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Whether building a house, or developing a family financial plan, we invariably seek the advice of experts. Not only do they provide their particular expertise and knowledge, their first contribution is that of objectivity in what can often become an emotional and drawn out process. Second, experts provide experience with situations and trends that arise in an “industry” that we have no way of knowing about.
In the case of College Center, its director has been a college counselor and director of the department of a very dynamic private school for 15 years, then a Vice President for Admissions, Financial Aid, and Research at a leading liberal arts college for 9 years and a counselor to individual students for the last 10 years. In addition to that he has served as an admissions officer at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges. He has also written a book for Thomson Publications, called “The Insider’s Guide to College Admissions”. The book is in its fifth edition.
College Center also has close knowledge of close to 100 of America’s top colleges and universities. This knowledge has been gleaned from the admissions records of a number of students who have been admitted to those schools and from personal visits to and discussions with those schools as well. Knowledge of particular colleges and universities is a strong part of College Center’s expertise. But the Center also has vital knowledge of “how the system works: “ how applications are read and evaluated, how admissions committees function, how athletic, alumni, and other influence is integrated into the final admit/deny decision. And remember the waiting list—another mini-admissions process that needs to be fathomed. College Center understands that too.
At the same time that objectivity, experience, and particular knowledge are valuable, College Center recognizes that each student and each family are different. So the task becomes helping the particular, individual student to find colleges and universities that are a good match for his or her abilities and interests. Then, through listening and through dialogue, College Center helps that student develop an edge” in the application process. This combination of match and edge is what ultimately will lead to admission to a number of schools and the student being able to choose the one where he or she will be happy and will thrive.
Having counseled thousands of students, face to face, through books and pamphlets, and on the internet, over the years College Center stands ready to make a difference for students in the second decade of the twenty first century.