Brightstorm is a site offering study resources for high school students as well as test prep and college counseling services. As a part of your homeschooling curriculum, Brightstorm can be a great supplement to whatever course you have. They cover math, science, and English subjects at a high school level and boast a library of over 3,500 videos to help you fully understand each concept.
I used Brightstorm for about three months during my junior year. I am a professional slacker and roped in as much help studying for the SAT and ACT last minute. Brightstorm's videos are easy to follow and fun rather than dry and boring like so many similar site's content. Brightstorm also offers videos and problem solutions tailored specifically to certain textbooks. They support common texts from major textbook publishers.
However, in my personal opinion, Thinkwell's videos are generally more engaging and BenchPrep's and Thinkwell's courses more comprehensive. However, Brightstorm does offer college counseling that neither of the other sites offer. If you're homeschooled and looking for a little more guidance than what you can scavenge from Google, you may want to consider investing in this or a similar counseling system. It's not necessary to shell out anything for counseling, though. I made it to college by myself and so have many other homeschoolers.
If you're looking for a physical counselor, someone who can advise you during your college application process and help you create your transcript, look elsewhere. These are videos.
.You can buy as subscription to their materials on a month-to -month basis or purchase a year subscription at a discount. I only needed access to the videos for a few months because I was mainly using the test prep section for a specific test or two. If yours is a similar case, go with the month-to-month plan. If you're looking at using Brightstorm as a supplement to your curriculum and you're not already a senior, the year plan is significantly cheaper.
Overall, Brightstorm's content is high quality and their pricing is competitive. Their college counseling section gives them an edge on competition, but it's only another library of videos. I personally prefer Thinkwell and BenchPrep's content. If you like the idea of the counseling section, that may make BrightStorm more worthwhile for you when compared to other, similar sites.
