Whether at the beginning or near the end of high school, we tailor our services to help your teen craft applications that capture the attention of college admissions officers at institutions that align with their academic, social, and financial goals.

For Students

  • Review and make recommendations for courses for 9th grade or review courses that have already been selected.

  • Review high school courses in progress or planned compared to the UC A-G Approved Course List.

  • Review of 1st semester grades and make recommendations for courses in 10th grade.

  • Review 2nd semester grades and make recommendations regarding retaking a course or remediation.

  • Review high school profile.

  • Review high school’s policy on online high school or college courses and whether the high school participates in dual enrollment.

  • Discussion of career interests, if identified. (Student can take career inventories to identify possible college majors or career interests).

  • Identifying passions and personal Interests.

  • Extracurricular Activities:

    In School:

    • Reviewing what extracurricular activities are available to students within their high school.

    • Determining student interest in existing high school clubs. Exploring options for creating new clubs within the school.

    • Explaining the process of building toward a leadership role.

    Outside of School:

    • Exploring extracurricular activities outside of school.

  • Resume Construction – help the student begin to connect the dots between their interests, academic courses, and extracurricular activities (the foundation of a solid resume).

  • Summer Plans – especially important to plan your summers well in advance.  Examples of summer activities - academic summer programs run by colleges, study abroad or subject-area-specific programs, summer internships, part-time jobs, work on a personal project, teaching yourself a new skill, self-study, college, or online classes.

  • Rehab social media sites, if needed.

  • Begin compiling information for the Common Application, UC Application, and Cal State Application.

  • Review the pros and cons of liberal arts versus research institutions; review the pros and cons of public versus private colleges.

  • Identify and review colleges by geographic regions that may or may not be known to the student.

For Parents

  • Discussion on the cost of college. Costs are more than just tuition and fees.

  • Managing expectations – student’s and yours.

  • Review of requirements for highly selective colleges.

  • Suggestions for touring colleges.

9th Grade Foundations Program…

10th Grade Framework Program…

For Students

  • Review 1st semester grades and make recommendations for courses in 11th grade.

  • Review high school courses in progress or planned compared to the UC A-G Approved Course List.

  • Review 2nd semester grades and make recommendations regarding retaking a course or remediation.

  • Extracurricular activities review.

  • Have students write extracurricular activities for college applications in the correct format for the Common Application and UC application.

  • Leadership activities – We will make recommendations securing a leadership role if we have not already done so.

  • Plans for summer – Assist the student in planning for summer activities; academic summer programs run by colleges; study abroad or subject-area-specific programs, summer internships, part-time jobs, work on a personal project, teaching themselves a new skill, or self-study AP classes.

  • Continue building out student resume.

  • College research training.

  • Create a plan for taking standardized tests; we recommend that testing for the SAT or ACT be completed before the start of senior year.

  • Review of public and private universities, UCs, and Cal State Colleges.

  • For Parents

  • Review student progress

  • How to pay for college

  • Requirements for UCs

  • Discussion of test-optional colleges

 

11th & 12th Grades Comprehensive Design Program…

For Students - 11th Grade

  • Review 1st semester grades and make recommendations for courses in 12th grade.

  • Review high school courses in-progress or planned for 12th grade compared to the UC A-G Approved Course List.

  • Review 2nd semester grades and make recommendations regarding retaking a course or remediation.

  • Review standardized test results; review AP exam scores if any

  • Extracurricular activities review

  • Have student write extracurricular activities for college applications in the correct format for Common Application and UC application.

  • Leadership activities progress review.

  • Plans for summer after 11th grade – Assist the student in planning for summer activities; academic summer programs run by colleges; study abroad or subject-area-specific programs, summer internships, part-time jobs, work on a personal project, teaching themselves a new skill, or self-study AP classes.

  • Continue building out the student resume.

  • College essay training – how to write standout college essays.

  • Helping the student to prioritize college attributes that make a difference (e.g., size, location, academic offerings, accelerated programs, accessibility of professors, the opportunity to study abroad) in the college decision process.

  • Build a college list that matches the student’s social, academic, and financial interests; the list will be structured as reach, target, and safety schools.

  • Finalized college list signed off on by parents and students.

  • Helping students identify teachers to write letters of recommendation.

  • Helping students to identify individuals for optional letters of recommendation.

  • Review of honors colleges – pros and cons.

    For Students – 12th Grade

  • A discussion of why senior grades matter.

  • Understanding admission deadlines: Early Decision, Early Decision 2, Early Action, Early Restrictive Action, Regular Decision, and Rolling Decision.

  • Determine which application deadlines will be followed based on the finalized college list.

  • Extracurricular activities review.

  • Have student write extracurricular activities for college applications in the correct format for Common Application and UC application.

  • Leadership activities review.

  • Continue building out student resume.

  • Review of application supplemental questions and answers.

  • Guidance for and review of essays and personal statements.  We do not write essays or personal statements for the student!

  • Assisting the student in keeping track of all application components and deadlines. We provide detailed worksheets to keep the process organized and manageable.

  • Providing a strategy for visiting college campuses. We provide worksheets for remembering colleges’ key attributes and strengths and weaknesses.  We also provide a list of questions to ask admissions officers and current students.

  • Mock interviews – We stage mock college interviews to make the student comfortable with the question-and-answer process.  We prepare the student by providing an outline of frequently asked questions so that they may prepare their answers, which we then practice, review, and critique.

  • Review of the completed application prior to submission by the student; however, the application contents and timeliness of submission remain the student’s sole responsibility.

  • What to do if you are deferred or waitlisted.

  • Assisting the student in making the college choice - weighing their college options. 

    For Parents

  • Review student progress

  • Sign-off on final college list

  • Brief overview of FAFSA and CSS Profile financial aid forms – We recommend that every family complete the FAFSA regardless of whether you think you are eligible for financial aid.  The CSS Profile is an online application used by colleges and scholarship programs to award non-federal institutional aid.