Pick-5 Application Services

An Admissions Angle is an admissions strategy, which is based on the student’s interests, talents, and achievements. Some people prefer to think of an Admissions Angle as a sort of “major” for high schoolers, but it’s much more than that. An Admissions Angle is about cultivating a unique college profile that allows a student to demonstrate why they are the perfect candidate for their dream school.

In America, the average public high school assigns 482 students to one counselor. The average student receives only 38 minutes of counseling in four years of attendance. Moreover, many master’s degree programs for high school counselors spend little to no time teaching college admissions strategies, rather focusing on social and emotional issues. Coupled with the fact that admissions strategies are evolving year to year, it is impossible for a high school counselor to have the same knowledge as a college consultant, whose only job is to understand admissions and support their students.

Mentorship begins by finding the sweet spot: where do the student’s talents and passions align, and how can this alignment be manipulated into something with admissions value? This sweet spot will develop into an Admissions Angle, or college application strategy.

The process of mentorship involves working with students one-on-one through weekly or biweekly Skype meetings. At these meetings, we advise on class selection, test planning, competitions and contests, extracurricular activities, leadership opportunities, independent research, and so much more. We also serve as an intermediary between the student and the parents, working to improve communication and find balance in each party’s goals.

Mentorship services are recommended for students in 9^th-11^th grades who need support building their extracurricular activities and organizing their admissions strategies. Application services are for students in the second semester of 11^th grade and beginning of 12^th grade and are focused on consolidating materials, crafting essays, making a college list, and submitting applications.

We work with students from 8^th-12^th grade, but we also offer transfer application services for current college students.

For students in grade 8, we recommend Best Foot Forward, a 6-month program to curate and understand the student’s interests and passions. We do so in the hopes of establishing an Admissions Angle as early as possible.

For students in grade 9-11, the Best Foot Forward program is a good place to start, but we also recommend either our Essential Mentorship or Prime Mentorship. These programs are more comprehensive and assume that the student has already established an Admissions Angle.

For students in grades 11 and 12, we generally wrap up the mentorship programs and encourage either our Essential Application or Prime Application service.

To learn more about the specific options we can offer your family, schedule your free initial consultation today.

While we are based in New York, we often travel to cities, states, and countries where our clients live and try to meet each family face to face once per year, as our schedules permit. However, 100% of our services are handled remotely via project management software, Skype meetings, shared files, and messaging.

The longer we work with a student, the better their admissions results turn out to be. By following our suggestions consistently throughout high school, students will apply to college with a complete admissions profile specifically catered to their dream schools.

That said, we recommend meeting with a consultant at any step of the high school process, particularly for self-motivated students who might need a boost in the right direction. Any amount of personal attention from a consultant will help.

Each consultant works with about ten to twenty students at a time based on seniority and experience. We limit our numbers to ensure that each student receives the attention he or she deserves.

We promise that we will never have two students in the same grade from the same school using the same Admissions Angle. To do so would severely undermine the integrity of our process.

While we believe everyone could benefit from a college consultant, we strongly recommend our services for the following students: Students applying to five or more schools, students applying to Top-30 colleges, students whose parents have not recently undergone the application process, students whose parents do not have the time to ensure quality control, and students who are extra headstrong.

For more information on the above criteria, check out our blog: Do I need a college consultant?

We are proud to offer a range of affordable services, drawing from our philosophy that every family should have access to a competitive college application opportunity.

Our prices are assessed on the individual needs of the family, which are determined during the free consultation process. When we present you with your Customized College Roadmap (CCR), we will recommend whether we think you would benefit from our services. If you would, we will present you with two or three different options of tiered prices for you to choose from.

A Customized College Roadmap (CCR) is an excellent tool that we offer during the initial consultation process, based on information from the student and the parent. Your CCR will include the following:

• Personalized Admissions Angle strategy
• Suggested extracurricular activities to support strategy
• Timeline for standardized tests
• Advice on course selection, summer programs, and internships
• Preliminary college list

Everything starts with the initial consultation process. Our process is financially free and obligation free. Moreover, you can count on a low-pressure approach.

The free consultation is three steps: 1) The consultant meets the parent one-on-one to discuss the student. 2) The consultant meets the student one-on-one to discuss interests and goals. 3) The consultant meets with the parent and student together to present the CCR. After the presentation of the CCR, we will recommend services and discuss next steps.