College Admissions Counseling

Counseling starts with multi-year academic plans, focusing on the big picture while addressing the most minute of details. We partner with students from beginning to end, addressing every aspect of their college admissions strategy.

Academic Planning:

  • four-year high school planning

  • course selection

  • AP course selection

  • navigating the American education system

  • summer programs

  • internships, research, and extracurricular projects

  • extracurricular guidance

College Admissions

  • college research and selection

  • application strategy

  • college applications

  • essay writing

  • interview preparation

  • final decision support

Our Approach

For students in middle school, a four-year high school plan can be set into place. The student then begins enrichment study in preparation for their high school plan. For high school students, we assess their academic profile then build a bridge from where they are to where they want to go. Our process is far more personal than typical college admissions counseling. Instead of focusing on superficial traits and general college attributes, we focus on intellectual curiosity, personality, and exploration. Our students are not only allowed, but encouraged, to build a college plan that fosters academic and career discovery.

A key component of our college admissions process is putting the student’s voice and personality into their application. We do so by removing the attention to them as students and instead shifting that attention to them as individuals. This allows for a far more authentic and personal, and reflective and introspective presentation.

Selected College Admissions

  • University of California Los Angeles

  • Yale University

  • University of Michigan

  • Cornell University

  • Boston College

  • University of Notre Dame

  • Georgetown University

  • University of Chicago

  • Brown University

  • Washington University in St. Louis

  • University of Pennsylvania

  • Boston University

  • Northwestern University

FAQ

  • With today’s college competitiveness, every little decision is scrutinized. Therefore, decision-making is paramount. Having a four-year high school plan in hand—meaning the student is starting in middle school— ensures that the road is clear, that there is a blueprint, and that a cohesive plan, not merely for academic development but also personal development, is accounted for. Trusting a high school to do this on your behalf is a critical mistake. Having a four-year plan makes students significantly more competitive for college. More importantly, it significantly increases the likelihood of realizing their potential.

  • The issue with starting junior year is that more than half of your high school career is over. All we can do at that point is react to what’s been done and try to close strong— we are significantly disadvantaged from this standpoint. If you think of K-12 as a lifetime, juniors are senior citizens. In order to advise, and develop, a student properly, we/they need to have the time to do so. One’s high school profile is a four-year body of work: it is ideal to be able to impact the totality of it. Lastly, it is important to know that all four years count equally and each summer is judged for activity and productivity.

  • Absolutely not. The United States has so many colleges to choose from. The most important thing to think about is fit and resources. Assess whether a school provides the social and academic community you are looking for. Please read more about our college admissions philosophy here.

  • The chances of admission are determined by many factors including: GPA, course selection in high school, course continuity and relevance, extracurricular activity, test scores, academic/non-academic achievement and accolades, application essays and more. Because the diversity of schools in the United States is so large, the college admissions experience can vary greatly from student to student: from a simple procedure to one of the most mentally grueling experiences. Starting earlier (ideally 8th or 9th grade) and having a well-thought-out, detailed, and comprehensive plan with a qualified advisor can yield impressive results.

  • Most high school seniors do not know what they want to study, even when they know the general direction they’re moving toward. This is not only okay but preferred. College is perhaps the biggest opportunity a student will ever have in life for self-discovery and academic exploration— it should be taken advantage of. Regarding college admissions strategy, it is helpful to have a well-articulated plan, in terms of what courses one chooses, which extracurricular activities they partake in, and what the message being put forth on an application says to colleges. However, these are not lifelong decisions. Instead, they should be looked at as shorter-term, strategic decisions.

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