Services
Consulting Options That Meet Your Needs
We provide consulting options to meet the needs of your student and family, whether your student is entering 9th grade or 12th grade. We make the college admissions process manageable, and are here to help you plan and navigate the process with a customized and personalized approach. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to get started in this process, our professional guidance will give you direction and peace of mind.
We recommend that students start planning during their Freshman and Sophomore years to be best prepared for college, and meet regularly in their Junior year and Senior year to create their college list and complete their applications. While the high school years are certainly a busy time, we can help your student be prepared, organized and confident in approaching and completing each step of the college application process.
We offer several different package plans or services on an hourly basis to work with your needs and budget.
Freshman and Sophomore Years
We recommend that students meet during their Freshman and Sophomore years to map out their high school plan, explore their interests and goals, and be best prepared for the college admission process. Freshman and Sophomore consulting sessions cover:
High School course selection and planning
Standardized testing timeline and preparation plan
Guidance to maximize extracurricular and summer opportunities
Career and major assessment tools
Overview of the college admissions and application process
Determination of student’s college goals and preliminary assessment of college priorities
College research process and tools
Building the initial college list
Tips for successful college visits
Resume building
Demonstrated interest strategies
Junior Year
Students will meet regularly during their Junior year to research colleges and fine-tune their college list. Consulting sessions with the Junior student cover:
High School course selection
Standardized testing timeline and preparation/tutoring plan
Guidance to maximize extracurricular and summer opportunities
Determining and prioritizing the student’s college fit priorities
Researching colleges and specific majors
College list building to fit the student’s academic, social, and financial priorities
Balancing the college list with Reach, Target and Likely schools
Strategies for Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, and Rolling Admission options
Guidance on obtaining the most effective letters of recommendation
Tips and planning for successful college visits
Brainstorming essay topics for the main essay and choosing a strong topic
Drafting and ordering their activities and honors lists
Discussing college affordability and opportunities for scholarships/merit aid
Senior Year
The summer following junior year is the ideal time for the rising Senior to write the Common Application essay and responses to the University of California personal insight questions, as well as work on completing college applications. Our comprehensive package provides a clear schedule for the student to stay on track and be organized. Consulting sessions with the Senior student:
Provide tools and guidance for researching colleges in depth
Assist with building the college list for best fit colleges for their academic, social, and financial priorities
Finalize and balance the college list with Reach, Target and Likely colleges
Discuss Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, and Rolling Admission options and strategies
Provide guidance on college visits and demonstrated interest
Brainstorm and choose a strong main essay topic
Plan and edit the main essay and University of California personal insight question responses
Map out the supplemental essays for each college
Draft their activities and honors lists
Complete college applications
Update their resume
Keep track of all application deadlines and requirements for the various applications submitted
Prepare for college interviews
Discuss college affordability and opportunities for scholarships/merit aid
Assist with any deferral and waitlist Letters of Continued Interest
Evaluate college acceptances
THE GUIDANCE PROCESS
To begin, we provide a complimentary 30-minute phone conversation to share information about how we work to meet your college planning needs and goals. This is followed by a paid Initial Consultation.
INITIAL CONSULTATION
We meet with each student and their parent for an initial 90-minute paid consultation to learn about the student and their background. In this free-standing consultation session, we will provide valuable personalized advice that covers:
Evaluating the student’s high school record
Discussing future course selection, rigor of curriculum, and proposed curriculum
Recommending a standardized testing plan (ACT/SAT/PSAT), and reviewing any prior test scores
Assessing student’s interests and extracurricular/summer activities
Determining current college and career goals
Providing a personalized follow-up letter summarizing the details of the consultation and a plan to move forward in the college admissions process
CONSULTING OPTIONS
Following the Initial Consultation, we offer both comprehensive packages, and a single session consultation option to meet your college planning needs. Packages include an email summary following each session and students with a package are given priority scheduling. We limit the number of students we take each year so that we can work in depth with each student and ensure the highest quality of service.
SINGLE SESSION CONSULTATION
The Single Session one-hour consultation is ideal for the student who has specific questions about a limited admissions related topic, or the student who seeks to add on to their original package plan for further assistance.
If you are seeking more comprehensive guidance, our package plans below provide customized, strategic planning to address the entire college admissions process.
COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE PLANNING PACKAGE FOR JUNIORS/SENIORS
The Comprehensive College Planning Package for Juniors/Seniors provides personalized, comprehensive and structured guidance through each step of the college planning, search and application process. With regularly scheduled sessions and deadlines, students approach each required task in an orderly and timely manner which makes the entire process manageable and minimizes stress. We provide expert one-on-one consulting to:
Get to know the student and use assessments to identify the student’s unique priorities, interests and goals
Empower and guide students through the college research and list building process, and ensure a balanced list of colleges that fit their personal academic, social, and financial priorities
Assist students to determine who and how to ask for letters of recommendation, prepare for interviews, make a resume, and demonstrate interest in colleges
Lead students through the entire essay process from brainstorming strong personal essay topics to giving feedback on the essay, personal insight question responses, and mapping out supplemental essays
Advise students how to craft the most impactful activities and honors lists
Help students prioritize application deadlines, and track the completion of their applications and the submission of all required materials
Discuss college affordability, merit scholarship and outside scholarship opportunities
FRESHMAN PACKAGE
The Freshman Package includes two sessions for the high school freshman or for the rising freshman. This is the time to map out high school curriculum, extracurriculars, and meaningful summer activities. Building a framework to get the most out of the high school years translates into more opportunities for college. Freshman year is also a perfect time for the student to get organized and start a resume. Colleges look at the entire high school record so it makes sense to get expert admissions advice early on that enables the student to make informed decisions.
SOPHOMORE PACKAGE
The Sophomore Package includes two sessions for the high school sophomore to continue or begin their college planning. Sophomore year is the perfect time to start exploring colleges through research and campus visits, and making a preliminary college list. Sophomore year is also an ideal time for assessing a potential career and major choice, and creating or updating a resume. This is the time to plan ahead for the summer by making a test preparation plan for the ACT/SAT, and formulating a meaningful summer activity plan.
