Featured Admissions Strategy Team Members

Karen

Admissions Strategist

Karen has helped many students navigate the college search and write unique, successful applications. She provides comprehensive services from finding schools that are the best matches to choosing what school to attend after acceptances roll in. With this support, her students are free to enjoy an organized, exciting search.

Born and raised in and around New York City, Karen earned her BA in English from Barnard College, Columbia University. She went on to earn an MA and PhD in English literature at the University of Virginia. After completing her doctorate, she joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as a tenure-track assistant professor of English. In subsequent years, she worked as a fundraiser for local and international non-profit organizations. In 2015, Karen returned to her first love – education – and became a full-time tutor and college counselor.

With her help, Karen’s students have been admitted to top colleges including Penn State, Rhodes College, Elon University, St. Edwards University, College of Charleston, University of North Carolina, Loyola University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Binghamton University, Temple University, Fairfield University, and University of Connecticut.

In her spare time, Karen enjoys gardening, visiting museums, cooking, podcasts, and time outside with her family.

nicole

college aPPlication Strategist

(Students with Learning Differences Specialist)

Nicole is passionate about empowering students to find their strengths as well as passions and channeling them into their college search to find schools that fit their unique learning profiles and needs. She values the unique gifts of neurodiverse learners and sees their creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking as vital in the classroom, the workplace and in our society. 

Nicole has helped many neurodivergent students and their families navigate the complexities and challenges of identifying learning needs and helping students realize their true learning potential.

She has two neurodiverse students of her own and is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Dyslexia Parents Group of Lexington, MA, supporting parents with children with language based learning differences. 

Nicole has over 15 years of experience as a strategic marketing professional and is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications for Versatope Therapeutics.

She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in English Literature. Nicole has also taught English on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Program to Japanese high school and middle school students and accomplished the challenging feat of hiking to the top of Mt. Fuji for sunrise.

In her spare time, Nicole enjoys reading, writing, beach walks, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, yoga, dance, world travel and backyard wildlife viewing.

Rachel

Essay Strategist

Rachel brings more than a decade of passion, skill, and experience as a writing coach. Since 2009, she has guided high school students in mining their life experiences and expressing their strongest authentic selves on the written pages of their college admission essays.

Rachel is the Undergraduate Academic Coordinator for the MIT Energy Initiative where she focuses on developing and preparing students for meaningful careers beyond college. 

A graduate of Bryn Mawr, Rachel also holds an MA in History and an MS in Library and Information Science, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where she also passed her Ph.D. preliminary exams.

Simon

essay coach and SAT Tutor

Simon is committed to helping students improve their academic performance and confidence in themselves. He has tutored SAT Math and English for over 10 years, and has worked with student-athletes at Arlington High School, Tufts University and Lesley University.

Simon also has extensive experience working with youth as a camp counselor, after-school teacher and Youth Therapist/Coach. 

He uses the skills from his extensive experience in athletics, the arts, yoga and psychology to encourage students to find ways to engage their unique passions and talents when writing or learning, and also to cultivate habits of healthy living that make growth and success possible.

Simon has a Master’s in Education with a Counseling/Sport Psychology concentration from Boston University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Carleton College in Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology / Anthropology. While at Carleton, he co-captained the Division III Men’s team and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Elite 22 Award as the highest academic performer in the conference championship match. He was also an All-Conference selection and a 1st-Team Academic All-American.