Our Clients

Think we only work with one type of student? Think again!

Whether our clients are Ivy-bound, hoping to play Division I athletics, or just trying to make it through senior year with their heads above water, working with our team prevents unnecessary stress and maximizes options in every single circumstance.

EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH DC-AREA HIGH SCHOOLS

Although the majority of our clients reside in the D.C. and Northern Virginia region, we also work with families across the United States--and even internationally!

That said, our local clients who attend a certain subset of schools benefit greatly from our years of experience guiding families within their same communities. From gently suggesting a different teacher to write that letter of recommendation or identifying unnecessarily difficult classes to avoid, we have amassed a wealth of information that we use to give our students a leg up whenever possible!

INDEPENDENT AND PAROCHIAL: Each year, we work with quite a few students from Flint Hill, Gonzaga, Paul VI and Trinity Christian School. Others come from a wide range including BASIS, Bishop O’Connell, British School of Washington, Bullis, Edmund Burke, Episcopal, Field, Georgetown Day, Georgetown Prep, Georgetown Visitation, the Heights, Holton-Arms, Landon, Madeira, NCS, Oakcrest, Potomac, St. Albans and Stone Ridge. We also work with students each year that attend New England boarding schools and Baltimore-area independent schools.

PUBLIC: We work with many students from Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria City, Loudoun County, and Montgomery County public schools. Our most-represented public schools are TJHSST, Langley, McLean, Oakton, Madison, and Marshall in FCPS; Yorktown and Washington-Liberty in APS; Briar Woods, Broad Run, and Dominion in LCPS; and Blair, BCC, Walter Johnson, and Whitman in MCPS.

Check out the profiles below to learn more about our diverse client base and how we tailor our approach individually for each student.

Note: This information is meant to provide a basic idea of how we work. We take confidentiality seriously and would not share names or identifying details of our actual clients.

Logan - The Ivy Hopeful

Logan is an academic high-flier. He has always taken the most challenging courses available to him and excelled in them; his parents anticipate that he will have high test scores; and he’s motivated to attend a top-tier, highly selective college.

How We Help:

When it comes to those Ivy League applications, admissions officers are often (unfortunately) LOOKING for a reason to deny in a highly competitive applicant pool, so we can help Logan and his parents avoid critical mistakes they didn’t even realize they were making. 

We will also develop and carry out a strategy to differentiate him from the many other students in his demographic with high test scores and excellent grades, so that he can put his absolute best application forward. This includes preparing his teachers and counselor to write letters of recommendation that adhere to the “show, don’t tell” approach.

Lastly, we will help him create a balanced list with other schools that he is just as excited to attend - and work with him to make sure all of the essays are fantastic!

Suggested Package:

For motivated students who primarily want help with list building, recommendation and application review, and the main Common Application essay, we recommend the Basic package. 

Since Logan also wants us to work with him on supplemental essays for half of his list (5 schools), we recommend the Custom package!

If Logan had wanted us to work with him on supplemental essays for all ten schools on his list, plus interview prep, we would recommend the Comprehensive package. 

Ivy League-caliber schools tend to have essays that are extremely work-intensive, and families are often surprised by the amount of time that goes into them. These students are also more likely to have many admissions interviews.

Kate - The Recruited Athlete

Kate is a top soccer player at her high school and captain of her club team. She is in talks with the soccer coach at Penn and hopes to be recruited there.

How We Help:

In addition to her recommendation materials and essays, we’ll help Kate put together an athletic resume and draft follow-up communication with the coaches at any college of interest.

Our late evening hours (we have appointments available until eight p.m. most nights of the week, in addition to weekend availability for essay coaching) will also allow Kate to complete her work with us after her soccer practices, so that her athletic commitments don’t get in the way of her applications.

Suggested Package:

For athletes who have already committed to a school, the Basic package will give them enough support. We will work with them to complete excellent applications and essays, both for the school to which they have committed and a small handful of others (2-3). This serves as an insurance policy of sorts, in case of an injury or other situation in which the commitment falls through.

For a student who has not yet committed and wants help exploring options in addition to the application process, the Comprehensive package will provide plenty of time to complete the additional components of athletic recruitment.

Natalie - The Bargain Hunter

Natalie is a smart, high-achieving student from a family with five children. Her parents know that they won’t qualify for any need-based financial aid, but they could never comfortably pay the full cost of attendance for her dream school, Vanderbilt. 

If Natalie wants to go there, or anywhere else besides an in-state public school in Virginia, she will need to make up the difference through merit scholarships.

How We Help:

Our ‘Finish by September’ timeline is crucial for students who intend to apply for merit scholarships, because most merit scholarships have earlier cutoff deadlines than regular applications, and students who apply early often receive priority consideration for these scholarships.

We can also help Natalie manage the extensive components required for scholarship applications, including additional essays, application forms, and even interviews.

Suggested Package:

Cost is an important factor for Natalie’s parents, so we recommend the Basic package. Natalie is a driven student who is committed to doing most of the work on her own, but wants us to review her many applications and scholarship essays.

However, if Natalie’s grandparents were paying our fees, we’d suggest the Comprehensive or Custom package - we would want plenty of time to make sure that we’re staying on top of scholarship deadlines (which are often earlier than regular deadlines) and researching all of Natalie’s scholarship opportunities.

Tom - The Artist

Tom is a talented artist who dreams of a career in graphic design. He and his parents would like to know if he should pursue a BA or a BFA degree (or what the difference even is!). He has some artwork that he knows he want to include in his portfolio, but is unsure which other materials to include.

How We Help:

In addition to the essays, recommendation letters, and applications, we can help Tom identify the best programs and consider the strategy of pursuing a BA vs. BFA degree, depending on each individual school.

We will also work with Tom to assemble his extensive art portfolio. To ensure that his art samples are where they need to be from a talent standpoint, we will either bring in or refer out to subject matter experts who can assess each piece and provide constructive feedback to perfect this key component of his application materials.

Suggested Package:

For a student applying to visual or performing arts programs, the Comprehensive package is the best option. No matter the specific discipline, portfolios are nearly always more work-intensive than families realize.

Not only do they require a variety of samples that meet very specific criteria, most portfolios also require students to submit additional essays, artistic resumes, and special artistic recommendations. In most cases, the portfolios are more complex and work-intensive than the actual applications themselves!

In this case, Tom’s graphic design portfolios require a total of 12 additional essays beyond those on his applications for admission. They also require a total of 20 original examples of college-level artwork, including observational drawing and at least one other media.

Jay - The Boy Next Door

Jay attends a well-known private school in the area and has always performed well, with a solid B+/A- average. 

He has taken a handful of AP and honors courses, but every class his school offers is taught at a high level. He’s worried that his GPA and rigor would have been a lot higher if he had gone to his local public school. 

He doesn’t want to go to a school nobody’s ever heard of, and his parents tell him that fit is more important than name recognition. And they do care about fit - but let’s be honest, they don’t want him to go to a school nobody’s ever heard of either. Not after paying $40k/yr since Kindergarten!

How We Help:

Our strategy and planning can help differentiate Jay from other students in his demographic. We can also help him identify schools that have name recognition but might be slightly easier to get into for one reason or another - perhaps one where students from his school don’t often attend, so he would have less internal competition; or one with a brand-new program in his major that most students in his class year don’t know about yet.

Suggested Package:

If Jay is confident about completing his supplemental essays on his own, we can complete his strategy work and main essay with the Basic package.

However, Jay’s parents want to make sure that all of his essays are reviewed by a second set of eyes, and that he does accurate research for each of his schools. Depending on the number of schools on his list, this makes the Custom or Comprehensive package a better choice.

Ashley - The Independent Thinker

Ashley is smart, but not motivated. She performs well in classes that interest her, but has trouble putting in the effort if she doesn’t enjoy the subject or project.

How We Help:

We get it! There are so many smart kids we work with who simply aren’t motivated students. Our project management support means that we will provide reminders and follow-up to make sure that Ashley is completing her applications not only on time, but early! 

Most importantly, we’ll work with her to discover what really matters to her in the college search (even if she’s not aware of it herself yet!), so we can help her find that intrinsic motivation.

Suggested Package:

Ashley needs a lot of reminders and may occasionally have trouble getting all of her homework done on time, but she’s applying to schools that don’t have as many essays. The two balance each other out from a time standpoint, so we recommend the Custom package. 

If she really wants to dig in and work on strategies for motivation when it comes to her grades and schoolwork, we’d also recommend an Academic Coaching package!

Peter - The Underdog

Peter has ADHD and struggles with some executive functioning skills. He does well in some classes, but he struggles in others, and is worried about how he will manage the extensive college process on top of his school work. 

Unfortunately, Peter’s school counselor has a caseload of 250 students, and doesn’t have time to give Peter the support he needs.

How We Help:

We can help Peter through every part of the process. From identifying schools with strong executive functioning support, to breaking down the process into manageable steps, to sending text, email, and voice message reminders, we’ll be with him every step of the way. 

Peter’s parents will get to enjoy his last few years living at home without feeling like they’ve taken on the full-time job of managing his application process.

Suggested Package:

For students with learning differences, our Comprehensive package will allow them to complete nearly all of their work alongside our coaches and counselors, freeing up time and decreasing stress at home.

Kaitlyn - The Early Bird

Kaitlyn is an eighth grader and while her parents don’t want her to feel stressed or overwhelmed by the college process just yet, they do want to make sure she is maximizing her time in high school to set her up for success later on!

How We Help:

We’ll help Kaitlyn set up a four year plan to make the most of her high school experience. We’ll make sure she’s on the right track with her course load so she can apply for the engineering degree she’s interested in later on, and help her prioritize her classes so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. We’ll also talk with her parents about whether a public or private high school is the right fit for her!

But beyond the classroom, we’ll help Kaitlyn identify her strengths and explore extracurricular activities that she loves. This is our favorite part of working with younger students - sure, it makes their college application stronger, but finding something they are passionate about also leads to happier, calmer, and more focused students!

Suggested Package:

For a younger student like Kaitlyn, the best choice is to book several strategy sessions throughout ninth and tenth grade, before we start the active part of the college application process.

This year, Kaitlyn will book three sessions - one in the fall to choose her courses for next semester and plan out her curriculum, one in the winter to help strategize around summer internships, and one in the spring to discuss her freshman year grades and begin to think about her standardized testing plan.

If Kaitlyn wants more support, she can also book a few pay-as-you-go essay coaching sessions to help polish up those summer internship applications!

Aidan - The Future Lawyer

Aidan is a college senior looking to apply to a top-14 law school in the fall and pursue intellectual property law.

How We Help:

We can help Aidan build his list, write his personal and diversity statements, and set himself up for success in the law school admissions process! 

Aidan will move through our process much the same way our undergraduate students do - but if he ultimately decides he would rather apply to business school than law school, the essays will look very different, so we will need to switch gears!

Suggested Package:

Aidan is an adult and feels pretty confident that he can do most of the work on his own, but definitely wants our help preparing for interviews and doing any supplemental work. In his case, we’d recommend the Custom package.

If Aidan only wanted help with the applications and main personal statement, he may choose the Basic package.

Brooke - The English Graduate

Brooke has been working as an administrative assistant for a couple of years, but now she’d like to return to school to get her MA in English.

How We Help:

A student like Brooke applying to a humanities master’s degree likely needs to provide a statement of purpose and writing sample along with her application.

In addition to the regular application work and preparing her recommenders (even tougher for someone who has been out of school for a bit!), we will help her put together that statement of purpose and decide on a strong writing sample.

Suggested Package:

Brooke doesn’t have a lot of supplemental essays for her schools and she already has several quality writing samples to choose from from her undergraduate work, so we recommend the Basic package.

If Brooke needed to work from scratch writing a new sample, with new research, or making extensive edits to previous writing, the Comprehensive package would be a better option to make sure this substantive writing work is done flawlessly.