Test Prep & Admissions · Admissions
College Planning
Application strategy and best-fit guidance.
- Best-fit college list building
- Course + activity planning
- Testing timeline
- Application strategy
- Parent + student check-ins
Get started
Talk to an advisor about College Planning.
Free consultation, no obligation.
What this program is
Most application stress is a planning failure rather than an effort failure. Families discover a deadline three weeks out, apply to twenty schools because nobody could say which ones actually fit, and then compare aid offers they had no way of predicting. All three are avoidable a year earlier.
This program is the strategy layer. We build a balanced list against real admit data and real budget, map the calendar backwards from deadlines, and make the early-decision, early-action and rolling choices deliberately rather than by default. Activities and coursework are planned as an argument for fit, not as a scramble to look well-rounded.
Financial reality is treated as a first-class input, not an afterthought. Net price calculators, merit-aid patterns and the FAFSA/CSS timeline are part of list-building, because a list that ignores cost produces April heartbreak.
What we work through together
Profile and goals audit
Transcript, rigor, testing plan, activities and interests, plus a candid conversation about budget and constraints. The output is a written profile that every later decision refers back to.
School list construction
A balanced list of likely, target and reach schools built from current admit rates, the middle-50% profile of admitted students, and your actual constraints — location, size, major availability and cost.
Timeline and testing plan
The calendar mapped backwards from deadlines: test sittings, recommendation requests, essay drafting windows, financial aid forms, and the weeks when three of them collide.
Activities, coursework and summers
Choosing depth over breadth, planning course rigor a year ahead, and using summers for something that continues a thread rather than decorating a résumé.
Applications, early strategy and recommendations
Common App mechanics, whether an early-decision commitment makes sense for your family financially, and how to approach teachers for recommendations that say something specific.
Aid, offers and the final decision
Net price calculators before applying; then, in April, reading offers side by side — grants versus loans, renewability conditions, and what the four-year number actually is.
Format and logistics
- Live 1:1 online with the student, plus family sessions
- Monthly through planning, weekly in application season
- One year, or multi-year from grade 9
- Written school list, calendar and profile document
- Included by design — budget decisions are family decisions
- Essay coaching and SAT/ACT prep on the same timeline
What you leave with
- A written, balanced school list with the reasoning attached
- A dated application calendar covering testing, essays, recommendations and aid
- A defensible early-application decision rather than a default one
- A realistic view of what each school on the list is likely to cost you
Pricing
Pricing for this program depends on format, cadence and length, so we quote it on the consultation call rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most families. Ask an advisor — the call is free and there is no obligation.
Common questions
Please read before enrolling
Preparation and coaching only. Score improvements depend on a student's starting point, attendance and practice; no specific score, admission or scholarship outcome is guaranteed. Published outcome figures are computed from our own students' paired assessments — see /outcomes for the method.
The College Essay Workbook
Seven sections with exercises, plus a revision checklist
Ready to start?
Book a free 20-minute consultation. We'll review goals, timeline, and recommend a coach.
Request your consultation