Freshman Intro: Opening Doors

It’s important to get a jumpstart on opening doors to college admissions – and keeping them open. Our focus will be on orienting your family to the college admissions process. We’ll discuss how the various pieces of the college admissions puzzle fit together so you can make decisions during 9th, 10th, and 11th grades that will support your child’s applicant profile.

Over the course of our online or in-person meetings, we’ll review your child’s planned high school coursework to ensure that their classes align with their goals. We’ll implement organizational strategies and tools that will create forward momentum and later success. And we’ll find meaningful extracurricular activities that allow your child to shine.

By the end of each meeting, we’ll have a set of objectives and a timeline for our next steps.

Sophomore Jumpstart: Getting a Step Ahead

With the seeds of college planted, sophomore year presents opportunities for those seeds to sprout and grow. Our online or in-person meetings will give us the opportunity to explore what makes your child’s spirit soar and how their interests relate to potential college majors and careers.

My transcript review helps identify strengths and directions for future coursework. I’ll leverage your child’s aptitudes and talents to pinpoint opportunities that will enable them to build a track record of engagement and leadership.

I strongly encourage all sophomores to take the PSAT. I’ll develop a PSAT test preparation schedule and review test prep resources in anticipation of the October test date.

Implementing organizational tools and strategies will incrementally create the elements needed for the college application process. By the end of each meeting, we’ll have a set of objectives and a timeline for our next steps.

Junior Boost: Kicking into High Gear

Junior year is pivotal for virtually every aspect of college admission. Our in-person or online meetings focus on multiple areas, including:

Applicant Profile: We’ll pinpoint opportunities to strengthen your child’s coursework and extracurriculars to maximize their chances of admission.

Testing Strategies: We’ll determine which admissions tests to take, when to take them, and how many times to take them.

Letters of Recommendation: We’ll lay the foundation for soliciting stellar letters of recommendation.

Resume Building: We’ll gather the building blocks of college applications and create your child’s resume.

Interviewing: We’ll review proven interviewing techniques and conduct mock interviews.

Special Interests: We’ll pull together materials for athletes, performing artists, programmers, and others who will need application supplements.

Potential Majors: We’ll map your child’s interests to specific college programs.

Your College List: We’ll explore your child’s preferences, academic record, and strengths to develop a comprehensive list of “right fit” colleges.

College Visits: We’ll identify strategies for evaluating a college’s merits.

Paying for College: We’ll discuss merit-based and need-based institutional scholarships, external scholarships, and other sources of free and “free-ish” money.

Setting Goals: We’ll create monthly objectives to keep your child on track.

Senior Surge: Riding the Wave

Senior year is when your child’s preparation and hard work pave the way for admissions offers from colleges that are a great fit. Our in-person or online meetings are supplemented with unlimited email, phone, and text support. Throughout the year, our focus will be:

Finalizing the College List: We’ll refine your child’s college list based on their applicant profile, college visits, and other individualized criteria.

Appropriate Applicant Pools: We’ll review early decision, restricted early action, early action, regular decision, and rolling application options to ensure that you child is in the most advantageous applicant pool for each college.

College Application Essays: We’ll brainstorm topic ideas, I’ll coach your child through the essay writing process, and I’ll provide detailed feedback on essay drafts.

College Applications: We’ll review application requirements and I’ll provide application feedback prior to submission.

Master Calendar: I’ll create a master calendar of college application deadlines.

College Choice Review: We’ll review acceptances and compare financial aid packages so that you’ll have confidence in the choice you make.

College Transition: We’ll develop strategies for a smooth transition to college.

Admissions Essays: Crafting a Compelling Narrative

A stellar admissions essay can make your child stand out from the crowd. In our in-person or online meetings, I’ll work with your child to brainstorm topics for their top-choice school. I’ll also provide tips to jumpstart their writing process, as well as guidance on how to tell their story in a compelling way.

For the first draft essay(s), I’ll furnish feedback about the essay tone and structure. For their second draft, I’ll offer specific, sentence-by-sentence suggestions. For their third draft, I’ll review grammar and spelling. I will also proofread their final draft.

Keep in mind that powerful essays take time to craft. Your child should plan on spending 10-20 hours brainstorming and writing their essay.

Group Workshops: Getting the Inside Track

Whether you need an overview of the college admissions process or are ready to do a deep dive on how to write compelling college essays, a three-hour group workshop can deliver. Here’s how it works….

1. Gather a group of four or more participants

2. Decide upon the topic you’d like to learn more about:

• Building a College List
• Navigating College Applications
• Completing the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile
• Qualifying for State and Federal College Grants
• Applying for External Scholarships
• Finding University Scholarships
• Positioning Yourself for Athletic Scholarships
• Free College through Military Service
• Building a Powerful Resume
• Winning Interviewing Techniques for College Admissions and Scholarships
• College Admissions Testing: Scheduling and Test Prep
• Summer Checklist: A Grade-Appropriate To-Do List

3. We will meet in person or via an online meeting platform

4. Following the meeting, each participant will receive a detailed summary and suggestions for next steps.

Bucket of Hours: Coaching on Demand

There are times when students and parents need answers to specific questions, a sounding board, or a bit of direction on an as-needed basis. If that’s the case, hourly consultation can be helpful. If you choose the hourly package and later discover it’s not enough, the money spent can be applied toward a comprehensive package.