A college admissions committee spends on average 7 minutes with each application. Will your child be ready?

Behind the closed doors of admissions committees, your child’s entire high school record will be scrutinized, including his or her course selection, grades, standardized test scores, and teacher recommendations.

However, these aren’t the only factors that influence admissions committees. Extracurricular activities, community involvement, non-academic interests, and special ideas and talents can catch the attention of these screening committees—if offered in the right way.

Through our work together, you will learn how you can most effectively present yourself to various college admissions committees, so you can use that 7 minutes to impress them.

I help you to prepare with care, as universities constantly redefine and rank the criteria they use in determining their admissions policies. These admissions criteria are perhaps the most closely guarded secrets of any institution. Indeed, in one area—geographic origin—students from many East Coast communities carry a special burden in gaining entrance to top colleges and universities. This region is especially competitive because of its population of high-achieving and ambitious students.

Such fierce competition increases your child’s need for a clear-cut profile. During his or her precious 7 minutes, the admissions committee must be immediately impressed with a portfolio that emphasizes your child’s unique strengths. By providing you with one of the most comprehensive, current, and quantitatively researched college admissions preparation programs in the world, I enable your child to maximize his or her admissions marketability.

Q. How important is it to plan in advance for my 7 minutes?

A. In order to be successful, you need to strategize and develop your admissions portfolios and personal statements well before you submit them to admissions committees. I advise you on the potential strengths and weaknesses of your applications and then work with you to prepare the most compelling admissions materials you are capable of submitting.

Advanced planning is the key to our joint success. Over the past 20 years, more than 85 percent of my students have been admitted to their first-choice colleges. Well in advance of the application deadlines, I work with you to identify the schools most likely to be attracted to a prospective student with your admissions profile. I then ensure that your admissions materials present your strengths in ways that are appealing to your top-choice colleges or graduate programs.

In this competitive admissions environment, you need to plan carefully to seize every possible advantage. Be one of my students—don’t compete against one!

Q. How do you assist students from overseas to prepare for their 7 minutes?

A. I have a deep understanding of the needs of international students, having lived and worked extensively overseas. I have assisted students and families from all over the world with selecting and applying to choice schools in the U.S. and elsewhere.

I appreciate that the U.S. educational system is challenging for those from abroad. I work hard to demystify the subtleties of the American system for you by understanding your specific needs and objectives and then “translating” these needs into specific qualities to look for in various educational institutions.

Once you have matriculated, I am also available to advise you on course selection, extracurricular involvement, and program-based decisions.