Getting Started with College Consulting

In my last year of reading applications in Stanford’s Office of Undergraduate Admission, Stanford’s admit rate was 12.7 percent. University of Chicago’s was 39 percent. USC’s was 34. Today, those admit rates seem downright quaint, and many parents who applied to college in the closing decades of the 20th century are struggling to understand how the college application landscape could have changed so much, so quickly.

As a Bay Area-based independent college admissions consultant for the past 16 years, I’ve seen these changes unfold while helping hundreds of high school students navigate the thickets of that landscape and articulate who they are and what matters to them. Because while admissions rates have plummeted, one thing remains stubbornly unchanged: the importance of approaching the college application process as an opportunity for reflection and self-discovery.

I’m thrilled to announce that starting in 2023, I will be partnering with Sierra Admissions and Alex McNeil, who shares my vision of what the college application process can and should be. Both of us believe in personalized college counseling that balances traditional metrics of success with each student's intellectual and social development. Our goal is to empower our students to complete the college application process intentionally and confidently, engaging in it as an avenue for self-discovery and personal growth rather than simply a means to an end.

Alex and I have worked closely together over the last five years, identifying and developing best practices, collaborating in our work with shared students, and writing about emerging topics like the role of AI in college application essays.

Our partnership will bring together a team of former admissions officers, writing specialists, and teachers and to return the application process to what it should be: a rite of passage that will give students a sense of agency in planning the next four years of their lives and help them develop intellectual curiosity and strong critical thinking and writing skills. 

Concretely, this partnership means that every student who signs on with Sierra Admissions will be able to work directly with me on core elements of their college application and essay strategy. Merging our practices will allow me to work with a larger number of students than previously—including students with fewer resources. 

If you’re interested in working with us, visit us HERE and learn about our holistic approach to the college counseling process.