Because our work with students is highly individualized, we don’t outline or create a “program” for students before we work with them. Most students who work with us (i.e., who are not “essay only” students) receive monthly counseling. This counseling is focused on assisting with what we have determined to be the three most important elements of the college application process beyond grades and test scores.
- Academic narrative and resume development: Colleges aim to create diverse, well-balanced classes made up of students with a range of interests. For this reason, many colleges will consider your major of interest when making admissions decisions, and certain majors can make you more (or less!) likely to be accepted. For instance, it is easier to get into some schools as an English major than as an engineering, business, or CompSci major. However, major selection is not an easy “back door” to every school because you can only apply as an intended English major if you have coursework and extracurriculars that demonstrate your interest and excellence in the field. If a student comes to us with no idea what they want to study or with an intended major that is not supported by their resume, we will work with them to identify and build an academic narrative. This narrative is not an “extra”: it is often the difference between an acceptance and a rejection at a highly selective school.
- College list and application strategy: Your list is only as good as the strategy driving it. Our role is to help you understand how the application rounds work at each school on your student’s list and develop a strategy that maximizes their chance of being accepted to their top school(s). We also make sure students’ schools are realistic choices for their profile, taking into consideration our specialized knowledge of what different schools offer and value. We will suggest schools to balance the list and round out the strategy if needed.
- Essays: Essays can make or break an application; no application is ever memorable because of a GPA, a test score, or even an impressive extracurricular. Our essay coaching process is far more than an editing service. We help students uncover their stories and choose which ones to tell, understand the essay prompts, and tackle the essay writing process in less time with less stress. Essay coaching also includes process management, which involves creating timelines and internal deadlines.
Note: Essays are especially important for students applying to top-tier schools as well as for those who are applying test-optional or to a test-free/test-blind school.
We find that students who allow us to assist them beyond the three elements of the college search and application process above have significantly better admissions outcomes. If you sign on to work with us comprehensively, we expect you to utilize most of the services and support we offer. We can suggest which services you will benefit from the most since every student is different.
- High school course selection
- Program applications and the development of narrative-building projects
- How to approach testing and the test-optional movement
- School outreach and strategic demonstrated interest
- Application data review (Common App, UC app, etc.) and final reviews (FRs)
- Choosing and prepping recommenders
- Social media audit and digital profile/portfolio guidance
- Glimpse video guidance
- Interview preparation
- Update correspondence/interest letters
- Deferral and waitlist strategy
What don’t you help students with?
- Appeal admissions decisions
- Navigate “connections” with development offices, board members, trustees, or other channels to help your student gain an “edge” in admissions
- Determine how to best pay for college. If you would like a referral for an Independent Educational Consultant who specializes in paying for college, we can provide one
We also don’t provide day-by-day, step-by-step “to-do” lists or daily check-ins/reminders. But we do help our comprehensive students stay organized, on task, and a bit ahead of the game by:
- Sending a monthly action plan with what they need to be thinking about or working on
- Giving them a timeline for completing tasks related to applications (essays, resume, application data)
- Periodically checking in with them (and parents, if requested) to remind them of deadlines or to follow up if they have missed our internal deadlines
- Setting up a monthly or even weekly check-in call during crunch time to help them stay on task or complete essays (weekly = rarely necessary, but some of our essay coaches can do this)!
- Sending additional knowledge-sharing correspondence that helps students understand every step of the process and how to maximize their chances of getting in, even after pressing submit
Pricing for our services is shared after your consultation call.
We strongly believe that honest and accurate advice and support should be accessible. We will work to make our services fit your budget to the best of our ability. We invite you to read our blog as well as join our Facebook group, Conquer the Common Application. Although it is a private group, anyone—not just formal clients—can request to join to access free information and advice. For essay guidance, you can also grab a copy of The Complete College Essay Handbook. If cost is a barrier, please email us, and we will send you one.
Please fill out the contact form to schedule a free 20-minute consultation.