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Growing up in New York City can offer many advantages. There are a lot of top tier high schools, tons of activities, and countless ways for students to engage with their areas of interest. Many students see the city as a land of opportunity, and their college applications are reflective of their passion and drive. New York City is a breeding ground for high achieving students, which makes it difficult to stand out in the crowd. This reality also increases competition when it becomes time to apply to college. 

When working with students from New York City, we get to know them to ensure two things: that we help them find their niche and differentiate themselves from the thousands of other applicants, and that we guide them in their search for schools that are not just perfect academically, but culturally and socially as well. 

We’ve created hundreds of school lists for our clients from all over the world, but working with a client from New York City takes a bit of extra work and knowledge of the landscape. More often than not, we’ve found that our clients from New York City need to maintain some semblance of their city life in college, or else they’ll get bored. We’ve had clients come to us who grew up in Brooklyn with dreams of attending college in the south. But when they begin to learn more about the school, or perhaps visit, it’s likely that they’ll come back to us looking for something that’s more culturally aligned with New York. We keep this in mind, get to know our clients, and present them with exciting and realistic options. 

New York City Admissions Counseling: A Look At Our Process 

We don’t use a one size fits all approach, but here’s what you can count on: 

High School Timeline: We’re often asked about which year of high school is the most important, and our answer is that they’re all important. To make the most of every year, we create a holistic plan that is both manageable and exciting. Our weekly calls keep our clients on track, and we ensure that they’re constantly building upon their past achievements. 

Expanded Extracurricular Activities: Top tier colleges are looking for students who are specialists. Our clients do more than join a club of interest: they embark on passion projects, pursue jobs and internships, and obtain research positions. Depending upon your areas of interest, we’ll help build out your extracurriculars with unique opportunities. 

Example Case Study: 

  • Sophomore Year: A client comes to us with a general interest in Environmental Science. In addition to helping our client choose the most optimal classes, we find online courses and books for them to read. Relying on their feedback and weekly discussions, we identify two specific areas of interest: Marine Biology and Sustainable Farming. 

  • Junior Year: Our client spends the year diving even further into these passions and starts a club at their high school. After two years of commitment to Marine Biology and Sustainable Farming, they’re able to secure a research position with a college professor during the summer after their Junior year. 

  • Senior Year: Our clients school list was created by finding Environmental Science programs that align perfectly with their academic goals, and they’ve done the kind of work that shows colleges that they’re deeply committed to their passions. By December, all of their college applications are submitted. 

College List: By relying on our relationship with our clients and knowledge of the college landscape, we create realistic college lists. We consider several metrics, and break our lists out by reach, target, and safety schools. We’re proud of our 0% transfer rate, and attribute it to the fact that we get to know our clients and dig into what they’re looking for in a college experience. 

Essay Help: Rather than working to improve existing ideas that might not ultimately work out, we start from scratch. The brainstorming process looks a little different depending upon the writer and client, but we meet our clients where they are. No matter where they are, we guide them, help them, and streamline the process by keeping our vision at the forefront of every session. After the first draft is done, we review internally and figure out how to make it even better. This process is done for the common app essay and every single supplement that we write together. 

Getting In Touch With A New York City College Counselor: 

If you’re from New York City and you want to gain attendance into a competitive college, you need to formulate a plan that will help you stand out in the crowd. We’ll use our expertise to help our clients find their passions, creatively pursue them, and write essays that catch the eye of college admissions officers. The college process can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. We’ll guide you through the process and help you apply to college with confidence. 

Drop us a line if you’d like to hear more about our process.