"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."
- LG, Princeton '98, Haas School of Business '05
Photo Credit: Peter Hellberg
Sarah Myers McGinty, Ph.D
Sarah Myers McGinty, Ph.D., is a certified educational planner and the founder and principal of McGinty Consulting Group. She is well connected in the field of education and college counseling. Through active participation in NACAC, its local and international affiliates, and the Character Collaborative, she brings to projects deep expertise and the ability to make helpful referrals as needed.
McGinty is an acknowledged expert in the writing of application essays and has been featured in US News and World Report's Guide to the Best Colleges, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Fortune, and the Harvard Management Communication Letter. She has appeared on NECN, NPR, and Fox News, is the author of Writing Your College Application Essay and The College Application Essay (College Board), and while at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, received an NACAC grant to study how applicants go about composing application essays. She taught undergraduate writing and served as a University Supervisor at Harvard from 1993-2005.
Tara Dowling
Tara Dowling is a recognized expert in college counseling and has served young people and their families all over the world. Her lifelong dedication to education and her deep experience in college counseling derives from work in a wide variety of communities and locations—Istanbul, Utah, Rhode Island, Beijing, Connecticut, Boston, Moscow.—and in every educational setting imaginable—day school, boarding school, Zoom class, college admission, independent advising, business development. She has a rich perspective and a broad understanding of students from different backgrounds, economies, and geographies. Tara has developed innovative programs that engage, support and inspire students whose personal or academic lives run off the familiar map. She works with a sturdy “toolbox” of skills, exercises, and conversational strategies that help any applicant find the place to thrive. Her mission for growth—her own educational and exploratory goal and that of her clients—has distinguished her in the field. She is known for her insight, creativity, and generosity of spirit.
