From Alaska to Dartmouth: Real College Counseling Stories

This post was originally published on our blog on August 12, 2018. 

Lots of Alaska parents and students are curious about the idea of working with an expert college counselor, but many don’t understand exactly what they would get.  In this post, we're going to share the stories of two actual students who enrolled in Frontier Tutoring college admissions consulting programs, each with unique interests and priorities.  One matriculated at Dartmouth, while the other matriculated at the University of Arizona.  By reading about their experiences, you should develop an understanding of exactly what happens after you sign up for a premium college admissions consulting plan.  For more targeted information, check out our Top 10 FAQs about college admissions consulting programs.

Student A: University of Arizona

When she signed up, Student A had a 3.8 GPA with a score of 26 on the ACT.  She attended a public high school and was tentatively interested in pre-law or finance. Student A held a part-time job.  She had played piano for seven years and also played soccer. She had taken a handful of honors and AP courses. Her favorite activity was snowboarding. She was most interested in a "best fit" school that aligned with her goals and learning style.
>>Jump to Student A

Student B: Dartmouth

When he signed up, Student B had a 3.9 GPA with a score of 2260 on the SAT (old version - this translates into a 1540 on the redesigned SAT). He attended a private high school and was interested in majoring in pre-med or biology. Student B served as the manager for his school's track team, was the student body treasurer, and enjoyed cross country skiing and traveling. He had taken many AP courses. Student B had also attended a pre-college summer program at Harvard University. He was looking for an Ivy League or otherwise highly ranked college offering significant undergraduate research opportunities.
>>Jump to Student B

Student A: University of Arizona

Session #1: July 29

We conducted an intake survey with Student A and her parents to get to the student, her goals, and family considerations (e.g., financial).  Typically parents attend the first session to help provide background information.  Students attend most other sessions by themselves, although parents may choose to join again as we cover topics such as financial aid and scholarships, or make final decisions among acceptances.

Student A knew which schools she wanted to apply to and what she wanted to major in. When students are less sure about where they would like to apply or what they would like to study, I set up four assessments for them (learning styles, multiple intelligences, personality, and career skills and interest).

We asked Student A to complete our College Essay Vignette Writing Assignment in preparation for our next session.  We use this exercise to begin strategizing on themes and topics each student can deploy for his or her college and scholarship essays.

Finally, we introduced Student A and her parents to our Custom College Plan online portal, where we monitor tasks and deadlines, as well as collaborate on essays and other documents, with each of our students.

Session #2: August 13

We reviewed Student A's Vignette Writing Assignment.  We matched some of her anecdotes, stories, and themes with the corresponding Common Application essay prompts.

Student A then drafted her introduction for one of the Common Application essays.  We walked Student A through a Five Senses Writing Exercise to help her identify everything she could see, smell, hear, taste, and feel about this particular experience to maximize the power of her writing.

We asked Student A to complete a full rough draft of this essay for our next meeting. 

Session #3: August 27

We worked with Student A on revising her Common App first draft.  (See Student A's first draft prior to editing and revising.)  We asked Student A to make several changes to her essay and send the revised version to us for review before our next meeting.

We also began drafts of writing supplements for several colleges that do not use the Common App. 

Session #4: September 23

Prior to this session, we reviewed Student A's revised Common App essay.  We walked through the changes.  We suggested additional revisions and asked Student A to draft these changes before our November session.

We then directed Student A to begin preparing responses the supplemental questions in the Common App for specific member colleges. We walked through each of the supplemental questions together and formulated an outline for each of them.

Student A advised us that her family was considering a trip to visit several of her top-choice colleges.  We discussed her specific action plan for each school, including questions she wanted to ask to admissions representatives, as well as students unaffiliated with the admissions office.

Session #5: October 22

We asked Student A about her perceptions of each of the campuses she visited.  We reviewed her experiences against her stated priorities and discussed whether what she experienced had changes the order of her priorities.  We then rank-ordered the schools she visited accordingly.

We then directed Student A to begin creating institutional application accounts for those colleges not affiliated with the Common App.

Session #6: November 18

We discussed cost of attendance at the remaining colleges on her list.  Based on our discussion, Student A decided to discontinue considering several colleges, further narrowing her list.

We then discussed the process of identifying merit-based and other scholarships, both institutional and non-institutional.  We asked Student A to initiate a scholarship search based on the resources I provided her.

We revised Student A's latest Common App essay draft.  We worked together to prepare her final Common App essay draft.  We also finalized her additional writing supplements.

Sessions #7 & 8: December 17 & January 20

Student A was ready to submit applications to the colleges on her list.  We completed a detailed review and finalization of each application prior to submission.

Sessions #9: February 23

Student A was accepted at four of the colleges she applied to and was awarded generous scholarship offers at each.  We discussed the pros and cons of each college in the context of the priorities Student A had articulated and revised throughout our time together.  Student A ultimately felt confident in choosing the University of Arizona.

All Along

Between each face-to-face meeting, we interfaced with Student A and her family in a variety of ways, including:

• Researching colleges and majors
• Creating college and major comparison reports
• Answering specific questions from students and parents, some of which require more in-depth research
• Remote proofreading/editing of essays and writing supplements

Student B: Dartmouth

Session #1: August 30

We conducted an intake survey with Student B and his parent to develop an initial understanding of his background and college admissions goals.

Student B already knew that he wanted to attend an Ivy Leage (or otherwise highly ranked) institution, so we reviewed the college list he had already developed.  We provided Student B and his parent with an overview of college list strategy and explained that we would work to round out his list of "reach" schools with a handful of "match" and "likely" colleges.

👉Learn more about the strategy for choosing where to apply at our blog post: How to Create A College List: A Five-Step Process

We introduced Student B and his parent to our Custom College Plan online portal, where we monitor tasks and deadlines, as well as collaborate on essays and other documents, with each of our students.

We asked Student B to complete our College Essay Vignette Writing Assignment, as well as to write 25 unique facts about himself, in preparation for our next session.

Session #2: September 6

We reviewed Student B's preliminary college list and compared the schools along several dimensions to identify the criteria Student B found most important.

We then began working on the initial draft of Student B's Common App essay.

Finally, we reviewed several Common Application writing supplements Student B had already begun working on.

Session #3-4: September 13 & October 3

We began work on several institutional applications for colleges on Student B's list not using the Common App.  We continued work on Student B's Common App, Common App essay, and writing supplements.

Session #5: October 25

We reviewed, finalized, and submitted several institutional applications.

We reviewed the latest version of Student B's Common App essay, made revisions, and provided notes for Student B to use in his final round of editing.

Session #6: November 22

We completed a joint editing round to produce the final version of Student B's Common App essay. 

Session #7: April 19

We conducted an After Acceptance Meeting with Student B and his parent to discuss the pros and cons of each of the colleges where Student B was admitted and help him make an informed decision on where to matriculate.  After our discussion, Student B felt confident choosing Dartmouth.

All Along

As with Student A, between each face-to-face meeting, we interfaced with Student B and his family in a variety of ways, including:

• Researching colleges and majors
• Creating college and major comparison reports
• Answering specific questions from students and parents, some of which require more in-depth research
• Remote proofreading/editing of essays and writing supplements

Getting Started on Your Own College Admissions Journey

Thousands of students with similar GPAs and SAT/ACT scores will be applying to the same colleges you are. Your essay is one of the most critical—and only—opportunities for you to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd.

Just as we empowered Students A and B to prepare the most effective possible applications for their colleges of best fit, Frontier Tutoring’s expert advisors can set you up for success on your college admissions journey.  Check out our premium college admissions consulting plans to see which plan will best suit you.  You can also take a look at our Top 10 FAQs about college admissions consulting programs and our college acceptance list.

Not sure which college admissions consulting plan is right for you?  Whether you're a junior or a senior (or a spring semester sophomore), sign up to get expert guidance with North to My Future, your free, individualized college admissions strategy session for students in Alaska.  We’ll sit down with you for 45 minutes and discuss how your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and entire profile compare relative to the norms for the colleges and scholarships you’re considering.  We’ll also make sure you’re on the right track for college applications and develop an action plan of specific priorities for you between now and when college applications are due.  If our college admissions consulting, SAT/ACT prep, or academic tutoring programs are appropriate to help you achieve your goals, we will also provide recommendations on how you can best use these professional resources.

We look forward to helping you achieve your college admissions goals.