College Placement Consulting

What is the perfect college for your student?  I love helping plan for and uncovering this answer alongside my students, and then arming them with the tools and confidence to transition successfully to college.  Such a mentoring relationship helps not just students, but also parents make it through this gripping, exciting, and yet inherently stressful time.

To be a trusted guide, I continually investigate post-high school options with an eye for students with learning differences.  And I keep my finger on the pulse of college applications as a past admission reader for UC-Santa Barbara and UC San Diego.  My lens is always focused on whether a student will have the support system academically, emotionally, and socially to be successful as a college student.  

Exceptionally Individualized and Important Work

My role is to help my young adults work through wobbly self-esteem issues that often present in statements like: “Why should I even bother to go to college? I’ve never been good at school.” 

I lean into my 20 years of experience as a learning specialist/special education teacher in the K-12 setting. I’ve also added a second Master’s degree, in School Counseling to my first in Special Education, and am accredited with the Independent Educational Consultants Association.  

Examples of Services

This short list is a peek at what I can offer my students.  I tailor specifically to your student based on his or her academic and learning needs. I create comprehensive packages based on initial meetings with parents, students, and any educational consultants.  

Services can be provided hourly on an as-needed basis or in packages spanning the 9-12 grade years or solely by grade level.

By Grade

9th grade

Review IEP or psycho-educational reports.  Administer personality inventories used to determine strengths and weaknesses in career interest areas.  Plan classes for UC and CSU system eligibility, and private liberal arts college eligibility across the country. Work on study skills and organization skills as appropriate.

10th grade

Answer the question:  Who am I as a learner?  Apply for PSAT accommodations.  Plan classes accordingly.  Develop advocacy skills and start to become less dependent on adults for help with homework.  Learning Disability: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Cheryl Tuttle is used to help guide this process.

11th grade

PSAT, SAT and ACT testing: understand test taking strategies with accommodations in place.  Reduce text anxiety.  Use College Match by Steve Antonoff during the second semester to get a head start of what to look for in colleges.   Start drafting a college list based on interests and what will fit best for learning differences.  Encourage college visits.   The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences 12th Edition: 353 Schools with Program and Services for Students with ADHD, ASD, or Learning Disabilities is used to streamline the process.

12th grade

Summer Sessions:  Begin to draft UC personal statements and Common App essays. Start Coalition and CSU Mentor applications.  (My students need more to time to write and process this information, and summer – without the stress of high school schedules and other senior commitments – is often the best time to start.) 

Fall semester:  Complete all applications with the strict guideline that students do some of this work outside of sessions to build self-reliance and time management skills.  I will guide this, but parents are expected to help the student find a quiet space and time to dedicate to “homework” from me.  Role-play mock meetings with professors to assess if a student can describe their accommodations with ease and to prep them for those real conversations in college.

Spring semester:  College acceptance in hand!  Work on college-level study skills needed for success at college.  Initiate contact by the student to the disability resource center.

DISCLOSURE: Working with an educational consultant does not guarantee admissions to any university.

K-12 School Counsulting

Advice, school search and application support for students with learning differences in finding a private school in the area which will support the way they learn.  A review of classroom performances, teacher comments, parental comments, and IEP/psychoeducational report is reviewed to help determine as best fit school.

Colleges

This selection of schools, organized by state, are those I have personally visited and vetted for you.

They have engaging curriculums where students can be successful. 

Arizona State University

American River College
CSU Channel Islands
CSU East Bay
CSU Monterey
Occidental College
Loyola Marymont
Mills College
Notre Dame de Namur
Redlands University
San Jose State
San Diego State
Santa Clara
Sacramento State
SF State
Sonoma State
Sierra College
Skyline College
St. Mary’s College
Santa Barbara Community College
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UC San Diego
U of San Diego
Westmont College
Whittier College

Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Colorado State University, Denver
Colorado School of the Mines
Regis University
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Colorado Denver
University of Northern Colorado
University of Denver

Beacon College - primarily for students with learning differences
University of Tampa
University of Central Florida
University of Miami

University of Hawaii Manoa

DePaul University
University of Chicago

Bethel University
Goshen College
St. Mary's College
University of Notre Dame
Valparaiso University

Cornell College

Boston College
Boston University
Clark University
Emerson College
University of Massachusetts

University of Nevada Reno

Cornell University
Ithaca College
Rensselaer University
Rochester Institute of Technology Syracuse University
Union College
University of Rochester

Bennett College
Catawba College
Cabarrus School of Health Sciences Duke University
Elon University
Greensboro College
Guilford College
High Point University
Livingstone College
North Carolina State University Pfeiffer University
Salem College University of North Carolina
Wake Forest University
Wingate University

Linfield University
Lewis and Clark
Reed College
Portland State University Southern Oregon University University of Portland Williamette University

Bloomsburg University
Bucknell University
Carnegie Mellon University Gettysburg College
Duquesne University
Millersville University
Penn State University
Shippensburg University
Swarthmore College
Susquehanna University
Temple University
University of Pittsburgh
Ursinus College

Brown University
Salve Regina
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
University of Rhode Island

University of Texas- Austin
Trinity University

Bennington College
Castleton University
Champlain College
College of St. Joseph
Landmark College-primarily for students with learning differences Middlebury College
Northern Vermont University
Norwich University
St. Michael’s College
Vermont Technical College
University of Vermont

College of William and Mary

Evergreen State College
Seattle University
Seattle Pacific
University of Puget Sound
University of Washington
Whitman College

University of Wyoming