University of Miami

From the rural city of Taishan, China, to a low-income suburban town in Idaho, and finally to the metropolis of Los Angeles, I recently graduated from the Honors College at UCLA with a B.S. in Cognitive Science and a Specialization in Computing. During my time at UCLA, I served as an advisor, head advisor, and national advisor for Matriculate, where I guided low-income, high-achieving high school students into their top-choice universities. I was also actively involved on campus as the assistant managing editor of UCLA's Undergraduate Science Journal, where I edited undergraduate research papers for publication. My academic journey included conducting research in a comparative cognition lab and an organic chemistry lab, working as an ophthalmic technician and caretaker, and student supervising a campus library. Beyond academics, I embrace life by engaging in outdoor activities like hiking and skiing, and exploring diverse cultures in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Spain, and China. I'm an avid binge-watcher, and you'll often find me rewatching Stranger Things or Harry Potter, or in the movie theater critiquing the latest movie. I'm currently in my concert era, having recently attended the Jingle Ball, Hozier, TwoSet Violin, Stephen Sanchez, TWICE, and Meghan Trainor concerts. My most favorite activity of all is creating unforgettable memories with my friends (and loving my cat). I have experience working with students interested in dentistry, law, public affairs, engineering, and have a strong understanding of the pre-medical track. My mission as an advisor is to help students authentically present themselves to admissions officers, ensuring their true selves shine through in their applications. I understand that the college application process can be overwhelming, but with a confident mindset and a personalized approach, it can become an exciting new chapter in life. Currently, I am preparing for the MCAT with the goal of applying to medical school in the next application cycle. My passion for education stems from my experience growing up as a low-income student in a public school system where higher education was not emphasized. I aim to show my community and others that the pursuit of higher education is within everyone's reach, and that anyone can chart their own path to success.

Hello! My name is Alex Garcia, and I’m a rising junior at Cornell University studying business, government, science, and technology. I’m currently interning at KPMG in NYC and aiming for a career in consulting post-grad. At Cornell I strive to stay active by serving as a senior board member of an advocacy organization and regularly take part in a variety of other student clubs ranging from the student ambassadors to weightlifting groups. Outside of school, I work with a large-scale nonprofit to review grant applications and finances of organizations across North America. My college experiences build on my high school activities, where I was President of the largest student-run organization in Maryland’s most-populated school district, collaborated directly with politicians (local-national) on legislation impacting students, and much more. I’ve learned about the business world from unique perspectives and believe it’s inclusive across disciplines. With today’s competitive college and internship landscape, creative self-branding is crucial. As a Specialty Advisor for Business at CollegeAdvisor.Com, I’ll help with brand creation to align with your experiences and suggest ways to maximize high school opportunities to attract college and internship recruiters—a process I’ve recently navigated.

Side Notes: 1) I received the International Baccalaureate Diploma in HS, but also received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award - I would love to assist with course selection. | 2) I recently received the 2024 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Award - I am able to guide students through scholarship applications. | 3) A lot of my experiences involve politics - I have lots of insights into this field as well for college/career related matters

Thank you for your time.

My name is Sara Whitelaw and I am a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. I studied cognitive neuroscience and criminology and completed an honors thesis in my final year surrounding the effects of militarization on protest outcomes. Throughout university, I worked as a research assistant at the Center for Autism Research connected to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, while also being actively involved in student groups on campus. In my free time, I worked as a marketing intern for a woman-owned small business in Philadelphia. I have previous advising experience through working with Matriculate: a non-profit college advising company that helps low-income students and first-generation students apply to successful and financially accessible universities. I loved this experience and cannot wait to continue my advising journey for CollegeAdvisor. I have advised students who were successfully admitted into top programs such as USC's Annenberg School for Journalism & Communication with a full-ride scholarship as well as Stanford University. I look forward to building a connection with eager students excited about the college process!

I hold over 6 years of higher education administration experience advising students on their educational and academic pursuits. I obtained my B.S. in 2017 from Bowling Green State University where I received a 4-year full-ride scholarship. I graduated from Michigan State University with my master's in Education Administration in 2019. As a higher education professional, I strive to remove barriers to education and provide support to students from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. I believe that having access to affordable higher education is an amazing avenue to pursue, and an opportunity everyone should be able to access affordably. I have experience advising a diverse array of students from many different institution types and love connecting with students holistically and providing them support and resources to best reach their collegiate goals. As an educator the driving force behind my advising style is to provide guidance and support as well as getting to know my student goals, values, and priorities to help them make decisions best suited for their situation. My time in higher education has allowed me to gain a great understanding around academic requirements, extracurricular activities, and institution types. I am always excited to learn about the experiences that have shaped students and how they want to make their impact on the world. I am very skilled in assisting students in finding out what it is they value and how they want to "share their story" with higher education institutions. I know the application process and the search for the right school can feel daunting and overwhelming at times, but I know from experience with the right support it can be incredibly rewarding and exciting as well!

Hi! My name is Kalea O. and I'm from Manassas, Virginia (DMV area). I grew up as the daughter of a single mom and I am a first-generation/limited-income (FGLI) college grad. I graduated from the University of Virginia in 2020 with a B.S. in Youth and Social Innovation (education) and minor in Urban and Environmental Planning (architecture). During my time as an undergrad, I became an advocate for change through storytelling, and influenced by my own and friends' lived experiences, my career has largely been defined by advocating for first-generation, limited-income, and other underserved students. After college, I served for two years with Americorps as a College Adviser for the Virginia College Advising Corps. My placement was at Charlottesville High School (go Black Knights!) where I worked with over 1,500+ students, from freshmen to seniors, regarding their college apps and career aspirations. My former students have been admitted to a varied and diverse range of institutions, such as Harvard, UPenn, The College of William & Mary, DigiPenn, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Virginia Tech, and several community colleges. I have experience working with students who have pursued a wide range of majors including the Arts and Humanities, Business, and STEM. My strengths as an Advisor lie in helping students explore and find their passions and then translate those experiences in their college essays. I also specialize in Virginia college applications and have familiarity with a wide range of Virginia high schools from NOVA to central and southern Virginia. I am also well versed in the scholarship and financial aid process; in 2021 I was awarded $800 by the State Council for Higher Education for ensuring my school had the highest FAFSA completion rates across the Commonwealth of Virginia (of high schools with 200+ seniors). In total I have helped students secure hundreds of thousands in scholarships, one student alone securing $100k. As an FGLI grad, my mission is to help decrease the cost of college for every student I work with! After my service with the College Advising Corps, I worked as a Presidential Fellow for the Office of the President at UVA. Now, in addition to advising through CollegeAdvisor.com, I am a Program Coordinator for Hoos First, a new team at the University of Virginia that provides support for FGLI students. When I'm not working with students, you'll find me hosting murder mystery dinners, running, playing thrilling games of Rummikub, and hanging out with my roommate--my cat Biggie Paws!

I am a current senior at Dartmouth College and will be graduating in June of 2024 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a double minor in Global Health in Anthropology and Human Biology in the pre-medical track. I am also a proud QuestBridge Scholar and Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, both amazing programs that have guided, supported, and funded my undergraduate experience. In addition, in July of 2024, I will be starting medical school at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth as an early assurance MD candidate. Consequently, I have plenty of tips and hidden knowledge to share with anybody interested in these highly selective programs and scholarships, as well as the pre-health track, and would love to connect with anybody interested in exploring these opportunities and/or paths! In terms of my advising and mentorship experience, I began tutoring for regular subjects in early high school and later, during the latter half of my junior year, I tutored for the ACT and SAT. Today, I continue this work, but have also been working as a college counselor since June of 2020. Through my 5+ years of experience, I have learned to form close connections with my students as a student myself, meeting them where they are while guiding and supporting them through their college-preparation and application processes. In the past 3 years, I have worked with over 15 students in their college application process, all of which have received at least 3 college acceptances and most of which have been accepted into some of the most competitive colleges and universities in the country. While some of these students have been interested in the pre-health track, I have also worked with various students interested in law, engineering, computer science, humanities, performing arts, aviation, finance, business and entrepreneurship, and psychology. This has offered me the opportunity to become familiar with different colleges that have specialized programs as well as unique scholarships that students interested in certain academic areas can take advantage of! With my years of experience in the field in addition to my personal successes, I am knowledgeable of the curricular demands and extracurricular expectations of various disciplines. Furthermore, I have also had the privilege of working with 2 international students! Working with them helped me grasp the perspective of applying to college in the US as an international student, considering the financial, academic, lingual, and sociocultural challenges that come with being a foreigner. All in all, I am extremely passionate about mentoring and advising students who are going through what can be a very overwhelming and challenging process. I love listening to stories, asking inquisitive questions, giving constructive feedback, and forming close relationships with those I work with. Working hand in hand with both the students and their families, I hope to serve as a good resource that can answer questions, settle uncertainties, and find solutions. With these and the many more tools I have put under my belt, I help students figure out how to best express their goals based on their interests, talents, and values and guide them in effectively sharing their story - their who and why - to curate a wholesome and impressive application.

I graduated from Emory University in 2022, after transferring from Texas Christian University in 2018. I was offered places at the University of Southern California and the University of Miami as well. For graduate programs, I have been accepted to programs at Sciences Po in Paris, France, Oxford University in Oxford, England, and Cambridge University in Cambridge. I have been mentoring high school students with the college application process for three consecutive years from all backgrounds. I have worked with students that have received acceptances at Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory University, University of Arkansas-Honors Program, and many more. My philosophy when working with students is making their unique personality and identity shine throughout the application. I've often worked with students who are unsure of how to showcase their abilities and their experiences or feel that they do not have anything "worthwhile" to wow college admissions officers. This is a common misconception, and I've worked with many students to help them realize that every student has a unique aspect to them that colleges want to see.

I hold my B.S. from Cornell University, where I studied Global and Public Health Sciences in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. I am currently pursuing my Master of Arts in Teaching degree in Biological Sciences from Miami University (Ohio) in partnership with Project Dragonfly's Global Field Program.

My career in education started with Cornell University's Upward Bound program as a college success counselor, where I spent 4 years advising first-generation students on college applications, personal statements, and financial aid. While there I developed and facilitated a two-week summer program designed to support seniors in completing the Common Application and their accompanying essays. Several graduates of the program went on to gain acceptance to highly selective schools, including Yale and Cornell, along with Ithaca College, NYU, and a variety of SUNY schools; many were also awarded scholarships to support the cost of tuition. I am very familiar with what it takes to compete at highly selective institutions.

For the past four years, I've served as K-8 Science Teacher in New York City. Currently, I work at Avenues: The World School, a highly rigorous, dual-immersion language international private school, as a Grade 6 Head Science Teacher and Curriculum Developer. I am deeply passionate about science education and environmental advocacy. Furthermore, I recently completed a writing course with author Haley Jakobson and am working towards my goal of reading 52 books this year! In my free time, you can find me hanging out in Central Park with my Goldendoodle, Chompy.

Greetings! I am a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I was a Psychology major, African American Studies minor, and a Ronald E. McNair scholar. I earned my Masters in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (D.C. campus). For the past 10 years, I have worked in secondary and higher education as both a college access and mental health professional. I spent two years serving in the College Advising Corps at one of North Carolina's largest public high schools and spent a year as the lead Academic and College Advisor at a private International Baccalaureate (IB) academy in Northern Virginia. During my career, I have assisted more than 700 high school students from diverse backgrounds in navigating the college admissions process with acceptances to universities including Yale, Emory, UNC-Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech, Duke, John Hopkins, Howard, and many more. Most recently, I spent four years at a liberal arts university in North Carolina serving as an Academic, Financial Aid, Graduate, and Mental Health Counselor where I also assisted undergraduate students in applying to graduate school programs. I am excited to bring a holistic approach to working with you during this critical period in your academic and personal journey, and serve as a dedicated resource to you as you pursue your dreams!