I usually don't post reviews, but am so inspired by the amazing staff at Collegewise that I feel compelled to share. Our daughter worked with Sandi last year to navigate the college application process and optimize her opportunities. From start to finish, Sandi and her team engaged with, motivated and partnered with our daughter, inspiring her to put her best foot forward and guiding her through the maze to find success. She's now through her first semester at her target school and loves it! I highly recommend Collegewise and believe the return is well worth the investment. read more

We are on our second round of Collegewise for our second daughter. Without a doubt, the cost is well worth it for us. For our first one, Collegewise was a diplomatic buffer between our daughter and us during her high school years. This can be a very emotional and tense time for many families. They kept her on track with crucial deadlines and talked us through endless Q&As. For our second one, Collegewise has been an incredibly responsive resource whenever we have a question...no matter how insignificant it may seem. They have a ton of resources but we never feel overwhelmed with information. We have complete access to their knowledge base and never feel rushed when we have a meet up. Collegewise basically hand holds us through the entire application process personalizing their guidance according to our daughter's situation. Most importantly, Collegewise encourages their students to be proactive and take ownership of their application process which ultimately grows them as individuals regardless of which college they choose to attend. read more

Miranda tutored our daughter to help her improve her SAT score and also to prepare for her AP US History exam. Our daughter's SAT score improved after working with her. Miranda created a specialized plan for our daughter based on her passed scores. She was extremely thorough in her tutoring and prep strategies and also in summarizing her sessions to me. I really feel we got our moneys worth in working with her. Thank you!!! read more

Not to be dramatic, but Collegewise saved my sanity! My son and daughter had the privilege of working with Allison Lopour. Allison's knowledge and professionalism was balanced by her friendliness and enthusiasm. Her wonderful reputation preceded her. She made the whole college search, test prep, essays and applications into manageable "chunks" that my children could do completely on their own. I am not a helicopter parent, yet wanted the process to be worthwhile. Allison and the staff at Collegewise went above my expectations and truly cheered for my kids. I recommend Collegewise to many in my community as it was a positive and effective service for both of my students. read more

Michael Cohen at Collegewise in Berkeley Heights provided ACT prep services. He was wonderful to work with and a great tutor. My child was very happy with the improvement in her ACT score. The administrative staff was also very easy to work with and responsive. I'd highly recommend Collegewise. read more

Tanner was my tutor throughout my high school career. He helped me grow as a student and a person. I would recommend him for any student who's looking for a tutor. read more

I've been waiting to write this review until I saw some results from the services. Those results began coming in the mail last week so now is a good time to share my experience. :) I'll start by saying I'm very detailed and have a high performing student. I figured between the two of us, we would be able to tackle the rigors of college apps. That is until I actually begun making a folder with all the different submission deadline dates, details of all the different items (letters of rec, test scores, etc.) each college wanted, not to mention different essay prompts for almost each individual school that I became slightly overwhelmed. It all seemed so much easier when I applied to college. Nowadays it's so complicated, the demands are greater, life is busier, and you're dealing with the future of your child.... I originally reached out for essay help only (still thinking I could handle the organization part), but soon came to realize that no matter how great your child's counselors are at their high school, there is a lot of info to parse through and they only have so much time to give. I could be a methodical dynamo, but I lacked the knowledge of what colleges want in an application that only years of experience could offer. With that, we decided to contract for unlimited assistance with Collegewise. We learned about applying to safety colleges, in addition to target and reach schools. We learned more about finding which schools were a fit for my son in each of those categories. And we learned what a monumental task managing it all was going to be. But not only did our counselor keep everything on track and made sure everything was turned in by it's due date, she went above and beyond making herself accessible through multiple rounds of essay prompt edits and was always available to answer questions by phone and email. Yes, the unlimited assistance service wasn't cheap, but as acceptance letters are rolling in (with scholarship offers to boot), I can honestly say, it was worth every penny. read more

Collegewise and Nicole were wonderful to work with throughout the college application process. She worked with our daughter on college selection, essays, deadlines and the whole application process. Our daughter and our family were very happy with the guidance Nicole was able to provide. She got into her top choice and is expecting good news for her other choices as well. We are using Nicole for our twins who will be applying this coming fall. I would highly recommend Collegewise and Nicole for any family looking for guidance in the college application process. They are there for meetings as necessary and keep the kids on schedule to meet deadlines that the schools set during the process. The essay and application reviews are also very helpful and critical to ensure anything that is being submitted is being reviewed before submittal by multiple parties. Nicole was great at working with my daughter to help her narrow down school choices using different criteria to help her pick the right schools for her major as well as her personality and interests. She was also invaluable in keeping her on schedule to meet the deadlines. We look forward to working with her again this year!!! read more

I honestly can't recommend Collegewise highly enough. Working with Tara was the best thing to happen to me in the midst of my educational journey. I only wish I had know that specialists like Collegewise and Tara existed back when I decided to return to school. When I knew I wanted to pursue higher education at a four year university, I was skeptical I'd get in anywhere due to my part-time status at a community college and an embarrassing amount of W's on my transcripts. So you can imagine my astonishment when I was offered admission at nearly every school I applied to! This included top-tier UC research universities, private universities, and scholarships I never imagined I was capable of receiving! I could have never achieved this without Tara's genius approach to tackling my personal statement on the Common Application, guidance on choosing and answering the right insight questions from the UC system, and tackling the individual essays required for each private university. I can't thank Tara or Collegewise enough. Now my biggest problem will be choosing which university to attend! Trust me when I say I NEVER thought this was possible. When I first learned of Collegewise, I was convinced they were only for high school students and likely wouldn't be able to help me, an older student returning school after a long break. When I filled out a web form, someone called me the next day and connected me with Tara Wessel Swoboda, who turned out to be a Godsend and just the perfect fit for me. Tara, having been an admission counselor at many of the most prestigious universities in California, was highly knowledgeable about what qualities admissions counselors look for in an applicant. She brought out the best in me, turning what originally sounded like a stiff business letter into an essay that showcased my personality and unique qualities. If you're considering hiring a college admission service to help you on your path, I can't recommend Collegewise, or Tara, highly enough. Was it cheap? No. But honestly, is anything inexpensive when you want exceptional quality? With Collegewise and Tara at your side, you simply can't go wrong. It'll be the best investment you ever make in securing your own, or your son's/daughter's, educational future. read more

Collegewise has made the college application process - fun! I had heard horror stories about the college application process, but with Collegewise guiding you through - it was enjoyable! By opening his eyes to all the schools out there to brainstorming essay ideas to helping us look at financial aid, the help was worth every penny. The counselors give your student "homework" to keep them on track. This is based on meeting all the deadlines along with monitoring your child's activities. Right before my son's senior year, he chose not to do what was assigned. So Allison (our fab counselor) asked "So what are doing on Monday", my son responded "relaxing, it is my last day of summer", and she responded "no, I think you will be right here in the office on the computer finishing the assignment". And that is what he did! When the process was done (by Halloween), my son had a great list of schools and I believe would have been happy at any of them. We have just begun the process again with my daughter! read more

Our experience with Collegewise was priceless!! As a parent, just thinking about keeping our daughter on pace of going through the process of finding the right school, filling out applications, SAT testing and writing a few essays was nerve racking. A friend recommended that we give Collegewise a try, it turned out to be the best advise that a parent of a high school junior could ever get. College is an investment in your kids future so it was definitely worth it for us to take this path as a family. Our Collegewise counselor, Allison, made sure that our daughter looked at schools outside of her comfort zone, she kept her focused on the importance of grades, the SAT test, writing her essays and helped her with the rigorous application process. We couldn't have done it without Allison, she was such a blessing to us. The college process became enjoyable & exciting and our daughter has ended up at her dream school... University of Alabama!! We are now starting the process with our second daughter and she is excited to go down the same path as her sister did, again we are lucky & blessed to do this with Allison. The investment is well worth it. I would highly recommend Collegewise to anyone!! read more

Collegewise has been a godsend! We have two children that have used their services and are extremely happy with the results. The counselors at Collegewise are not only knowledgeable about college admissions and the process, but they truly care about finding the right fit for your student. They are great at getting your child involved in the process (making it less stressful for the parents) and having the child take responsibility for themselves. The seminars they put on are full of great information and the college essay process is excellent. I could not have done it without the help of Collegewise. I fully recommend this company! read more

THE PERFECT STORM = a hormonally stressed out teen, alternating hourly, over either NOT caring about college at all OR worried sick that they'll never get in ANYWHERE! Combine this, with a parent who is NEITHER a mind-reader NOR a clinical psychotherapist & there you HAVE IT-- a perfect storm brewing daily inside the walls of your normally calm, very loving household- ha! Shake hands with your saving grace.....COLLEGEWISE & the awesome counselors they employ (I personally, had ALLISON whom I would literally trust with my kid's lives :-) ) to ever-so gently walk you & your child through EVERY step of this daunting process. Fall into the comfort of their knowledge and HUMOR as they erase any fears and doubts you may have. It was like exhaling after holding my breath for much too long - they took the reigns and had a connection with my kids that was on the kid's level, but at the same time still guiding & directing them toward this next giant step in their future. Maintaining & balancing the kid's desires and the parents needs very carefully. I have recommended several families to Collegewise and WILL continue to do so. I also have one more child myself, that will definitely be using them as well. As adults, can't we ALL use a comforting pat-on-the-back to know that we've done well to this point- now let someone else HELP YOU! Believe me- when your relationship with your teen becomes a HIGH RISK AREA....turn to COLLEGEWISE! d. frize orange, ca. read more