Grades 11-12

Stand out, make wise choices, and communicate your story to maximize your odds of admission

Junior and senior years are usually incredibly busy and stressful times for high school students, and are when the “rubber meets the road” for the college admissions process. Even the most exceptional candidates can be overwhelmed by the demands and emotions of the process.

We strive to provide encouragement, useful insights, and a structured process adapted to the individual candidate’s (and family’s) needs at this critical time. We provide guidance in making smart strategic and tactical choices as you gear up for the application process.

Personalization: Reflect who you are and your specific context

We start by going through a process to help us all understand who you are and where you come from:

Guided self-discovery and awareness process: goals, values, strengths, weaknesses, personality types, personal qualities
Personal context review: your high school, family circumstances, geography, ethnic background, and the ecosystem around your primary extracurricular and summer activities

Preparation: Finalize the elements of your candidacy to help you stand out

We help you capitalize on your last opportunities to contribute and stand out in high school:

Academic course selection
Standardized testing and preparation plan (SAT, ACT, subject tests, APs,etc.)
Opportunities to extend the impact and impressiveness of your primary extracurricular activities
Summer activity option development and application support
Overall extracurricular activities plan
Social media footprint review
Time management plan
Stress management process

Process: Make wise choices through the many steps of the college application process

We guide you through a structured but tailored process to help you make wise decisions and find colleges that fit for you:

College research process
Plan for college visits, other in-person interactions, and virtual interactions with prospective colleges to assess fit and demonstrate interest
College list development
Early action and/or early decision strategy
Developing your strategic positioning for target colleges – key elements of your personal story that create a compelling narrative that fits those colleges
Strategy for who and how to request letters of recommendation
On-campus interview preparation

Presentation: Effectively communicate your story in applications in a compelling, clear, and concise way

We keep you on track and make sure your applications maximize your odds of admission:

Overall positioning – prioritize aspects of their candidacy for students can highlight in their applications
Overall essay strategy and creation of a portfolio of essays that communicates key elements of your story across all essays/supplements while addressing your fit with each college
Common, Coalition, or other application selection
Personal statement essays brainstorming
Supplementary essays brainstorming
Personal statement editing
Supplemental essays editing
Overall application advice – communicating your story effectively in the activities, honors, and other portions of the common app and coalition app forms
Full application review before submission
Supplement(s) advice – whether and how to create any supplements (e.g., music, art, original academic research, etc.)

Once the application is submitted, we help with the remainder of the process, including:

Preparing for alumni interviews (and/or any additional on-campus interviews as appropriate)
Writing application updates
How to decide when weighing acceptance offers
What to do when you are wait-listed

Some families just want an outside expert opinion at the beginning of the junior year college application process. For them, we offer the College Process Check-up , an efficient, rapid review of a candidate’s overall status including a 2 hour consultation and a written summary with recommendations.

We also recognize that some families prefer a more limited involvement with a college admissions counselor. When we have openings available, we work with those families on an hourly basis. Please contact us to explore how we can best help you.