For Rancho Santa Fe families, 8th grade is a busy year: private school applications, admissions tests and the move to high school all come at once. Our tutors are UC San Diego students who help Rancho Santa Fe students through it.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a UC San Diego tutor who fits.
We offer one-on-one tutoring for middle and high school coursework, ISEE and SSAT preparation and college essays. Our tutors come to your home in Rancho Santa Fe, and online sessions are available too.
Meet our tutors.
One campus through 8th grade
The Rancho Santa Fe School District has a single campus, R. Roger Rowe School, for kindergarten through 8th grade. Its students usually join the San Dieguito district as high school freshmen. Torrey Pines High School is the neighborhood high school, and families can also request a place at Canyon Crest Academy or San Dieguito Academy, which hold a lottery when more students apply than there are seats.
Applying to private schools
Families who are also looking at private schools have admissions tests in the fall and winter of 8th grade. The Bishop’s School, La Jolla Country Day and Pacific Ridge accept the ISEE or SSAT. Francis Parker requires the ISEE, and Santa Fe Christian asks 9th grade applicants for it. Cathedral Catholic gives its own test in January. We offer one-on-one ISEE and SSAT prep, and our tutors make sure an 8th grader’s regular classes don’t slip while they prepare.
Our tutors, in parents’ own words
All reviewsFind 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 Tutor“You connected Leo with a great tutor and made the process seamless.”
Find a coding tutor“I have been absolutely impressed by her lessons over the past few months. Lily also loves working with her. She has been making great progress with her programming and writing.”
“I find your tutor quality to be excellent and a perfect fit!”
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 math tutor“We used Cardinal Tutors and were happy with the level of professionalism and responsiveness we received. The math tutor selected for our son was a good match for him.”
Find a reading tutor“The girls have loved their time with her, and it showed: Clara's CAASPP score was excellent and Ruby has done tremendous improvement in her reading from below grade level to at grade level!”
“Thanks for your tremendous partnership over many years!”
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“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 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“Perfect fit to jumpstart my son's new habits and attitudes towards math.”
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 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 reading tutor“We had an incredible experience with our daughter's previous tutor from Cardinal for a couple of years!… She is doing really well with her reading and comprehension and I think our tutor put her at two grade levels ahead.”
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 math tutor“I wanted to thank you for finding our tutor who tremendously helped Sam with his math.”
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“Nora enjoys her sessions with her tutor and it's already helping her confidence with math.”
Find a Tutor“CT is awesome-- they found a great tutor for us. Only wish they could find more!”
Find a Tutor“She is doing great at school, on top of her stuff… We loved working with you and will recommend to friends.”
Find a math tutor“My son looked forward to his time with his tutor and felt good about his efforts and progress.”
Find a Tutor“You and your team are doing an amazing job. Thanks for all the help!”
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.”
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“Your matchmaking service is very clever and provides great options.”
Find a Tutor“She's a great tutor who has helped June progress.”
Find a Tutor“Thank you for selecting an excellent tutor for her.”
Find a Tutor“We love our tutor! A great start, she is excellent and has jumped right in.”
Find a Tutor“Our tutor is great! We are very happy with the service.”
Find a Tutor“It's been a great experience for our daughter with her tutor.”
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 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“We had our first tutoring session yesterday and it was fantastic!”
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.”
High school math after Rowe
Rowe students arrive at Torrey Pines or Canyon Crest alongside classmates who took San Dieguito’s middle school math courses. It helps to know which high school math course a Rancho Santa Fe 9th grader will start in, and to be ready for it. Learn more about our San Diego math tutoring.
Families nearer the coast can read about our Solana Beach tutoring.
Tell us what grade your Rancho Santa Fe student is in and what they need, and we’ll find the right tutor.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a UC San Diego tutor who fits.






