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 STEM slate — calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, statistics — and the one underneath it. All sessions are remote and one-to-one, nationwide. I'm based in Austin — UT Austin trained, working daily with gifted learners at GT School — 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 who has stopped trying — and stopped letting their parents help.
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. Families stay because the work works.
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 built AI models to analyze every transcript — where a student's energy dropped, where their reasoning went sideways, where they needed thirty more seconds than I gave them. Every session plan is built from the data of the last one.
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.
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
Microsoft
director's org; before that, a McKinsey-backed security startup
Elite Guide
GT School — Alpha's school for gifted learners
3,000+
recorded 1:1 hours, every transcript analyzed
What families invest
Most families invest $700–$2,000+ per month, depending on session cadence — month to month, no contracts, no minimums. 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 Microsoft, Elite Guide at GT School (Alpha's school for gifted learners). Academic mentorship only — not therapy or evaluation.
engineeringconfidence.one · matt@engineeringconfidence.one
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.