College Admissions Advising

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2025! Students in Ms. Caitlin’s college advising program and college application essay courses have so far been admitted to: Duke, Emory, NYU, University of Michigan, Northeastern, UT Austin, Cal Poly SLO, UIUC, Purdue, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, Santa Clara University, San Jose State, San Diego State, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, and dozens more!

The college application process can feel incredibly stressful and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Create your own perfect package of college advising services to meet your child’s needs. Every student is different, so your counseling experience will be customized to your child and your family.

College Admissions Advising Meetings

During advising meetings, families meet one on one with Ms. Caitlin to establish a plan for ensuring success in the college application process, from 9th grade until final submission of applications during 12th grade. These collaborative meetings help students with:

  • Academic planning/course selection
  • Extra-curricular selection and planning
  • Summer planning (research opportunities, internships, summer courses)
  • SAT/ACT planning
  • Selecting colleges for application
  • Understanding what colleges are looking for in applicants
  • Major selection and career planning

Customized College Spreadsheet

Selecting colleges colleges for application can be a quite daunting task. With over 5,000 four year colleges in the US, sifting through all of the options can be a time consuming process. Many students just apply to schools they know about or recognize, rather than selecting schools that would be a perfect match for them. Many students are left with questions like: 

How many schools should I apply to? 

How do  I figure out my chances of admission? 

Should I still apply to top tier colleges despite my less than stellar grades? 

What does test optional really mean?

How do I know I’ll like a school if I can’t visit? 

Luckily, you don’t have to go through this process alone. Through a detailed questionnaire and initial meeting, Ms. Caitlin will learn about what you want out of your college experience, analyze your qualifications, and assemble a detailed spreadsheet of schools you should consider applying to.

The customized spreadsheet includes 18-25 colleges with a good balance of safeties, targets, and reach schools. The following factors about the school and your chances of admission will be indicated on the chart: 

The School: 

  • Admission Rate
  • US News Ranking (for your major and overall)
  • Niche.com Ranking
  • Setting
  • School Type
  • Undergraduate Enrollment
  • Student to Faculty Ratio
  • Quality of Professors
  • Student Life
  • Freshman Retention Rate
  • Graduation Rate 
  • Annual Tuition/Fees
  • Annual Room/Board

Admitted Students:

  • Average GPA 
  • Average SAT Score 
  • Average ACT Score

Application Info: 

  • Application Deadlines
  • App Type
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Interviews
  • Essays

You will also be able to select up to three additional customized factors you would like added to your chart. Email Ms. Caitlin directly for a sample spreadsheet, the questionnaire, and further information.

College Application Essay Classes

Most students start working on their application essays during the summer before 12th grade. A great way to start is through Ms. Caitlin’s college application essay group class. We meet twice a week for six weeks from June to July or July to August.

College Application Essay Group Class

Through this course, students will learn the ins and outs of the college application essays they will write over the next few months. Students will break down essays that got students into top schools, deeply analyze their own lives, learn to write with feeling and creativity, and develop essays that highlight their strengths. By the end of the six weeks, students will have drafted and revised their four UC application essays and their personal statement for the Common App/Coalition App.

Since every student’s writing pace and needs are different, many students will finish the course with drafts that they feel are nearly prepared to submit, while some may require more one on one time to feel confident with their final copy.

College Application Essay One on One Classes

Most students who have taken this course in the past have continued in one on one classes with Ms. Caitlin for just a few more weeks or into the school year, depending on the final number of application essays. Students applying to many selective schools will have more supplemental essays to write and usually require more one on one class time. One on one class time can be used to work on:

  • College application essays (UC, common app, supplements, etc.)
  • UC and Common App activities lists
  • Asking for letters of recommendation
  • Applying for honors programs and scholarships