College Counseling
The college application process presents a valuable opportunity for students to reflect on their lives and make exciting decisions about the future. Unfortunately, the process can also become very stressful with various testing requirements, essay demands, and application nuances.
Our college counselors guide students and families throughout the college application process so they feel confident that they are taking the right personal and practical steps to achieve their goals. Many families and students have access to robust college counseling programs at their high schools, while others struggle to find the one-on-one attention they desire.
A private college counselor can play an important role in a family’s and student’s high school years by providing valuable guidance and relieving the stress associated with the college admissions process. In the same way tutoring supplements in-class instruction, private college counseling supplements and complements school-based counseling and advising.
Our college counselors encourage self-reflection and help students identify schools and majors, brainstorm community service projects and internship opportunities, plan coursework, select meaningful extracurricular activities, prepare for standardized tests, seek scholarship opportunities, edit personal statements, and manage application platforms.
We offer both package and hourly payment options. See a more detailed description of the type of services below.
Mentorship & Counseling
- Explain high school course planning and college admissions.
- Select college preparatory curriculum.
- Mentor and model how to be a successful, well-rounded student.
- Identify career interests and potential majors using personality tests such as Myers Briggs and other reflective activities.
- Select and reflect on community service projects and extracurricular activities.
- Make suggestions and connections for internships.
School Selection
- Research individual schools, majors, and geographic areas of interest in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
- Plan to attend college information events.
- Coordinate or suggest college visitation programs
Application Process
- Assist with creating a resume.
- Monitor deadlines for applications.
- Oversee use of the Common App.
- Identify which teachers and mentors should write letters of recommendation.
- Research and organize particular requirements for specific schools.
- Brainstorm and edit personal statements.
- Prepare for interviews.
- Assist with the financial aid application.
Tutoring & Test Prep
- Connect students with tutors for subject-specific tutoring and preparation for the SAT and ACT.
College Counselors
Sarah Patterson, J.D.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Sarah graduated from Loretto High School in 2003, Sacramento State in 2007, and Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 2015. Sarah has worked with kids for many years in various capacities, including tutoring and producing plays at a local elementary school. While in law school, she worked at California Lawyers for the Arts/Sacramento Mediation Center where she helped develop the curriculum for a peer mediation program designed to reduce bullying in schools.
Linda Bloom, J.D.
Linda graduated with a BA in English from U.C. Berkeley and a J.D. with distinction, from McGeorge School of Law. After practicing real estate and finance law for fifteen years in Sacramento, Linda began teaching while raising her children. She was the school Librarian, Public Speaking and Drama teacher at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish School for three years, also serving as coach of the academic decathlon and mental math teams. She was active in her children’s education at Our Lady of the Assumption, Jesuit and St. Francis. Linda’s interest in college counseling arose after working with her own children and their friends in their high school and college careers. Her son is a student at U.C. Berkeley, and her daughter is a student at UCLA.
Pricing
Cancellation Policy
If the client cancels an hourly counseling appointment less than 24 hours before the appointment, the client must pay a cancellation fee, which is $30. If the client does not give any notice and the counselor has departed for the appointment or arrives at the appointment, the client must pay a cancellation fee of $60.