COLLEGE, GAP YEAR, AND CAREER COUNSELING

Who I See

  • High School Juniors and Seniors who are ready to plan their post-high school steps, or current college students who want to transfer. I specialize in helping students whose academic journeys have been affected by learning and/or emotional challenges.

How I Help Them

  • In two or three “get to know you” sessions, we create a map – literally – of what road your student sees themselves on in the next few years. That may or may not include college, the military, community college, a Gap Year, a post-secondary year at a private school, or full-or part-time employment. These meetings are not therapeutic, per se, but are thorough reviews of the high school transcript, SAT or ACT scores if desired, resume, and all experiences that add up to an evaluation of the academic, social, and learning disability support that your student will require in the coming years.

  • Using your student’s particular strengths, interests, and needs as a backdrop, we start to act.If your child is going to college, we research right-fit schools, given the challenges that their learning difference may present or that their preferences may offer. If they are considering Gap Years, we may consider internships that have to do with a key interest or talent; and if the student wants to go straight to work, we begin with career interest inventories that help them see both aptitudes and skills that they may not have recognized before.

  • For many students, the most difficult part of this process is staying organized when there are so many moving parts – applications, recommendations, essays, fees, and accommodations to request.I create a system for your child that takes that job away from you, and includes teaching them how to advocate for themselves in the future – perhaps at the college disabilities office or with learning specialists and counselors, or perhaps in a work setting.

  • If your student is college-bound, we create an appropriate college list of approximately 30 institutions at first, then whittle it to between 8-10.

  • If your student is college-bound, we draft the main essay for the Common Application, and create a completion calendar for their supplemental essays.

  • College, Gap Year, and Career Counseling Fees are $150/ hour, OR based on package rates.

Packages

3 Hour College Guidance Package -- $400

(Most appropriate Junior year and/or the Summer before Senior year)

A thorough review of high school transcript, SAT or ACT scores if desired, resume, and all experiences that add up to an evaluation of the academic, social, and learning disability support that your student will require in the coming years.  WITH:

Overview of how to plan for the college application/Gap Year research process;

First College List if Applicable (approximately 20 schools) based on the possible match between student interests and needs and the schools’ offerings.

6 Hour College Guidance Package -- $800

(Most appropriate for Junior year or early Senior year) Same as above, plus:

-Detailed instructions on how to profile each college or Gap Year option based on academic offerings, campus (or program) culture, and learning support;

-Interview with family and referrals to financial experts and standardized testing tutors if desired;

-Breakdown of how –and whether-- accommodations transfer -- from high school to college;

-Review of existing college list and assistance in narrowing list down to 8-10 final schools.

12 Hour College Guidance Package – $1600

(Junior and/or Senior Year) Same as above, plus:

-Advice on planning high school curricula, including extracurriculars, summer experiences, and internships;

-Using accommodations to your advantage now;

-Building your resume;

-Writing your main and supplemental college essays;

-Creating an application organizer; and

-Establishing accommodations once you are accepted.

Essay Package

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” –Isaac Asimov

Writing the college essay is not as far from therapy as it may seem; the main one is called the personal essay for a reason!  Now more than ever, schools want to know where a student is from, literally and metaphorically; what has held them back or propelled them forward; what excites them, and why they have chosen a particular institution. I work with both neurotypical and LD students as they craft and edit essays that succeed, in specific yet concise ways. In 6 live or Zoom sessions, I will help your child write their best explanation of who they are for the Common Application or Coalition Application Essay.  $800.