College Counseling Services
Learn what you need to know to make your best decisions & organize the college search process to reduce everyones stress.
Planning starts in earnest in junior year, but support for college-prep course choices and understanding time frames is valuable for freshman and sophomore students.
> Helping student & parent understand college application time-frames, standardized testing choices, and admissions options, so you sleep easier!
> Career exploration to help your student gain an expanded view of opportunities by exploring his/her interests & connecting those interests to college majors & the world of work. Most teens don't really know their major or career direction, but exploring interests via the Strong Interest Inventory©* is a great starting point as we begin their college search process.
> Helping your teen identify his/her preferred college characteristics, discovering what's important to them in a fun, interactive way. This serves as the basis for identifying "good fit" colleges for your student - places where they are most likely to thrive academically and socially.
> A review of your students academic transcript, with suggestions for high school course choices.
> Assistance with understanding & navigating the college financial aid process, including guidance in evaluating whether schools might give your student need-based financial aid and/or merit awards (which are not related to a family's finances), and the amount of scholarship money you might expect at each of the colleges your teen applies to.
> Creating a list of 8-12 colleges for your teen to apply to that are tailored to his/her preferences, goals, academic record, & your family's finances. This is the most important part of the process and usually results in uncovering hidden gem colleges that are great fits for the student.
> Showing your student/parents how best to research colleges, so you become an informed college consumer
> Customizing a tasks list and timeline unique to your student covering all of the required admissions steps and providing your him/her with an online college planning software platform from which to manage everything; I send reminders to students to complete their tasks & check in 1:1 when progress stalls.
> Supporting your student through writing the personal statement/essay, including brainstorm, development, & revision of this important part of the applications, so they present their authentic voice to help colleges see their potential contribution to the campus community.
> Provide advice and guidance for high school course choices, college visits, interviews, and letters of recommendation, etc.
Bottom line, you'll rest assured that your family has engaged in comprehensive and thoughtful planning, with support for every question, during one of the most important transitions in your student’s life.
* (The Strong Interest Inventory® is a restricted psychological instrument. The Report may only be purchased, administered, and interpreted by a practitioner who is Strong Interest Inventory® Certified, such as myself.)
comprehensive services
This service includes:
This option does not include career exploration via the Strong Interest Inventory, support for essay writing, oversight while students manage tasks, interview guidance, final decision guidance, or ongoing one-to-one support.
customized college list + financial aid guidance
The Customized College List with Financial Aid Guidance Service involves two meetings plus my time to develop a good fit list of colleges and includes:
>An overview of all college admission timeframes and tasks, the college financial aid process, and standardized testing choices. You get PDFs documenting everything we discuss.
> A review of your students academic transcript, with suggestions for high school course choices.
> Helping your teen identify his/her preferred college characteristics, discovering what's important to them in a fun, interactive way. This serves as the basis for identifying "good fit" colleges for your student - places where they are most likely to thrive academically and socially.
> Assistance with understanding & navigating the college financial aid process, including guidance in evaluating whether schools might give your student need-based financial aid and/or merit awards (which are not related to a family's finances), and the amount of scholarship money you might expect at each of the colleges your teen applies to.
> I develop a list of 8-12+ colleges customized for your student, with highlights from each college. The list will be balanced in terms of chances of acceptance at each school and will include an estimate of the financial aid (need and/or merit) your student might receive at each.
> A second meeting to go over the list of colleges & show you how best to research them; introduction to the college planning/research software you will use to research colleges (with 6 months access).
College counseling is not just for "straight-A" students.
I help students whose grades and test scores are in the top 10% nationally as well as students with GPAs in the 2.8 range or lower find the best college fit.
help for students at all academic levels