Why Hire a College Admissions Counselor (ME specifically)?

My son, Finley, is a current Senior. He has worked extremely hard throughout his four years in high school, earning excellent grades while involved in various clubs and extracurricular activities. He has focused on his surfing career, practicing daily and frequently competing (and traveling) on the weekends. Coupled with Honors and AP classes, he has balanced his time between riding waves and studying for his courses. When starting his college applications, as his mother (and college counselor), I knew it was essential to get started early. Beginning last spring, we created his college list (complete with multiple safety, target, and reach schools). We created a document to compile the various essay prompts required for all the applications. As you may know, some schools require zero essays, and others require five. Having the essay prompts readily available to draft, revise, and edit is critical to staying organized. Observing commonalities between essays and finding ways to modify one existing essay to use for another school is time-saving and efficient.

Creating a similar document to organize the activities, awards, and honors earned and received throughout high school is also essential when beginning the application process. Most schools require applicants to list these achievements, describing when, where, what, and how these students completed the items from this list. Having this information in one place saves time when completing various college and scholarship applications. Many students do not take this part of the application seriously enough, simply listing these items without much thought of order and how the written descriptions can strengthen or diminish their accompaniments.

The bottom line is this... this is my job, my career, my hobby (strangely enough). I know the tricks, the ins and outs, and how to ensure that YOUR Senior stands out as an applicant. Finley received his fourth early action acceptance today-- Pepperdine University! He has yet to receive a denial letter, and although one is likely to come... I have no doubt that the work we put in together EARLY in the admissions season has paid off in acceptances.

Not only do I understand the admissions process, the different requirements for each type of university or college, and the various types of admissions and decisions, but I also understand teenagers. My time as a high school educator and a mother of two teens has taught me how to understand and sympathize with high school students. I know how hard these college-bound teens work, the challenges they face juggling school and extracurricular activities, and the fears and self-doubt that often come with the college admissions process.

I promise to work with your teen in the same way that I have worked with my own child. I will guide and support them as we navigate this complex and complicated college admissions process. Keeping your student feeling confident and relaxed throughout the process is my goal. While establishing timelines to keep them organized and on track, I will help organize their applications, required documents, and application essays. As hardworking and diligent as our college-bound teenagers are, these tasks are something that truly need a professional to assist with in order to find success. Let me help your student get into the college of their dreams! Together, we will unlock their future, one college acceptance letter at a time!