CommentPage 1 of 2
In August 2007 I took my 2 oldest children to be tested at Sylvan. They were both falling behind in school being a working Mom of 4 I just don't have enough hours in the day.Both of the kids tested below grade level and I was told that they needed 200 hours to get back to grade level.
Now at the end of this school year and with very little progress with one child and an almost negative result with the other, we are in the same place and over $20,000 poorer ( plus interest as this was a student loan).
I went in to express my disappointment to the manager and to withdraw them a few weeks early and she told me that the education director should have told me the program was going to take longer, maybe 600 hours, so that I could've made a decision about leaving them in or not. This was never done.
She then informed me that if I terminated our agreement early it would cost $49 per hour, retro to the first day 9 months ago leaving me owing more money to the company. She was going to check with the manager to see if they could give me the small credit, $1300.00, since the education director who has since left, never told me that it would take so much longer to help them back to grade level.
Today, May 14, 2008, she called back. I was informed that I signed a contract and that I could not leave without paying the additional $2000+ or I could just leave them in the program. I did agree to the contract but that contract also wasn't met by them. They withheld information that would have changed my decision to leave them there.
After going the rounds she won. I told her that she can report to her boss that they will be able to keep the $1300 they would have paid me and it will cost them thousands more when I tell every and any parent I meet with a child that struggles to NEVER GO TO SYLVAN.
They cost to much...minimum is $43 per hour if you prepay large amounts of time. It is a 1 to 3 ratio of teachers to students. There is little feedback to the parents that pay this atronomical price and what it comes down to is that this is a business. They are there to success, not to see your child succeed.
I believe if you were to have them in the program for life that they would make a big impact, but that is not practical because of the cost. If your child is struggling find someone who can be a tutor one on one. Children that have fallen really behind usually have other issues to deal with as well and Sylvan will only make things harder for you financially.
I have basically spent the college education for one of my children on a tutoring program that has taught them nothing! The program sounds good and the commercials look good but the program is NOT worth the cost. If you really love your kids, save your money, get them a tutor from the high school or into a program at your school and save the money for when they actually get to college.
 Comments (17) |  |
| 1. Written by Erin-exemployee, on 28-10-2009 12:27 Sylvan is a great program if run correclty!! In order to have a great experience at Sylvan you really need to ask questions first. If you feel the directors are under qualified then you can count on the teaching and support staff to follow suit! Sylvan is a bussiness and a bussiness needs to make money to stay a float. I have enjoyed my time working with Sylvan but I also had a great environment were learning took place and everyone enjoyed being there. |
| 2. Written by Maurene Humphrey, on 09-10-2009 12:55 We have had one good experience with our granddaughter in Post Falls, ID and they did a fabulous job. However, we are wondering if anyone has had experience with a child that is HDAD and ODD. According to the Sylvan here, they have had great successes. Our grandson's teacher has warned against Sylvan so we are looking for parents with experiences to assist us. Thanks.  |
| 3. Written by Melissa, on 09-10-2009 08:17 I had a great experience at the Sylvan Learning Center in Suwanee, GA. My son was struggling with Algebra and he was able to bring his grade to a B from a F. My son loved all the teachers and the director. He will go back for the SAT prep. As far as the price this is an investment for your child. People will spend thousands and thousands on cars, computers, tv's and I hate when people don't spend a little money to get their kid some help with their education |
| 4. Written by Chance, on 11-09-2009 13:08 Michael: As a fellow teenager who also went to Sylvan, I have to disagree with your post. I am an 18-year-old, recent high school graduate who took the SAT three times. The first time, I did not prepare and my scores did not match my academic potential. I received a 1400. The second time, I had enrolled in Sylvan Learning’s SAT Prep program to better prepare myself and I scored a 1440, even though I did not complete the required homework for the program. On my third attempt, I achieved a perfect SAT score because I listened to Sylvan’s advice. Now, I have a free ride to U of Texas. Sylvan's study skills saved my parents $100K because my college education is now free. So, Sylvan helped me. |
| 5. Written by michael age 13, on 07-08-2009 22:17 also they do a ton of repetition and spend lots of time on thing that are completely unrelated or unnecessary to you. ie:hours on testing when i ace all tests. they do it because you pay by the hour. complete waste of money and time |
| 6. Written by michael, on 07-08-2009 22:11 i did the study skills program thinking it give me some much needed help with organization. most of it has absolutely nothing to do with study skills and when brought it up the teacher told me that the program was basically torture to make children do their work so that they don't have to come back an that it was not at all beneficial. needless to say i was infuriated |
| 7. Written by Patty, on 20-04-2009 12:36 I too have had a bad experience with Sylvan Learning Center. I enrolled my 11 year old daughter because she was having problems with her reading comprehension. She attended Sylvan for 170 hours at a cost of approximately $6,000.00 and her grades went down. We even received a letter from the school district stating that she was below grade level in reading comprehension so here teacher has recomended summer school. Can anyone tell me if it's worth it to try and recoup some of my money? I thought that Sylvan was guaranteed. Any feedback would be appreciated. |
| 8. Written by wfgn, on 14-04-2009 22:25 I guess it would really matter who manages the center. Unfortunately the center in Rialto, CA was not a good one. I had my daughter go there and did not have a good experience. Not only did she not learn anything, she was even ahead of what they were teaching her. They even give out the answers without explaining how they derive it. She told me that that she understood things better when I was the one teaching her. So then I decided to pull her out quickly. I paid the full 60 hours but had her pulled for the first 12 hours but the director told me that it would not be immediate. There would still be 2 weeks notice. So my daughter ended up having 19 hours with them. It has been almost 8 weeks now and still I have not received my refund. It is a real rip off. They ask for your money immediately but the refund takes them months to give back. javascript:ac_smilie('  ') I am still waiting for 1 more week, if not I will do what arfs_inc suggested....file a civil suit! |
| 9. Written by Andrea, on 12-09-2008 15:27 And on top of all of my other problems, the manager, Rose, was very rude to my mother who picked the kids up on their final afternoon. Rose was suppose to have some report put together showing all of the kids tests scores but when my mom came they were not ready. Rose asked if she wanted them right then. My mom responded with of course since this is their last day here and they wouldn't be back. As they turned to leave the room she commented under her breath, "I see where she gets it from." My mom had nothing to do with our problems and for her to make a comment like this was TOTALLY unprofessional. My mom heard her and turned around and called her on it. I was very upset in dealing with all of this and hearing all of the excuses that Rose had for me....we had a bad education coordincator ( Todd ), and there was a change in owners which made things hard and she didn't realize that Todd hadn't done this or hadn't done that....and my frustration in it all was exactly that....why did I have to pay for this expensive program when all they had to give me were excuses for their failures??? I hope someone at corporate does hear this complaint and steps in to fix the problems at this location, and potentially others. If enough people have bad experiences it could have a long lasting negative impact on their business. |
| 10. Written by Andrea, on 12-09-2008 15:16 I'm sure management, just like anywhere, has a major impact on the success of the business. The center I was at, 5632 S Redwood Rd in Taylorsville, UT, changes owners either just before or just after we started. The manager basically was there to sell the company and then they had an education director that was suppose to track the progress. My kids started in mid-August 2007 and were due for their 36 hour tests by beginning to mid-September. No tests were done until I asked in early November. I didn't understand how the whole process was "suppose" to work and didn't know I needed to follow up with them constantly. No one ever approached me to discuss the need for additional hours in order to meet goals, and my son did regress on his testing. I think he was just a lucky guesser sometimes. My stepkids needed a lot of help and I wasn't expecting miracles but I was expecting progress and expecting them to follow through on testing and teaching. I didn't expect that they would let my son sit there for hours doing nothing. If he didn't get it then they should have been reteaching him not just watching him struggle for hours and they should have talked to me about it which was never done. Just like any franchise, you will have differenent experiences, but for the cost of this service I expected A LOT more. I don't think I would risk this kind of money ( I think it is about $53 per hour now). There are a lot of teacher and/or college students that would love to tutor and would probably make a lot more progress. |
 |
| Comments on Sylvan Learning is a ripoff | |
Consumer Forum is another great place to discuss consumer concerns NOT RELATED to this article. |