Applying to College

The process of choosing — and getting into — the right college has changed. Demographics, the new economy, and the options and opportunities available may make the process seem more like a maze of questions than a straight road to the future. College tuition costs mean mistakes are expensive. Even just sending in all those applications is expensive!

We offer high school juniors, seniors, and transfer candidates private advisement that includes:

• an initial meeting with the family to establish goals and a time-line

• guidance and advocacy in cooperation and support of regular school counseling

• a list of potential colleges, help with the coordination of travel and visits, assistance where appropriate in the preparation of applications, and guidance to sources of financial aid

• strategic planning and editorial guidance for application essays and personal statements

We can also offer specialized assistance where the applicant is searching for a particular match of academics and athletics, where non-traditional college options seem best, or where a student's first college selection has been an unsuccessful match.

We are acknowledged experts in supporting students in the essay and personal statement writing process. Sarah McGinty has published several books on the subject as well as receiving the NACAC 2002 Writer's Award for research, sponsored by NACAC and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, on students' perceptions of the essay.

We don't write your essay and we won't offer you topics, line-editing, or models. Forget "what they want to hear." We will help you uncover "what you want to tell them." Click here for a Tip on Revising, just one of the skills we emphasize with writing clients. Once you discover the pieces that are missing from your application, a couple of hundred words to fill the gap is easy!

And finding the right college isn't hard either...with good help. Our services empower clients and their families to become informed consumers in the competitive market of higher education. It's all about deciding not where you can "get in" but rather where you want to go, where you will flourish, and what lucky school is going to get all your talent and time for the next four years.

"Every high school senior needs two things for a successful college search: one is a dynamite essay, and the other is confidence. You delivered both."

      - Lindsay Grimm,
Princeton '98
Haas School of Business '05

---