The college application process doesn’t start with essays — it starts with understanding the student: the process always begins with a conversation. I like to meet students face-to-face for that first consultation, either in my office or sometimes even at a coffee shop because it is important to put a face to the name and build some rapport before we talk about colleges and applications. If a student is from a different town or state, we still begin with an initial consultation, but we do it on Zoom or Google Meet so that we can have the same kind of real, personal conversation. During that first meeting, we talk about the student’s goals and what kinds of colleges they are thinking about, and we begin to create a possible list of fit schools, safety schools, and reach schools. Having a few colleges in each category is important because it helps students stay motivated and inspired. From there, we look at the student’s accomplishments. I review grades, we talk about extracurricular activities, and we spend a lot of time discussing the student’s passions, which I consider the most important part. College should be a good fit for the student and a place where they genuinely want to spend the next four or five years of their life, and that choice should also align with the family’s budget and the student’s future career goals. We also look at work, leadership, and volunteering experience, so that we see the student as a whole person, not just a transcript or test scores. Based on all of that, we begin to develop a game plan that makes sense for that individual student.
I prefer to start this process at the end of sophomore year/ the beginning of junior year. Often, students and parents feel worried very early and try to start college prep in freshman year, but in my experience, that is too soon. Students at that stage are usually not very motivated yet and often have only a vague idea of what they want to do. Junior year is a much better time to start this conversation because students are more focused and more ready to think seriously about their future. It also gives us time to strengthen the student’s profile if something is missing. For example, if a student needs volunteer experience, there is still time to add those hours, or if a student wants to major in Veterinary Science but has never worked with animals, there is time to look for related opportunities. Looking at the application picture at the end of sophomore year allows students to build their resume intentionally instead of scrambling later.
We also look closely at academics and test-taking ability. If PSAT scores that come in during the fall are low, that is usually a good signal to start working on improvement sooner. If the scores are relatively high, I often suggest not rushing and instead taking a few months before beginning more focused preparation in January or February, which I explain in more detail when we talk about ACT timing. The next major step in the process is creating a targeted college application strategy. This is where a college consultant is especially helpful, because there are specific ways to position a student well for particular schools. We study the colleges the student is most interested in, look at their culture and expectations, and build an application that presents the student as a strong match for those schools rather than sending out a generic application everywhere. The most intense phase of the work begins at the end of August and usually runs through November, because November is the early application deadline and I like my students to have most of their applications ready for early action. After that, we turn our attention to scholarships. Many colleges offer merit-based scholarships that require additional essays, explanations, or resumes, and those opportunities are often missed if no one is guiding the process.
The final and, for me, the most rewarding stage is reviewing students’ admission offers and financial aid packages and helping them choose the option that fits their goals and their budget the best.
