FAQs

I work with students individually to help them craft their unique story, build all the elements for a strong college application including their personally tailored list, original essay and weave in achievements and extracurricular activities. My concierge-style approach to college counseling is derived from my years of working with international students whose knowledge of the US college process is more limited. My goal is to help all students find the “best fit” schools based on their academic pursuits, size and geographic location, extracurricular programs and overall personality of the university. I also know that students don’t always get accepted into their dream school so it’s important that they love every school on their list! 

I take time to get to know my students and their parents through this confidential process. The better I know the goals of the student and her family, the better advice I can give. My goal is to take the guesswork out of applying to college by offering sound, practical advice and helping students navigate their many choices throughout the process. Between accompanying my own children and many of the students I have worked with, I have visited over 150 colleges and universities, touring campuses and participating in information sessions and student panels across the US and UK. With every student I work with, I learn more about the college landscape and as I have learned, there are nuances and trends that emerge each year that impact the admissions landscape and admissions decisions.

I recommend a touch base with your college counselor during the spring of sophomore year. This allows a general review of course selection for the ever-important junior year and some discussion on how to develop interests and passions to support the student’s unique story during that summer. I also recommend developing an initial list of colleges to visit during the summer before junior year and plan school vacation weeks for college visits. Planning a standardized testing strategy early to allow plenty of time for test prep can ensure you are taking the best fit test and significantly reduce stress around testing. Most of the hands on work begins during junior year but some early planning in 10th grade is helpful to the process.

Some students come into the college process knowing exactly what they want to study. Others look at higher education as an opportunity to explore their interests and academic strengths. Finding a college or university that has strong programs in a number of areas of interest is a challenge I really relish. I love to dig deeply into various curriculums and help my students compare and contrast courses of study to identify the best-suited programs. Declaring a major is a journey and I like to help my students get on the right path.

The earlier families can start assessing their Estimated Family Contribution for their student’s university expenses, the better prepared they will be to file the FAFSA and CSS Profile in the fall of the student’s senior year. I can help families use the Financial Aid tool box for estimating and planning for college while the student is a sophomore or junior year. I advise families on the process of applying for available financial aid so they can better anticipate how to maximize institutional merit aid as well as federal and state grants, loans and work-study opportunities. 

At the beginning of the relationship, I like to sit down with a student and both parents (if available) and listen to everyone’s views, goals and approach to the college process. I value direction from parents in regard to their expectations on costs, geographic location and type of university they are comfortable with for their son or daughter. It’s important in this initial meeting to hear more about what the high school college counselor is recommending for the student and how the student plans to work with this counselor. High school guidance counselors coordinate recommendations and school transcripts and have direct contact with college admissions officers, so I view my role as supplementary boost to the process.

My role is to coach the student through the college admissions timeline and help build both the application and the student’s confidence in taking control of their future. I prefer to work directly with students and keep the parents updated with regular check-ins as needed. Of course, I am always available for questions from both students and parents and flexible to plan more formal meetings if problems arise or if a longer update or strategic decisions are necessary.

Many students automatically take the PSAT in 10th grade, so assume they will take the SAT in 11th grade, not knowing that the ACT might be better suited for them. I encourage my students to take a baseline SAT and ACT to see which test they find more in-tune with the way they think and reason. I know of several test-prep centers that hold full-length “practice tests” at no charge. There are various nuances between these tests so taking both is ideal. Once the student decides on ACT or SAT, I recommend either group or individually-tutored test-prep, depending on the family’s budget. As most colleges have remained test-optional, I help students decide yes or no on whether to test and whether to send scores on a case by case basis depending on the university's published range. 

With each student, I like to plan a testing strategy for junior and senior year. Depending on the testing aptitude and goals of the student, we will construct a calendar for prep and testing. In general, I usually encourage students to finish all of their testing in junior year so they can concentrate on their course load during senior year.

A college list will change many times over the course of this 18 month process. Once a student makes some initial decision on size, location, type of college and what they might want to study, I begin my research. It is not uncommon for me to deliver 2-3 drafts of a college list, fine tuning the initial list. It is my hope that families can visit some colleges over the summer or during school breaks to better understand what they are looking for. I am a great believer in gut feelings, being on campus, getting a vibe for the place, talking to students and professors, and asking the student, “can you picture yourself here?” I ask students to complete checklists while visiting and relay feedback about each school upon returning. The more feedback I get, the better I can tailor the list to hone in on the “best fit” schools. 

Over the course of working with students, more information on grades, test scores, interest in colleges and potential majors evolves, so it is not unusual to add schools all the way up to the beginning of the application in senior year or even as late as after Early Action school decisions are released. Input from the student’s college counselor is also taken into account and often this comes in later in the process. 

Depending on the high school, some students work on potential Common App essays in their English class during junior year. For others, they start from scratch outside of school. The Common App posts essay prompts well in advance so I encourage students to look at these during the second semester of junior year and start thinking about which prompt they want to address and how. It is usually during the summer before senior year that the real writing begins. 

I like to brainstorm a couple essay ideas with students before the writing begins and help them outline a solid 5-6 paragraph essay that has a compelling beginning, middle and end. This is where the student’s story must come through. Students are often remembered in the admissions committee by the story they tell in this essay so it is essential to make this essay memorable and in the student’s distinct voice. Students should be prepared to write 4-6 drafts of this essay and my job is to provide direction and editing. 

Student’s planning to play Division I in sports college will start working with their high school coach, college recruiter and college coach often as early as freshman year of high school. For those students planning to play Division 3 sports, most likely a high school coach and college coach are involved but to a lesser extent. These students are often encouraged to test earlier and apply Early Decision to a school that has given the student encouragement that they are being recruited. I work with students in both categories, managing the early timeline to ensure a competitive application yielding the best results for recruitment.

The answer to both is yes!  I have worked with many students who have submitted art portfolios for Fine Arts programs and others who auditioned for competitive theater and music programs.  In all of these cases, starting early is ideal as there are many more steps in the process that have to be considered.

As part of my curriculum at UCLA, an entire course was dedicated to counseling students with special needs or learning differences. There are many colleges and universities with very good LD support centers that offer a variety of academic support and services for a wide variety of needs. From classroom accommodations to tutoring, note taking and extra time on tests, I can help families identify schools that offer the best support and help them navigate securing accommodations once the student is accepted.

Once acceptances and waitlist decisions are released in late March/early April, I help students weigh all of their options and make the best decision for their best fit school. Sometimes, the decision is very clear and other times the schools which offer acceptances are vastly different from each other. If a student has not visited a school in which she/he has been accepted, I encourage a visit in April to get a better feel for the school. I would also help the student compare the academic programs of all accepted schools to determine which curriculum was more interesting and relevant to his/her goals.