For Psychologists, Evaluators, Consultants & Learning Specialists
A referral you can stand behind.
You've just handed a family a report that says their bright kid needs the right one-to-one support. This page is for deciding whether I'm that referral — and for reaching me directly if I am.
Who I serve
Gifted, twice-exceptional, and bright-but-struggling students, grades 6 through 12 — my deepest work is with high schoolers. There are usually two jobs, tangled together: the academic one, across the AP and honors slate — calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, statistics, economics — and the one underneath it. All sessions are remote and one-to-one, nationwide. I'm based in Austin — UT Austin trained, with daily gifted-learner work at Alpha's GT School behind me — but geography doesn't limit the work.
- The scores-say-gifted, grades-say-otherwise student whose report you just wrote.
- The AP or honors STEM student whose foundation cracked three chapters back.
- The capable teenager whose engagement has faded — and whose parents can no longer reach them through homework support.
What this practice is — and what it isn't
It is
- One-to-one academic mentorship from one person — me. No bench, no subcontractors, no handoffs.
- Subject rescue and rebuild across the AP and honors STEM slate.
- The slower work underneath: self-talk, systems, and the student's relationship with being smart.
- Month to month, with no contracts and no minimum term.
It is not
- Therapy or clinical treatment of any kind.
- Evaluation or diagnosis — that's your lane, and I refer into it.
- A homework-help service or a tutoring marketplace.
- In competition with your role. I'm the academic seat at the table.
How I work — and how I report back
I treat the teaching itself like an engineering problem. I've recorded more than 3,000 hours of my one-to-one sessions and spent nearly 1,000 additional hours building an AI-assisted system to review every transcript — where a student's energy dropped, where their reasoning went sideways, and where they needed thirty more seconds than I gave them. The system helps me turn the session record into useful summaries and plans; technology supports my judgment rather than replacing it.
For referring professionals, that discipline becomes visibility: with the family's consent, I send periodic progress notes — what we're working on, what's moving, what isn't — so your recommendation doesn't disappear into a black box. Families see the same discipline: a written summary after every session, a typeset packet of every problem we worked, and a semester review on progress and goals. Judge the work yourself:
Two things you can count on. Families who need evaluation or clinical support get referred out promptly — including back to you. And I never pay or accept referral fees. Clean referrals only.
UT Austin
BS, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Director at Microsoft
formerly; after building an eight-figure sales operation at a McKinsey-backed cybersecurity startup
Elite Guide
formerly, at GT School — Alpha's school for gifted learners
3,000+
recorded 1:1 hours; every transcript reviewed
What a referral looks like
Point the family my way. Attach the one-page summary to an email, or send them here. If you'd rather make a warm introduction, write me directly and copy the family — whatever fits your practice.
I take it from there. The family hears back from me personally within 24 hours, with an honest read on fit and a real sample of the work. If it isn't a fit — or a family needs evaluation or clinical support first — I say so promptly and refer out, including back to you.
You stay in the loop. With the family's consent, you receive periodic progress notes — what we're working on, what's moving, what isn't — so your recommendation never disappears into a black box.
What families invest
Weekly engagements begin at $800 per month; where a family lands depends on cadence — month to month, with no contracts and no minimum term. I keep the practice deliberately small: every session prepared for, every session reviewed after. I'd rather you know the number before you make the referral; it keeps every introduction clean.
For your referral list
If you keep a list of providers you trust, this is the entry — lift it as written.
Engineering Confidence — Matt Starolis. One-to-one remote STEM tutoring and mentorship for gifted, twice-exceptional (2e), and bright-but-struggling students, grades 6–12. Engineer-led: UT Austin ECE; formerly a director at Microsoft and an Elite Guide at GT School (Alpha's school for gifted learners). Academic mentorship only — not therapy or evaluation.
engineeringconfidence.one · matt@engineeringconfidence.one
Prefer something you can keep or forward? Download the one-page referral summary (PDF).
Start with one student
If you have a family in mind, email me directly — a few lines about the student is plenty. I read and answer everything myself, within 24 hours. If the fit isn't right, I'll say so and point you somewhere better.