Paly students take on a lot: demanding classes, sports, clubs and, for many, the long road to college applications. Our tutors are Stanford students who remember that balance well, and we’ve been working with Paly families for years.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.
We help with whatever your student needs, from Algebra 2 and Chemistry to AP Calculus and English essays. We also help Paly juniors and seniors with SAT and ACT prep and college essays.
Meet our tutors
English at Paly, from 9A to AP Lit
Paly English follows a clear path. Freshmen take English 9A, and sophomores take English 10A, where the writing centers on literary analysis and argument. In 11th grade students choose yearlong AP English Language or two semester electives, and seniors pick from AP Language, AP Literature, the dual-enrollment ERWC course with Foothill College, or electives. AP Language focuses on rhetorical analysis, argument and synthesis. AP Literature is all fiction and poetry, with reading due at each class meeting and a formal graded essay each quarter. A Stanford tutor can help a student build a thesis, find the right evidence in a text and revise a draft before it’s due, so the choices in junior and senior year come from interest and confidence. Learn more about our English and writing tutoring.
Our high school tutors, in parents’ own words
All reviewsFind a writing tutor“Our tutor was a senior at Stanford who tutored my son in English, and also SAT preparation. My son received great marks on the SAT exam and also improved his grade in AP English from B to A.”
Find a math tutor“Your program really helped us. Henry pulled up his English last year to an A, and his next tutor helped him pull up his math and bio.”
“Everyone is looking for tutors and I said you're the best.”
Find an online tutor“Their response time is outstanding. Neil responded quickly to my tutoring request for my 15-year-old. Love knowing that I have access to these high-quality services for my children. And, we use them via Zoom since we live in Tennessee. I cannot say enough great things about this business:)”
Find a math tutor“My son had a wonderful experience with Cardinal Tutors when he needed help with his High School math and science classes. It turns out my son also needed help staying organized with all his assignments, something that the tutor helped with as well.”
Find a math tutor“Our tutor is truly amazing! He is so patient, explains things well, asks great questions, and checks for understanding. Owen really enjoyed working with him and they accomplished so much. This is really a game changer for us! I had high hopes and he exceeded them.”
Find a math tutor“I wanted to thank you for finding our tutor who tremendously helped Sam with his math.”
Find a Tutor“Iris loved working with her tutor!! … Also, I have another student for you — a friend of Iris's that needs help.”
Find a Tutor“Fantastic tutoring service. The tutor (who was a Stanford junior) really connected with my son and inspired him to learn. He had some great study tips and was able to help my son raise his grades by quite a bit.”
Find a math tutor“She found a perfect match for my son… He is stellar. My son has grown leaps and bounds in math. Our tutor is not only a subject matter expert but teaches very well, highly prompt, flexible when needed.”
Find a math tutor“My daughter went from a C in Algebra II to an A- in one semester. The tutor was great, she really related to my daughter and made learning fun for her.”
Find a Tutor“Very professional service with excellent teachers. My son loved his teacher, called him the best he ever had! I can very highly recommend it.”
Find a Tutor“I am usually not one to write a review, but I wanted to communicate how great Cardinal Tutors was for my child. They had a very flexible plan which helped accommodate my child's needs and I saw a tremendous return (grade-wise) from their services. Could not recommend more highly.”
Find a math tutor“The tutors themselves have been great: well-prepared, thoughtful and on-time. At each level of math needed, we found these Stanford students to be not just helpful tutors but great mentors as well.”
Find a math tutor“The subsequent long term tutor that we had for pre calc and for ACT tutoring was amazing. She was completely professional, organized, thorough and easy to work with.”
Find a math tutor“You have been a wonderful inspiration for Eli and we are very grateful for having you in the past half-year!”
Find a coding tutor“The program has been awesome for us. Theo loves working with our tutor and has learned so much.”
“Our tutor is just outstanding — great with Theo and very communicative with me. Super helpful!”
Find a Tutor“I reached out to Cardinal Tutors and was lucky enough to find the most amazing tutor. I wish I had found him earlier.”
Find a math tutor“We used Cardinal Tutoring again in the Spring 2018 for precalculus. Once again, she had a great tutor she really liked and who really helped her this year. My daughter is a senior so we won't need Cardinal Tutoring again, but I highly recommend them!”
Find a Tutor“We have had an excellent experience with Cardinal Tutors for the past two years. Neil was very responsive whenever we had any questions. We definitely strongly recommend them and plan on using them again in the near future.”
Find a math tutor“It was great to find a couple of really smart young women who helped not only with the subject matter, but became great role models.”
Choosing a lane and an AP load at Paly
Paly offers math in three lanes, college prep, advanced and honors, and the honors lane ends in AP Calculus BC. Students choose their courses each year with their current teacher’s recommendation in mind. Any move up or down a lane has to happen within the first six weeks of the school year, and the grade comes along to the new course. In second semester, students can only move down, and only in the first two weeks. Paly also suggests no more than two AP classes per semester, and most of its AP courses are reserved for juniors and seniors. Since those first weeks matter so much, it helps to start tutoring before the first big unit test. We can also help a student think through how much a new honors or AP course will add to the week.
Sessions are one-on-one, in person around Palo Alto or online. Learn more about our Palo Alto tutoring.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.












