minds and couldn't, in good consciousness, give her a transcript based on something they didn't have; even though the director of this franchise area gave them a call and told them what happened. They want to do testing on Sarah (at my cost) and if she doesn't do well on material she studied back in 2009, I am fully confident they are going to offer their services for more money, of course. I don't trust them. I don't trust their test to be honest and I refused to have her take more hours from them. Fat chance of us paying them even more money. I don't trust their testing because every time my daughter took a test, they decided she didn't do well enough and that she needed to repeat almost everything at least once and sometimes, twice. That's how our bill got so elevated. We bought into it because she has never been strong in Math and thought maybe she was doing badly. Yet she went on to high school Algebra 2 in a highly-rated school, did well and never had to repeat anything.

Apparently, according to a woman named Glenda at the main office in Baltimore, they needed three or four days to sift through paperwork the franchisee 'might' have sent in when they closed and it 'depended on what condition they sent it in'. It totally flabbergasted me that there isn't a requirement for submitting paperwork regularly and in a certain order, or when a franchise closes. They didn't locate any paperwork and would only go with the numbers that had been entered into the computer system, which was only the work through the end of the Longmont center. So basically, I paid over $8,000 for a product I didn't receive and my daughter gets to pay for the mistake by not graduating with her friends and being embarrassed. She is devastated and she worked the hardest of all on this. Three days a week for two hours at a time, for almost a whole year.

The main office blames the franchisee, and the franchisee won't speak to us. It is the main offices' issue, though, in my opinion. It was their Sylvan name we trusted and no longer trust. They want to sell their franchises, but they don't want to be responsible for them. If your franchisee screws you over, tough luck. Even getting my money back for a product I didn't receive won't take the pain away from my daughter of not being able to graduate. They have even refused to do that and they only referred us to 'Legal'. My daughter is sweet and kind to everyone, shy and sensitive, and she works so hard at everything, even things she finds especially difficult. I've been blessed to have such a usual child who didn't take me through the teenage trauma of most girls, and I am angrier than I can ever convey.

Don't buy the lie that they care about you or their students. You are just money to them and if you aren't paying at the moment, you don't matter. I am posting this everywhere I can because I think people should be warned. You are putting your child in the hands of a franchisee that you know nothing about. It isn't the same thing as eating a burger at a McDonald's franchise or playing a game at a Laser Tag franchise. It is much more important than that. Unfortunately, Sylvan doesn't run franchises and keeps records with the same diligence and responsibility McDonald's does. Ask the teachers at school for recommendations for a tutor that other kids have worked with and had good experiences with, or ask other parents. It'll be cheaper and more reliable, and since the teachers and parents aren't usually making a living off selling the product, it will be more honest.

It should be a lot cheaper to find a tutor that way. We began by being told this was going to cost us $4,500 for the school credit and it kept elevating to almost $9,000. They knew we needed it as a credit and took advantage of that, and are still trying to. I am posting this everywhere a review is possible, just to warn people. The reason you read good reviews in one place and bad ones in others is because the franchisees are all different people and the company, as a whole, is not cohesive or discerning.

I paid $99 to have my daughter assessed in June 2011. I met with a Sylvan representative at the Metairie location to review the results. I paid $95 to register my daughter for the Slidell location, which I was told was owned by the same owner. I completed the necessary paperwork to enroll my daughter for the Slidell location to begin on August 16, 2011. At the end of July 2011, Rebecca from Sylvan called to change Anna's tutoring time from 5:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. I called Sylvan's Slidell location on August 11, 12 and 15 to ask a question about which date the tuition was due. I only got a voicemail from "Beth", who never returned any of my calls.

When I showed up with my daughter at 5:00 P.M. on August 16, Carol, the lady at the desk, said she didn't even know who we were and that my daughter was not in the system. I couldn't believe it. How could she not be in the system? Sylvan had already spoken to me about the dates. They had already been paid the registration fee. I left there because I was very upset. Sylvan is an expensive solution to get homework help for my daughter but I was willing to give it a try. After what happened, I decided that Sylvan was not a good choice for me or my daughter. I am on a fixed income and have to assure that every dollar I spend is spent responsibly. I lost all confidence in that business after the way I was treated with a total lack of professionalism and consideration.

I requested for the return of the $95 I paid for the registration. I think it is a fair request considering what happened. I am not asking for the assessment fee as I realize this was completed. I spoke with the owner Sal Cusanza on August 17 and then mailed him a letter on August 23, 2011. I have since called Julie in the business office up to 4 times a week asking for my refund. I keep getting the run-around. I am totally frustrated and disgusted at this point.

I enrolled my daughter Karlee in Sylvan, Paid right at 3000.00 dollars up front. She went for 4 sessions (which was great). The teacher called on Monday evening at 3:30 stating that Baldwin Management who operates the school came in and told her she could not except any more children and they was closing the center. I have my contract, I also have the letter they sent out to the parents. But i DO NOT HAVE A REFUND FOR MY MONEY. They wanted there money up front, a contract signed. WHERE IS MY MONEY. I would not refer anyone to this center. I'm now going to have to get attorney to collect my money. Sad that all education is going down hill and taking parents money.

I enrolled my 8-year-old daughter in Sylvan Learning Center in Las Vegas in June 2007 to bring her up to grade level in reading comprehension. I paid almost $4,000 for the program. My daughter never made any improvement, every time I picked her up from Sylvan I asked her what she did that day and she will tell me she only read kindergarten books when she was supposed to be reading chapter books for 3rd grader students, so I went inside and checked the books they had and most of them were really picture books for little kids, not to mention that they didn't have many to choose from anyway. No wonder she never got any better. Not only that, but you had to pay extra money when they scheduled conferences to tell you how the student was doing. I can only describe my experience with the services I received at Sylvan Learning Center as very bad since my daughter never accomplished anything with them. I would not recommend Sylvan to any parent that needs help with their children's education.

I signed up for my granddaughter for 88 hours of reading help with Sylvan and paid $4048.00 upfront to get the hourly discount. After two months of instruction, it closed without warning, then I found out that the owner had filed bankruptcy after 30 days of instruction.

I am out over $4000.00. The reading lessons never helped my granddaughter plus the interest I am having to pay on the money that was taken.

I enrolled my 14-year-old grandson and paid $3000.00 to bring him up to Algebra 1 level. Not only are the directors and teachers condescending and rude to me, my son, and most importantly, my grandson, but after many hours of tutoring, we find out they don't have any tutors who know Algebra! They tell us they used to, but don't anymore. No refund, no credit, just more bull, and now my grandson is way behind in math.

When the teacher was wrong on a problem and my grandson questioned it, they told him never to argue with the teacher. Adults are always right! They said that he has an attitude problem! Also, when he called them to reschedule an appointment due to illness, they said it was okay. Then they charged us for the two hours $90.00 and said, "We didn't reschedule him because we do not listen to children!" They have great policies when working with kids. Buyer beware!

We had to move due to military orders and I expected to receive a refund for the hours not used from Sylvan in 2007. I contacted Sylvan and they told me I had to deal with the franchise owner Debbie **. Mrs. ** emailed me in July 2010 that she had mailed a check for the refund. This never happened. I responded to her that I never received the check. She emailed me again stating that she was placing a stop payment on that check and sending out another check. This never happened. It is now November 2010 and I never received any other response from Mrs. **. I would advise everyone not to get any type of loan with this company to pay for services. They will not cooperate in refunding any amounts that they owe you.

My son was enrolled in Sylvan Learning in November 2008. The school automatically closed down without any warning. I paid them $4000+ upfront (** me, right). I have tried to contact the center owner, but no response. I've tried to contact her lawyer, but no response. I'm still fighting this issue. I'm not rich and can not afford a lawyer at this moment. I'm currently stationed in Africa and still trying to resolve this. I have contacted the center, but they told me they need my son's records from that branch that he was at. When I told them that I can't get in any contact with them, they said they will also try as well. So I've contacted the Civil Affairs, State Affairs and the police. I feel like I've been robbed and more importantly, my son and the other kids and parents who went through this ordeal.

Panama City Sylvan Learning Center closed without warning, they owe us and probably others money. I have gotten absolutely no satisfaction or even acknowledgment of the debt owed to me by Sylvan Learning Center. Mr. ** has not bothered to return even one of my telephone messages. I was contacted by the Fort Walton office, never spoke to anyone, but I no longer desire any tutoring. I want a refund of the $250 paid to Sylvan Learning Center, but never used. My account number is **. I had a consultation with Jennifer ** on 4/19/2010. During that consultation, I hand wrote a note suspending his tutoring until the summer. I had paid for the month of April in full, so I am due month's tuition. I would love for Mr. ** to do the right thing if he is the franchise owner, but ultimately, my checks were made out to Sylvan Learning Center.

I enrolled my daughter at my local Sylvan Learning Center here in McAllen, TX. She was taking the SAT courses and I even went ahead and paid for the another month not sure she would need to go that long. The staff at Sylvan assured me I would get my refund if she did not need to continue the lessons. I wanted my daughter to start the a new ACT course at the end of April but the staff at Sylvan was to call me back regarding the start date for the upcoming ACT course.

Meanwhile, the new course had been partially paid. I called Sylvan several time and they never return any of my calls. By this time the course had already started and my daughter would be a week behind already if she joined the new group. So I asked them to refund me the balance. Today is July 27, 2010 and I have made several calls to my local Sylvan Center requesting a refund. I am always told that the check is in the mail. First, they told me it would take a month. Then they tell me it's in the mail. I am very unhappy with Sylvan Learning Center. It is very wrong! I will never use their services again.

My son went to Sylvan under pressure from the teachers at school. For 92 sessions, I "paid" approximately $3,000. I am still paying through Sallie Mae years later. It will end up being more like $13,000.00 because of the interest. I think they take advantage of parents who want to help their child. But my child learned nothing. They said they would give him help with his homework. They would get upset with him if he brought his homework. They insisted he do whatever they wanted. He didn't learn a thing. In fact years later, he is not graduating high school. Because after paying for them and not getting help, I couldn't afford anything else.

Sylvan **! I am a poor person. I had to have a co-signer and everything. I have made every single payment and 7 years later, I still owe over a $1,000.00 and my son didn't get anywhere with his education.

We had previously enrolled my son in the study skills program in grade 9. In this program the math instructor was very good and help my son attain a passing grade in grade 9 math.

For grade 10 we enrolled my son in a homework support program to help him with his grade 10 math.

Unfortunately the Math instructor that was there for grade 9 had left and a new one was hired.

After a few weeks my son commented that the new person was not nearly as good as the previous year. We decided to give him a chance as my son was doing well at homework completion and we where optimistic at this point.

When we had our first parent teacher meeting with the school we where not at all happy with what we heard. The teacher was confused as to my sons test scores not reflective of the nearly 100 % homework completion.

We had a number of progress reports that indicated that he was capable of doing the work but just needed to work on his speed and he was progressing well and showing an improvement in his understanding.

Unfortunately his mark in the subject did not at all reflect this as he ended up with a 38%. I went to the office and spoke to the director at the time and she could not offer any explanation as to why there was such a discrepancy.

We tried to arrange for additional support in preparation for the final exam but they where not able to provide this. We ended up hiring a private tutor to try to salvage the year. The tutor's assessment of my sons current level of understanding was not favorable and although they worked many hours to try to prepare my son still failed.

I spoke to my son again about what he did during his sessions at sylvan to try and understand how he could have completed all his homework and not managed to grasp the subject at all. He felt that the instructor that he had the second year was not nearly as knowledgeable and that rather than instructing him on the homework he often completed the exercises first and my son would copy them. That this was his method of instruction while the other instructor and explained in detail each step and this was why he had previously done better.

I received an email at the beginning of the next semester inquiring if we where planning to continue for the next year.

for Alexander. His mark in this last semester was 37% and actually went down after his exam.

I expressed the concern that it would appear that all that was happening during his sessions is that his homework was being completed for him rather than him doing it with instruction and feedback.

I explained that this last session fell far below our expectations and I believe it is clearly the loss of the previous instructor that was the major contributor to this. The teachers that worked with my son on Math in this semester did not help him at all.

The progress meetings that we had with them on this clearly did not reflect his actual math results.

As of that point we would not be continuing with the remaining hours can you please tell me what my balance is without them.

I received no response through email or mail.

Three months later I received an email from a collection agency that they where pursuing me for payment on the outstanding amount.

I called the Center Director and inquired as to why they had not replied to my message and why they had sent this to collections.

She informed me that they had sent me letters to my address. I asked her to clarify this and she explained she had sent them to my wife's name at my address. The name that she had on file was not my wife's so I never received them.

Now I am even more concerned that even their bookkeeping is inquisition as the account does not even appear to be in my name.

I asked to speak to the head office to try to resolve this and after doing so they did not acknowledge my concerns and that I had to deal with the collections people.

Had both my children assessed by Sylvan for challenges that they were experiencing in school mainly surrounding reading. My daughter is 10 years old, in fourth grade. She has been on an IEP (Individual Education Plan) since she started school for speech and language delay. This delay continues to create challenges for reading comprehension for her. We were spending hours on homework with her. We wanted to get her additional support for the homework and had a goal of getting her to a point where she would not require an IEP. We enrolled her in the "unlimited" program that sylvan offered for $2995. She went 12 hours per week- 4 of the 12 hours were homework support, the other 8 hours were for sylvan's reading program.

She went all of march, april, and may. She accumulated over 120 hours of reading support (this doesn't include the homework support hours). Sylvan's initial assessment said that she would require 65-77 hours to master skills in her grade level. At the end of May, by Sylvan's own report she had not mastered the skills. In addition, at her IEP meeting at her school, no noticable difference had been seen by her team of teachers.

Further, the school testing performed in late May showed that she was at the end of a second grade level in reading assessments (DRA testing- standard in this school district). Sylvan testing performed in the same time showed that my daughter tested at 5th grade 4th month overall in reading (figuring reading comprehension and vocabulary). However, by their own admission, her first time around on the test, she didn't do well. So, they had her "look it over again" to generate better results. Brought Sylvan and school together for a meeting. Sylvan attributes the gap to their style of test (multiple choice) vs. the school's (open ended questions).

Sylvan offered 8 additional hours, but really what will 8 hours do that over 120 hours didn't do? They are firm that they will not do anything more than the 8 free hours (or 2 summer camps) to close this gap. I put my daughter, our family time, and her growth in their hands for 3 months straight and saw no results. When this came out, they offered 8 hours. I have $3000 invested and am thoroughly disappointed that they were not taking steps to make her successful at her school and testing that is done in our state.

My son is 8 and in second grade. He had challenges with reading, but unlike my daughter is not on an IEP. (He does not have any learning delays, speech problems, etc.) He also did not show much growth in the testing that the school offered. Sylvan's testing (multiple choice) shows him at beginning 3rd grade. The school testing (DRA- also multiple choice at this level) at end of 1st grade. My son also went 12 hours a week for 3 solid months. Sylvan didn't offer any support for him. His cost was also $2995. Additionally, like my daughter, Sylvan stated that he would require 64-76 hours to master 2nd grade skills that showed a gap in their testing. After over 120 hours, there were still quite a few skills for 2nd grade level that he had not yet mastered, by Sylvan's own report.

So, to sum it up, I spent nearly $6000 and 3 solid months of our lives, and the kids are no further along in school with testing or otherwise. Sylvan has nothing to offer to make this right. We have lost nearly $6,000 of our money.

1. This woman feels parents out, let them talk on and on about their kids and how they were struggling with grades, study habits, self-control, self-esteem, and many more factors that contributed to the bad grades. Then, she uses that information and throws it back in the parent's face... making them feel guilty that they, as parents, aren't doing their job by any means necessary as a parent.

2. She speaks to the parents, aka. the customer, with no respect and speaks to the children, aka. the customer, badly as well.

3. I could go on...buyer beware of this center.

I signed my daughter up for Sylvan Learning Center in Sioux City Iowa on 7/28/09. My mother took out a loan to pay her tuition with their loan company Your Tuition Solution - Springstone Financial in Southborough MA 1-800-920-9777. Frank **, the Center Director from Omaha who was tested my daughter Bailey and said she would need 144-168 hours of tutoring. He said, if we paid for 100-143 hours up front, we would get a discount to only pay $40.50 per hour.

He also stated if she doesn't pass the Sylvan Skills assessment after 36 hours of instruction, they would guarantee me 12 free hours. Bailey did not pass, so he said he would give her 12 hours. Bailey has to be working on reading and math which she has only worked on word analysis, vocabulary and comprehension but not math skills. My mother Donna ** had taken the loan out for $5000.00 acct # ** which I make the payments on. Bailey has gone to Sylvan for a total of 59 1/2 hours at $40.50 for $2409.75. He owed us 12 hours $486.002409.75-486, so our total we owe would be $1,923.75.

Sylvan closed in Sioux City without anyone telling us until 1 week after it closed but of course we seen it on the news first. I have made 7 payments of $157.17 to the bank on this loan, so far for a total of $ 1100.19. We owe 823.56 which I don't think we should have to pay because of what happened but am willing to. But no more than that. I received a letter from the owner of Sylvan Dianna Rich, her phone # is 402-334-9449 on Jan 27th stating that they did indeed close and that we could drive to Omaha, Sioux Falls, Spencer or Norfolk or do Sylvan online. We wouldn't be able to drive to any of those places after my daughter was out of school for the day because it would be over 1 hour drive one way to get to them and we will not do Sylvan on-line since she is in need of instruction by a one on one setting with a teacher.

I contacted Dianna Rich on 1/29/10 and left a message to have her contact the bank to cancel the remainder of the loan. She did not contact me back. I contacted Frank on 02/01/10 and he said he would call the bank and take care of it and call me back but never did. I contacted Dianna Rich today, 2/2/10 and she said, they would have to go through all the account to see what they owed and it will take some time. I need your help to resolve this matter. I don't feel it is our responsibility to continue to pay on this when they closed up and the services are no longer there for her to attend. They have not contacted us to give us our money back and the loan company states we have to continue to pay them even though we are no receiving the services.

I trained to work at Sylvan for a part-time job. I am an experienced teacher with an M.Ed. After a few weeks there, I decided that their program does not provide a quality experience for the students, and parents could spend less money and get better results simply by hiring a 1-to-1 tutor for their child. Because Sylvan makes money by enrolling as many students as possible (and underpaying teachers), their set-up is usually about 3 students per teacher at a table. Since all of the students are at different levels, it is virtually impossible to deliver good instruction.

Sylvan tries to promote the 3:1 ratio as optimal (for a combination of independent and guided practice, supposedly leading to a better transition to whole class experiences), but this is simply not true. To accommodate everyone, I was jumping from student to student, all of whom needed more intervention than I was giving. A lot of the assignments were too easy or very boring, which is why Sylvan has us recycle the work ,rather than share it with parents. A lot of it is just worksheet, book practice, and simple strategies you can get at any educational materials store, or from a classroom teacher.

The curriculum is not updated, and they have virtually no technology experiences available for the students. I would advise any parent considering Sylvan to find a good personal tutor for your child, who makes no promises, but shows you exactly what they are doing with your child. Also, invest in educational software or subscriptions to websites that will provide an interesting game format to reinforce skills (rather than the dull worksheets they'll do at Sylvan). Your child deserves better, and you definitely don't get what you pay for by bringing your child to Sylvan. As a caring educator, I was really dismayed to realize that the Sylvan bottom line is, quite simply, profit.

I didn't have that experience. I am sorry for experiences but I thank each and everyone of you for sharing so that families like mine will not deal with this company and get our children caught up in the hassles of Sylvan. I am looking for someone to help my son with his reading and comprehension skills. I guess at the end of the day with time, dedication and patience, we, parents, can only rely on ourselves to help our children. Again, thanks to each of you and I am sorry for the problems you faced but you all saved me money and the headache of dealing with a company that will leave my son in shambles.

After we paid our account in full, we continued to receive statements from Sylvan. We would have to call and wait for Beth, the director, to call us back because they never answer their phones. We were advised on numerous occasions that their record reflected our bill was paid in full and that they would take care of the mistake. Today we received a collection letter. Now we are going to have to hire an attorney so that our credit is not affected by Sylvan's inefficiency. We would never recommend this organization to anyone. We will need to hire an attorney.

I consulted them about tutoring for my daughter who is in the fifth grade. When I had asked for references for the services, they said they could not provide references. She was assessed. They estimated that she would need about 100 hours of tutoring in math to get to grade level. They had given a no risk policy of 12 hours or within 4 weeks. I have this document. During the 4 weeks, I asked my daughter about the work that was being done. She said she was doing a lot of work that she had already mastered. I notified them in an email that I was removing my daughter within the 4 weeks she began with them.

They would not offer the no risk policy. They said the policy was only effective within the first 12 hours. This contradicts the letter which I received with the contract. Additionally, when I tried to speak with the owner about my concern, I did not get any response. Sylvan also had not contacted my daughter's teacher during those 4 weeks about where they could focus they tutoring. I lost $750 in tutoring fees and $200 in assessment and registration fees.

I gave the Sioux City Sylvan facility $2500 to start my child in December 2009. I received a letter stating they are closing immediately. No one will return my phone calls. I'm just out my money. What happened to the Sylvan Guarantee? There is none. I am ashamed of myself for allowing them to talk me into helping my son. I want my money back. I believe my son only received 12 hours of instruction. I have tried to reach everyone/every Sylvan facility looking for help. I am receiving nothing/no answers.

Economic damage is beyond words in this economy. I am a single mother. I did everything I could to scrap the money together to help my son. Physically, my son was showing some improvements, and now he is without any help.

We had our grandson evaluated in Math in December 2009 with a promise Sylvan would help to get his skills up to where they needed to be. Jack (owner) gave us the long sales speech about how long they had been in Saint Joseph and what they could do for us. We decided to commit. Then after 4 weeks of weekly visits, we received a notice in the mail telling us they had closed. No one bothered to sit down with us to discuss his progress and options to go forward. I have sent emails asking to discuss over the phone and received emails telling me that only emails will be answered. Is this how Sylvan does business?

i signed my son Jacob up with sylvan in medford, oregon in 2006. i'm sorry i cannot be more specific at this point because i lost over half my household contents when family moved me to a smaller house, and my sylvan info. was probably thrown out; i was in the hospital at the time and knew nothing of the move. I took out an "education" loan, low interest, i thought. It turned out to be sally may, the interest was VARIABLE, and their loan officers very difficult to work with.

i drove 2x week from chiloquin to medford, oregon at great hardship to Jake and i. When there was no noticable improvement for jake, we had to quit the sylvan learning for my dysgraphic son. rather than help his problem, they only reviewed subjects that he had done two years before. they still have the $400.00 refund. it was to be paid us in further class time hours. at one point they talked about putting the money in the loan at sallie mae, but that never happened.

i cannot describe the emotional side--anger, frustration, heartache for my son jake. Driving 200 miles round trip for nothing, fighting to find enough gas, fix flat tires, eat at the $1.00 menu. Economical--a rolling disaster. I have a $4,000 loan which since 05-06 has grown to $6700+ with usurious interest. i still can't remedy a late fee of $20 for the last 10 months because nothing gets done when i talk to the Sallie Mae representatives.

i thought i was getting a 2% fixed educational loan and instead got a 15% variable loan, over $2600 added to my loan, $200 in late fees--AND NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT! I ONLY WANTED SOME HELP FOR MY DISGRAPHIC SON. we both feel cheated. shell-shock continues, as a disabled widow i don't know how to pay off a loan that swells with interest. is there no help?

Promised Individual 1:1 Writing LESSONS for my 6th Grade Son going into 7th Grade and Phonics/Reading for my son Kindergarten going into 1st grade/!st session only was only 1 on one and then the next 11 sessions different teacher each time/3-4 children in each group all enrolled for different subjects ranging from pre k to 6th grade/My children were only receiving 10-15 minutes of fragmented lessons with total noise and commotion during the lessons/Each session was another excuse/shortage of staff etc..../they even matched my 6yr old and 11yr old in the same group with children with ADHD etc../I paid by check initially for 40 yr program for each of my children at the rate of $68.00/per session x 2 children = $136.00 3xweek/ Jassica told me that if I wanted better to give her $90.00 /per child/I have been asking for a transfer to the Sylvan Learning Center in Mineola which appears to be functioning better and appears to meet our expectations but was told by Jassica that she would have to fill out paper work that would take 8-10 weeks which would cause my children to miss Summer Enhancement Classes/Jassica lee the Director in Flushing stated she could make a deal with me and pay the $50.00per hour x 2 for the remaining 29 hrs each child and she would keep the rest/when I refused and told her that She cashd my check in full and that I wanted to contact her Corporate Office she could not remember the number or names of her Superiors/I told her that if I did not receive a satisfactory response that I would contact the Queens District Attorney Office/Better Business Office unless I received the money to register my Children in Mineola /2 slots are open but I do not have $5000.00 available to give again/Please help as soon as possible so that my children are not penalized any further

I visited Sylvan Learning Center on June 04,2009 and spoke with Ms. Alves about enrolling my 11 year old son into the summer program to help him with his Math and testing skills. She went through the program with me, letting me know how they work with children, the assesment, testing, and so on. She then told me the fee for the assesment testing of $95.00, for which I would have to give $50.00 deposit that day. We set up a testing time of Thursday, June 11th at 9:30 am for my son to start his testing, and the balance of the deposit for $45.00 would be due on that day. I did not sign any contracts, no paperwork was given to me advising of payment schedules, non-refundable fees, she did not speak of no refunds, she only stated the hourly fee of $48.00 per hour.

I presented her with a check for $50.00 as a deposit and left. After speaking with my husband and we figured out the monthly fee for tutoring of $48.00 per hour at 10 hours per week, just to start, the hours can be as many as 12 hours per week, the monthly fee is $1,920.00. This is more than what we make in a month in our household. We absolutely can not afford this! I called Ms. Alves this afternoon, June 08th at 1:41 pm and explained the situation to her and asked for a refund of the $50.00 deposit. She advised me that it was a non-refundable fee and we could not receive it back, that we could still bring our son in to be tested and then let it go at that.

I told her she never advised me that the deposit was non-refundable, and that I also never signed any contracts or paperwork stating or agreeing to this. She stated that they do not have contracts nor are they obligated to advise customers that the deposit is non-refundable. She stated that the spot was held for our son when they could have used it for someone else. I told her they would not have had a problem filling that spot, since the calendar was not even full at the time of our meeting, and she had mentioned at the same time that the summer session was receiving a lot of attention. She simply stated that we would not receive our deposit back and she hung up.

Aliason F over charge for my granddaughter tuitoring and she hs to give me a refund of $400.00 now, she is trying to cheat me, charging for the time no used. She won't give the refund yesterday and ask me to go their today and I ask me husband to go there and she took the day off.

My 7th grade daughter attended Sylvan (MOBILE,ALABAMA) for 4 months 4 hours a week initially taking math and english but quickly we changed to the entire 4 hours focused on math.Into the 4th month I notified the director of my daughters situation of starting Sylvan with a 63 and now having a 56 with 5 weeks of school left. I asked for her to be put with a smaller group since there was 4 students in her group (SHE REFUSED) I then asked for her to just start teaching the 7th grade math and continue the level she was on thru the summer(SHE REFUSED).

I then asked for her to be retested to see if she was past "4th grade level"(SHE REFUSED) She stressed the RULES would not allow her to be retested for another week and half (which I didn't have)

I took her to Sylvan in Gautier, Ms and the director retested her and she was far above average. I knew this and my daughter only needed to comprehend Pre-Algebra and was being taught 2nd 3rd 4th grade math and never even got to the 7th grade level tutoring at Sylvan. My daughter left Mobile with a 56 and 2 weeks later she is at a 76 but is probably still not going to pass (going into the final her yearly avg is 69).

I tried speaking with customer service and was told my daughter was on a 2nd grade level even though her last years report card grade shows a B in math and A's and B's in other subjects. JUST GOT A COPY OF ALL STATE TESTING SINCE 2ND GRADE AND ALL SHOW PROFECIENT AND ABOVE AVERAGE THRU 6TH GRADE (7TH GRADE NOT AVAILABLE YET)

Customer service and the Mobile Sylvan are extremely rude and take no responsibility to at least offer reimbursement since I spent $3000 for my daughter to fail. I was also told my daughter had obviously regressed from 7th grade to 2nd grade! I SAID MY CHILD HAS NOT HAD A BRAIN INJURY AND I DECIDED TO GET PROOF OF GRADE LEVEL AND FIGHT THIS BATTLE MY WAY EVEN IF I HAVE TO GET AN ATTORNEY.

summer school is 40 miles away (one way) @15m/gallon 5 days a week for 4 weeks, course cost is $175, not to mention I will not be able to work only weekend for that month and then starting all over at another Sylvan paying for education that my daughter should have been taught the 4 months that I paid for. Yes Sylvan I am very angry at the moment as I should be. Take responsibility in the fact your test was wrong and you should have caught that a 7th grader couldn't possibly be on a 2nd grade level and give my money back

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the experience we had in reference to Albuquerque office. Our daughter had taken the ACT tests twice and both times scored a cumulative score of 18. Kadee is a good student; earning A's and B's on her report cards. She currently carries a 3.47 GPA. When we spoke to Tamara, who manages the Wyoming office; we told her what our expectations were. That was for ACT score to increase to at least 22 after her completion of the Sylvan course. Tamara assured us that our expectations were very doable. She also assured us that she would keep a close eye on Kadee's progress. We supplied her with a copy of the last ACT test results that Kadee took showing her score of 18.

After several weeks of instruction, Kadee took a practice ACT test. On this test she received a score of 16. Needless to say, we were very concerned at this point. We made a call to Sylvan and were assured that Kadee was learning a lot of new things and that this was normal. Tamara asked for a copy of the scores that Kadee had received on her last test taken before she started the Sylvan course. We reminded her that we had left her a copy when we registered. This was a little upsetting since Tamara had assured us that she would keep a close watch on progress.

After a few more weeks, we received notice that Tamara was taking over the direction of Kadee's study. We felt that she was doing this because we had expressed concern over her progress. This proved to be untrue.

At the completion of the course, Kadee took a final ACT practice test and scored only a 19. My husband made a call to Tamara again, this time he was upset. Tamara was confused as to why he was upset because, she said, she came up 3 points. Once again she had forgotten that she had the real ACT scores showing that Kadee received an 18 before she took the Sylvan course. The only thing that Tamara could say when this was brought to her attention, for the second time, was that they don't guarantee anything.

Needless to say, we feel that we not only wasted $1,200 that we could have applied to my daughter's college tuition but 30 hours of my daughters time and the expense that was incurred by Kadee traveling 30 miles, one way, to attend these classes because we were given a false hope that Sylvan could increase my daughter's ACT scores and, therefore, increase her chances of receiving more scholarships.

Tamara gave us lots of promises while taking our money but when we required some explanations, she was very uncooperative. All she could offer in response to our dissatisfaction with the service that we received was more classes so that Kadee could take the ACT again in July.

We would like to have our money refunded so that we may apply it towards college tuition for our daughter. ACT scores did not increase significantly as promised. She did not receive a scholarship due to this. We will now have to pay full tuition at the college of her choice.

I am a former Sylvan Learning Corporation executive. I was one of the founders. I am saddened to read that Sylvan is not living up to the high ethical and moral standards we the originators founded. Yes we were in the business to make money, but yet we achieved results for more than 90% of the students and parents.

Sylvan was never meant to be a tutoring service, rather a diagnostic and prescriptive service to identify and hopefully solve the child's problem in reading or math. We never stated we raise an actual grade level, but rather in measurable results can achieve grade level growth by our diagnostic tools. That usually translated to better achievement in school.

As I said in a complaint before, both of my boys went from a& b and plumeted to 0's, I went in and had them tested my son with the severe adhd tested at 3rd grad level he was in the 7 or 8th I was assured it would be a federal loan that I could write off, Now never was I once ask if my boys had any kind of learning disabilities, and it wasn't until months later that a phschologist wanted them tested, sure enough both had learing disabilites and it finally showed it's ugly head when transferring to middle school had alsways gone to private school.

My oldest son qualifies for the Mckay Scholoarship but think I can get him back in school, since CLearwater High ignored me from day one with his 504 since he was making good grades, but they took a plummet like I knew they would, BEn has always found a network of friends to help him, but put him back im Privare High School so the financial strain is there and I still oue Sallie Mae 12,000. When I recently wrote Sylvan they said it wasn't there plase to see if a child has a learning disability how can that be when they base there charges on how far back the child tested, anyway knows that a child with learning disabilites does not test well, there are special rules.

I am now looking for grants to help me. I am so many feedbacks from people and people who quit working there since they took advantage of families in pain, is there anyway a class action can be started or can I file a claim om my own please hlep me my credit is ruined I fell at work and am now out on workers comp. Please Help.

I had my daughter being tutoed by sylvan for a BYU final exam. I paid 48.00 an hour for 2 days a week for 3 weeks to prepare her for this exam. She had failed the exam. Her test scores were the same before she had the tutoring. The teacher only worked with her on the practice exam and not helping her with the lessons. On the day she had a sub he had her write notes for the exam. She could have done this at home on her own.I felt it was a waste of time and money.

I am out the cost of about 300.00 and she has to pass this exam or she does not graduate. This is her Senior year and only 2 months left.

I enrolled my 7 yr.old son for reading, I paid 3842.00 up front. Plus 175.00 for testing. After about 4 months, this was for 108.00 hours of tutoring,@ $36.00 hour . We started on 9-25-08 . By the time the 36 hours came around,My son did not reach the full one grade level that they guarantee. So we should of got the 12 free hours, that I have in writing from them. But they did not stand by this guarantee, We were still charge for the 12 hours. Plus we were charged for the 2 hours of testing that was already paid for. Then we were charge for snow and ice days that they are closed on. And 2 sick days .

To top all this off. We get a letter that the Rolla, Mo. Sylvan is closing it's door on 1-31-09. I call the attorney office that was given on this letter to find out they are filing Chapter 7 . I Via-e-mail the Sylvan corp office, and got no were. Because all the offices are independently own . So Sylvan dose not stand behind the contract you sign with their name all over it. I was told After month of fighting and write letters and reviews , That the Jefferson City or Washington office MAY work out something to take on the pre-paid people.

After weeks, I was told that the Jefferson office will take my son with No other charges. ONLY for 44 hours, Equaling out to $1584.00 that they showed left on my sons account. This did not enclued the 12 free hours,nor the 12 hours for the snow days that THEY were closed,nor the 2 sick days or the 1 test day. As of TODAY, I drive 2 1/2 hours, One way to go to Jefferson city , for 3 hours of tutoring,for 44 hours. I am still out 36 hours.

The guarantee on their contracts and web site are worthless. Back in September 2008, we enrolled our granddaughter into the Sylvan Learning to improve on her reading skills and comprehension, as she was only noted reading in 2-grade level (she was entering 4th grade). This assessment was concurring of her level of reading by Sylvan Learning Center and Newark California Unified School District.

The guarantee was she would improve by the end of the program and start reading 5th-grade level. It did not happen after 5 months nor do her reading skills improve to the 3rd grade level after 36 hours. This evaluation was base on the State of California Education testing program.

As we requested the director to add another 12 hours to her program, she said no.

Sylvan tested her skills and her reading skills did improve to one grade per Sylvan standards. The testing is base on a national assessment? test, which no one told us, that the State of California does not recognized; though this type of testing is recognized in over 40 other states.

Nowhere we read or heard that the State of California education system does recognize Sylvan test assessments; or better yet, Sylvan Learning Center does not recognize the State of California testing for grade children.

We should be refunded the entire full amount of the tuition of $5,585.00. We feel we been mislead, defrauded upon and influence by false advertising.

We also feel that we should submit this complaint to the State of California State Attorney and investigate other claims besides ours and maybe there is pattern of defrauding consumers by Sylvan Learning Center in Fremont, California.

Out $5,585.00 and my granddaughters time.

The Sylvan Learning Center my child attended went into bankruptcy. Do Not pre-pay if you send your child there. It may reduce your payment a little but you won't get back any money still in your account if this happens. A concerned teacher is the only person to contact us and let us know they closed. Of course, she lost her job and had no idea what was going on but at least gave us a call rather than have us show up and find the note on the door telling us they were closed permanently. I know it is a franchise but shame on the corporate office.

My son attended Sylvan Learning center for a total of 9 months while in 1st and 2nd grade. During this time I received bi-weekly reports stating that his progress was good. My son received multiple awards for passing each test and advancing to the next level in both reading and math. I noticed that the reports I was receiving from Sylvan were contradicting compared to the reports my son was bringing home from school. I eventually addressed my concerns with Sylvan which led the Director Rebecca to make the decision to offer a few free sessions.

Needless to say the sessions were a waste of time just like the entire 9 months. I took out a loan through Sallie Mae for $7,000 which I am still paying $55.00 monthly. I feel cheated, my son is currently in 3rd grade and was just assessed with a learning disability. Sylvan took advantage of the opportunity to make money instead of helping a child who was in need. I have read the other complaints on this site and I pray we are able to start a class action lawsuit!

I signed up for an $8,000.00 loan through Sallie-Mae, my first mistake. Sallie-Mae is a third party, they fund Sylvan fully upfront, then you are on the hook for the entire loan, whether it works or not. After a couple of months in the program I was curious about why they were still going over odd and even. My daughter was in 3rd grade, at school they were learning multiplication tables, yet Sylvan was still doing odd and even numbers. The center director, Rachelle told us that they would not move on until the students were firmly established in the basics, Basics that my daughter would recite with ease when we were in the car or at home,yet somehow Sylvan's tests said otherwise. I finally removed my daughter from the Sylvan program when I received my daughter's report card and her grades WENT DOWN in every area that Sylvan tried to help her in. She made it through third grade, but by the skin of her teeth.

Rather than subject my daughter to Sylvan for the entire summer, I said enough is enough and pulled her and demanded a refund. I was informed that the Sylvan Advantage is that if the student does not improve a whole grade then there would be additional classes at no additional cost. I did not want my daughter's grades to suffer further so I demanded a refund of the unused portion of the loan so that I could be through with Sylvan. That was in early summer. In September I folowed up with an e-mail demanding my refund. I was told by R. Stortz on Spt. 29 that my loan would be reimbursed the unused funds in 6 to 8 weeks Processing time.

After 10 weeks and still no refund, during which time I continuued to pay my monthly amounts to Sallie-Mae, I contacted Dave at Sylvan, the second in charge at the center. He did not initially return calls because he was ill. I finally caught him in late December. His explanation was that due to the hard financial times, the owner, John was behind in processing refund requests. He promised me that the loan would be refunded by Jan. 15. Today is Jan. 22, my loan still has not been refunded. Sallle Mae is a third party in this. They funded the loan and now demand payment. I am stuck paying them.

No one at Sallie-Mae will return correspondence asking for help. And Sylvan continues on with what amounts to free money from my loan which they so far have not refunded. I would not recommend Sylvan to anyone. A better bet would be to check with a local college, they offer tutoring by students at a price less than half of what Sylvan charges, and with no contracts.

I am stuck paying an $8,000.00 loan at $185.00 per month, when most of that should be refunded and my loan payed off quickly. Sylvan has been a dissapointment to us.

My son was enrolled in sylvan back in 2006. at the time he was in the 3rd grade and struggling that year, sylvan gauranteed me that he would be on 4th grade level by the time he completed the course. during his meeting they stated that he had showed a lot of improvement and that he was on 4th grade level, by the end of the course i was then told he wasn't proforming, and wanted me to take out another loan so that he could do another course, for what i don't think so

sylvan learning center may have benefit but as for my son, the following year he repeated the 4th grade and i'm still suffering behind it, that loan was $4,000 for 1-2 hours 2 times a week for 4mos and the only somebody that benefit from it was sylvan learning center now i'm being sue by sallie mae for over $7,000 something that i don't have even though i started out paying the loan fine until my son didn't benefit from it.

i stop paying because i was getting behind on everything else trying to pay for something that didn't even help my son, just put me in more debt. i wish that there was away sylvan learning center can pay that money back to sallie mae

My son has problems with his eye sight and was struggling in school. I thought Sylvan was a good thing for him because of one on one teaching. I was wrong, Hurricane Ike cause our city a mandatory evaculation and my son was unable to attend classes and before signing any documents I explained that I'm a disable mom and can barely get around at times.

After the lady assured me that if my son missed an sessions he could make them up in make hours, I felt comfortable with going on with his enrollment. Due to transporation problems I called and let them know my son would no longer be attending the program until I could get another vehicle. Sylvan refuse to reburst any of my money and also kicked my son out of the program. I made three apointments with Sylvan's director (to explain my situation about transporation), either apointment the director never showed up. Sylvan's director was never available for conference. I was completely mislead by Sylvan and I wouldn't recommend anyone sending their children there.

I interviewed for a tutor position here and I was offered $10 per hour. I am a retired teacher and have taught for 22 years in public school settings. I have a Masters degree. As much as I would love to work with children again, I cannot justify the pay compared to what the parents are charged. I believe teaching is a noble profession, but that teachers should be shown enough respect to be paid on a professional scale, especially when the parents are paying so much. No wonder it doesn't work and the parents are seeing such few results.

We signed our 15 year old son with Sylvan on February 14th, we were given February 19th as his start date but when we got there they said sorry he was to have been here on the on 18th, which started our awful journey down Sylvan Way. I had to get the paperwork that the Director wrote the date on to prove he was the wrong one not us. We were promised so much at the time of sign up that we payed $9309 In full with total confidence that it would help our son.

I read all the paperwork and asked all the questions I had, we were told all tutors are certified (come to find out by an ex-tutor from that Sylvan that that was not true),I was told that they would work with us as far as make up days when we went out of town because that was a major concern of ours, but when I e-mailed saying we were going out of town when can he make up the time I was told sorry if he misses that time it's gone (I have the e-mail), we were promised that they would get with his teachers at school (I had to push and push for them to do it and when they finaly did meet with his Learning Stratagies teacher they started and finished the meeting without me even though I said I wanted to be there and took off work).

They said he would be put with kids his age (he was put with kids much younger than him), Conferences were at their convenience (they sent a letter stating that 15 minutes has been set aside for you on this date which at their whim would be changed last minute), meetings started late and once or twice I had to leave before meeting started because of the lateness and me having to get back to work.

Finaly because of dissappointment after dissappointment with our son's progress we had a meeting with Sylvan on June 12th and we were going to dis-enroll him and get a private tutor, at the meeting again we were promised he would be further along come August when school started and a private tutor would not be as effective as they are and here it is January and still not further along, as a matter of fact he has gone backward not forward as of their last testing. I have been working with his teachers and getting him passed not Sylvan. I have so much more to say that I don't think this e-mail space is enough. I have e-mail after e-mail of my complaints to Sylvan and their reasons things aren't going as promised, unfortunatly we don't have the money to just throw away on empty promises.

I feel we have been taken advantage of because of our desperation to help our son succeed. After the last meeting in December I was so fed up that I dis-enrolled him. I was than told he had until January 9th and when I dropped him off on January 5th I was told sorry he is already dis-enrolled. I need help! OH the $9309 we paid for enrollment does not include the $275 we paid to have him evaluated by Sylvan.

We borrowed from family and used savings to pay for this service. We paid in full because it was cheaper in the long run than paying monthly. My husband and I both work just to make ends meet. This hurt us!

Our son was struggling in school. We wanted to find him some help, so we turned to Sylvan. They were so positive when we went in, they promised so much. They said that they guaranteed that he would advance by two grade levels, I almost cried, this was so much more than we had hoped for. We signed the contract and took out a loan for $9,000.00. I was the borrower and my husband was the co-borrower. This loan was handled by Sallie Mae. We took our son four days a week from Dec. to May.

Even though we had specifically told them that he needed homework help and reviews for tests, we still had to repeatedly tell them to stay in contact with the teachers. You can not believe the pain and disappointment that we felt when he didn't even pass that year in school. What a waste of time and money! When I called Sylvan about it, they just wanted to give us more lessons.We refused more lessons because the first lessons didn't work. We paid on the loan for as long as we could, and then stopped.

They have turned us over to a collection agency and it is ruining our perfect credit. With the interest added on the $9,000.00 is more like $12,000.00 I wouldn't recommend Sylvan to anyone. It's not worth it. $12,000.00 in debt.for a service that didn't work. Sallie Mae credit people calling every single day. Depression over the fact that your child didn't pass the 10th grade after all of this.

My son missed a lot of kindergarten due to cancer and chemotherapy treatment. The school assessment said he should be fine to move on to 1st grade, but he'd have to work hard. Although my son is very determined, he is easily frustrated, and I wanted school to remain a positive experience for him. I thought a little time at Sylvan would help.

After the initial testing, I agreed to take Joey for two hours a day, three days a week. Tessa, the director, said that if I prepay, I would be charged less per hour, and that if I used Sallie Mae for a loan, it would be tax deductable.Another perk would be that the balance of the payment for the remaining hours, if I did not keep Joey enrolled during the school year, could be sent directly to Sallie Mae at the end of the summer. It would save me some interest charges.

I signed paperwork for a loan of 3195.00 payable to the Morris Sylvan center. When school resumed in August, I spoke with my son's teacher and asked her to let me know the results of his placement testing as soon as she could. They tested the first week of school, and after finding out that Joey had actually LOST knowledge during the summer and that the school has programs to help him, I decided it was not in my or Joey's best interest to continue to go to Sylvan. Joey loved his teacher and enjoyed his time at the center, but he was okay with it.

I talked to Tessa, who told me that the credit might take a couple of weeks to show up at Sallie Mae, and to call if for some reason it wasn't there in two weeks. The payment was never sent. As you can imagine, we have lots of bills coming in, and I want to pay this loan off and be done with it. (There is no monthly statement, and I didn't want to forget and be charged more.)

I have called repeatedly and been told, I'm sorry that it wasn't taken care of when we said. It will be taken care fo immediately. I have also been told that 'it was just done last Friday; sorry it's been taking so long to get it done.' This is four months I have been waiting and been lied to.

As of today, we have been billed $141.00 in interest, above the initial $3195.00, for failed sevices, billed at a higher price per hour than agreed upon. I am being lied to, and my time and money is being wasted during a period in my life when those things are especially important.

When we were finally able to make contact with Jamie, she blamed the missed appointment on the scheduler saying it wasn't marked in the book.

After paying $199 for an assessment, I am extremely disappointed that this business is run in such a slipshod manner. In further discussions with Jamie, my opinion even worsened. She has the communication skills of an eighth grader and I would not trust her assessment at all if it weren't for the use of computers by the person that actually administered the tests. I will certainly not send my grandson or any other child to this center, but will be certain to share our experience and dissatisfaction with everyone we know.

For the last three months they have took out the wrong amount out my account. Therefore he has cause a problem with my bank account.

MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN OVERDRWAL FOR THE LAST SERVERAL MONTHS DUE TO THERE MISTAKES.

I have just had an awful experience with the center in NYC on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. When I brought in my child for an evaluation, Amy, the center director, kept trying to get me to sign a contract. She was rude, pushy, and quite frankly wouldn't give me the time of day - but when her male suitor phone, she literally spoke with him for a good 10 minutes whilst we waited. Awful!

I will never go back to neither this location, nor to Sylvan!

My sons grades NEVER WENT UP AT ALL and he even got to the point where I had to have a few conversations with him about how this was in his best interest and tell him he had to go. Dont the commercials advertise the kids just love Sylvan? In our opinion and according to all of their promises they did not fulfill any of their obligations. We took a loan out for over $10,000.00 and feel that they owe us our money back!

We owe over $10,000.00 for failed services as I am sure several other parents who cannot afford it do.

My daughter was in danger of failing and repeating 4th grade so Sylvan seemed like a miracle. Without hesitation, the director rushed us into classes stating that seats were filling fast and she didn't want us to lose our space. The director broke numerous promises, missed countless meetings, and after 5 months of Sylvan, she learned nothing. The director promised to contact my daughters' school via fax and letter to let them know that she would be attending Sylvan instead of summer school. In September when the new school year started, the principal threatened to keep my daughter back because she didn't attend summer school. He didn't even receive any notification from Sylvan like promised. If it wasn't some reassuring from myself and my husband, my daughter would be repeating the 4th grade - no thanks to Sylvan.

There were many times that the center was supposed to open at 8:30 a.m. and no one arrived until 9:00 or 9:15 a.m. Class was supposed to end at 12:30 p.m. We would arrive around 12:15 and our daughter was already out of class. Come to find out, there was also a 15-20 minute break in between classes. So I'm paying for 4 hours and only receiving 3. At $52.00 per hour. I'm losing over $100.00 per week. The director set up meetings to discuss progress and missed most of them. Not once, did she ever call to reschedule. She just let us drive across town for nothing. No one in the center could ever offer us an explanation. I called the corporate office on several occasions and was always told that someone would get back to me. I didn't know that it would take 3 months.

When the director's supervisor finally did get around to calling me back, all she could do was defend her colleague. At one missed meeting, the director stated that she missed it because her father passed away. Of course, I empathized. But, when she missed the next meeting without a phone call, I was irate. I called the supervisor and even she couldn't track down the director. Later that day, the supervisor returned my call only to tell me that the reason the director missed our meeting was because her father fell ill. I'm sorry, but didn't her father just die last month? I have a heart, but I will not be lied to when there is over $14,000 on the line.

On several occasions, my daughter was left to herself at a table to learn and memorize flash cards. I can go to the dollar store and get flash cards for $.99 and do that at home with her myself. Why pay Sylvan $52.00? Hello, does this make any sense to anyone? My daughter said that she was in groups of 3 and had a question about the lesson being taught. Her tutor told her to wait until the end of the lesson for her question. Why? At the end of the lesson, she forgot the question and never learned the lesson. I told the director that I wasn't happy with Sylvan and wanted her removed. She was very persistent that we give it a little more time. I couldn't say no to my daughter, she seemed to like it there. But according to her teachers at her school, her academic performance wasn't showing any signs of progress.

It took 4 months for Sylvan to get the curriculum from our daughter's school so that they could teach at Sylvan what was being taught in her primary school. So for 4 months, they taught her what they "assumed" all 4th graders were learning. On slow days, they would just do her homework with her for her 2 hour class. Upon picking her up from Sylvan, her homework still wasn't done. How can you not finish 3 pages of homework in 2 hours? What is being done in these facilities for $52.00 per hour? My daughter's test scores were all coming back below 60%! My daughter wasn't learning anything!

When the director finally got a hold of the schools' curriculum, all my questions had been answered! Come to find out, my daughters' school was teaching "new" math and Sylvan was teaching "traditional" math! So, my daughter was being taught 2 different things, sometimes in the same day. She was totally confused. Had the director done her job in the beginning instead of just trying to fill up her seats, none of this would have happened. In conclusion, Sylvan was the biggest most expensive mistake of my life and I would give anything to go back in time and not send her there. I wouldn't recommend Sylvan to my worst enemy.

We signed a contract which states we would receive 12 free hours if our student didn't improve one full grade in math after 36 hours of instruction. Our student was excited about Sylvan and went with a good attitude. From January - May we paid Sylvan $3,500. However, after 36 hours his tests showed the following: Math computation: He regressed almost one full grade Concepts and Application: He regressed almost one and one half grades Total Math: He regressed one full grade. We asked for a 12 hour credit adjustment over two months ago and still haven't gotten it. We have had two email communications with Sylvan's corporate office since early June and no response except somone will get back to you.

We have one discouraged student and a depleted bank account. We are grandparents living on fixed incomes and raising two grandkids. We are sending this information on to the Better Business Bureau in Little Rock.

My experience with Sylvan Learning Center on 3rd Avenue in NYC has been exemplary. My child is in the Special Education program of the NYC Board of Ed. which has consistently failed not only to educate him but to keep him in his seat during class. He learned almost nothing during the course of one year in a General Ed class and next to nothing in a 12 to 1 in Special Ed. At Sylvan he began by learning the principles of phonics. It was slow at first, but over the summer what I observed him learning at Sylvan sank in and he started reading everything: street signs, newspapers, subtitles of movies etc. In his second year he moved on to longer passages and more complete comprehension of what he is reading.

After every session I confer with the teacher, observe his work and note his progress. If they have been studying antonyms or homonyms or prefixes or the differences between questions and statements I reinforce what he has learned during the class. When I ask him what he has learned during a full day of class he replies: 'Nothing'. When I ask him what he has learned at Sylvan that day, not only can he tell me but I am engaged in reinforcing his learning. Amy Rasch, the supervisor at this location has been commendable in her attention to my child's needs and applying the appropriate resources to them. My complaint is with the NYC Board of Ed. and its ineptitude with dealing with children with special needs.

Company is not following through with the tutoring services I was promised.

Both of my sons were failing in school I went to sylvan to see if they could help. They did not ask me if my children had been tested with learning disabilities, who would have thought of that, then they told me they could get me a loan and it would be tax deductible, well, we went for almost 6 months, did not help them at all, through a family crisis I got my sons counseling through that I found out that one had add, the other adhd, they were put on medication, and what a big turn around.

I feel sylvan took adavantage of me and my sons, I signed a contract for 17,000. I am in arrears over this thing, and guess what else never got a tax write off please help

my credit score has plummeted, and what would have happened if I didn't have the family crisis, my boys would have gone and kept going not knowing they had a disability.

I got a Sallie Mae loan from Sylvan Learning Center for math lessons for myself, an adult going back to college. I thought it was a government loan, but it isn't anymore. First it was 6.7% interest, then it was 12%. It did not go to me, it went to them and they helped themselves to paying themselves. My complaint is that they paid themselves for lessons that I did not go to. I called to let them know that I was not coming to the lesson.

Paid $400 for loan fees, lost $38 x 23 hours = $874 and money for interest paid since June 2006

I paid $130.00 for three PPST tests.

I enrolled my daughter for a summer tutoring program which I prepaid in the amount of 1,495.00. My daughter has a appx. 20 hours worth of classes she has not taken and I kept getting a run around from them to reschedule them. I called and left voice mail the second week of Sept. to reschedule and a week and a half later nobody got back to me. I called repeatedly and go voice mail so I called the corporate office complaints division and spoke to Diana.

Then I finally got ahold of Zaidee at the Rego Park office who did not get back to me neither. I finally got fed up with them so I sent them a fax in which I told them that because of their lack of customer service and professionalism I was request a refund for the remaining lessons. No one responded to my fax either.

Then I called again and got a hold of Audrey who then told me that Kevin the manager was no longer with their firm. She said she would look into the matter and get back to me. I got a called from her where she apologized and said she would look into the matter futher. She said that she would take care of it and send me a check which should send me a refund and it would take another two weeks which I expected by end of October. When the check didn't arrive I called her back and then she said that she was sorry that no one took care of the matter and she would have the accounting department mail it to me by Friday, Nov. 3 and to call her if I didn't receive it.

Then I called her back on Nov. 3th to tell her I hadn't seen it and she said she would call me back. I called her on Nov. 20th and she said that she didn't owe me anything because the agreement said (which no one told me of such a policy) that if my daughter didn't finish the course the price would revert from the discounted price to the original price and thus Sylvan did not owe me anything. It took them 4 months of run around and this goose chase with Keith (who is no longer with them) and ultimately with Audrey.

I enrolled my daughter in these classes and paid up front because they convinced me that it was the cheepest way to go. After they didn't even get back to me and my they neglect and disregard I was disgusted with them. I am requesting a reimbursement for the remaining 20 hours. Their service is terrible and I don't want my daughter returning to that establishment.

I lost approximatly $100.