College Counseling

Our Approach

Whether you’re an incoming freshman unsure of which high school classes to take or a senior navigating the seemingly countless college application essays, the process can be overwhelming. You repeatedly find yourself questioning which you want more: acceptance to a top university or some semblance of a childhood. Good college planning begins with good high school planning. Are you taking the right classes? Are you involved in enough extracurriculars? Great Expectations counselors encourage students to find academic and extracurricular pursuits that they both enjoy and excel at so that the hours invested feel more like play than work but are still productive. At the end of the day, colleges want strong students, but they also want real people with real commitment to their interests — our goal is to help you create a narrative that is both authentic AND unique.

Did You Know?

The national average of student-to-counselor ratios at public high schools is 460:1, and in California, the ratio approaches 1000:1.

UCLA received 145,910 applications to fill the Class of 2027’s 6,585 spots.

95% of Dartmouth’s incoming freshmen were in the top 10% of their class.

“Great Expectations was an investment for us and worth every penny!!! Chelese was simply an outstanding guide for our family through the college application process. She delivered information about the college admission process in clear, compassionate, and concise terms. Chelese helped us as parents ‘back off’ (this was the right thing for our strong-willed kid!) but know that our student was being guided in the right direction. They got into their top choice, top-ranked university and the honors program.”- Heather W. (Bozeman, MT)

“There are so many bizarre ins and outs of applying to college, but my counselor knew how to deal with them: whether it was a CommonApp glitch, questions that don't make any sense, or scheduling interviews, I was well-prepared. Most of all, I really felt that the services I was receiving were personalized to me, and that I wasn't getting the same treatment as every other kid. I recently received an acceptance from Stanford University, my top choice, and I am 100 percent positive that without GE, I would not have submitted a strong enough application to get in.”
- Benny D. (Pacific Palisades, CA)

“Jen helped my daughter through her college planning process – from deciding where to apply, to the application process, to making her final decision. Jen is the perfect mix of a writing coach/organizer/motivator/enforcer; she truly helped us stay focused during this extremely stressful time. My daughter was admitted to 85% of the universities she applied to, including Princeton, Penn, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and UCLA. Jen's guidance was truly priceless!” - Nancy B. (Valencia, CA)

“We began working with Great Expectations during my son’s sophomore year, but truthfully, it should have been in eighth grade because we would have done things differently in ninth grade if we had known better. My son interacted with various people on staff, including help on essays, proofreading, test prep, even portfolio review, and every single person was incredibly valuable and outstanding.” - Jane A. (Coto de Caza)

Our Programs

College may feel like a lifetime away, but choices students make now will impact their future options. The earlier they start, the more time students will have with their counselors to incorporate relevant activities and unique experiences into their profiles that support their personal narratives and application strategies. Students will explore academic paths that are right for them – a decision they should be prepared to defend in college essays and interviews. Our counselors will help students select courses, set achievable academic and extracurricular goals, and begin working on long-term projects to ensure they are developing compelling narratives and becoming the best candidates they can be.

Grades 5-8

Families of younger students are often looking for guidance as to which middle schools and high schools will serve them best. Where will they be challenged but still thrive, and where are the best extracurricular opportunities to support their interests?

That said, most students this age haven’t necessarily identified their passions just yet. We want kids to be kids, so we help them discover new interests and potential paths through after-school activities, summer programs, and more. If there are areas of academic weakness or gaps in comprehension, identifying them now allows students to create a game plan to strengthen their foundational skills before venturing into high school.

All families receive progress reports after each session and have access to live webinars with our founder and specialists in niche areas. We can also help younger students in the following ways:
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Manage the private middle/high school application process, if applicable, from creating the school list to advising on essays and interviews
Identify academic challenges and create a program/plan to address them
Develop areas of existing (or potential) interest through unique, fun activities and programs
Advise on course selection (when applicable) and creating an academic roadmap
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Packages also grant families access to the following:

Live webinars with our founder, specialists in niche areas, and college admissions officers
Progress reports after each session
Proprietary activities worksheet, month-by-month checklists, and college counseling software

Grade 9

PLAN

Students should plan their academic roadmap and set concrete, achievable goals. A college counselor can help you plan for success by helping you choose the right balance of classes and extracurriculars using a 4-year game plan that includes frequent check-ins and attainable milestones to guarantee steady long-term progress.

EXPLORE

Students should explore different subjects and activities to consider which ones to commit to long-term. These interests must be genuine, and some activities carry more weight than others from an admissions perspective. A college counselor can suggest a healthy mixture of academic and extracurricular experiences that can add real value to a student’s profile based on information gathered from conversations in meetings and personality or career assessments if need be.

CONNECT

Students should begin making strong connections with peers, teachers, and community organizations to find fellow collaborators and academic mentors who can support their goals. A college counselor can advise on joining school clubs, sports teams, or a like-minded community for competitions or to initiate a community service project.

Grade 10

LEAD

Students should now have a better idea of what activities and classes interest them, and they should look to be leaders in the classroom and in the community. A college counselor can help you find and apply to leadership positions to demonstrate a growing commitment to a cause, team, or course of study. Leadership can look like many different things, but it is always a quality sought by admissions officers at top universities.

CREATE

Students should begin to create impact and produce output. These creations could be artistic, service-oriented, or academic, whether individually or on teams. A college counselor can help you figure out what you want to create and how to create it by breaking it down into manageable steps, whether that be an independent research project, an artistic portfolio, launching a club, or the all-important passion project.

EXPAND

Students should expand the interests explored in 9th grade and stretch themselves academically through Honors or AP classes in key subjects. A college counselor can help students step outside their comfort zones by helping them locate and apply to academic summer programs at college campuses or local experiences that can help broaden their mindset.

11th Grade

REFINE

Students should refine their academic focus and clarify their intended major for college. A college counselor can help students research different majors, the academic courses they require, and postgraduate outcomes to help the student make an informed decision about what to study. Knowing this will help the student and counselor plan relevant activities and experiences that point in that direction.

PREPARE

Students should be preparing to take the SAT/ACT and AP exams. They should also be preparing the climax of their passion project for the summer and preparing essays and application work for ED/EA schools. A college counselor will help the student develop a unique, impactful application strategy from beginning to end.

ENGAGE

Students should be engaged in their community and be making a demonstrable impact. They should also be engaged members of their classrooms to get strong letters of recommendation from 11th grade teachers. A college counselor will help a student decide who to ask for letters of recommendation, which advanced outside coursework to take, and suggest relevant experiences demonstrating growing expertise in their intended major as a final push before early applications are submitted in November of 12th grade.

Grade 12

CONCLUDE

Students should conclude their passion project or research initiatives and seek to advertise their accomplishments or get their work formally acknowledged. They should have also concluded their college research and know exactly which schools they want to apply to and why. A college counselor can help the student create a balanced school list and arrive at conclusions about the application strategy and student narrative.

REFLECT

Students should reflect on their high school journey to determine what was meaningful and why. They should reflect on a wide range of experiences to generate content for the many essays they will have to write for their applications. A college counselor helps students brainstorm, write, and edit meaningful narrative reflections and fill out brag sheets for teachers and counselors that reflect the key qualities that make them strong candidates for admission.

APPLY

Students will apply to universities. This is the culmination of 4 years of effort and will decide the next 4 years of a student’s life. A college counselor will work with you from the beginning to the end of the application, ensuring your activities, essays, and interviews present yourself in the best possible light for admissions committees.

Transfers

Many transfer students feel confident starting their transfer applications because they have been through the college application process once before, but they quickly realize that applying as a transfer student comes with an entirely different set of rules and expectations. There is often less information available about transfer applications compared to freshman applications, making it challenging to determine which schools are reaches, targets, or safeties. Each school also has a unique transfer process, which can make it difficult to gauge the importance of high school grades and test scores compared to university transcripts. Additionally, figuring out which universities will accept previously earned credits and which may require retaking courses can take time and effort. Trying to research the specifics of transfer applications while also juggling a full university course load can quickly lead to confusion and frustration.

Let us streamline the process and advise you on whether your current statistics (GPA, credits, etc.) are strong enough to warrant consideration from your transfer schools of choice. If not, we will help you understand what you can do to improve your chances in the coming months and when you should apply. If you already “have what it takes,” we will help you tailor your application to leave no doubt that your school of choice will benefit from having you join its community!

Here are some of the ways we can help transfer students in the application process:
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Support applying to colleges and universities anywhere in the world
-Unlimited essay edits with feedback
-Unlimited application reviews
Assistance with assessing college coursework for transferability to fulfill pre-requisites and credit minimums
Resume assessment and development

Graduate School

Whether you're applying to graduate programs directly after undergrad or revisiting academia after a few years in the real world, the graduate school application process can feel overwhelming.

Researching which graduate programs are the best fit for a person's specific interests and goals is only the first step in a lengthy admissions process. Applicants often need assistance preparing for grad school tests such as the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, or GRE, each with its own unique structure and strategies for maximizing scores. Writing a statement of purpose is particularly challenging due to the limited space to highlight your strengths, explain your goals, detail your experiences, and demonstrate your qualifications while also showcasing your writing skills. Students must also carefully consider who to ask for letters of recommendation and be prepared for admissions interviews.

Our team includes experienced counselors who are well-versed in the admissions processes for various graduate programs and degrees. They will work closely with you to put together the best application possible. Not only will they ensure every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed, but they will also discuss the pros and cons of different programs, prepare you for interviews, and devise strategies to make your application stand out from the competition.

Here are some of the ways we can help students in the graduate application process:

Support applying to colleges and universities anywhere in the world
-Unlimited essay edits with feedback
-Unlimited application reviews
Assistance with assessing college coursework to fulfill prerequisites
Guidance on GRE/LSAT/MCAT timing
Resume assessment and development
Interview coaching and preparation

It’s never too soon to start preparing!

The best way to tackle the college application process is to start soon and stay organized.

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Counseling FAQs

Want to learn more about counseling?

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What are your counselors’ qualifications/training?

Our counselors are made up of the most experienced, educated, friendly and charismatic college admissions experts out there.

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Not only do our counselors have a background in counseling (whether they worked as high school counselors, have Master’s degrees in college counseling, and/or even worked in college admissions offices), but they undergo intense training to ensure that they are ready to help students produce the best college applications.

How many sessions will I need?

The answer to this, of course, depends entirely on what you hope to accomplish and in which area you are seeking guidance.

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Do you simply want help polishing essays, or are you looking for guidance in selecting schools, navigating various requirements and deadlines, prepping for interviews, et cetera? Note that some colleges require NO essays, whereas other schools require more than ten—so, simply put, the biggest variable in this equation is WHICH SCHOOLS you are applying to.

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Once that is determined and you have a sense of what parts of the process you feel in control of and which you don’t, we can help you come up with a game plan to tackle the massive to-do list in the most organized way possible.

My high school already has a college counselor, an essay boot camp, and/or other college informational activities. Won’t I get most of my questions answered at school?

Your school counselor and school resources are a great place to start, but you have to share your counselor’s time and the floor at college information nights with dozens (if not hundreds) of other students. We have much more time to focus on YOU! We can be as involved as you’d like—reading every essay, reviewing every application, confirming colleges’ receipt of every official document you’ve sent, etc.

How many schools should I apply to?

The answer to this question is a little different for each student, but we generally recommend using the 1-2-2 approach—in other words, applying to roughly 1 safety, 2 targets, and 2 reaches for every 5 schools you apply to.

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We can help you identify which schools fit into these categories, given your specific experiences and academic credentials, and we can help make sure that you are applying to enough schools that you will have a variety of choices—but not so many that you will have to sacrifice the quality of your work on the applications you should be prioritizing.

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In our experience, 8-12 schools in total is ideal, as it gives you quite a few options but still allows you to put a lot of effort into each application. There are, of course, students who apply to far more or far fewer schools than that, and it’s entirely up to you to determine how much time and energy you’re willing to put into the process.

I think I may want to take a gap year. Should I still apply to colleges this year?

While a gap year (a year break) may be a wise option for some—whether for personal reasons or simply to take courses and strengthen an academic profile—we encourage students to apply directly to colleges, regardless.

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You can always go through the application process and then decide to take a gap year after the fact, as you may miss a lot of opportunities you didn’t know existed if you jump straight into a gap year without considering the collegiate alternatives.

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We are also happy to help you explore gap year programs and opportunities, as well. There are a lot of wonderful paths out there, and we are here to help you every step of the way.

Is community college the best route for me to get into a UC school?

The most simple, honest answer is “perhaps.” There are a lot of pros and cons to consider both routes (direct and indirect), and we will help you evaluate all options and devise a thoughtful short-term and long-term game plan to help you reach your ultimate goal.

I’m a senior and it’s Thanksgiving. Is it too late to start?

Our college counselors are trained to work with students at any stage of the application process, including on a deadline. However, the later you start, the less extensive aid we’ll be able to provide, so it’s to everyone’s benefit to get started earlier if possible.

I’m a good writer. Why do I need help with my application essays?

Ask any professional writer out there if he or she has published a work without an additional pair of eyes—or ten! A good writer knows that a great piece of writing comes from honing and editing initial drafts with a fresh perspective, which is nearly impossible to achieve on your own when you’re writing autobiographically.

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Additionally, just because you’re a good writer doesn’t mean that you necessarily know what college admissions officers are looking for. A personal statement should be an unusual combination of short story and academic essay—a hybrid most students have little experience with. We are also familiar with what topics are overdone and clichéd, as well as which ones should never be written in the first place.

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Our college counselors are trained to make students’ essays the most polished, honest, unique, and interesting essays that each student is capable of. We work to identify exactly what the student is trying to say and then ensure that the essay conveys that message. An outstanding essay is concise, specific, thoughtful, compelling, and unique—not to mention utilizes a thoughtful structure, excellent grammar, and an impressive (but not too impressive) vocabulary! Writers of all backgrounds will receive expert guidance and feedback, and find their essays improved without sacrificing their voice or intent.

I have no idea what to write my essays about. There’s nothing unique about me.

There is something unique about everyone! Our college counselors will help you unlock your powerful story and help you showcase your talents and special qualities to admissions officers. You don’t have to cure cancer to catch a college’s attention…you need to know who you are, who you want to be, and show a commitment to becoming the best version of yourself.

Should I write an essay about how COVID-19 affected me? Why/why not?

As a general rule, only write about the pandemic if your experiences were more extreme than those of your peers—for instance; if a parent lost a job because of COVID-19, which required you to move or switch schools, that is a disruption worth noting.

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However, if you would simply talk about learning to appreciate the little things, missing your activities and face-to-face interactions, or what you did to keep busy, it’s best to avoid this topic.

How will my counselor know who I am or what I want out of college?

First, we ask every new family to fill out a brief survey about the student’s personality, interests, goals, et cetera and try to pair students with counselors who will be the best fit.

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Second, our college counselors have been selected and trained specifically to work with students moving into higher education—not only help you apply to schools, but also to help you find those schools in the first place! We listen to you to discover your interests, curiosities, and preferences so that the colleges you apply to are great fits—not just a slapped-together list of recognizable schools. There are over 2800 four-year colleges in the United States alone, so it actually makes our job a lot easier if we get to know you!

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Our counselors hail from all over the world and have in-depth knowledge of the college landscape, both in the U.S. and internationally. Whether it’s a school in the UC system or a small college in Iowa, we will provide you with valuable insights and guidance throughout your college selection process, helping you differentiate between what you truly want (or don’t want) and what is simply the fear of the unknown.

What sort of help will I need during the college application process?

Figuring out where to apply can be a far more overwhelming venture than expected, as can selecting majors, completing essays, outlining/writing essays, and creating timelines to stay on track throughout the process. Our counselors can help with as much or as little of the college application process as you’d like!

When should I start college counseling?

It depends on how much personalized guidance you are getting at your school. A lot of families start meeting with us as early as eighth grade and set a session every few months or so, just to discuss class options, extracurricular opportunities, et cetera. If you want to be an engineer, do you know which classes most college programs require? Are you familiar with the testing and academic course requirements at your dream schools? Can you drop foreign languages or sciences after three years? Do you know how to assess undergraduate programs differently based on whether or not you intend to attend graduate school? Are you visiting enough college campuses to explore your options and determine what you really want?

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If not, it would be wise to set an initial meeting as early as possible…it’s never too soon to understand what path you need to be on to achieve your goals. However, if you feel your school counselor is answering your questions, you can wait until the summer before senior year, at which point we can help you start digging into essays and applications.

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