My Services

The cornerstone of my work is a comprehensive, detailed review of the college admissions process, usually broken into two parts: The Facts and The Plan.

The Facts takes your family step-by through the college admissions process. You will learn how admissions officers evaluate applications, the factors that perennially affect acceptance, and the more variable factors that make the process unpredictable. A careful examination of the Common Application will help you understand how your child’s achievements will be presented and the kinds of essays your child will write. We end with general advice for success in the college process. This presentation can be given in any year of high school—most clients find that they want this kind of concrete information in the fall or winter of their child’s sophomore year.

The Plan is entirely personalized for each student. It is based on a detailed questionnaire and will give your family a clear idea of your child’s admissions strengths and challenges. It will include specific suggestions for academic and co-curricular pursuits, a schedule for standardized testing, and a target list of schools to research. I find this most useful at the end of sophomore year or the beginning of junior year, once students have a substantive transcript and genuine personal interests.

In addition to these presentations, I work with students and families as needed, according to academic year.

Freshman

In this relatively relaxed year, I encourage with students to explore their authentic academic and co-curricular interests with great curiosity and enthusiasm. The main goals for 9th grade are to embrace intellectual challenges, prepare for leadership, and stay out of trouble. In general I meet with students and families four to six times this year, on an hourly basis, to discuss their course choices, summer plans, and developing GPAs.

Sophomore

This year is an important building block in the college process. Students discover their academic passions, and success in favorite subjects can lead to advanced courses and meaningful teacher mentorship later on. Athletic, theatrical, and artistic talents grow exponentially—which is exciting, but calls for good time management and clear priorities. I work with students and families four to six times on an hourly basis, to discuss course choices, summer plans, standardized testing, and solidifying GPAs

Junior

This is an intense year full of increased expectations: academic rigor, school leadership, standardized testing, college visits, and social pressure. All junior year work is offered as a package, which allows me to meet with students as often as necessary to talk about grades, test prep, college criteria, target lists, and all the hype they hear about the college process. By the end of this year they will have a full raft of test scores, their completed college target list (including discussions about Early Decision and Early Action), and a plan for next year’s application work.

Senior

This year is all about essays. I work with clients starting over the summer to brainstorm topics, think deeply about their experiences, and decide what they really want to say about themselves. Most applicants will write 15-20 essays, including the Common Application’s personal statement and supplements for specific schools. This can seem daunting, but together we create essays templates that can be customized for multiple schools, and build a calendar of work that streamlines the writing process. Many of my clients are finished with all of their applications by mid-December of this year.