Comprehensive Counseling 9th-11th

In comprehensive counseling for underclassmen, I work with you to plan out your time in high school. We look closely at coursework, extracurriculars, testing, summer plans, and other activities to make sure that you enter senior year with a resume that will catch the attention of admissions officers at the colleges you wish to attend. At the same time, we make sure that you are not taking on too much, and that your health and well-being are always prioritized. We also ensure that you have time to pursue your passions, and that you will enter college prepared to study your area of interest.

Comprehensive counseling includes:

• Recommendations for course selection including an analysis of what classes to take specific to your high school; how many Honors, AP, or IB classes to pursue 

• Recommendations for classes outside your high school, if appropriate

• Advice regarding whether to take the SAT or ACT; how many times to take the test; recommendations for test prep

• Recommendations for choosing extracurriculars that will allow you to explore your varied interests and also stand out on your college applications

• Assistance with developing unique projects and strategies 

• Summer program recommendations and assistance with summer program applications

• Counseling on majors and possible careers

• Preliminary college research and advice for contact with colleges and college visits

Senior Year Applications

For seniors, I provide comprehensive and hourly services with support on all aspects of the college application process. Together, we take inventory of your accomplishments and come up with a compelling application strategy to show off what you’ve done to the best advantage for colleges.

The senior application package includes:

• Support with college research and development of a balanced college list including reach, target, and likely colleges

• Development of a structured timeline for completion of applications and essays

• Extensive support for college essays, including essay brainstorming, development, and revision, both in meetings and outside of meetings via Google Docs

• Guidance on how to write activity descriptions to share as much relevant information as possible with the colleges, and help editing all activity descriptions to character count

• Guidance on how to fill out all applications correctly and how to maximize different fields on the applications to ensure the colleges get a full picture of who you are and your major accomplishments

• A check and proofread of all applications before submission

• Reminders and assistance submitting materials including test scores, letters of recommendation, and transcripts

• Help preparing brag sheets/resume if requested by teachers

• Basic information on financial aid and strategy

• Assistance setting up college portals and making sure all materials have been received by colleges

• Advice on how to choose a college after acceptances have been received

Whether you’re looking for someone to help you brainstorm topics, review an essay before you submit it, or advise you through all stages of the college essay writing process, I can help. With my support, you will find your voice and learn to let your personality to shine through, while also giving the colleges exactly what they’re looking for.

Essay services include:

• Assistance with the personal statement, UC essays, other colleges with unique essays (MIT, UTs, Georgetown, etc), supplements for all colleges

• For colleges requiring multiple essays or where essays are read as a group (such as the UC application essays) planning and feedback on how to create a set of essays that showcase different facets of your personality and accomplishments

• Help with understanding essay questions and figuring out how to respond to a topic

• Structured one-on-one brainstorming

• Support with outlining your essays and writing the first draft

• Reviews of drafts at all stages of development with editing feedback on how to revise and improve essays

• Help with proofreading and polishing the final draft and ensuring it fits within the word count