College planning that meets you where you are.
College planning should feel welcoming, not overwhelming. My students range widely in academic proficiency, disciplinary interests, confidence about their futures, and personal challenges. I work with students applying to the most competitive universities in the world and students deciding between community college and local state schools.
No matter what future you’re looking for, I break down the college planning and application process into simple steps so that you can begin your journey into higher education with clarity and confidence.
Foundations
7th to 10th Grade
The notion of college counseling for middle schoolers is understandably horrifying to many families, but that is only because they’re thinking of the wrongheaded model of college counseling that has plagued this field for decades. Stuffy counselors in stuffy offices turning their noses at students who never seem to do enough. They prescribe oppressive laundry lists of cookie-cutter extracurriculars and a crushing academic load. If that doesn’t work for you—hey, maybe you’re just not cut out for Harvard.
Doing that to a 10th or 11th grader is cruel enough. A middle schooler? Insane. But that’s not what real college planning looks like in middle school. Middle and early high school is precisely the time to find strong guidance and mentorship This is what my Foundations program does.
I help students:
Channel those finals years of childhood energy into passions with exciting potential for leadership, initiative, impact, intellect, and professionalism (the LIIIP pillars of extracurricular quality I teach my students).
Build academic and preprofessional habits that compound with time.
Make the right mistakes early so they don’t punish them later.
Distinguish themselves from their peers in healthy ways so they’re not swept up in useless competition over metrics that don’t matter.
No one finishes their college apps and thinks “Wow, I wish I started later.”
The earlier you start planning for college (the right way), the less it feels like college planning. Let’s get started.
Applications
11th to 12th Grade, Transfer Students
The simple, frustrating reality is this: High schools don’t teach students how to build strong college applications, and school-based college counselors have too many students to help them build the personalized strategies they need to reach their fullest potential.
When students and families begin thinking seriously about their college applications (often later than they should), they face a tidal wave of unfamiliar terms, processes, policies, and strategies that they have only a few months to master before they make some of the biggest decisions of their lives.
This confusion makes everyone anxious. Parents nag at their teenagers to do this and do that, but without a system and strategy, students shut down under the weight of this stress. Every day, deadlines approach. Tensions rise, and families end up with subpar options and higher college costs.
This is where I come in. My job is to walk you through an effective strategy and system to define and achieve your college goals. Whether you’re competing for admission to a top 20 school, searching for the perfect college match, weighing your in-state options, or considering community college, I meet you where you are and help you get where you want to go.
I help students:
Build balanced, personalized college lists.
Write effective essays from start to finish with no arbitrary limits on number of essays, colleges, or scholarships.
Evaluate potential costs and return on investment.
Plan undergraduate pathways to graduate and professional school.
Navigate deferrals and waitlists.
Make their final college selection (my favorite part, I must say).
Navigate college registration and orientation.
Prepare for college life.
Ready to Get Started?
Tell us what you need and we’ll reach back with a personalized plan—let’s achieve your goals together!