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                                                           EXHIBIT 99(a)(5)(i)

                         SYLVAN LEARNING SYSTEMS, INC.

                          Offer to Purchase for Cash
                                      by
                         Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc.

                  up to 9,500,000 Shares of its Common Stock
          (Including the Associated Preferred Stock Purchase Rights)
  at a Purchase Price not Greater than $17.50 nor Less than $15.25 Per Share

  The offer, proration period and withdrawal rights will expire at 12:00
Midnight, Eastern Time, on Monday, April 17, 2000, unless the offer is
extended.

                                                                 March 21, 2000

To Our Clients:

  Enclosed for your consideration are the Offer to Purchase dated March 21,
2000 and the related Letter of Transmittal in connection with the offer by
Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., a Maryland corporation, to purchase shares of
its common stock, $0.01 par value per share. Sylvan is offering to purchase up
to 9,500,000 shares at a price not greater than $17.50 nor less than $15.25
per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest, as specified by
shareholders tendering their shares.

  Sylvan will select the lowest purchase price that will allow it to buy
9,500,000 shares or, if a lesser number of shares are properly tendered, all
shares that are properly tendered and not withdrawn. All shares acquired in
the offer will be acquired at the same purchase price.

  Sylvan's offer is being made upon the terms and subject to the conditions
set forth in the Offer to Purchase and in the related Letter of Transmittal,
which, as amended or supplemented from time to time, together constitute the
offer. All shares tendered and purchased will include the associated preferred
stock purchase rights issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated Rights
Agreement dated as of December 18, 1999, between Sylvan and First Union
National Bank, as rights agent, and, unless the context otherwise requires,
all references to shares include the associated preferred stock purchase
rights.

  Only shares properly tendered at prices at or below the purchase price and
not properly withdrawn will be purchased. However, because of the "odd lot"
priority, proration and conditional tender provisions described in the Offer
to Purchase, all of the shares tendered at or below the purchase price will
not be purchased if more than the number of shares Sylvan seeks are properly
tendered. Shares tendered at prices in excess of the purchase price that is
determined by Sylvan and shares not purchased because of proration or
conditional tenders will be returned as promptly as practicable following the
Expiration Date.

  Sylvan reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to purchase more than
9,500,000 shares pursuant to the offer.

  If at the expiration of the offer more than 9,500,000 shares, or any greater
number of shares as Sylvan may elect to purchase, are properly tendered at or
below the purchase price and not properly withdrawn before the Expiration
Date, Sylvan will purchase shares first from any person (an "Odd Lot Holder")
who owned beneficially or of record an aggregate of fewer than 100 shares (not
including any shares held in Sylvan's Employee Stock Purchase Plan or in
Sylvan's 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan) and so certified in the appropriate
place on the Letter of Transmittal and, if applicable, on a Notice of
Guaranteed Delivery, and properly tendered all those shares at or below the
purchase price and then,
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subject to the conditional tender provisions, on a pro rata basis from all
other shareholders who properly tender shares at prices at or below the
purchase price.

  A tender of your shares can be made only by us as the holder of record and
pursuant to your instructions. The Letter of Transmittal is furnished to you
for your information only and cannot be used by you to tender your shares held
by us for your account.

  Accordingly, we request instructions as to whether you wish to tender any or
all of the shares held by us for your account, upon the terms and subject to
the conditions of the offer.

  Please note the following:

  1. Shares may be tendered at prices not greater than $17.50 nor less than
  $15.25 per share, as indicated in the attached Instruction Form.

  2. The priority in which certificates will be purchased in the event of
  proration may be designated.

  3. The offer is not conditioned on any minimum number of shares being
  tendered. The offer is, however, subject to other conditions described in
  the Offer to Purchase.

  4. The offer, proration period and withdrawal rights will expire at 12:00
  Midnight, Eastern time, on Monday, April 17, 2000, unless the offer is
  extended.

  5. The offer is for 9,500,000 shares, constituting approximately 19% of the
  shares outstanding as of March 20, 2000.

  6. Sylvan's Board of Directors has approved the making of the offer.
  However, neither Sylvan nor Sylvan's Board of Directors nor the Dealer
  Managers is making any recommendation whether you should tender or refrain
  from tendering your shares or at what purchase price you should choose to
  tender your shares. You must make the decision whether to tender your
  shares and, if so, how many shares to tender and the price or prices at
  which you will tender them.

  7. Tendering shareholders who hold shares registered in their own name and
  who tender their shares directly to the Depositary will not be obligated to
  pay brokerage commissions, solicitation fees or, subject to Instruction 7
  of the Letter of Transmittal, stock transfer taxes on the purchase of
  shares by Sylvan in the offer.

  Sylvan will, upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the offer,
accept all your shares for purchase if:

  .  you owned beneficially or of record an aggregate of fewer than 100
     shares (not including any shares held in Sylvan's Employee Stock
     Purchase Plan or in Sylvan's 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan);

  .  you instruct us to tender on your behalf all your shares at or below the
     purchase price before the Expiration Date; and

  .  you complete the section entitled "Odd Lots" in the attached Instruction
     Form.

  If you wish to tender portions of your shares at different prices, you must
complete a separate Instruction Form for each price at which you wish to
tender each portion of your shares. We must submit separate Letters of
Transmittal on your behalf for each price you will accept for each portion
tendered.

  If you wish to have us tender any or all of your shares, please instruct us
by completing, executing, detaching and returning the attached Instruction
Form. An envelope to return your Instruction Form to

                                       2

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us is enclosed. If you authorize us to tender your shares, all your shares
will be tendered unless otherwise indicated on the attached Instruction Form.

  Please forward your Instruction Form to us as soon as possible to allow us
ample time to tender your shares on your behalf prior to the expiration of the
offer.

  As described in the Offer to Purchase, if more than 9,500,000 shares, or any
greater number of shares as Sylvan may elect to purchase, have been properly
tendered at or below the purchase price and not properly withdrawn before the
Expiration Date, Sylvan will purchase tendered shares on the basis described
below:

  1. First, all shares tendered and not withdrawn before the Expiration Date
     by any Odd Lot Holder who:

    (a) tenders all shares owned beneficially or of record by the Odd Lot
  Holder at a price at or below the purchase price (tenders of less than all
  shares owned by the Odd Lot Holder will not qualify for this preference);
  and

    (b) completes the section captioned "Odd Lots" on the Letter of
  Transmittal and, if applicable, on the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery; and

  2. Second, after purchase of all of the foregoing shares, subject to the
     conditional tender provisions described in Section 6 of the Offer to
     Purchase, all other shares properly tendered at prices at or below the
     purchase price and not properly withdrawn before the Expiration Date, on
     a pro rata basis (with appropriate adjustments to avoid purchases of
     fractional shares) as described in the Offer to Purchase.

  The offer is being made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and the
related Letter of Transmittal and is being made to all record holders of
shares of common stock of Sylvan. The offer is not being made to, nor will
tenders be accepted from or on behalf of, holders of shares of common stock of
Sylvan residing in any jurisdiction in which the making of the offer or
acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities laws of that
jurisdiction.

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                               Instruction Form

      Instructions For Tender of Shares of Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc.

  The undersigned acknowledge(s) receipt of your letter and the enclosed Offer
to Purchase dated March 21, 2000 and the related Letter of Transmittal in
connection with the offer by Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., a Maryland
corporation, to purchase shares of its Common Stock, $0.01 par value per
share. Sylvan is offering to purchase up to 9,500,000 shares at a price not
greater than $17.50 nor less than $15.25 per share, net to the seller in cash,
without interest, as specified by shareholders tendering their shares.
Sylvan's offer is being made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set
forth in the Offer to Purchase and in the related Letter of Transmittal,
which, as amended or supplemented from time to time, together constitute the
offer. All shares tendered and purchased will include the associated preferred
stock purchase rights issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated Rights
Agreement dated as of December 18, 1999, between Sylvan and First Union
National Bank, as rights agent, and, unless the context otherwise requires,
all references to shares include the associated preferred stock purchase
rights.

  This will instruct you to tender to Sylvan, on (our) (my) behalf, the number
of shares indicated below (or if no number is indicated below, all shares)
which are beneficially owned by (us) (me) and registered in your name, upon
the terms and subject to the conditions of offer.

  Number of shares to be tendered:               shares.*

                                   Odd Lots

 [_]By checking this box, the undersigned represents that the undersigned
    owns, beneficially or of record, an aggregate of fewer than 100 shares
    and is tendering all of those shares.

   In addition, the undersigned is tendering shares either (check one box):

 [_]at the purchase price, as it will be determined by Sylvan in accordance
    with the terms of the offer (persons checking this box need not indicate
    the price per share below); or

 [_]at the price per share indicated below under "Price (In Dollars) per
    Share at Which Shares Are Being Tendered."

                              Conditional Tender

   A tendering shareholder may condition his or her tender of shares upon
 Sylvan purchasing a specified minimum number of the shares tendered, all as
 described in Section 6 of the Offer to Purchase. Unless at least the minimum
 number of shares you indicate below is purchased by Sylvan pursuant to the
 terms of the offer, none of the shares tendered by you will be purchased. It
 is the tendering shareholder's responsibility to calculate the minimum
 number of shares that must be purchased if any are purchased, and each
 shareholder is urged to consult his or her own tax advisor. Unless this box
 has been completed and a minimum specified, the tender will be deemed
 unconditional.

 [_]The minimum number of shares that must be purchased, if any are purchased
 is:     shares.
 --------
 * Unless otherwise indicated, it will be assumed that all shares held by us
   for your account are to be tendered.



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     Check only one box. If more than one box is checked or if no box is
             checked, the shares will not be properly tendered.

               Shares Tendered at Price Determined by Shareholder
                (See Instruction 5 to the Letter of Transmittal)

   By checking one of the following boxes below instead of the box under
 "Shares Tendered at Price Determined Pursuant to the Offer," the
 undersigned hereby tenders shares at the price checked. This action could
 result in none of the shares being purchased if the purchase price
 determined by Sylvan for the shares is less than the price checked below.
 A shareholder who desires to tender shares at more than one price must
 complete a separate Instruction Form for each price at which shares are
 tendered. The same shares cannot be tendered at more than one price.
        Price (In Dollars) per Share at Which Shares Are Being Tendered

  [_]$15.250                      [_]$16.000                   [_]$16.750
  [_]$15.375                      [_]$16.125                   [_]$16.875
  [_]$15.500                      [_]$16.250                   [_]$17.000
  [_]$15.625                      [_]$16.375                   [_]$17.125
  [_]$15.750                      [_]$16.500                   [_]$17.250
  [_]$15.875                      [_]$16.625                   [_]$17.375
                                                               [_]$17.500

                                       OR

           Shares Tendered at Price Determined Pursuant to the Offer
                (See Instruction 5 to the Letter of Transmittal)

 [_] The undersigned wants to maximize the chance of having Sylvan purchase
 all of the shares the undersigned is tendering (subject to the possibility
 of proration). Accordingly, by checking this one box instead of one of the
 price boxes above, the undersigned hereby tenders shares and is willing to
 accept the purchase price determined by Sylvan in accordance with the
 terms of the offer. This action could result in receiving a price per
 share of as low as $15.25.

   THE METHOD OF DELIVERY OF THIS DOCUMENT IS AT THE OPTION AND RISK OF THE
 TENDERING SHAREHOLDER. IF DELIVERY IS BY MAIL, REGISTERED MAIL WITH RETURN
 RECEIPT REQUESTED, PROPERLY INSURED, IS RECOMMENDED. IN ALL CASES,
 SUFFICIENT TIME SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ASSURE DELIVERY.

 Sign here:

  Signature(s):
             ----------------------------------------------------------

  Print Name(s):
               --------------------------------------------------------

  Address(es):
             ---------------------------------------------------------

  Area Code and Telephone Number:
                               ----------------------------------------

  Taxpayer Identification or Social Security Number:
                                          -----------------------------

  Date:              , 2000
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