Avoid College Inside Track - Unprofessional and Disappointing Experience…read moreI strongly advise against using College Inside Track. My daughter, an extremely bright, self-driven, and outgoing student with a 4.35 GPA, multiple AP classes, varsity sports, and leadership roles, was excited to engage with a college admissions consultant to maximize the navigation of the daunting college selection and application process. However, our experience with College Inside Track was nothing short of frustrating and disappointing. Here's why: Unengaging and Unprepared Counselor - Our assigned counselor, Suzy, was completely ineffective. Instead of guiding my daughter through the college admissions process with structure and expertise, she would start sessions with, "Okay, what would you like to do today?" - an indication of zero preparation. Her slow-paced, uninspiring approach accomplished very little over the course of four months. My daughter became so frustrated that she told me their service was not worth the cost. Lack of Proactive Support - Recognizing the issues, I scheduled a call with Suzy to check in. She admitted she could improve and gave us the option to either continue with her or switch to another counselor. My daughter, already skeptical, reluctantly agreed to switch as opposed to completely discontinuing any further work with College Inside Track -- but continuing with Suzy was completely out of the question for my daughter. As a result, the owner, Jay, assigned my daughter to a new counselor. Second Counselor Ghosted Us - We were introduced to the new/second counselor (Anne) who seemed more competent in the initial introduction. It was then left to our daughter to decide if she liked the new counselor. My daughter liked Anne better than Suzy, but was still skeptical overall because of her initial experience with College Insider Track -- ultimately our daughter was willing to give it a try on working with Anne. So I reached back out to Anne via email to schedule a quick call with her to ensure a finalize the transition to Anne from Suzy. However, Anne never responded--in fact, she ignored multiple follow-up emails from me. She was ghosting us. This lack of professionalism and communication further eroded our trust in the service. Owner's Abrupt and Unprofessional Dismissal - After many days of silence from Anne, I eventually heard from the owner, Jay, from out of the blue -- my guess is Anne as communicating with him behind the scenes. Instead addressing our concerns personally and working to ensure my daughter's college application process was properly supported, Jay's email said they would refund our money and discontinue services. No phone call, no attempt to understand our frustrations--just an impersonal email cutting ties. This was incredibly unprofessional and left my daughter feeling abandoned during one of the most critical times in her academic journey. Final Verdict: Stay Away from College Inside Track College admissions is a crucial and stressful process, and for a company that markets itself as a professional consulting service, College Inside Track failed miserably. Their counselors lacked engagement, structure, and basic professionalism. Worse, rather than making things right, the owner chose to ghost us via email instead of addressing our concerns. If you're considering hiring College Inside Track, don't waste your money. You're better off finding a truly invested and proactive college admissions consultant--one who actually cares about students and their futures. I'm happy to say that my daughter did identify another company late in the process (spring of Junior year)and is thriving with with that counselor and their services. They are another Minnesota based college counseling service and they are phenomenal. College Inside Track pales in comparison. So disappointed we wasted so much time and energy with College Inside Track, but so happy with where we landed.

We enrolled our child at the International School of Minnesota (ISM) for the 2025-2026 academic…read moreyear. We were living in New York at the time and, unfortunately, did not tour the campus or read reviews -- a mistake we deeply regret. We paid the $750 non-refundable registration fee and signed the contract, trusting the school's reputation and name. After moving to Minnesota and finally touring ISM in July, we realized it was not the environment we hoped for. Despite calling itself an "International" school, the campus lacked the diversity and inclusiveness we expected. It didn't feel like the right fit for our child, and we submitted a formal withdrawal notice well before the school year started. Our child never attended, never received instruction, and never used any materials or services. Still, the school insisted we pay an additional $3,200 cancellation fee (25% of tuition) -- not based on any actual expenses, just a contract clause. We asked for a breakdown or justification but received none. It feels like a punitive policy that shows no empathy for families. We are immigrants from a different country, and we didn't fully understand how private schools work in the U.S. We assumed it would be similar to our home country's system. Sadly, it was not. We now realize how important it is to tour the school, ask questions, read reviews, and take your time. We also found that the only child chosen to represent ISM at a SABIS competition was the daughter of ISM's executive director. This raised serious concerns about how fairly opportunities are offered to students. Looking back, we would rather lose the $3,200 than ever send our child to a school like this. Even though it hurts to pay for a service we never received, we'd rather walk away than continue this relationship. Please do your own research, don't rush to sign anything, and be wary of being pressured with quick financial aid offers. There are also multiple reviews online about bullying--read them carefully. We hope our experience helps other families avoid the same mistakes. There are much more transparent, inclusive, and fair educational options in Minnesota.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL FOR YOUR KIDS. They make big deals out of the smallest things. There…read morewere kids door dashing food and they had called the whole school for a meeting, yet when a kid tells people to kill themselves, self harm more, and had doxxed them online they let that kid stay with a warning. The student that was getting bullied by that student did try to attempt cause of it. Also what this school does is tell them that saying slurs of any sort is unacceptable as they should, but when a kid goes around calling people racial slurs they just ignore it and act like it's an "accident". It's a very challenging school, yet they have little to no mental health help. The counselor they have is part-time so you essentially have to schedule a mental breakdown. On a side note, one student got groped at a dance and nothing was done, likely because he was male presenting.