About Palo Alto Mentor

Most online tutors keep a student for 8 weeks. Two of our families are in year 5.

Palo Alto Mentor is the online private practice of Tae Hyun Nam — a long-term STEM mentor for high-achieving high schoolers. Wyzant, Preply, Varsity Tutors and the rest of the online tutoring industry are built around swapping tutors when the current one isn't clicking. Average student–tutor relationship across those platforms: under two months.

Palo Alto Mentor works the opposite way. The two longest-running students started with Tae five years ago, in middle school. Same mentor through Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, and SAT Math. One person. Every subject. Every year.

The model in one sentence

One trusted STEM mentor across every subject from 8th grade through college admissions — not a rotating cast.

Subjects Tae teaches

  • Algebra I & II
  • Geometry
  • Pre-Calculus
  • AP Calculus AB & BC
  • AP Physics
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Computer Science (A and Principles)
  • SAT Math
  • Study skills and executive-function coaching

Best fit

Ambitious 8th–11th graders aiming for top AP scores and competitive college admissions, and parents who want one trusted mentor across subjects rather than a different tutor every six weeks. Most families stay 3–5 years.

Not the right fit

One-off homework help, last-week-before-the-exam cramming, or families optimizing for the cheapest hourly rate. The Palo Alto Mentor model is multi-year mentorship at a premium tier because that's what produces top AP scores and college outcomes — not a marketplace race to the bottom.

How sessions work

  • 100% online — Zoom plus a shared digital whiteboard
  • Weekly cadence; 1-hour standard, 90-minute available for AP-exam season
  • Tae personally tracks weak topics across the year and adjusts the plan
  • Mock AP exams with detailed scoring breakdown each spring
  • Direct text and email access between sessions for time-sensitive questions

Related deep-dive walkthroughs

Step-by-step guides Tae uses with students to lock in the highest-leverage AP problem types:

How to get started

The 20-minute intro call is free. We'll talk about where the student is in their AP / SAT / honors track, what outcomes the family is targeting (top scores, specific schools, deeper understanding), and whether multi-year mentorship is the right fit. Get in touch to schedule.