Consult with Dana

Five years ago, I decided to take the leap, leave full-time work in the school setting, and began my journey as an independent college counselor and business owner. It has been the best professional decision I have made.
Today, there are few things better than sharing the amazing accomplishments of the students I am privileged to work with. I am happy to highlight the outcomes of the class of 2025 who were admitted to almost 120 colleges and earned around $7 million in grants and scholarships.

This year marks my 15th year of being able to share the awesome outcomes of students who worked tirelessly to find the right college or program that will help them achieve their short- and long-term goals. I am so excited to share the amazing accomplishments of the class of 2024 who were admitted to over 100 colleges and earned over $5 million in grants and scholarships.

Who else will be at the IECA conference next week?

I have the honor of presenting on Tuesday with an incredible panel of people including Dana Ponsky of Consult with Dana, Michele Evard of Evard Educational Consulting, and Noah Nemitoff-Bresler of Tutor Connection LLC.

If you will be at the conference, please reach out so we can meet up!

Colleges that Change Lives includes so many colleges that are real gems. Almost every college suggestion list I make for students inevitably includes at least one CTCL because their academic programs, support, financial aid, preparation for graduate school and the workforce, and commitment to student growth and development make them really great options.

If you are in the NYC on March 9, I highly encourage going to the Conrad Downtown to meet admission counselors from most of the CTCL schools at their college fair -
https://ctcl.org/new-york-ny-march-2024/?fbclid=IwAR139bUhgR2ULmJYuqABYs7hLOOemrtiygelUAP4gIRXm3xyp816dUehc2k

New York, NY • March 9, 2024 – Colleges That Change Lives New York, NY • March 9, 2024 Saturday, March 9, 2024 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Conrad New York Downtown Gallery Ballroom 102 North End Avenue New York, NY 10282 The program begins promptly at 11:00 am with a 30-minute information session. The college fair follows immediately afterwards, lasting approxi...

Highly recommend attending because these are awesome college counselors who are going to share great insights

We're hosting an awesome, spontaneous virtual workshop Sunday at 1PM PT (4PM ET) to discuss the question, *what can we do when students hit their bandwidth ahead of college applications?* Joining Robert are the incredible professionals Breanne Boyle of BB College Prep (former president of WACAC, one of my favorite orgs) and Carolyn Allison Caplan of AdmissionsMom, who is also a moderator of the enormous popular Reddit forum Applying to College. SO -- join us for the conversation -- and bring questions if you have any!

https://app.collegetorchcampus.com/bandwidth-webinar-2024

The second semester has finally arrived for 12th graders and the next few months are going to be a whirlwind of activities and preparation for graduation and post-secondary planning. Each year, I create a checklist for students and families to use to help them prepare for ending the year strong and being ready for the next chapter in the adventure of life. This list will definitely help students and families to keep on top of things needed to prepare for a great end of year and successful start to college.

12th Grade To-Do & Document List The final semester of high school and the summer before embarking on college and/or a gap year, is an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time. This extensive list of tips and helpful resources will help students and families with preparing for a smooth transition through the second half of 12th gra...

This week, I am excited to share a new video with the Rabbi from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota who supports the thriving student organization, Macalester Jewish Organization (MJO)

Please enjoy this awesome interview and share with students and families who want to know more about their Macalester's Jewish life

https://youtu.be/zslVYPqUmVU

Being Jewish in College - Macalester College To learn more about the Macalester College's Jewish Life please visit: https://www.macalester.edu/religiouslife/communitiesofpractice-2/jewish-life-at-macale...

It has been busy the past month meeting with Jewish life leadership from around the country! Over the next couple weeks, more videos will be shared to highlight some great work happening on their campuses.

First up this week is the University of Virginia! Learn about what great work they are doing to engage their Jewish students and promote a quality Jewish life
https://youtu.be/NpjWK8j2ans

Being Jewish in College - University of Virginia To learn more about the Brody Jewish Center at the University of Virginia, please visit - https://www.brodyjewishcenter.org/ Learn more about Jewish life on ...

The Common Application has officially opened for the 2023-2024 admission season. While not all colleges have updated their information in the application, students who have yet to create an account can go ahead and explore what the application entails.
This year, the AXS Companion, a free, open online resource to be used side-by-side with Common App, will guide students as they work through their applications. Each section includes explanatory videos, helpful tips, a glossary of application terms, and links to resources mentioned in the videos. This wonderful resource can help your students fill out their Common App and answer so many questions that pop up during the process. https://open.oregonstate.education/axscompanion/
Any high school student who wants to promote this resource can join the AXS Foundation (a 501(c)3 non-profit) to earn volunteer hours to help students from across the country learn about and use this valuable tool. If you are a student or know a student interested, please share this link - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1H6ul-9EJ1D8xFMY6RNm7eY3wtA7ZOLI85_kQXRbTLE0/viewform?ts=648765a6&edit_requested=true

AXS Companion – Open Resource Book Description: Welcome to the AXS Companion to Common App 2022-23!Common App is a college application platform that allows you to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities. Every year, more than one million students apply to college through Common App. And interestingly, institutions on Commo...

There are few things better as a college counselor than getting calls, texts, and emails from my students about their positive admissions outcomes. I am so excited to share the amazing accomplishments of the class of 2023 who were admitted to over 80 colleges and earned over $2 million in grants and scholarships.

I am happy to share that after some diligent efforts these past couple of years to visit over 50 colleges and expand my professional knowledge, I earned the Professional Member distinction for IECA.

June is officially here and we would love to start the month off with welcoming 's newest group of Professional members! Please be sure to say hello and give them a big congrats!

Joan Lockwood- JCVL Academic Advisors
Betsy Reale- FutureFour Consulting
Robin Levi- Robin Levi Consulting
Sara Cavalieri- College Apps Abroad
Patricia LeCompte- LeCompte College Prep
Alexis Webster- Admissions U, LLC
Dana Ponsky- Consult with Dana