Overview: CollegeAdvisor.com Client Success Stories
In our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories, we feature CollegeAdvisor.com students who achieved their college dreams. For each of this year’s CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories, we’ll interview our students and talk to them about their college advising experience. We will discuss how they built their college lists, aced their college essays, and which CollegeAdvisor resources they found most valuable. We’ll also share what they learned throughout the college application process.
Our CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories and the positive feedback we get from our CollegeAdvisor.com reviews remind us why we do what we do. At CollegeAdvisor, we’re proud to help students from all backgrounds maximize their college potential. We hope these CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories inspire you as you begin your own college application process, start your college visits, apply for merit scholarships, craft your college list, and more.
Brynn’s Background, Interests, and Extracurriculars
Brynn sat down with us to share how she found the college application process with us in this CollegeAdvisor Client Success Story.
Brynn was looking for some help to navigate the college application process. She worked with Crystal Aguero-Norman who helped her with everything from crafting her personal statement for college, guiding in her college essay review, and creating a college list just for her.
Brynn is from a small town in the woods. Her parents were by no means experts on the college application process. They’d both had their own difficulties while navigating the college application process years ago.
Brynn did feel overwhelmed by the college application process, and wanted help with her personal statement for college and college essay review. However, she’d had a clear idea of her study interests for a long time and planned her extracurriculars accordingly. “I am in the medical careers program in my school since I’m going into medicine. So they have that opportunity and I was able to volunteer for a while at my local hospital.” With this school program, Brynn was able to experience first-hand what life would be like as a professional in the medical field.
Brynn was ahead of the game already just by actively pursuing her interests in her extracurriculars. However, not all (or any) of an applicants’ extracurriculars need to be centered on their future career goals. Brynn is passionate about music. “I’m very into music. I’m in the marching band, concert band, things like that.”
Being active in extracurriculars helped Brynn craft her application narrative and writing her personal statement for college, giving her ample material to work from. Taking part in extracurriculars in high school is important. However, it’s just as important to showcase them in the college application process. Check out this article on how to best shine the spotlight on your extracurriculars.
Why did Brynn choose CollegeAdvisor?
Like many high school students, Brynn was a bit overwhelmed by the college application process. Her parents had their own set of challenges in their college years. Brynn says, “Both of my parents had issues with college. My dad had to commute and my mom had issues financially, so they didn’t know a whole lot about… the college application process.”
Similarly to many parents, they wanted to help Brynn in her college application process. However, they didn’t know the specifics of how to help Brynn with things like crafting a personal statement for college or doing a college essay review.
“I just needed some sort of help,” Brynn says about the college application process. With the college application process weighing on her mind, fate stepped into her inbox with an email leading her to CollegeAdvisor.com. “I figured it was perfect.”
Brynn and her parents set up a kickoff call to get their questions answer and to see if CollegeAdvisor.com would be a fit. Her parents came prepared with their concerns about the pricing and content of the programs. Further, Brynn knew that she would need one-on-one support – not just automated emails. Brynn found out that CollegeAdvisor would give her personalized and individual attention with everything from her personal statement for college to scholarships for college. After that, she decided that this was the program for her.
“[CollegeAdvisor] stood out versus all the other options that I had.”
Brynn’s desire for personalized, one-on-one attention is common amongst students looking for support in their college application process. Brynn was drawn to CollegeAdvisor.com for that reason and many of the CollegeAdvisor.com reviews mimic that sentiment. Getting help with things like college essay review or crafting a personal statement for college can really ease the process.
Brynn’s experience with her advising team
Once Brynn was set on working with CollegeAdvisor, she was connected with her personal advisor, Crystal Aguero-Norman who was “super helpful.” With Crystal’s expert guidance, Brynn was able to complete her personal statement for college, get college essay review help, and obtain assistance applying to scholarships for college.
Crystal supported Brynn throughout the entire college application process. Together, they were able to check off items from the college application process checklist.
The pair started work immediately, focusing on the Common App. Brynn found Crystal’s support extremely helpful for writing her personal essay and even her personal statement for college. It was just the one-on-one, personalized attention that Brynn had needed.
To begin with, they had sessions once a week. Crystal checked in on Brynn with emails to keep her motivated and on task between sessions or when a deadline was coming. Once Brynn had completed her applications, they met every few weeks or whenever Brynn reached out needing extra help. On the whole, Brynn asked for support with scholarships for college.
Brynn also needed help in figuring out what schools to apply to and attend. So, Crystal helped Brynn create her college list, in the hopes of finding her dream school. When all the acceptance letters began to roll in, Crystal even helped Brynn decide between her two top choices on a call where they created a college list for each school, outlining potential benefits of each. After that call, Brynn felt confident and ready to commit to a school.
CollegeAdvisor’s college essay review team also helped during Brynn’s college application process. They would give her comments directly on Google Docs with her essays. Then Crystal and Brynn would decide together what feedback worked well and how it could play into another draft of her essays. Brynn found the combination of the essay editing team and Crystal’s expert opinion extremely beneficial. This was a relief to her, because essays can be one of the hardest parts of the college application process.
CollegeAdvisor’s Essay Guides
The college application process can be stressful. Crafting a personal statement for college and applying to scholarships for college can be tough especially without the help of someone to encourage you and hold you accountable. Crystal gave Brynn that support throughout her college application process, especially with the college essay review.
However, Brynn also took advantage of another useful resource from CollegeAdvisor: essay guides. These guides have also been praised by students in collegeadvisor.com reviews. What are CollegeAdvisor’s Essay Guides? Their goal is to help you write the best essays and know what to look out for when doing your own college essay review.
There are many free resources available to students going through the college application process. Students tend to find essays one of the most challenging parts of the college application process. For this reason, we’ve created essay guides to help students navigate writing those essays.
The CollegeAdvisor Essay Guides break down school-specific essay prompts. They guide students through the writing process with insider tips on the writing process and what admissions looks for. We also have other resources, such as an article on the best examples of college essays. This not only gives examples but breaks down the specifics of what worked.
Writing your college essays is challenging and these guides will help. Brynn combined the knowledge from the essay guides, the input of the college essay review team, and the personalized attention of her advisor. As a result, she wrote essays that shone!
Brynn reflects on the most challenging part of the process
Brynn told us that the hardest part of her application process was the essays. She felt overwhelmed by just how many essays she was required to write in the college application process. She found the supplemental essays even more challenging than the personal essays. It was hard for Brynn to stay motivated and get through it all.
Crystal was absolutely vital in the process of writing essays and during the college essay review process. When Brynn was struggling to stay focused or lacked motivation, Crystal sent an email checking in on how things were going. This helped Brynn stick to her schedule, meet her deadlines and keep on track throughout the college application process.
“It was really hard to keep my focus and keep motivated to finish [the essays] because there were so, so many. So that is a really big part that Crystal helped me with because she checked in with me a lot. And we went over them a decent amount of times until I was ready to submit them and I was finished.”
Furthermore, the feedback from Crystal and the essay editing team also helped Brynn to finish her essays. Not only did she get them done, but she was happy with the result. Crystal helped greatly with the college essay review. Brynn drafted and redrafted until they were both happy with the final result and Brynn felt ready to send them in.
Building a college list: How did Brynn choose where to apply?
Undeniably, one of the challenges of the college application process is the task of creating a college list of schools to apply to. While some students know exactly where they want to apply, others are completely lost in the process. Things like size, location, campus culture, financial aid, and study programs are important factors to consider when creating your college list of dream schools.
Brynn knew that she wanted to study pre-med and was able to create a college list that worked for her. However, once she got accepted, she didn’t know which school to choose. Crystal helped assist her in the process.
“I called [Crystal] cause I really didn’t know. I was deciding between two of them and I really didn’t know what to do. So we just went over them and the benefits that they had. And she was talking about safety, convenience – things like I didn’t think about. So she brought those up and then I was eventually able to just decide during the meeting where I wanted to go.”
Brynn’s acceptances and scholarships
Once the acceptance letters and scholarships begin to arrive, all of the hard work put into the college application process feels worth it. Brynn got acceptance letters from five of the schools she applied to: West Chester University, University of Pittsburgh (Johnstown location), Thomas Jefferson University, Juniata College, and Drexel University.
After talking it through with Crystal, and weighing out all the options, Brynn decided to attend Jefferson University, one of U.S News top-ranked colleges.
Brynn was not only accepted to five of her top schools but also received scholarships for college. Brynn received scholarships for college from Johnson, Juniata, and Drexel. The largest of her scholarships for college came from Jefferson, with both a generous scholarship and even some grant funding. Jefferson was already at the top of Brynn’s list. But when she considered all of her scholarships for college, the Jefferson scholarship confirmed her decision to attend.
Obtaining scholarships for college is vital for many students, but it can be a confusing part of the college application process. Read more about understanding financial aid and scholarships for college.
Brynn’s Pre-Med plan at Thomas Jefferson University
Many students are undecided on a college major throughout the college application process, Brynn wasn’t one of those students. She knew that she wanted to study medicine and will enter Jefferson as a Pre-Med major. Brynn was able to make a college list, craft her personal statement for college, and write her essays with her future study goals clear in her mind.
After spending time in the field through her school’s medical program which allowed her to volunteer in a local hospital, Brynn is certain that medicine is for her.
About the future Brynn says, “I want to go to medical school. So I’m planning on being some sort of pediatrician. Not sure if I want to work in a hospital or anything yet. I haven’t gotten that far. But hopefully I’ll get into Jefferson’s medical school in Center City and be able to continue through there.”
The college application process can be slightly different when applying to a specific major, including pre-med. There are many resources to help with common questions about applying pre-med and some application tips to give you the best odds of admission.
Brynn’s best advice for college applicants?
Now that Brynn’s made it through the process, she’s excitedly getting ready for the next chapter of her life. She has some advice for students about to embark on the college application process: “Definitely don’t procrastinate.”
You’ve probably heard it before. But take these words of wisdom to heart from someone who has personally been through the college application process. Brynn has successfully made a college list, written a personal statement for college, applied for scholarships for college, and had college essay review sessions.
Brynn believes the best thing that students can do is to start the college application process as early as they possibly can. “It’s going to be in your best interest to reach out early,” she says.
She urges students to be upfront about needing help. The college application process can be overwhelming. So students should voice their concerns and reach out for guidance before it’s too late in the process. You don’t want to get stressed out and send in applications that you just threw together. Start the process early.
Students have praised their advisors in Collegeadvisor.com reviews for helping them stay on track throughout the process. Brynn says the same – stating that Crystal was vital in keeping her focused and motivated throughout the college application process. Students should look for help and assistance in order to hold them accountable. The college application process is overwhelming, so start early and ask for help.
Final Thoughts—Why CollegeAdvisor?
“Honestly, I’m just really happy with how it all turned out and that Crystal was so friendly, and she was able to understand what I needed.”
Brynn enjoyed working with Crystal throughout her college application process. She felt comfortable and heard by Crystal. Brynn knew exactly what she needed help with from the start and asked Crystal for “blunt honesty” throughout the process.
On working with her advisor Crystal, Brynn says “She helped me set deadlines and schedules, so she knew exactly what I wanted and I got it done. I’m happy with where I’m going and everything. So, I’m just really grateful for her.”
Brynn was able to get through the college application process smoothly with the help of CollegeAdvisor. Many CollegeAdvisor.com reviews are similar – students share their satisfaction with the help their advisors gave and the online resources.
Brynn’s story is unique to her college application process, but her success is shared with many fellow CollegeAdvisor clients. Check out more CollegeAdvisor Client Success Stories to see the impact that expert advisors can make in the college application process. Above all, best of luck!
This Client Success Story was written by Sarah Kaminski and based on an interview with Brynn Keyser. Brynn reached out to us for college essay tips for her Common App essay and to get one-on-one help building her college list. If you are also looking for assistance with your college applications and are interested in working with a CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Expert, register with CollegeAdvisor.com today.