Wherever you may be on the college admissions journey, we offer calm, experienced guidance through the process.
It’s an exciting moment, full of possibilities, when a student and family reach the college admission stage.
Advising ranges from an overview of the process in early high school through pinpointing college options that are a good match for the student, and encouragement through the application phase.
“Thank you again for all of the guidance that you provided for Lara, as well as for my husband and me. I don't think that we would have even thought to look at Beloit College without your suggestion, and it really does seem to be a perfect fit for Lara. Our second daughter is currently a sophomore so we will be contacting you in the spring to begin her college journey.”
What we offer
The first step in helping a student and family with the college search is to listen. We listen to the student, trying to discern his or her strengths, needs, personality, level of motivation about college, optimal learning environment, and preferences for specific college characteristics. We listen to the parents, drawing out their insights, concerns, and preferences about the student and the college process. Then we put together a list of colleges that would be particularly worthwhile for the student to explore, ones where we believe the student would thrive. We provide access to software that helps the student learn about the colleges and compare their characteristics.
We create a time frame for the application process, offer advice about visiting campuses, taking part in interviews, creating a resume, and weighing the pros and cons of various colleges.
Once the student has narrowed the list to a reasonable number of colleges that encompass a range of admission difficulty, we are available to walk alongside the student in the actual application process. We outline the steps in the process, discuss the advisability of applying through Early Decision or Early Action plans, brainstorm essay topics together, proofread essays, and provide a general calming presence throughout the admissions season. When admissions notifications have arrived and students are considering their options, we can help with the final decision process.
Explore Your Options
Gap or Interim Year: Some students are not ready to go to college right after high school. We can advise or make referrals on options for a gap year, including structured internship or travel programs, a postgraduate year at a boarding school, programs at sea, or volunteer work.
College Transfer: Some college students have found their initial college experience to be frustrating or inappropriate in some way. We can assist with the transfer decision, including an assessment of why the experience thus far was less than optimal, as well as the process of identifying options and applying to transfer to another college.
Where to begin the process
For most students, the optimal time to begin a series of meetings for college guidance is partway through the junior year. Early on in high school, a meeting can familiarize the student and family with what to expect in the college search process. The consultant may sketch the current admissions landscape and describe what colleges are looking for when they evaluate students. Once the student is ready, the search for appropriate colleges can begin in earnest. It is certainly possible to begin working together later than the junior year, but the work will be more intense.
For students and families who would like to meet before the junior year, an occasional hourly meeting will serve to make sure that the student is on track for college, both in terms of curriculum choice and in exploring and following his or her interests.
College Consultants
Ann Montgomery and Calli Christenson are the college specialists at Sage Education Group. They will work personally with each college client.
Follow this link to a page of suggested print materials and websites for further information the college search and application process.
Our students have received admission to the following universities:
Agnes Scott College
American University
Amherst College
Auburn University
Austin College
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College
Baylor University
Bennington College
Berklee College of Music
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Butler University
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
California Polytechnic - San Luis Obispo
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western University
Chapman University
Clark University
Clemson University
Colby College
College Living Experience - Austin, Denver
College of Charleston
College of William and Mary
College of Wooster
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Cooper Union
Cornell University
Creighton University
Curry College
Dartmouth College
Denison College
DePaul University
Drexel University
Duke University
Earlham College
Elon University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (AZ)
Emory University
Florida State University
Fordham University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Grinnell College
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Hendrix College
Indiana University
Johns Hopkins University
Lehigh University
Lesley University -Threshold Program
Lewis & Clark College
Louisiana State University
Lynn University
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
McGill University, Canada
Miami University of Ohio
Middlebury College
Mt. Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
New College (FL)
New York University (Stern & Tisch)
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Purdue University
Quest University
Reed College
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhodes College
Rice University
Samford University
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Savannah College of Art and Design
Scripps College
Sewanee, The University of the South
Soka University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Spelman College
SUNY College of Environmental Science
St. Edward's University
St. John's College
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Syracuse University
Texas A&M University
Texas Christian University
The United State Air Force Academy
The United States Military Academy
The United States Naval Academy
The University of Texas at Austin
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Los Angeles
University of California at San Diego
University of California at Santa Barbara
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Chicago
University of Denver
University of Georgia
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Miami (FL)
University of Michigan
University of Mississippi
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Whitman College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University (LA)
Yale University