College Consulting Services

Comprehensive Package (Junior Year)

This package will provide the most support throughout the student’s college search and application process and it includes unlimited access to JMT College Consulting. 

The College Search Process

Students who commit time and energy to the college search process during their junior year feel empowered, excited, and significantly more in control of their journey. As a result of their efforts, students can better identify the elements of their future college experience that resonate most with them.  These students have an increased sense of satisfaction and confidence throughout the college search and application process as well. Too often, college counselors will hear students say, “I don’t know why I put that college on my list.” When working with your child, we will be sure they can articulate why each college on their list is a place at which they will thrive.  

The primary goal of this initial phase is to generate a “balanced” college list. JMT College Consulting will guide the student through various action steps to establish an organized and highly personalized college search process. To this end, JMT College Consulting will:

• Review the student’s high school curriculum to assess candidacy, their learning style preferences, and college readiness

• Make course recommendations to support college admission

• Assist students with the college search process to create an initial list of schools

• Assist with the creation of a timeline for various college admission tasks to help the student organize the application process

• Advise students on strategies to employ to get the most benefit from a college visit and assist with scheduling of visits, if needed

• Discuss strategies to communicate “demonstrated interest,” if appropriate

• Create a testing timeline and strategy

• Help students identify those recommenders who can best convey their strengths and academic goals and how to make those requests appropriately

• Teach students about the different application types (ED, EA REA, RD, ROLLING etc.) and about the pros and cons of each given their unique journey and how these deadlines impact the timing of various action steps

• Teach students about NCAA eligibility and recruiting strategies/timeline

• Discuss funding sources, such as scholarships, and ensure that parents and students have a clear understanding of how college will be funded

The Application Process

The summer after junior year or senior year fall/winter, we focus on how to complete the application for each college and will:

• Assist students in writing a resume

• Edit the common application activity list in order to highlight student strengths, experiences, and accomplishments

• Aid students with their personal statement/common application essay topic selection and draft revisions

• Support students with their supplemental essay topic selection and with draft revisions for tone, content, and grammar

• Teach students interview skills and guide them through mock interviews to hone those skills

• Review application prior to submission

• Partner with students to address waitlist and/or deferrals

• Support students whose applications require supplementary materials such as portfolios and/or auditions

• Help families navigate the financial aid process, highlighting deadlines for priority scholarship applications and other merit aid

Accelerated Package (Senior Year)

Some students find that, while they had the time to complete the college search process on their own while juniors, they need support organizing their time and completing their applications during their senior year. Or, some students are not ready to focus on life after high school until their senior year starts. That’s okay! They are not alone. However, a later start can make the fall stressful and quite busy! This package is for those students who need to use their time wisely to apply to schools during the first round of “early” applications in November. It aims to jump-start their college process and organize their time to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed as they balance their academic work, extracurricular activities, and application completion. This program includes up to 10-sessions with JMT College Consulting before November 15th (EA/ED Deadlines) and up to 10 additional sessions after November 15th. To this end, we will:

• Review the college list to ensure that it is “balanced”

• Make recommendations for additional schools to “balance” the list, if needed

• Review of recommendation letter requests, testing timeline, and application completion status

• Creation of a timeline to help organize all outstanding tasks

• Discuss and identify a timeline with regard to financial aid application and early or regular decision deadlines

• Provide support for the common application essay/personal statement topic selection and draft revisions

• Assist with brainstorming essay topics and draft revisions for supplemental essays

• Recommend accessible college visits and how to establish “demonstrated interest,” if appropriate

• Assist with application completion, including a review of the student’s activity list to ensure that the students’ accomplishments are clearly communicated

• Teach interview skills and perform two mock interviews to hone skills

• Provide waitlist and deferral support and strategies, if needed

• Help with athletic recruiting

• Support student with portfolio development and scheduling auditions, if needed

Please Note: This package focuses on organizing the application process to complete the applications in time to meet “early” (November) application submission deadlines. To focus on elements of the application that will enable the student to communicate his/her/their strengths, attributes, and experiences, the student must generate an initial college list before working with JMT College Consulting. This program only involves a quick review of the existing college list to ensure that it is balanced. There may not be time to research more schools in-depth, although JMT College Consulting will help the student to identify schools that will “balance” the list at an hourly rate, if needed. 

Due to the limited time between September and “early” application submission deadlines in November, the student should have already signed up for and/or taken one SAT or ACT test. It will be too late for JMT College Consulting to make any curricular recommendations for the student’s senior year and assist with other elements of the process that typically are completed in the spring of the student’s junior year. However, extra support can be purchased, at an hourly rate, to assist with some of those action steps should additional time and support be needed.

College Search Module (Senior Year)

This module is for seniors who are just starting their search and application process and who do not plan on submitting any early action or early decision deadlines. This module can be combined with the Accelerated Package. We will “de-accelerate” the pace of the Accelerated Package to make the most of the additional time that the later application submission cycle creates. This five-session module will support students in creating a “balanced” college list and identifying action items to get the most out of college visits and tours.

Application Essay Consultation & Support

For those students who desire some targeted support to create a thoughtful and well-constructed essay, this is a three or four-session package. JMT College Consulting will support a student in their effort to write a compelling and engaging essay. 

Hourly Consultations

JMT College Consulting is available for single consultations at an hourly rate or for a few additional sessions should you need to add them to a package. Perhaps you are a parent who is navigating the college search and application process with your eldest child, and therefore, you are seeking some clarification about the process. Or, perhaps you want to know how the admissions process has changed due to the pandemic. In these cases, a single session will prove to be very helpful.