When parents contact me about transferring, often there is a mismatch between a student’s interests and his or her lifestyle at a particular college.

Perhaps your child didn’t prepare carefully for the initial college admissions process, or perhaps she was unhappy with her college options. Perhaps she just didn’t have a good experience as a first-year college student. In any case, I move quickly to remedy the situation.

After I get to know your student, we work together to find the right schools for her and then assemble the most thoughtful and compelling transfer applications possible.

Q. My child was a slightly above average student in high school, but he had fewer college options than I thought he would have. Why?

A. Parents are often surprised to find out that the admissions process has changed considerably since they went to school, with universities now employing multiple computer models that effectively put certain applicants at a strategic disadvantage.

These models, along with a surge of applications to a wide range of schools, have produced the most competitive admissions environment in history. For instance, fifteen years ago, a B student with a 600 on each section of the SAT and strong involvement with a youth hockey club would have been a solid candidate for the University of Miami. Today, a high school student with such a profile could only get into Miami if he was able to carefully focus his application on some identifiable strength that satisfied one or more needs of the university – such as sports, music, or service.

My understanding of the development of university applicant pools and the complexities of the college admissions process allows your child to find the right match between what he or she has to offer as a freshman or transfer applicant and what colleges need. I match her talents, achievements, and goals to the schools and programs where she can shine, and then help her communicate what she has to offer.