Our philosophy is one based on COLLABORATION and best FIT!
Fit Matters: While we often work with students who are admitted into highly selective institutions, we
expect all our students to develop a balanced list of colleges and universities with a focus on fit rather than on brand name and rankings. Academic match, taking into consideration the students’ intended major and career goals, are first and foremost on our list of consideration. These are followed by other considerations such as resources, size, location, affordability, diversity, student organizations, clubs, campus vibe and so on. Every student must have a list or reach, match, and likely institutions to apply to.
Collaboration with Schools: What differentiates Select College Admissions from other consultants is the individualized attention we provide to our students, our flexibility, caring, and students’ generous access to their consultant. Our philosophy is based on collaboration. We are enthusiastic about working with schools as well as with post-secondary counselors representing public, parochial, and independent schools in order to pave the road towards university admission and continued success for our students. We actively promote collaborative engagement among our team members, students, their parents and school officials. Select College Admissions picks up where the school system and post-secondary counselor’s job responsibilities end. We provide extra services related to selecting a list of ‘good fit’ universities, navigating the application process, guidance with personal essays while helping to create a theme for the application, and advice on developing a ‘wow factor’ for the student. We meet a demand and a need in the market that is not part of the mandate of the school system. We see our role as one of partners, collaborators, and facilitators – complementing the educational curriculum by augmenting, rather than replacing, the university guidance you will receive from your school. In partnership with schools, we help fulfill the needs of our students and families!
Collaboration with Students and Families: Our approach is unique in that it is very personalized and our services are tailored to individual students and their families. Our philosophy is to be supportive while encouraging, rather than pressuring, our students to push themselves to limits they did not know existed within them. It is only through challenging themselves that they can realize what they are capable of. Our action plan involves setting clear goals as well as a Plan A and a Plan B. In some instances, we also have a Plan C when targeting reach, match, and likely colleges and universities. We enable students to reveal themselves through their applications rather than trying to package themselves for the application. Our collaboration with our students continues even after acceptances have arrived in the mail, supporting students to make sound educational choices and communicating with the student or parents during their first year at university. We motivate our students to become high achievers by having them look at the university preparation and application process as an exciting time filled with opportunity rather than a stressful or frustrating endeavor. This is achieved by encouraging and guiding them to gain exposure to more activities & opportunities
- find their strengths and areas of interest
- taste leadership
- reinvent themselves into a more interesting person
- advance in one subject area and experience academic success
- set S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely)
- visit or research their top choice campuses in order to make better decisions
- feel empowered, knowing that they are the architect of their own future
- realize that life beyond high school is exciting and filled with great options
Collaboration Between Our Students: We encourage collaboration among students we work with. This may take the form of introducing several of our musicians to each other to form a quartet or to organize a charity fundraiser musical event. This may also take the form of having a senior student with a leadership role in a community youth group mentoring a younger student who wishes to join the group or having one student tutor another in an academic subject area. A premed student who has found the road to success through trial and error, may provide guidance to a younger peer looking to gain entry into a similar program. Over the years, our students from different high schools have come together to put together Ted Talks events or to collaborate in organizing a conference. One of our graduates, being a particularly gifted writer, reached out and provided help with essays to some of our senior students during his freshman year winter break. Giving back is among the core values we encourage in our students!
Collaboration with Colleagues: Through online monthly meetings with some of our colleagues across Canada, another group of highly experienced colleagues in the US, and by attending annual conferences organized by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), America’s leading professional organization for independent educational consultants in private practice, we keep abreast of changes in the profession. These contacts allow us to consult with colleagues with different areas of expertise (such as musical theater, art portfolio preparation, learning differences, athletic recruitment, etc.) in order to better serve you.
COLLABORATION is ingrained in our process!