Veronica was so incredible with the college process from A to Z, that it allowed my son and I to…read morereally enjoy our time together visiting schools. No fighting, no tears! She was accessible & knew every school inside and out. After really getting to know my son, she knew exactly how to accentuate all positives, where he would thrive, etc...He got his #1 choice! Here we go with son #2, wouldn't think of using anyone else.

From the owner: I offer comprehensive college guidance, college application completion help, college essay…read morecomposition assistance, and subject tutoring in history, English, and science. I am also a specialist in the area of executive function work for children with ADD and ADHD. I privately teach students essential academic skills and prepare them for learning in a high- stakes world. My college admissions counseling is targeted and personalized. My unique process is based on proven formulas that lead to success. When a student works with me, I build their confidence. Under my guidance, students learn real skills, explore possibilities and reach their fullest potential. The result is acceptance into a college that meets their needs and fulfills their dreams.

Neal Schwartz, College Planning of Westchester (www.collegeplanningofwestchester.com) is a…read morefact-based, data-driven, business-oriented consultant who gets results for parents and students. We were looking for a college consultant to help us navigate the college landscape for our daughter. We observed that the college marketplace had changed and become dramatically more competitive - particularly at the elite schools. The number of applications has exploded. The acceptance rates have declined. Many of the college consultants we spoke with were taken aback by the changes in the marketplace. They were negative. They were dispirited. They were looking for the lowest common dominator in terms of setting expectations for our daughter. Neal Schwartz was different. Neal spent most of his career in business: selling computer hardware, leading computer hardware sales organizations, and managing business units as an executive. Neal was fact-based, data-driven in his approach and developed a plan and a process to help us navigate the landscape and achieve the best results. Business background is key. While the college marketplace is competitive - this is not the first time Neal has dealt with competitive market dynamics. Thus far, Neal has provided advice and counsel in terms an overall plan, suggested priorities in terms of after-school and summer activities, suggested priorities in terms of AP classes, and - most importantly - providing us with access to a proprietary database / online tool to allow us to review and understand our choices in terms of college and "fit" for our daughter. Again, this is a data-driven approach. But the biggest upside so far has been working with our daughter on the ACT exam. Neal reviewed the results of the PSAT and PACT exam and provided us with the pros and cons of each test and the most likely "lift" in terms of scores. Neal provided us with outstanding tutors who helped our daughter practice and prepare for the ACT exam. The tutors were themselves business executives who were either in the financial services industry or retired executives who had built and sold business. The approach was again a business focus that was fact-based, data-driven, and geared toward results. The result was a tremendous ACT score for our daughter. We look forward to working with Neal to finalize this journey for our daughter. Perhaps it is a stereotype. Perhaps it is unfair. But many in the educational community could be considered more of the nurturing, supportive variety. Perhaps "soft." Neal is not "soft." Neal is practical and he gets results. We will always be grateful to Neal Schwartz. It has been a great fit for our daughter.

Test Psychology - Tests make my son nervous, especially timed tests! He scored very high on his…read moreoriginal PSAT, but we were worried he would psych himself out. Neal and his staff gave him strategies to deal with timed questions - when to skip a question and general time management. He would up scoring in top 1% on the first SAT! Thanks.

Tony Di Giacomo, Ph.D., and Novella Prep he founded are insightful academic coaches. Having…read morepreviously worked with other academic consultants, it is our family's experience that Dr. Di Giacomo creates unique value and benefit for the student. He is an exceptional educator and motivational coach. He has served as catalyst for our high school-age son's study habits, skills development, and academic progress. Dr. Di Giacomo left no stone unturned in understanding our son's playing field: his academic performance, notes taking in class, focus and knowledge retention at school, study habits at home, and underlying beliefs and motivation. It is this all-encompassing understanding that enabled Dr. Di Giacomo to define a breakthrough path for our son to a higher plateau, one where his academic performance reflects his full cognitive abilities and potential. Dr. Di Giacomo and Novella Prep are not only holistic in their approach to enabling the student with a keen understanding of child and teen psychology. They are proactive, caring, flexible, and responsive to the parent. We have been impressed by Dr. Di Giacomo's insight as he delved into our son's mind and psyche, uncovering and removing defense mechanisms and converting negative self-fulfilling prophecies into winning student habits and outcomes. Dr. Di Giacomo instantly earned our son's trust and cooperation in cooperating fully with assigned tasks that have led to effective habits and behaviors as student. There have been many academic and college advisors that present their expertise at our local library from time to time. Dr. Di Giacomo has stood out for his ability, efficiency, and effectiveness in coaching our son to success. He has our appreciation for his keen insight and pivotal contributions to our son's high school academic performance and college readiness.

Tony is fantastic. He understood my son and his needs pretty quickly. All kids I'm sure have…read moredifferent situations and goals and I think Tony and his team are able to move on that and come up with a workable plan. We have definitely seen results from the support he's getting.

I enlisted Jillian's services for an application to Columbia University in NY. She listened deeply…read moreto my motivations and history before proceeding with me through the iterative writing process. My essays highlighted the key aspects of my character and experience as a result of our collaboration. Highly recommended.

From the owner: College Admissions Consulting services from a former Harvard interviewer and Harvard grad. I…read morespecialize in helping students get into the Ivy League colleges!

I worked with Jennifer Jackson at Stratus to prepare for my business school applications for Fall…read more2020 admissions. I was apprehensive of using a consultant at first, but after talking to many colleagues, I quickly noticed that it was more common than expected. Jennifer provided that final validation I needed in my last applications, primarily with my essays and interview preparation. I came ready with my story for school before we started working together, but she had those resources ready just in case. For my essays she ensured that my voice was consistent and authentic, and also that I highlighted characteristics in myself that the schools were looking for. For interviews, she provided guides for each school that invited me to interview and also did a couple of mock interviews. Yes, consultants are expensive and I was fortunate to be in a position to use one. If it's outside your budget, nothing to fear - you can still get into a great school. But if it is within your means, it's worth considering.

I worked with Susan Cera at Stratus on four applications for Masters of Public Administration type…read moreprograms in the United States - including for UC Berkeley and Syracuse University. As an Australian, I was not familiar with the requirements and was worried about making a great impression. Susan provided outstanding guidance throughout this complicated process. She really helped me make it manageable and streamlined. During her process, I also learnt things about myself and my career direction that I will take with me, far beyond the applications. Susan was approachable, insightful, helpful and a reassuring presence through out. Working with Stratus you will put in the hard work but your applications will be far superior to what you can accomplished alone. I highly recommend their services if you are looking to apply for the best public policy schools in the world.

The college application and decision process can be extremely overwhelming, and Chris' help and…read moreguidance throughout the entire experience from beginning to end was indispensable. There are so many aspects that need to be managed, and Chris keeps you and your child on task. He is also very easy to contact, which is SO important. A friend of ours referred us to Chris, and we reached out to him very early in the process, which was very beneficial. Our son was very unsure as to what school he wanted to attend and also did not know exactly what he wanted to study. Chris helped us narrow down our choices as time went on, helped us with school visits, helped us with Naviance (which is a nightmare), and also kept our son on task as far as testing and classes. He was worth every penny that was spent - our results were amazing, and my son will be attending the school that is the perfect fit for him this fall 2022.

I felt compelled once again to thank Chris and his staff for helping us through what seemed to be…read morean overwhelming process. Our son was able to get into an honors program at a top 5 public university, and I can't help but think Chris had a big part in helping him achieve that milestone. If you need anyone to help you with the ever changing college admission process, Chris is the only person I would trust. Thanks again for everything Chris.

One of the most helpful thing Betsy does is to help identify the best colleges to apply to. Not…read morenecessarily the top ranked schools but the ones that are the best fit, both academically and socially. And her counseling on completing the application process and the application essay are invaluable. She really seems to know what the different schools are looking for and how to structure the application for each. Highly recommended!

From the owner: As your professional mentor and advocate, I will facilitate your search and teach you lifelong…read moreskills that will enable you to stand out and get into your ideal school. You'll learn how to showcase your unique qualities, talents and abilities in your applications, empowering you to realize your personal and career goals. I'll create an action plan just for you.

Had a great experience and a great tutor for my son. Would definitely recommend though price is…read morereally high.

If you use this company for tutoring be aware that it is extremely expensive and definitely not…read moreworth the price. Your child is just a number. My child went for sat/act prep and we felt like they only cared about the money . Never did they follow up to inquire about the student or test results. Mid way Had to go to another tutoring company. They never even inquired as to why we left or ever booked any more sessions. They absolutely do not care about the student .

I've been very happy with my company that I had been with for nearly 20 years, but after such a…read morelong time, I wanted to see if there were other opportunities out there for me. I updated my profile in LinkedIn and signed up to receive emails when potentially interested jobs are posted. The next step was to update my CV... which I realized I had not updated since my school days! (Such is the case when you've been with and moved up the ranks of the same company perhaps?) I was referred to Lucent Education by a friend who had worked with them before so I sent a message to them and received a reply from Agnes. I sent her my old, outdated resume and let her know what my current role entails, as well as the types of roles that may interest me enough to consider leaving my current role. Agnes was very speedy with her responses and got back to me within days with the first set of updates and suggestions on my CV via Google Docs. I was able to review and accept or decline her suggestions with ease. She also asked several thought provoking questions to illicit more details from me. That was very helpful to me as I realized that I took some of what I did on a regular basis for granted and had not thought to put them into a CV. She was also helpful to identify sections where specifics would strengthen the task description (ie: "manage a team" vs. "manage a team of 10," "increase xx count" vs "increase xx count from 150 to 200 from 2019 to 2020") Overall, the whole process took about 3 weeks... and that's only because it took me about a week in between each of her updates to respond back. I wasn't in a rush to get this done as I just wanted to have it ready in case something of interest came up. Agnes never rushed me though, which I appreciated, and she always responded promptly even though I was not. After 4 revisions, I was very happy with the end result - not only in content but also in the visual aspect of the CV, which Agnes also laid out. As fate would have it, recently a job opportunity of interest did come across my way and I was very relieved to have my CV ready to go. Had I not, it would have been really stressful having to come up with one on the fly. I'm not going to go as far as saying the CV is why I got the job, but I'm certain that it helped - at the very least to get me an interview! Thanks Lucent and Agnes! Wish me luck on my new job!

Agnes got back to me right away when I first requested a consult and seemed to be ready to help. I…read morewas excited for my consultation and to begin working with them. Oddly enough, all contact has dropped off and now no one will return my emails or request for an appointment. Very bizarre and disappointing.