A supportive and thoughtful team. They provided sound strategy and meaningful advice. They helped us navigate the stressful process effectively and successfully. read more

Working with Compass To College was one of the best decisions we made during our daughters' college journeys. From the very first meeting, we felt supported, informed, and genuinely excited about how each could grow through the research and transformative experiences they were introduced to. Our counselor took the time to really get to know each of our daughters, learning their strengths, interests, and what made them unique--empowering them with a genuine belief in their own potential. Each daughter turned their unique backgrounds and social interests into remarkable initiatives that highlighted them as self-driven, inspiring change-makers, thanks to the extraordinary guidance they received. We're thrilled with the results (Stanford! Princeton!), and more importantly, that each ended up at a school that's a perfect fit for them. I'm so grateful for everything Compass To College did for our family! read more

Marci is a caring, knowledgeable individual that has made my college applications process a thousand times easier. I haven't tried other services like Compass to College (I had no need to), but I highly doubt that they are as personal as this is. Marci really took the time to get to know me, and find out what I wanted from college. Her insights into my personality dragged out essays that weren't just great essays, but reflected my best qualities. She also has very creative ways of using those qualities to make your resume reflect who you are and stand out in the college admission processes. For example, Marci gave me the resources to help start an after school program to get middle school students interested in computer science (something that never came to light by no fault of Marci's). Because she has helped so many wonderful individuals, she has so many resources available. Every essay I had to write, she sent me plenty of examples of people writing about similar things, which always helped me have a much clearer idea of what I wanted for my own essays. When I needed to write a resume, she sent me a template (and examples) to help. When we talked about starting a middle school program, she sent me all these documents to focus and clarify my interests and intentions. A couple hours after we talked about summer programs, she sent me a list of hundreds of STEM programs that I could never have compiled myself. Every time we talked, Marci lifted such heavy weights off my shoulders. It felt so nice to get her emails at the end of our conversation because they were filled with resources that helped make my life and the admissions process much easier. If you are gonna get a college service like this it has to be with someone that will take the time to get to know you. After the college application process was over and the decision letters had come in, Marci messaged me to find out where I had gotten into and see if I needed help deciding. I had already decided on a small, state school. She was surprised I choose that school. Luckily, she knew me and questioned if it was truly the right fit for me. She guided me to the school I am in love with and am now going to! I didn't mean for this to turn into such a long review, but Marci is truly wonderful, and none of the other reviews on here do her justice. Without her I would have been crushed by the college application process. Good luck to all! read more

Ms. Reichelstein helped me find colleges where I would learn and thrive best. Her thoughtfulness about my expectations, priorities, and goals was truly unique. Your application will stand out in the crowd thanks to her ability to help you express your "best you" in the most compelling way! read more

Marci is incredible and we give her our highest recommendation.  She is delightful to work with and helped transform our stressful college application process into a workable, organized activity.   Starting early is key to Marci helping get your teen to the next level.  Starting when Annie was a freshman, Marci helped us select the right classes in school, guided us to broaden Annie's world by looking at interesting enrichment programs outside of school, and found ways to sharpen Annie's leadership opportunities.     Wading through college application essays and questions is a landmine.  Annie is an excellent writer in school.  But composing a college application essay is an art form unto itself. Marci knows this art form. Probably her greatest asset is her ability to coach great essays out of her students.  She is an excellent editor whose suggestions are always spot on.     What more can we say? Marci is smart, kind, always supportive, and most importantly, really knows her stuff.  Thank you, Marci, for getting our daughter into Stanford - her dream school. Joanne, Mark, & Annie AKA: Team Annie! read more

Hi Marci By now you may have already heard the happy tidings -  Our student has been admitted to UCLA, Scipps and UC Berkeley, among others. We are all so delighted and at a loss of words to express our gratitude to you. Many thanks for guiding our student with care and concern throughout this process. We would like to say - a Big Thanks for all that you did; your deep care, your thoughtfulness and thoroughness through this whole process. For your motivation, nudges - subtle and not so subtle and lots more. Thanks again for being her Coach and Guide during this journey. Warm Regards read more

Working with Ms. Reichelstein since my sophomore year, I have found her to be an incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, and thoughtful counselor. From the very beginning, Ms. Reichelstein encouraged me to delve deeper into the things I was already passionate about and interested in as opposed to changing my path of study. Her guidance before my senior year was diverse and flexible to my needs. She helped me navigate the many summer programs out there to find opportunities best aligned to my career/academic pursuits, determine the best course of action for standardized testing, and supplied me with the tools I needed to start my own initiative during my junior year that both strengthened my interests and furthered my background for college applications. During my senior year, Ms. Reichelstein was a very reassuring presence and a constant source of support. While giving me feedback on the many drafts of my essays and informing me about the best early/regular application plan, she also continuously encouraged me to stay positive throughout the process and have hope for the outcomes. She celebrated with me at high points and guided my actions at low points. Overall, I am happy that I decided to start working with Ms. Reichelstein two years ago. She has helped me discover the path I would like to pursue in college and present this facet in a strong way in my essays. I would recommend her service if you are looking for both a supportive and extremely knowledgable counselor. read more

We hear many stories that some service providers are preying on desperate high school students and parents looking for help. "Compass To College" and its owner "Marci Reichelstien are perfect examples of that and here is why: We hired Marci to help my son with his college admissions. We enrolled him in her Full Service Package. The name itself is misleading. It is called "Full Service" but is $8,890 for 25 hours which translates close to $400 per hour. It also requires an upfront $2,000 retainer payment. Since she lives on Stanford campus and charges top dollar, we thought that this was a premium service and we really had high expectations accordingly. We had our first meeting and she committed to send us some deliverables within a week. Weeks went by and nothing was delivered. We sent several reminder emails and phone calls. After repeated reminders, she sent us a bunch of standard templates including many that my son doesn't have a chance to get in or are irrelevant. She then charges 1.5 hours (for what was actually only 1 hour and 10 minutes) for the meeting and another 1.5 hours for sending standard templates. So, the total cost of the first meeting was $1,200. After the above experience of broken promises and excuses, I sent her an email and called her expressing our concerns. She promised that it won't happen again and we wanted to give it a try a bit longer. We then had the second meeting to discuss college selection and to identify extracurricular activities for the next summer. Since Marci sent us standard templates before, I asked her to identify 2-3 activities that my son has a fair chance to get in along with a list of colleges with a certain profile. She committed to delivering them during the early part of the next week. As before, weeks had gone by and nothing was delivered. That is when I decided to pull the plug. She charged another hour for the second meeting which is another $400. So, we lost valuable time and $1,600 for nothing. There is literally nothing she did for us other than sending some standard templates that were of no use to us. She gets very creative in finding excuses to cover up broken promises. Another thing she seems to be doing behind the scene is outsourcing the work such as reviewing essays to someone else in NY. She charges $400 per hour and she is probably paying someone else a lot less and pocketing the rest. You would expect premium service from a person who charges $400 per hour but this was a total disaster. She just walked away with $1,600 for nothing. I asked her to refund half of $1,600 since she couldn't deliver on her commitments, but she declined to do so. Please don't get trapped with her sweet talk. She is unethical, incapable, and irresponsible. We decide to drop her because of her incompetence and broken promises. She should return all the money instead of walking away with $1,600 for 4 hours of broken promises. This is "Compass to Nowhere", You don't want to put your child's bright future in Ms. Reichelstien's hands. read more

We first started working with Marci in 2010 when our daughter was in 9th grade. Like any first time high school parents we were overwhelmed and confused with the process of preparing the child for college. We talked to a few counselors but Marci was our choice the very first time we talked to her. She is very well informed, respectful and insightful. She not only helped our daughter throughout the high school in picking classes but also gave us suggestions on what extra curricular activities, volunteer work and internships to focus on. Our daughter absolutely loved working with her. Marci was especially great when it came to editing essays and picking the right college for our daughter. Our daughter decided on a top 10 National university and absolutely enjoyed her college experience. So when it came to our son she was our only choice. I have to say Marci made our process so much easier. She is not just any counselor she is a friend in your corner that you will be glad is there for you. read more

Marci helps the child find their own balance and sense of direction for their future. She gave a very empowering yet gentle push in the right direction to my son, helping him find his own voice and motivation at a personal level, which reflects in his application and essay. This very personalized feedback and coaching raised the quality of my son's application, and his confidence and preparedness in going through the process. The experience taught me that seeking help to strengthen this major transition was a wonderful way to ensure that both child and parent did their best and then are able to enjoy whatever comes next with more confidence. This is much needed and is powerful in today's world for our teens - to help them identify their own passion and drive and to use "the college application process" effectively to progress on their goals! Overall Marci proved to be very effective and efficient in use of our time, to provide more than we ever expected, with a very happy and confident son looking forward to what the future holds. read more

Last year, we engaged Compass to College to help us with college admissions for our daughter who is a senior in High School. It was truly a delight to work with Marci as she helped us navigate the dreadful and often intimidating process of college admissions. Marci's knowledge of the college admissions process is invaluable. She has been on the other side and knows all the nuances that selective colleges are looking for. Marci was detail oriented and extremely professional during the entire process. She was also kind, caring, and always had the right calming words for us during the stressful times when deadlines were approaching. Her wealth of knowledge is invaluable, and she definitely knows the Do's and Dont's of the college application process. With her guidance, help, and support, our daughter got accepted early into her first choice school - Stanford!! It was wonderful working with Marci, and we highly recommend her! Thank you Marci! Delighted Parents East Bay, California read more

We recently worked with Marci Reichelstein to guide us in the process of our son's applying to college. Happily he was admitted early decision to his top choice. We now enthusiastically and unreservedly recommend Marci to any other family about to embark on this complex undertaking. The school our son was accepted to had over 9,000 students apply for 260 positions. This level of competition is why we sought Marci's help. Although our son worked very hard to achieve his goals, he would be the first to admit that Marci's help was invaluable. Having worked in the admissions departments of prestigious schools, she is a useful source of information as to what admission committees are looking for. She helped our son develop his background to fulfill these expectations by recommending advanced classes and enrichment activities which would bolster his profile. Marci also worked with our son to develop application essays with narrative authentically derived from his experiences and what was genuinely meaningful to him. Marci determined that our son's success as a football player might enhance his chances of getting into a very selective school. To promote this approach, she created a website with his athletic resume, photos, articles, and game footage. She researched teams, coaches and contacts, then helped our son compose a letter to the coaches at the schools which interested him. Much of Marci's interaction was directly with our son. Since he both liked and respected her, he listened to her advice and responded appropriately. We did not need to nag or cajole and this was of great benefit to our relationship. By treating him with respect and expecting him to take responsibility for the process, she taught him a valuable lesson which will help him in all his future endeavors. Marci Reichelstein is wonderful at what she does and anyone who hires her will not regret it. read more

Marci has been a wonderful resource for my daughter as she navigated the college process. My daughter knew where she wanted to go early on, so the trick was providing her with the information and help she needed to best showcase her talents and interests. I contacted Marci when my daughter was a sophomore and I'm very glad that I did. She provided really useful advice in a number of areas - from finding the right SAT tutor, to summer programs and guidance on extracurricular projects - which helped focus my daughter's time and efforts. Marci was very flexible to work with and very timely and responsive to our questions. With Marci's help, the hard work paid off and my daughter was admitted early action to Stanford. read more

Marci was amazing during the hair-pullingly stressful process that is college applications. I am so, so grateful to her for all of her help. I wouldn't have been able to receive such positive results without her. A huge part of my success in being accepted in astounding places such as Stanford, Princeton, Brown, and Harvard is thanks to her. Marci met with me whenever I felt I needed her, gave ideas and suggestions that helped me navigate the CommonApp. She kept me from making mistakes and fostered my creativity, making the application purely mine. She painstakingly reviewed all of my work, from my long essays to the 50 character responses to questions, and was a source of reassurance and confidence the entire time. From the first moment I contacted her to the last second before applications were due, she backed me. I do not know what I would have done without her. I recommend Compass to College to all juniors and seniors that are preparing for the college process. Believe me when I say I understand how horribly stressful it is. Students are plagued with frequent moments of doubt and small panic attacks. The essays and responses are daunting and rather terrifying. Having Marci at your back, with her experience, eloquence, and support, will definitely help you with your college acceptances. She was essential to mine. read more

Compass to College is a structured program that works efficiently. My child had two face-to-face meetings with Marci during his late Junior year and eight Skype meetings in his Senior year before the application deadlines. Almost all the information needed is present within her program, and besides that, Marci is very knowledgable and patient. If for some reason she doesn't know the answer to a question about the admissions process, she will find an answer very quickly. The feedback she gave on the essays is very thoughtful and helpful. Considering all the questions we had about the college application process, Marci does a great job. My child received the admission from his dream school. read more