Without question, engaging Scott was the most valuable educational investment I made to support my…read morechild. It's not cheap, but the outcome is extraordinary. The impact Scott had on my son went well beyond college essay preparation/production. Pre-Scott, my son could barely write a coherent sentence and through the magic of Scott's teaching methodology and in a relatively short timeframe, the improvement was dramatic. The counsel, candid discussions, and direction Scott provided paid huge dividends in the classroom and in daily written communication (emails, texts). My son became a more confident writer and student which of course, carried over to everyday life. As he heads-off to college in the fall (UCLA), I'm forever grateful to Scott for the life-changing role he played in preparing my son for the next chapter and beyond.

Scott worked with my daughter during her senior year to help with her college applications and…read moreessays. He guided us through the entire process and went above and beyond on the deadline days. Scott helped my daughter think through her experiences and interests and figure out how to apply them to all the different application prompts and questions. He was dependable and present in all of their sessions to make sure the work got done. My daughter really struggles with deadlines and time management and Scott was really patient and gave a lot of good advice and guidance. In the end she was admitted to her top choice. We were very happy to work with Scott and would be happy to work with him again in the future.

I had an amazing experience working with Gourdy. He helped raise my ACT score a ton and was super…read morehelpful with all my college essays, from private schools to UCs. He really knows what he's doing and made the whole process way less stressful. He was also a big reason I got into UC Berkeley, which I'm super grateful for. On top of that, he's really knowledgeable but also funny, so sessions never felt boring. Definitely recommend if you want someone who actually makes a difference.

Gordy is an exceptional college counselor! He kept my son on tack and met all the deadlines even…read morewhen we had limited time. He was encouraging and used virtual services effectively. I also liked how he created google folders and made the whole process of essays and tasks easy and even fun! I would highly recommend Gordy!

First, Ariel is a fantastic person to work with. She is kindhearted, professional, considerate, and…read moreempathetic. She understands the delicacy of students' stories and helps them communicate them in an impactful and personally inspiring way. She is a highly responsible communicator and an expert on all aspects of the admissions process. She was quick to answer my queries about ANYTHING related to admissions (even outside of the essay-writing process) and was massively helpful regarding interview questions. I could not recommend Ariel enough. My child was accepted to multiple colleges (T5) and with likely letters thanks to the strength of her writing, and she definitely helped her accomplish this.

Thank you to Ariel and the Golden Ticket team for helping so much with the college application…read moreprocess! This is such a difficult time for families, and her expert guidance was supportive every step of the way. As a former Stanford Admissions officer, Ariel was the perfect person to answer all of my most intricate questions about college applications. She has been helping students get into their dream schools for over 10 years now, and it shows in her professionalism, attention to detail, strategic guidance, and thoughtful feedback on everything from personal essays to building my extracurricular profile. Most helpful was Ariel's assistance crafting the personal statements. There were SO many, but with the support of the Golden Ticket team it was much more manageable. I wouldn't be where I am today without the help of Golden Ticket. Very thankful for the outstanding support!!

If you have a teenager preparing for college, I strongly encourage you to look into the services of…read moreJessica Brenner, and her partner, Lisa Josefik. What could have been an incredibly stressful senior year, has been instead a beautiful memory made. What Jessica, and Lisa did to help my grandson, and me from start to finish of the college application process is amazing. I never realized the complexity that went into this process, as I never had to do this for my children. The guidance, structure, and encouragement from them was invaluable. As a parent/grandparent this process can be extremely frustrating when it comes to making sure the SA's are completed, or that they are studying for the SAT test, etc. To our teenager we are just nagging them. Being able to hand that over to Jessica, and/or Lisa, who are so knowledgeable and understanding of what it takes to successfully complete this process made this entire experience much more exciting and enjoyable for my grandson and myself. They gave him structure, and progress goals that he followed. When he started his senior year he was all ready to submit all of his applications while his classmates were just starting to do what he had been doing during the summer. He actually received his first acceptance letter before many classmates had even submitted an application. Jessica and Lisa would tell him, "Tristan, all this hard work is going to be so worth it once you start receiving your acceptance letters." When his first letter came, he was so excited he could hardly stand it. Tristan has been accepted to eight colleges, including his number one choice. Thank you, thank you Jessica and Lisa for all you did for us and all the other families and kids you work with. You truly make a difference!

Jessica Brenner walked our daughter through the application process with absolute precision…read more From preparation for SAT/ACT, essay guidance and appropriate school choices, Jessica created a timeline that was manageable and stress free. We believe that Jessica's help enabled our daughter to gain admission to better schools than her peers, who had similar qualifications. We highly recommend Jessica to any family in this super competitive environment.

There are truly no words that fully convey what Michaela did for my daughter during her high school…read moreyears. She stared working with Michaela early on as a writing instructor and coach. She helped my daughter with her entries for numerous writing competitions, including the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, for which she won gold and silver medals over multiple years. She then helped with college essays and planning. I cannot recommend her highly enough! She became an advisor and artistic guide. My daughter's high school fulfilling writing journey was truly made possible with Michaela's support and guidance!

Michaela is great with my 6th and 8th graders who have been working with her this year, including…read moreon my 8th grader's high school applications. They genuinely enjoy the sessions with her (and they're not usually the type to want to do anything "extra"). Michaela makes it fun and not intimidating which is key for my kids and probably a lot of other younger students out there. Our family is so glad to have found Michaela!

We had terrible experience with Crimson. I was with them for 4 years unfortunately. I was expecting…read morethem to help build profile so that college admissions can get smoother. I just realized that they were upselling some of their products which resulted in no real outcome. No clear advice was given to pick right universities or majors in last year which ended up with large rejections. Also, everything was pushed to last minute and decisions were made in hurry. I guess the strategist are too busy with too many students.

My personal experience with this business as a potential client was the worst I ever had. This…read morecompany acted in bad faith towards me, ethnically profiled me, was unable to handle the simplest things, and did nothing to fix their bias and obvious mishandling of the situation. A few months ago, we started looking at the market of education consultant businesses to find someone who could help us, a fresh immigrant family with teens, navigate the complex world of American higher education. After several Crimson webinars, I decided to join their Facebook group, which they solicit at every webinar. Not a big deal, right? Just answer a few simple questions, including an odd one about where you live, and you're in. Not so fast. Long story short, I was declined several times (I kept applying because I could never imagine they were rejecting me repeatedly). The reason they finally condescended to provide was that they checked my Facebook profile to verify my location and found that I "live in RUSSIA!" Can you imagine anything more daunting or criminal than having that on your Facebook profile? So, once again: a business solicits you to join its group, and when you do, indicating several times that you live in the US (a requirement for acceptance), its representatives rush to your Facebook profile to double-check if you're telling the truth. Can you imagine making decisions based on Facebook profile info? Your nanny, Crimson Education, requires you to keep your Facebook profile updated, peasant! The irony? Four out of six moderators don't have any location information on their profiles. I bet many of the 4,000 group members either have incorrect locations, locked profiles, or no location at all. It's 2024, after all. I believe the only reason to decline me was that I'm from Russia. 'Russian bots' moral panic, or something similar. They applied their made-up rule to me personally because I'm Russian. They didn't reach out to clarify. They didn't provide a reason for declining until I started questioning them directly in the Facebook form, which isn't a convenient way to converse. And they not only declined my applications, filled out in good faith with correct information - they banned me after I started questioning their mishandling of the situation. No business has ever handled me with such outrageous disrespect and humiliation. I even sent a message to the company's main email asking for help. Guess what? I never received a response or support. They can't handle simple, everyday situations. They make up artificial rules, don't follow them, treat you with disrespect, and never admit their mistakes. They don't change their outrageous behavior or correct it, let alone apologize to you. Now, tell me, how can these people help kids get into the Ivies if they're unable to get parents into their own Facebook group?

Sophie provided minimal constructive criticism for my college application essay edits and I felt…read morelost under her guidance. This ultimately made the whole process more stressful for me, and in retrospect, her services were overpriced for the quality of college counseling. If I were to go through this cycle again, I would have decided on a different advising service.

I truly look forward to my sessions with Sophie! She has a warm and open grace that makes me…read moreincredibly comfortable. While meeting with her, I've gone from tears to ecstatic laughter within minutes. Whether discussing sources of grief, excitement, fear, or exploration, Sophie provides insightful guidance that helps me realize patterns. Together, we create meaningful goals and she provides tools for reaching them. I also appreciate Sophie's way of applying focus and structure to our sessions without sacrificing exploration and discovery. Each time I face the rest of my week with more confidence and patience -- it's like LASIK for the soul. I'm excited to continue learning and growing through her counseling!

Hands-down Terry is someone you want on your team! Whatever it is you are trying to accomplish in…read moreyour career, academically, in life - Terry is an amazing coach, mentor and friend. I met Terry when I was in a post-bacc program. When I started the program I had no confidence in my academic abilities and was struggling with severe anxiety when studying for my classes. I came to Terry explaining that I wanted nothing less than to have confidence in my abilities and to get A's in the program. I added that I simply did not think it was possible and that if he couldn't be direct in solving the issue that he should not waste my time or his. All I can say is that Terry delivered. What I admired most about how he worked with me is that he never got offended nor did he take things personally when I would tell him a technique or an approach was not working. He instead had a way of being patient, listening to my concerns, analyzing what went wrong and coming up with creative solutions that were tailored specifically for me. Suffice to say I accomplished all that I wanted in the program. Furthermore, I think the best take away from my time with him is that what I learned has been sustainable. Two years after having finished the program I have accomplished more than I ever thought was possible because of the confidence in myself he fostered through our work together. If you are looking for someone to be your ally and your advocate in accomplishing what you want in your career or your academics, Terry is the man for you! You will not only learn specific techniques on how to accomplish your goals, you will also gain a great mentor. I am grateful to have met such a dedicated and passionate individual that truly cares about the success and well-being of his students. I highly recommend Terry!

This review is from my friend SC-SF:…read more "I met Terry while I was in a post-bacc program and have grown to know him as not only a fantastic learning coach, but also a trusted mentor and friend. He was a leading contributor towards my efforts to strengthen my learning skills, and essentially taught me how to "re-learn" how to learn. His approach was never condescending, but was still firm and gave me the accountability that I needed to thrive. I highly recommend Terry to anyone who would like to strengthen their learning abilities and realize their true potential. As I am applying to health professional schools, I know I will continue to use the skills I learned from Terry to help me become a successful student and professional"