01Expert in-person & online — academic tutoring & test prep
Typically +2–3 ISEE stanines or +150 SAT points.
I'm Nico. I work from Studio City, ten minutes from Harvard-Westlake's Coldwater Canyon campus, and I've taught hundreds of students over 13 years. I take a limited number of families each season, and every session is with me. No roster, no substitutes.
Now booking fall '26
02Intake log
Four calls I get every week.
“Grades slipped this semester — and confidence went with them.”
Conceptual gap“The ISEE is a few months away and we haven't started.”
Timeline“Homework has turned into a nightly fight.”
Study system“My kid is bright, but the test scores don't show it.”
Test strategyAt Clear Concepts, we target the root cause of academic struggle: conceptual gaps. If any of these is your house right now, that's exactly the work I do. Tell me about your student →
03Verification
“He was extremely patient and really made me feel confident… helped me get an A in a class I previously had a C in.”
“All his fear vanished when he started getting tutored by Nicolas… from Beverly Hills High all the way through UC Irvine.”
04Meet Nico
I started tutoring as a freshman in high school, helping friends through math. At UC Santa Barbara I worked the drop-in tutoring room while finishing a degree in English with a minor in physics — which is why I can take the same student from a college essay to AP Calculus without handing them to someone else.
I founded Clear Concepts in 2015. When my first student got into USC, I understood the real job: the score matters, but the confidence is what stays. Thirteen years in, that hasn't changed.
Read my full story →
05Tolerances
I'd rather you know before we talk.
06Sequence
From first call to first score jump — no contracts, no intake maze.
A free 20-minute conversation about your student, your school list, and whether I'm the right fit. I answer my own phone.
A full timed practice test or a look at recent schoolwork — so we know the real starting point before anyone commits to anything.
A standing evening slot, a plan built backward from your date, and a note from me after every single session.
07Scope of work
every card is its own page — tap what you need ↓
Test prep
Academic tutoring
08Site survey
I've tutored students from LA's top schools — including Windward, Harvard-Westlake, Crossroads, Brentwood, Archer and Loyola. Thirteen years with these families means I know each school's math sequence, its English teachers' grading habits, and its admissions calendar. Each school below has its own page.
H-W is a 10-minute drive from my desk ↓09Coverage
I come to you. Home base is Studio City; I drive to the neighborhoods below and tutor online everywhere else. Tap any area for drive times and how sessions work there.
After practice, after dinner — whenever your student can actually focus. Most of my families book evening slots, and working parents don't have to leave the office early to make it happen.
10Notes
If yours isn't here, ask me directly — the consultation is free and I answer my own phone.
Yes — Harvard-Westlake students are a core part of my practice, and I'm based ten minutes from the Coldwater Canyon campus.
I know the school's math sequence, its writing expectations, and its exam calendar, so we spend session time on the work — not on me catching up.
Most of my ISEE students gain two to three stanines between their diagnostic and the real test.
That range comes from 13 years of students, not a marketing page. In our first session I run a diagnostic so you know exactly where your student starts.
I come to your home, anywhere from Studio City to Santa Monica — or we meet online.
There's no office to drive to. Evening slots run until 9 PM, which is when most students can actually focus.
Yes — I'm the only tutor, so every session, every week, is with me.
That's the point of a solo practice. No re-matching, no substitutes, no explaining your child's situation to a stranger mid-semester.
A limited number each season — enough that every student gets consistent weekly time on my calendar.
If I'm full, I'll tell you honestly and put you on the waitlist rather than squeeze you into a slot that won't work.
We talk for about 20 minutes about where your student is, where they need to be, and whether I'm the right person to close that gap.
No script, no pressure. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so and point you somewhere better.