About our team

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Marianne Mita

B.A. & B.S. Philosophy & Neuroscience · UCLA · GPA - 3.86 | 520+ MCAT (98th percentile)

7+ years Tutoring Experience · 5th Grade to University Level · Philosophy · Neuroscience · Academic Writing

Marianne graduated from UCLA with a rare double degree — a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience — maintaining a 3.86 cumulative GPA and earning Dean's Honors List recognition across eight academic terms. She completed directed research in UCLA's Neuroscience department and scored in the 98th percentile on the MCAT with a 520+. Her philosophy coursework is exceptionally deep, covering logic, ethics, AI ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of medicine — all at honors or upper-division level. For students navigating pre-med, pre-law, or the humanities, Marianne brings a rigor and clarity of thought that is genuinely rare.

Marianne brings a depth of academic mentorship that extends well beyond the classroom. She has assisted in editing undergraduate theses in both Philosophy and Neuroscience, as well as a Master's thesis in Kinesiology, and Geology — giving her a rare familiarity with the standards of academic writing across disciplines and degree levels. Her tutoring practice has a particular strength in reading comprehension and the conceptual unpacking of complex Philosophy and Neuroscience material, helping students move from confusion to genuine understanding rather than surface-level memorization.

Marianne offers comprehensive editing support for the full range of documents students need: personal statements and essays for university applications, transfer applications, internship applications, and any other professional or academic writing a student might face. Whether a student is drafting their first college essay or polishing a graduate school statement of purpose, Marianne approaches every document with the same care — clear argument, precise language, and a voice that sounds like the student at their best.

Brice Buathier

B.S. Neuroscience · UCLA · GPA 3.63 | 4.0 in 120+ Pre-Transfer Credits (SBCC, Cabrillo, Foothill)

2+ years Teaching Assistant experience · UCLA & SBCC

Brice graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a 4.0 GPA across more than 120 pre-transfer credits at Santa Barbara City College, Cabrillo College, and Foothill College. He served as a Teaching Assistant for Stem Cell Biology at UCLA and Plant Biology at SBCC — two courses he had already aced as a student. His academic strengths span mathematics through calculus, the full chemistry sequence, physics, and the biological sciences, making him one of the most versatile science tutors available for students from 5th grade through college.

Brice has a proven, measurable track record of improving student outcomes. While serving as a Teaching Assistant for Plant Biology at Santa Barbara City College, he independently designed and built a dedicated tutoring website for the course — and the results spoke for themselves. Following its implementation, the class average on assessments rose from 68% to 79%, a gain that reflects not just supplementary resources but also a genuine shift in how students engaged with the material.

His greatest strength is working with students who are struggling. While other tutors focus on students who are already near the top, Brice specializes in identifying exactly where a student has lost the thread — and rebuilding from there. That approach has produced an extensive record of students achieving outcomes they didn't think were possible, including acceptances to their top-choice transfer schools.

Brice also brings something few tutors can offer: deep, firsthand expertise in navigating the community college system. Having completed over 120 credits across Santa Barbara City College, Cabrillo College, and Foothill College before transferring to UCLA himself, he understands the transfer pathway from the inside. He advises students on transfer planning strategy, assists with transfer applications, and helps families understand the community college support structures — counseling resources, articulation agreements, course sequencing — that can make the difference between a successful transfer and a delayed one. For any student on the community college-to-university track, Brice is uniquely positioned to guide them every step of the way.

What we have helped students achieve:

University Acceptances:

  • UC Los Angeles

    • 145,086 Overall Applicants | Acceptance Rate:~9.4% | Transfer Acceptance Rate: 22.7%

  • UC Berkeley

    • Total Applicants: 126,836, | Acceptance Rate: ~ 11.7 % | Transfer Acceptance Rate: ~24%.

  • UC San Diego

    • Total Applicants: 136,740 applicants | First-Year Acceptance Rate: 28.4% | Transfer Acceptance Rate: 52.7%

  • UC Santa Barbara

    • Total Applicants: ~110,000 | Overall First-Year Acceptance Rate: 38.3% (approximately) | Transfer Acceptance Rate: ~59%–61%

  • UC Santa Cruz

    • Total Applicants: 66,373 | Acceptance Rate: 72.7% | Transfer Acceptance Rate: 68.8%

Magnet Program Middle School + Highschool

Our Mission

College Success Tutors was founded by Brice Buathier and Marianne Mita, two University of California, Los Angeles graduates who believe the best tutors are the ones who have genuinely been where their students are — sitting in the same classes, wrestling with the same material, and figuring out how to get unstuck. Between us, we hold degrees in Neuroscience, Philosophy, and the Life Sciences, and we earned A's in every subject we offer. That’s not a marketing line, it's our transcripts.

Our Grades, On Record

We don't ask you to take our word for it. Below is a complete record of every course we've completed at UCLA and our transfer institutions, filtered to A- and above — the only grades we teach from. If a course appears here, one or both of us sat through every lecture, passed every exam, and earned the grade. That's the standard we hold ourselves to, and the standard we bring to every session.

Browse our full course offerings by selecting any subject below.

KEY: (B) = Brice  (M) = Marianne  (B+M) = Both tutors earned A- or above

Institution codes: UCLA = University of California, Los Angeles | SBCC = Santa Barbara City College | CAB = Cabrillo College | FOOT = Foothill College

FORMAT: (COURSE) (COLLEGE) (TUTOR) (GRADE ACHIEVED)

  • NEUROSC M101B Molecular & Developmental Neuroscience UCLA B+M A / A

    NEUROSC M101C Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience UCLA B+M A- / A

    NEUROSC 150 Biotechnology in Neuroscience UCLA B+M A+ / A+

    NEUROSC M161 Personal Brain Management UCLA B+M A / A+

    NEUROSC 199B Directed Research UCLA M A

    NEURLGY 99 Student Research Program (P/NP) UCLA M P*

    *P/NP — not graded; excluded from letter-grade list but noted for context

  • LIFESCI 7A Cell & Molecular Biology UCLA M A+

    LIFESCI 7B Genetics, Evolution & Ecology UCLA M A

    LIFESCI 7C Physiology & Human Biology UCLA M A

    LIFESCI 30A Math for Life Scientists I UCLA M A+

    LIFESCI 30B Math for Life Scientists II UCLA M A

    LIFESCI 23L Lab & Scientific Methods UCLA M A

    LIFESCI 40 Statistics of Biological Systems UCLA M A-

    MCD BIO 50 Stem Cell Biology, Politics & Ethics UCLA B A

    BIOL 102 Animal Biology SBCC B A+

    BIOL 101 Plant Biology SBCC B A

    BIO 9A Molecular, Cellular & Animal Biology CAB B A

  • CHEM 14A General Chemistry for Life Scientists I UCLA M A

    CHEM 14B General Chemistry for Life Scientists II UCLA M A

    CHEM 14C Structure of Organic Molecules UCLA M A-

    CHEM 14CL General & Organic Chemistry Lab II UCLA M A-

    CHEM 12A Organic Chemistry I CAB B A

    CHEM 12AL Organic Chemistry Lab I CAB B A

    CHEM 101 Introductory Chemistry SBCC B A

    CHEM 155 General Chemistry I SBCC B A

    CHEM 156 General Chemistry II SBCC B A

  • PHYSICS 5A Mechanics & Energy UCLA B+M A / A

    PHYSICS 5B Thermodynamics & Waves UCLA B A

    PHYSICS 5C Electricity, Magnetism & Modern Physics UCLA B+M A/A-

  • MATH 1B Calculus II (Integral Calculus) FOOT B A+

    MATH 150 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I SBCC B A+

    MATH 117 Elementary Statistics SBCC B A

    MATH 138 Pre-Calculus, College Algebra & Trig SBCC B A

    MATH 137 College Algebra SBCC B A

  • PHILOS 4 Analysis of Contemporary Moral Issues UCLA M A-

    PHILOS 21 Skepticism & Rationality UCLA M A+

    PHILOS 22 Introduction to Ethical Theory UCLA M A

    PHILOS 31 Logic — First Course UCLA M A

    PHILOS 100A History of Greek Philosophy UCLA M A-

    PHILOS 100B Medieval & Early Modern Philosophy UCLA M A+

    PHILOS 100C Modern Philosophy 1650–1800 UCLA M A

    PHILOS 123 Science and Values UCLA M A

    PHILOS 125 Philosophy of Science — Contemporary UCLA M A

    PHILOS 170 Philosophy of Mind UCLA M A

    PHILOS 171 Topics in AI Philosophy UCLA M A

    PHILOS 173 Philosophy of Medicine UCLA M A+

    PHILOS 152A Emotion & Psychology — Good & Evil UCLA M A-

    PHILOS 159 AI Ethics UCLA M A

    PHILOS C119 Being with Others — Mad World UCLA M A

    PHILOS C133B Probability & Inductive Logic UCLA M A

    PHILOS C151B Kant's Ethics UCLA M A

  • PSYCH 120A Cognitive Psychology UCLA B A-

    PSYCH 120B Sensation & Perception UCLA B A

    PSYCH 162 Psychology of Addiction UCLA M A

    PSYCH 4 Introduction to Biological Psychology CAB B A

  • ENG 111 Critical Thinking, Composition & Literature SBCC B A+

    ENG 110 Composition and Reading SBCC B A

    CLUSTER 48A Political Violence — Modern Cluster UCLA M A

    CLUSTER 48B Political Violence — Modern Cluster II UCLA M A

    CLUSTER 48CW Enthusiasm (Honors, Writing Intensive) UCLA M A

  • ECON 102 Macroeconomics SBCC B A+

    ECON 101 Microeconomics SBCC B A

  • ASL 8 Intensive Elementary American Sign Language UCLA B+M A / A

  • EDUC 10 Intro to Educational Issues & School UCLA B A+

    SOCIOL 171 Occupations & Professions UCLA B A

    SOCIOL M162 Sociology of Gender UCLA B A-

    ANTHRO 2 Archaeology — Introduction UCLA B A-

    CLASSIC 20 Discovering Romans UCLA B A

    ISLM ST M20 Introduction to Islam UCLA B A

    ART HIS 29 Chinese Art UCLA M A-

    COMM 7 Interpersonal Communication CAB B A

    MA 70 Medical Terminology CAB B A

    FIN 100 Personal Money Management SBCC B A+

    ART 101 Visual Literacy SBCC B A

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