College Admissions Consulting
From 8th grade to 12th grade, we have a variety of services to help students navigate the important tasks for their stage of the journey.
- Advising on appropriately rigorous curriculum choices
- Setting goals for each of your classes
- Building strong study habits
- Creating an individualized timeline for standardized test preparation (tutoring not included)
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile
- Helping you select the teachers who will write the best letters of recommendation for you
- Building a customized college list, as well as planning and debriefing college visits
- Devising an Early Decision and/or Early Action application strategy
- Creating a timeline for submitting your applications
- Brainstorming, editing, and reviewing your personal statement and select supplemental essays
- Providing a detailed review of your college applications
- Helping you prepare for admission interviews
Before our first meeting, we review your transcripts, grade reports, teacher comments, and test scores. Between meetings, we are happy to answer questions via email; for package clients, this support is included in the package time, for hourly clients, support in between meetings will be billed in 15-minute increments.
Pre-High School (8th Grade)
Hourly Consulting
Work one-on-one with a counselor for advice and consultation, including up to 15 minutes of complimentary meeting preparation time (document review, research, etc.) Consulting is useful for students who need advice for a few targeted concerns, or students who want to establish a relationship with a counselor before enrolling in a package.
Fee: $525/hour for a Counselor, $1,250/hour for Nina Marks and Team for the July 2025-June 2026 contract year.*
*Availability is limited, especially during busier months.
9th Grade
Fundamentals Package
(Up to 5 hours of tailored support, spaced throughout the academic year.)
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through your 9th grade year and all the academic concerns that arise along the way. We tailor the package to fit your needs, which can include:
- Reviewing transcripts, grade reports, teacher comments, and test scores
- Planning an appropriately challenging curriculum across the next four years
- Setting goals for each of your classes
- Building strong study habits
- Advising on test preparation
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile.
Fee: $2,500 for a Counselor for the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Hourly Consulting
Work one-on-one with a counselor for advice and consultation, including up to 15 minutes of complimentary meeting preparation time (document review, research, etc.) Consulting is useful for students who need advice for a few targeted concerns, or students in early high school who want to establish a relationship with a counselor before enrolling in a package.
Fee: $525/hour for a Counselor, $1,250/hour for Nina Marks and Team for the July 2025-June 2026 contract year.*
*Availability is limited, especially during busier months.
10th Grade
Comprehensive Package
(Up to 12 hours of tailored support throughout the academic year.)
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through every step of your 10th grade year and all the academic concerns that arise along the way, which can include:
- Reviewing transcripts, grade reports, teacher comments, and test scores
- Planning an appropriately challenging curriculum across the next three years
- Setting goals for each of your classes
- Building strong study habits
- Creating a timeline for test preparation
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile.
Your dedicated counselor will provide tailored support for you throughout your 10th grade year, AND you also will receive backup support and knowledge from the entire team. We confer weekly to discuss the best practices for our individual clients. We conduct a full analysis of the scope and sequence of your curriculum. We help you navigate the complexities of standardized testing (SAT, ACT®, APs) in the evolving test-optional admissions landscape. After each meeting, we memorialize the conversation and send a list of action items, and throughout the year, we are available to answer questions that might arise.
Fee: $6,000 for a Counselor for the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Fundamentals Package
(Up to 6 hours of tailored support, spaced throughout the academic year.)
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through your 10th grade year and all the academic concerns that arise along the way. We tailor the package to fit your needs, which can include:
- Reviewing transcripts, grade reports, teacher comments, and test scores
- Planning an appropriately challenging curriculum across the next three years
- Setting goals for each of your classes
- Building strong study habits
- Creating a timeline for test preparation
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile.
Fee: $3,150 for a Counselor for the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Hourly Consulting
Work one-on-one with a counselor for advice and consultation, including up to 15 minutes of complimentary meeting preparation time (document review, research, etc.) Consulting is useful for students who need advice for a few targeted concerns, or students who want to establish a relationship with a counselor before enrolling in a package.
Fee: $525/hour for a Counselor, $1,250/hour for Nina Marks and Team for the July 2025-June 2026 contract year.*
*Availability is limited, especially during busier months.
11th Grade
Comprehensive Package
(Up to 16 hours of tailored support throughout the academic year.)
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through every step of your 11th grade year, as you begin to navigate the college application process. We are here to provide advice on all the complexities, which can include:
- Building a customized college list, as well as planning and debriefing college visits
- Advising on appropriately rigorous 11th and 12th grade curriculum choices
- Creating an individualized timeline for standardized testing (tutoring not included)
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile
- Helping you select the teachers who will write the best letters of recommendation for you
- If applicable, navigating athletic recruitment and/or helping you build an artistic profile
Your dedicated counselor will provide tailored support for you throughout your 11th grade year, AND you also will receive backup support and knowledge from the entire team. We confer weekly to discuss the best practices for our individual clients. We conduct a full analysis of the scope and sequence of your curriculum. We help you identify key priorities to refine best-fit college choices and focus on distinguishing interests and strengths. We use forward planning to avoid avoidable stress. After each meeting, we memorialize the conversation and send a list of action items, and throughout the year, we are available to answer questions that might arise.
Fee: $8,000 for a Counselor during the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Fundamentals Package
(Up to 8 hours of tailored support, spaced throughout the academic year.)
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through your 11th grade year, as you begin to navigate the college application process. We tailor the package to fit your needs, which can include:
- Building a customized college list, as well as planning and debriefing college visits
- Advising on appropriately rigorous 11th and 12th grade curriculum choices
- Creating an individualized timeline for standardized testing (tutoring not included)
- Helping you choose the extracurriculars and summer programs that fit your individual profile
- Helping you select the teachers who will write the best letters of recommendation for you
- If applicable, navigating athletic recruitment and/or helping you build an artistic profile
Fee: $4,200 for a Counselor during the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Hourly Consulting
Work one-on-one with a counselor for advice and consultation, including up to 15 minutes of complimentary meeting preparation time (document review, research, etc.) Consulting is useful for students who need advice for a few targeted concerns, or students who want to establish a relationship with a counselor before enrolling in a package.
Fee: $525/hour for a Counselor, $1,250/hour for Nina Marks and Team for the July 2025-June 2026 contract year.*
*Availability is limited, especially during busier months.
12th Grade
Comprehensive Package
(Up to 25 hours of application strategy and essay support.)
**Ideal for students who want support throughout the whole application cycle**
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor from our team, who will help guide and empower you through every part of the college application process, including:
- Building your college list
- Devising an Early Decision and/or Early Action application strategy
- Creating a timeline for submitting your applications and staying on track
- Brainstorming, editing, and reviewing all your college essays
- Providing a comprehensive, detailed review of your college applications
- Utilizing our online system to keep essay and application work organized
- Helping you prepare for admission interviews and applicant videos
Your dedicated counselor will provide tailored support for you throughout your 12th grade year, AND you also will receive backup support and knowledge from the entire team. We confer weekly to discuss the best practices for our individual clients. Every year, over 90% of our students receive good news in the early admissions rounds, but whether you get into your first-choice school in the winter or need help re-strategizing in the new year, you know you have the guidance and wisdom of your dedicated counselor (and the entire team) behind you.
Although our packages don’t formally begin until the summer, students enrolling in a 12th Grade Comprehensive service have the option to start the service in the spring of 11th grade.
Fee: $12,500 for a Counselor during the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Limited Package
(Up to 10 hours of application strategy and essay support.)
**Ideal for students who want to complete their personal statement, application activity list, and only a few supplemental essays**
Work one-on-one with a dedicated counselor who will help guide and empower you through the foundational aspects of the college application process. We tailor the package to fit your needs, but most students complete their Personal Statement, Common App activities list, and supplemental essays for 2-3 colleges within the package time. Support beyond the initial 10 hours is limited and offered on a space available basis at our hourly rate.
Fee: $5,250 for a Counselor during the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Hourly Consulting
Work one-on-one with a counselor for advice and consultation, including up to 15 minutes of complimentary meeting preparation time (document review, research, etc.) Consulting is useful for 12th grade students who need advice for a few targeted concerns on their college list/application strategy.
Prorated Fee: $525/hour for a Counselor and $1,250/hour for Nina Marks and Team for the July 2025-June 2026 contract year.*
*Availability is limited, especially during busier months.
Essay Services
5-hour Essay Package
**Ideal for students who are looking to complete just their main essay**
Students work one-on-one with an advisor, who will help guide and empower you through the process of writing your Personal Statement (the main Common App essay). After a 45-minute brainstorming session, the advisor will provide advice and feedback on essay content, style, and grammar until a final draft is achieved.
Fee: $2,000 for the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Hourly Essay Review
Students will share their essay draft with their advisor, who will provide advice and feedback on essay content, style, and grammar.
Prorated Fee: $400/hour for the July 2026-June 2027 contract year.
Tailored Support
We work with students who have a variety of profiles, interests, and goals, all with the mission to support each student through their own educational journey. Some students have additional factors to consider in their admissions profile. Here are a few examples:
International Students
Applying to universities in the U.S. is complex, but especially confusing for international students and families. Our educational advisors help students and families understand the many types of settings, academic approaches, and application requirements for US university admission. We know that even the terminology used in the American educational system is new for some families, and we strive to help them make sense of it all.
Athletes
Pursuing athletic recruitment means that a student’s college search process is going to start earlier than is typical. Many of our students run parallel processes — athletic and non-athletic — as they navigate their options before applications are submitted. We help students and families build college lists for both processes, create college coach outreach plans, and weigh their options.
Artists
If students are pursuing an artistic major — film making, architecture, art, dance, music — they will most likely be required to submit a profile with their applications. Many universities also allow any applicant to submit an artistic profile. We can help students identify the requirements for their colleges and create a plan for completing the artistic profile in a timely, least stressful manner.
College Acceptance Results
95%
Class of 2026 Senior Comprehensive clients accepted in Early Decision I and II, Early Action, and/or Rolling admissions pools.
College Acceptance List
- ALL
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Allegheny College
- American University of Paris (France)
- American University*
- Amherst College*
- Appalachian State University
- Arizona State University – Downtown Phoenix
- Arizona State University – Tempe
- Auburn University
- Austin College
- Ava Maria University
- Babson College
- Bard College
- Barnard College*
- Bates College*
- Baylor University
- Bocconi University (Italy)
- Boston College*
- Boston University*
- Bowdoin College*
- Brandeis University
- Brown University*
- Bryn Mawr College*
- Bucknell University*
- Butler University
- California Polytechnic State University
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- Carleton College*
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Case Western Reserve University*
- Chapman University
- Christopher Newport University
- City University of London (UK)*
- Clark University
- Clemson University*
- Colby College*
- Colgate University
- College of Charleston*
- College of the Holy Cross
- College of William and Mary*
- College of Wooster
- Colorado College*
- Colorado School of Mines
- Columbia University*
- Connecticut College*
- Cornell University*
- Dartmouth College*
- Davidson College*
- Denison University
- Dickinson College*
- Drexel University
- Duke University*
- Eckerd College
- Elon University*
- Emerson College
- Emory University*
- Fairfield University
- Florida Southern College
- Fordham University*
- Franklin and Marshall College
- Furman University
- George Mason University
- George Washington University*
- Georgetown University*
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Gettysburg College*
- Grinnell College*
- Guilford College
- Hamilton College*
- Hampden-Sydney College
- Harvard University*
- Haverford College
- High Point University
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Hope College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Imperial College London (UK)*
- Indiana University Bloomington
- Ithaca College
- James Madison University*
- Johns Hopkins University*
- Juniata College
- Kenyon College*
- King’s College London (UK)*
- Lafayette College*
- Lake Forest College
- Lehigh University
- Lewis and Clark College*
- Louisiana State University
- Loyola Marymount University*
- Loyola University Maryland
- Loyola University New Orleans
- Lynn University
- Macalester College
- Marist College
- Marquette University
- Marymount Manhattan College
- Marymount University
- McDaniel College
- McGill University (Canada)*
- Mercer University
- Merican University of Paris (France)
- Miami University
- Miami University (OH)
- Miami University, Oxford
- Michigan State University
- Middlebury College*
- New York University
- North Carolina State University
- Northeastern University*
- Northwestern University*
- Oberlin College
- Occidental College
- Ohio State University
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Old Dominion University
- Oxford College of Emory University
- Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg
- Pennsylvania State University – University Park*
- Pepperdine University
- Pitzer College*
- Princeton University*
- Providence College
- Purdue University – West Lafayette
- Purdue University*
- Queen Mary University of London (UK)*
- Quinnipiac University
- Radford University
- Reed College
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rhodes College
- Rice University*
- Richard Bland College of William & Mary
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Roger Williams University
- Rollins College
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Royal Holloway University of London (UK)*
- Rutgers University – New Brunswick
- Rutgers University, Newark
- Saint Anselm College
- Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
- Saint Joseph’s University
- Saint Louis University
- Saint Michael’s College
- San Diego State University
- Santa Clara University*
- Sarah Lawrence College*
- Scripps College*
- Sewanee – The University of the South*
- Skidmore College
- Southern Methodist University*
- St. John’s University NY
- St. Lawrence College
- St. Lawrence University
- St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- St. Olaf College
- Stanford University*
- State University of New York at Binghamton
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Stony Brook University
- Suffolk University
- SUNY – Stony Brook University
- Swarthmore College
- Syracuse University*
- Temple University
- Texas Christian University*
- The American University of Paris (France)
- The Catholic University of America
- The Ohio State University
- Trinity College*
- Tufts University*
- Tulane University*
- Union College
- United States Military Academy
- University College London (UK)
- University of Aberdeen (UK)
- University of Alabama
- University of Arizona
- University of Bath (UK)
- University of Birmingham (UK)*
- University of Bristol (U.K.)
- University of California, Berkeley*
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Irvine
- University of California, Los Angeles*
- University of California, San Diego*
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of California, Santa Cruz*
- University of Chicago*
- University of Colorado, Boulder*
- University of Connecticut
- University of Delaware
- University of Denver
- University of Edinburgh (UK)
- University of Georgia
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Kansas
- University of Maine
- University of Manchester (UK)
- University of Mary Washington
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- University of Maryland, College Park*
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- University of Miami
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor*
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- University of Mississippi
- University of New Hampshire
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill*
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Oregon
- University of Pennsylvania*
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Reading (UK)*
- University of Redlands
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Richmond*
- University of Rochester*
- University of San Diego
- University of San Francisco
- University of South Carolina
- University of Southern California*
- University of St Andrews (UK)*
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Toronto (Canada)
- University of Vermont
- University of Virginia*
- University of Warwick (UK)
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Ursinus College
- Vanderbilt University*
- Vassar College*
- Villanova University*
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University*
- Wake Forest University*
- Washington and Lee University*
- Washington University in St. Louis*
- Wellesley College*
- Wesleyan University*
- Williams College*
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute*
- Yale University*
* a student has attended
We work with students who have a variety of profiles, interests, and goals, all with the mission to support each student through their own educational journey. Some students have additional factors to consider in their admissions profile. Here are a few examples: